Job Discussion Forums

[jgmodlin]

Following up on some of the posts I have seen here, I wanted get your take on whether or not Americans are hired with any frequency. Someone on another thread had mentioned that few Americans were in the program and that the fact that interviews are not held anywhere in the USA supports this. With interviews only being held in Vancouver and Toronto, it would not be surprising that few Americans would gravitate towards the NET scheme. I can't help but wonder if there would be more interest on the part of Americans if there were interviews held here. I guess it is a holdover from the colonial days for HK to continue to recruit in former commonwealth countries.
I have 8 years of TEFL experience teaching in Japan, some of it with Tokyo Public schools. I returned to the U.S., went through a teacher's education program, and obtained my Virginia teacher's license with endorsements in ESL and Business Education. I now teach ESL at an urban public high school, but have applied to the Hong Kong NET scheme directly for a 2009/2010 secondary position. I am hoping that my experience and certification will suffice to get me an interview in Toronto this winter. The application was accepted and I have been assigned an applicant number, which is a start at least.
Lastly, does anyone have thoughts on whether or not the expat scene is welcoming to Americans in HK? I found Tokyo to be a nice mix of Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, Brits, and Americans. Few schools seemed to care much about the nationality as long as they were from one of the aforementioned countries. Aside from the occasional drunk who assumed I was somehow responsible for who was in the White House, most non-American expats were very friendly to me during my time living in Tokyo. Hopefully this would be the case with HK too.

[Deicide]

[Marcoregano]

[jgmodlin]

Thanks for the feedback on Americans in HK and the NET program. I am glad to hear there isn't real resistance to their participation and that the expat community is represented well. Just out of curiousity, Marcoregano, did your wife interview for the NET position in HK or somewhere else? Has she had a good experience thus far with the school system and her job?
I do speak passable Japanese, Deicide, but my lack of literacy in Kanji is a hindrance. I passed the national language test level 3 in Japan, but I doubt I would be able to pass the level 2 test. My wife would benefit from her language ability in HK if she were able to get work at a Japanese branch of some company.
Now that the cold is really settling in here on the east coast of the U.S. I am really excited to get the ball rolling and interview for the NET position. I know HK can be really steamy for a good part of the year, but it is a trade off I'll gladly take. Also, teaching school in the USA to refugees who hardly have concepts of time, numbers, or any phonemic awareness at all, is really draining. If the students in HK are anything like the Japanese ones I taught before, it has to be a lot better. Students who have gained literacy in their own languages have so much more ability to acquire a second language than those who are illiterate in their own. sigh...

[PattyFlipper]

I haven't seen any recent figures but prior to the handover, Americans constituted the largest group of Western expatriates in Hong Kong - exceeding even the number of Brits by several thousand. Americans have always been well-represented there.

[Cohen]

Yes, Americans have always been well represented here, but not on the NET scheme. In close on one decade here I have yet to meet an EDB NET from the US. I have heard that there are some, but I am yet to meet one.

Remember also that the EDB does not recruit in the US. That should tell you something.

Personal experience tells me that principals, teachers, and parents do not exactly welcome American teachers as, if students use US spelling and/or grammar, they will be marked 'wrong' in the HK exams.

[Marcoregano]

[Cohen]

Well, I wouldn't know whether or not I'd ever met your trouble and strife, would I? As I say, I've heard there are some US NETs on the EDB NET scheme, but I personally am yet to meet one (and I visit a lot of schools as part and parcel of my work). And, to repeat, the EDB does not recruit in the US, and I think that speaks volumes about their attitude to US teachers (after all, they are more than happy to recruit in Canada, not exactly a million miles away from the US). And, I have to say, I have met a tonne of teachers and principals who prefer not to employ speakers of US English because "the parents wouldn't like it".....

I have however met an inordinate number of US teachers at international schools in HK, for what it's worth.

[jgmodlin]

I just received a rejection email from the Hong Kong Department of Ed. It said I didn't meet their minimum requirements. 8 years of ESL teaching in Japan, a Virginia teacher's license with an endorsement in ESL, and a Bachelor's degree apparently weren't good enough this time around. From reading some of the posts here I had gathered that the NET positions were relatively easy to get for a qualified teacher.
Best of luck to those still in the running.

[Cohen]

But are you actually a qualified teacher in the eyes of the EDB? Are you only qualified to teach in Virginia? For the SNET scheme at least you need to be able to teach in the government education system in your home country, not just a state, region, or province. And, if you are qualified to teach in your home country, were your 8 years of ESL in Japan post qualification? If not, then the EDB is blind to this period of time. Also, where did you work for 8 years? That is, in what sort of institution? If it was just a training centre then it won't count. It must be an institution/system recognised and accredited by the EDB. Furthermore, it must be full-time, and, somewhat strangely, must be daytime teaching; nothing after (I think) 4:30pm counts.

[once again]

Maybe you should try the primary net scheme. I know one person who only has TEFL qualification plus degree (unrelated to English) and two years in a local tutorial centre who has just got a job on PNET scheme.

[jgmodlin]

The teacher licensure in the states works on the premise that most states have reciprocal agreements. There is no national licensing system in the United States. If someone moves to a different state the new state will generally hire them and convert their license to the new state's license. I think this is not well understood by those coming from countries with more centralized governments.
As far as my time teaching in Japan, two years were with the Tokyo public school system at high school. The rest were indeed with various business English gigs and conversation schools. I can see that much of this wouldn't count.
Nevertheless, it would seem that being an endorsed ESL teacher at a public high school in a major American public school system and two years at a Tokyo public high school would get me a little further than just a TEFL certificate, as some of those who have been reportedly hired. Oh well, no sour grapes at all, I was just a bit surprised.

[Cohen]

I think the keywords there are 'most' and 'generally'. I think the system in the US is understood by both teachers and the EDB. But maybe it is the EDB's understanding of the US system that seems to make them somewhat reluctant to hire US teachers? Please note also that your experience � from the point of view of the EDB � has just dropped from eight to but two years. Are you sure your two years at a high school in Japan are recognised by the EDB? Was it full-time employment? Is your time there documented and verifiable?

As regards the TEFL certificate claim, I don't think anyone could be hired with just a TEFL certificate. Personally I would advise you not to believe everything you read, especially on the Internet. If anyone was hired without a degree then they'd have to have an 'equivalent', such as lengthy teacher training. I once met an elderly female Aussie NET who did not hold a university degree, but as I understand it that was as she had become a teacher Down Under at a time when you either went to university or commenced teacher training. And she was just a PNET anyway, and I don't think she could ever progress beyond a mere HK$30,000 a month (pure chicken feed in HK).

As someone else above suggested, perhaps you could/should apply for the PNET scheme? Your failure to be accepted onto the SNET scheme might well be a blessing in disguise. Some secondary schools-cum-sixth form colleges here are like something from the Twilight Zone

[Miss Helen]

I'm American and I'm a NET!!

[Munroe]