Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

I have been told by several teachers in Canada that the system is very systematized vis-a-vis your undergraduate marks.

According to most teachers I talked to, Canadian teacher's colleges - but Ontario's in particular - are very concerned about your undergraduate transcripts. Even if university was 10-15 years ago, according to every teacher I talked to, mature students don't get much advantage. It is still based on marks - no matter how old.

Several former ESL teachers who I have met and who had low undergraduate marks, decided to get certified in Canada. Each of them first took a year to 2 years doing correspondence undergraduate classes to upgrade their average first.

Their point was that while there are out-of-country ways to get certified in canadian provinces with low marks (Australia, New York state schools, etc...) they all felt that their low undergraduate marks would still haunt them once they had to apply for an actual job.

So that is my question. To a man, they all said that when you apply for a job at an actual school board in Ontario (or Canada in general), the school boards really only care about in-Canada experience. They aren't much impressed by out-of-Canada jobs. And the kicker: each teacher said that when they applied for a Canadian job, the school boards always put A LOT of weight on their undergraduate transcripts. Even when those marks were 10-15 years old.

This is why all the mature ESL teachers that I talked to who had low undergraduate marks, and went to get certified in Canada, took a couple of years to upgrade their marks. Does this jibe with what some of you know?

Also, the payscales in Canada often reward you for #of years of university education. Usually it is based on 4 vs. 6 years. Now, I always assumed this meant Bachelors vs. Masters. But if you get 2 Bachelors degrees and put in 6 years that way, does that still bump you to the 6 years of university education pay schedule.