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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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 Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject: Janitor replaces teacher who panicked in class! |
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Yes folks.....this happened recently in a school in Montreal, where the newly appointed ESL teacher was unable to handle the children, and the school was short of subs that day, so the Janitor kindly stepped in to "take over the class" and a very fine job he did, despite limited English skills (learned watching "Hockey night in Canada").
When the Principal finally came around to see the class and the good work the Janitor was doing in keeping the kids in check, she encouraged said Janitor to do a quick 15 credit ESL teaching course at McGill University (ghost's alma mater) which would allow him to step into the classroom officially....as there are many positions vacant at the moment in Montreal, in the French sector. The French school board gives many "exceptional teaching permits" each year to adults with no teacher training, simply because there are not enough qualified candidates to fill all the posts on offer. Meanwhile, the ESL teacher was relieved of its duties.....and advised to re-think "teaching strategies."
These sorts of things happen frequently in Quebec, a French (majority) Province in Eastern Canada. In St Jean sur Richelieu recently (some 70 km south of Montreal) the lunch lady took over the English classes for an entire week, because the school board was unable to find any qualified teacher on the list it keeps! As all the kids knew the lunch lady since they were infants, she was successful in being able to keep the kids "occupied" during the English hour.....
Ghost, substitute teacher, French school board. |
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yaramaz
Joined: 05 Mar 2003
Posts: 2384
Location: Not where I was before
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| Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:09 am Post subject: |
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| Just out of curiosity, must one be a resident of Quebec in order to take advantage of these openings? I was fluent in french about a decade ago (and still am mostly) but I'm still a hoser from the west coast... |
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Baba Alex
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 2411
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| Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| yaramaz wrote: |
| Just out of curiosity, must one be a resident of Quebec in order to take advantage of these openings? I was fluent in french about a decade ago (and still am mostly) but I'm still a hoser from the west coast... |
If they won't employ you as a teacher, then I know of a place that needs a new janitor. |
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justme
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 1944
Location: Istanbul
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| Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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Or you could be Lunch Lady Yaramaz!
And Lola could be Little Lunch Lady Lola! |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Just out of curiosity, must one be a resident of Quebec in order to take advantage of these openings? I was fluent in french about a decade ago (and still am mostly) but I'm still a hoser from the west coast.. |
Normally - you will need a B.Ed. in Education, and then you need to pass the French written test (the Cefranc, or the SEL), and then if you are accepted by one of the school boards (to get on their lists, as ghost has done) - you are in business. You are then given a "Permis du Quebec" (permit to teach in Quebec) which is valid 5 years from the time of issue.
To become a "permanent" authorized teacher in Quebec, you need to be evaluated positively within the first 600 hours of offical teaching in Quebec....and that can be a "crap shoot" depending on the location, the students and who is evaluating you.
All the above is the "official route" which ghost has taken. Unofficially, since there is such a dearth of English teachers in Quebec, many "exceptional permits" are being dished out by the Quebec Ministry of Education at the present time, and also "quickie" 15 credit courses at McGill and Concordia Universities are giving would be teachers "mininum" ESL qualifications to step into a Quebec classroom. In the past - would be ESL teachers needed 30 credits in ESL and Pedagogy (normally taking at least one year of full time study at University) to step into the classrooms.
When ghost compares teaching FSL (French Second Language) in Ontario with teaching ESL (English Second Language) in Quebec, it (ghost) much prefers the latter, because there is less "resistance" to learning English compared with French, and also in any given classroom there are quite a few kids of "allophone" backgrounds who already have a good knowledge of English. Also in Quebec, you only see each class a maximum of twice a week for a total time of 1.5 hours on average....in Ontario each grade from 4-8 has a French class lasting 40 minutes every day.....and that is too much for a clientele which lacks the motivation to learn the subject, and too much for a teacher who has to face the students on a daily basis....at least in Quebec you only see the students at most twice a week.....but ghost presently teaches over 500 students a week.....(don't ask about evaluations...)
Ghost also prefers the more "relaxed" atmosphere of teaching in Quebec, compared with Ontario where everything has to be evaluated, calibrated and more in triplicate. In Quebec....as long as the kids are occupied, you (as a teacher) are more or less left on your own....in Ontario you feel much more pressure from the administration to deliver....but in Quebec, as soon as the bell rings at 4pm, everyone goes home, including teachers, whereas in Ontario, most teachers do prep. and marking until at least 6pm.....and would be viewed negatively if they rushed home at 4pm, as all the teachers do (except ghost who stays at school for an extra half hour to look at this site for an extra few minutes) in Quebec.
Quebec teachers also voted massively against having a "College of Teachers" and one can guess that this was the case, because Quebec teachers do not like the idea of being controlled and evaluated by a Centralized body of beaurocrats, as is the case in Ontario....where merely shouting at a kid can be a step away from having your teacher's certificate revoked or cancelled.
In Ontario, teaching French was a nightmare, and there was little (if any) parental support.
Ghost, certified substitute teacher, Montreal, Quebec |
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