Korean Job Discussion Forums

[CA-NA-DA-ABC]

so I'm thinking about doing a B.Ed. to get a teacher certification in Canada. the thing is, I do not want to teach in Canada, I want to teach and live in Korea.

How much of an advantage is it to be a certified Canadian teacher in Korea? Is doing a B.Ed. to teach in Korea worth it?

or would holding a TESOL/CELTA be more of an advantage here?

[cruisemonkey]

In K-land they're equal in the eyes of the Ministry of Ed.

[teachergirltoo]

In the eyes of the MOE you may be treated equal to other degree holders, but in the eyes of the Korean teachers you work with in the public system you are given more respect and your opinions are more valued because they consider you a real teacher. If you do not have a B.Ed. or are a certified teacher many times they will just consider you a generic degree holder that has come here to make money but does not have the proper credentials to be in the classroom. We have had conversations about this amongst our staff.

[CA-NA-DA-ABC]

what about at hagwons? will you have more leverage when negotiating with bosses because bosses can better sell your certified teacher status to the moms?

anyone have experience with this?

[Cheonmunka]

Very little difference in terms of employers willing to pay you more - but as said, credit to you as a teacher amongst other staff.

[Xuanzang]

You could use it to teach at one of the international schools.

[justind]

A B'Ed from a good school will get you a better salary and more respect.

Most international schools require it for all of their staff.

If you are a crappy teacher though, your work will speak for itself.

[Mr. Pink]

My take on it is this:

It is hard to get into a B.Ed program in Canada. Most provinces do it in 2yrs, Ontario does it in 1yr - but it is intensive as hell.

Will you be able to handle doing practicums teaching Canadian students?
Will you be able to handle tons of theory that in the real world doesn't really work from faculty up on their soap boxes?
Do you want to pay for yearly fees to keep your certification as a teacher active if you never want to teach in Canada?

If all you ever want to do is teach in Korea, I'd suggest you come back for a full year MA TESOL...that will get you far more in the ESL world in Korea.

[jajdude]

^
It was pretty easy to get into the B.Ed program in Newfoundland back in 1991. Maybe it has changed? Nearly all the courses were useless. The practicum was for one semester and not too bad though I didn't do well. For some reason I think there should be more actual teaching (practice) for a person who wants to be a teacher, than sitting in classes about John Dewey or whoever that you can read if you like. Some of the profs were cool though, and others not, just spewing a bunch of junk and being self-important.

[cruisemonkey]

[DC in Suwon]

Based on contract offers I received, a degree in education doesn't seem to make much of a difference (maybe a 100k increase in pay). I am certified to teach in the state of Florida, which gave me the 100k pay increase. Recruiters have told me that schools would prefer a TEFL cert/license over a B.A. Ed.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Kimchieluver]

[Privateer]

For a country that goes on about 'qualified' or 'unqualified' teachers, it sure doesn't give a damn about the only relevant qualifications out there for this job, TEFL certificates, and a lot of them still haven't heard of the most prestigious one, the CELTA, let alone the DELTA.

[teachergirltoo]