According to the people in charge at Teacher Ready:

... it takes the FLDOE takes 60 days to post your official test scores and to update your Statement of Eligibility. So, if you took your last test on the day you turn in your last assignment, I still couldn’t request your certificate for about 60 days.

I'll be getting certified to teach K-6. I'm considering taking another test and getting certified in secondary social studies. I'm pretty sure I could pass it easily because it was my major in college, but I don't know if it would be worth it. I think it's unlikely that any school would hire me to teach S.S. if my only experience is in elementary.

Yes, I started the program in February. I'm about halfway through the course right now.

I can't really say how many hours a week I'm doing for the field experience because I'm basically just doing my job plus a little extra work by writing reflections about it. Sometimes there will be something extra to do, like I might have to interview another teacher. Occasionally there may be separate assignments for people already in the classroom. In my opinion it seems a lot more convenient if you're already teaching.

I didn't ask my school beforehand. But why wouldn't they accommodate you? It looks better for them if they have certified teachers on staff. I applied this winter and when I told the school what I was doing they were very supportive. It doesn't interfere with my job at all, if anything it's making me perform better at my job because now I'm getting instruction on how to be an effective teacher.

For me this seemed a good way to get certified because I was already teaching and I didn't want to have to go back home and do unpaid student teaching. The program coordinators are very helpful, if you have specific concerns they might be able to answer your questions better than I can.

You can definitely use an international school for your practicum- at least that's what they've been telling me! There are a couple of people in my cohort that are teaching in Egypt right now. When you're accepted to the program, the program coordinators contact the school and locate a "mentor teacher" to work with you.

You can either work as a teacher while you're doing the program or volunteer at a school, but you have to be in a classroom environment throughout the program. The way it works is you complete "field assignments" including interviews, observations, and teaching lessons. If you're already in a classroom, this is much easier. For instance, one assignment was to plan and teach a lesson with learning activities that were tied to learning targets. Since I'm already teaching, this was no problem. I just applied what I learned over the past few weeks to my lesson planning and wrote a reflection on it.

Some of the field experiences can be tricky if you're not in a U.S. school, but they work with you. Another field assignment was to sit in at a school board meeting, which I couldn't do. So I contacted the professor and she sent me some websites for various school districts that post videos of their past meetings.

Also, it's not bad working at a 3rd tier school in my opinion :) I only assume my school is such because we do have a lot of non-certified teachers, but the foreigner teachers are treated very well. I've asked some of the certified teachers here why they don't go somewhere else and they say that it's actually preferable here because we have a lighter workload.

And just to reiterate, I'm only partway through the program. I have no idea whether the fact that I've completed an online program with student teaching abroad will help or hurt me when applying for jobs in the future, so use your own judgement when deciding what's best for you.

Wow this thread has grown! It looks like you have things figured out for yourself.

I was hired at my school as an elementary teacher and didn't start the Teacher Ready program until February. So I'm doing my student teaching in my own classroom and having a certified teacher that I work with act as my supervisor. I'm curious why you don't do the same? There are a lot of third tier schools that hire non-certified teachers (the only places I've been able to work with up until now). My school even has IB and AP at the high school level, but usually they only let teachers who have been here for at least a year teach that. If you already have a job at a school you'll be able to make a decent salary at least.

Search international schools (insert country) on wikipedia, sometimes there is a big list. Here in China there are some magazines aimed at expats with lots of ads for foreigner-friendly schools. I'm sure Korea has the same, so try to find the website version. Expat forums are also a good source.

Don't worry too much about the workload. The course is not that demanding, I can usually get most of my assignments for the week finished in an afternoon over the weekend. I haven't started studying for the tests yet, but then I don't have to relearn a whole subject :)

Hi Calipro,

I'm about halfway through the teacher ready program and I'll be taking the tests when I go home this summer. You do not have to go to Florida to take them, they are offered in several states. I'll be taking mine in Cincinnati.

I looked into alternative certification quite a bit before I started this program and I decided it was best for me for the same reasons you said. It's cheap, completely online, and if you're already in the classroom (which you will be) you can do your student teaching in your own classroom and not have to take a semester off.

The program takes nine months, I started in February and like I said I'm almost half finished. It was actually the shortest program I found, I've never heard of becoming certified over the summer, unless you have other coursework already completed. Psyguy was right, by the end you've completed half of the coursework for a masters, and they'll transfer that credit towards a MED if you want to continue (I'm still on the fence about that).

I did look into Texas a while back, but that didn't work for me because you have to do your student teaching within the state. Here's the website if you want to look into it anyways: http://www.online-distance-learning-education.com/

Also, it seems like a lot of teachers are always reminding us that certification isn't enough, you need two years certified experience to be competitive. I'm planning on staying at my current school for at least another year, and we have a lot of new graduates with Ed degrees working here getting that experience. Maybe you'll decide to stay at your school and get some more experience after getting certified rather than rushing off to a job fair where you might not be the best candidate.

You might be able to get certified in both middle school math and elementary education by taking two subject tests. If you look on the facebook page for Teacher Ready, a few people have gotten certified in two areas. I think there's someone on this forum that is part of the faculty for teacher ready, maybe that person would know?

Good luck with whatever you decide! It's a long process, I don't know if this will help me find a better job in the long run, but I'll let you know in a year or two when I've got my certification and ready to move on to a new school. Let me know if you have any questions about the program and I'll try to help :)

Can anyone recommend a social studies textbook specifically geared towards primary students (grade 3 specifically) at an international school? My school is asking for suggestions to change the curriculum (meaning change our books) for next year.

We've used two books this year. First semester was an American 3rd grade textbook. Most of my students are from other countries and have spent minimal time in the States, so it was quite difficult for them to grasp some of the cultural elements that the book just assumes an American student would know (like little league teams and state fairs). And it didn't seem very relevant to their lives. Now we're using a book called "Passport to World Communities." It covers 6 countries in depth, looking at their geography, history, government and economy. It's a little more relevant, but really difficult. Some of the students are ESL and they can barely understand the book. Plus, they have no real foundation before beginning this book. Most don't know what a continent is or the names of the oceans. They have no idea what "economy" is, but they're required to memorize the imports and exports of Zambia listed in the book!

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hmm. I went to college in Southern Ohio and I can remember at least 3 occasions when the university sent out mass emails to students to warn us about flashers. My mother works at a university in Northeast Ohio and she's also been warned of reported flashing. So I guess the rest of the world knows when to keep their clothes on- apart from Egypt and suburban Ohio!

I never understood why people gave you so much grief on these forums PsyGuy. But I've got to say, I'm a tad offended by your attitude. I thought international teachers were typically more culturally sensitive. Maybe I have my own bias because Cairo was my first international job. I understand it's not an easy place to live (I had a few days where I didn't want to leave my apartment), but how can you be so judgmental of a culture that you really didn't even give a chance?

And while you may never be penalized for running out on your contract, who do you think took up the slack when you left? We had a few inexperienced teachers who couldn't hack it at my school, and I can tell you that the rest of us did not appreciate the extra work that was piled on us while the school rushed to find replacements.

I think you're missing out on the best part of international teaching. For me, living in Cairo expanded my horizons and made me reevaluate my own worldview. It's made me more patient and more empathetic toward other people.

I'm happy that you ended up in Western Europe. It seems that's where you belong.

As a girl who spent two years in Cairo (I left in June) I can say that harassment was a part of every day life for me and most of my friends, foreign and Egyptian. I would NOT judge the whole country based on this select group of people. It was an amazing cultural experience, but it did require me to step out of my comfort zone and learn to stand up for myself. I would certainly never describe the whole country as a "horrible place."

Just curious, how did employers react to that blip on your resume when they saw you ran out on a school before the semester was finished?

Cairo's not expensive at all. Alcohol can be a little pricey, but it only seems that way because everything else is so cheap. If you go out most clubs have a cover charge. A metro ticket is only 1 pound. Taxis are super cheap too. Food is only expensive if you buy imported stuff like peanut butter or cereal, but there are local alternatives.

Definitely join the Ace Club where Hash harriers meet. Great place to meet people, fun atmosphere. If you end up in Heliopolis (another nice area) join the British Club. Sign up for the Cairo Scholars listserv through the University of Texas. It's a really great resource for expats.

Try to learn some Arabic. Private tutors are really cheap, but I'd start out with classes. Learning to read isn't hard at all. You can learn the whole alphabet in about 4 weeks and it really impresses people. Most signs are in English, but it's always appreciated when you try to speak the language.

And if someone won't have anything to do with you because you're a teacher, you'll probably want to stay away from them anyway :)

My current school had me do the same thing and I was also a little put off at first. It wasn't a big deal though. They emailed me some scanned pages from a book and I emailed them back a lesson plan. Then after our interview I walked them through how I would give the lesson.

Might be an Asian thing. My school is in China.

Hello. I was wondering if anyone here has done GMU's fast train program to get certified. Is it generally a respected program and worth the time/money?

I'm interested in getting certified in elementary education. I've taught English as a subject teacher in Egypt for two years and I'm now teaching 3rd grade in China (English, science, social studies). By the end of this year I'll have saved just enough money to complete fast train. Will the extra money I could make as a certified teacher be worth it?

I've been considering doing this for a couple of years now so any advice from real teachers would help a lot. Thanks.