Much demand for Social Studies teachers?
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BobStrauss
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 11:16 am
Much demand for Social Studies teachers?
I've got a BA in Pol Sci, an MA in Int'l Studies, and I am now thinking seriously about getting an MA of Secondary Ed (w/state certification) in Social Studies. Along with several years of regional experience teaching ESL in Asia, would those qualifications allow me to compete for positions at top schools in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand? I'd love to be able to compete for jobs at ISKL, ISB, and SAS, but I've heard that landing work as a Social Studies teacher isn't easy. :(
Re: Much demand for Social Studies teachers?
In IB schools at least, you would be able to teach Humanities. ESL experience, and especially certification in it, would be a plus. As I mentioned in a previous reply to you, you probably won't be able to compete against experienced, certified candidates at the most sought after schools for some years.
Bob, I read your other thread and I thought I would chime in:
I taught ESL for about 10 years before going and getting an education degree and certification. I can teach social studies and English. I personally think that I am better at teaching social studies, however, the job market for that is VERY competitive. Be prepared to start off not at a top school like you mention, but a smaller school getting experience. I couldn't score a job teaching social studies after I got my certification because I had zero experience. I did have experience teaching English when I was doing ESL, and was easily able to get a job teaching English.
I would also say that you should sort of decide what you want to teach before going into your first appointment: middle school social studies, or high school and specialize specifically aiming at APs.
There is nothing wrong with working at a smaller, less 'elite' school for a while. I initially only planned to do it for a year, but my school is awesome, and I get to teach things bigger schools would probably never have allowed. (Combination of English and social studies in my 2nd contract)
Good luck.
I taught ESL for about 10 years before going and getting an education degree and certification. I can teach social studies and English. I personally think that I am better at teaching social studies, however, the job market for that is VERY competitive. Be prepared to start off not at a top school like you mention, but a smaller school getting experience. I couldn't score a job teaching social studies after I got my certification because I had zero experience. I did have experience teaching English when I was doing ESL, and was easily able to get a job teaching English.
I would also say that you should sort of decide what you want to teach before going into your first appointment: middle school social studies, or high school and specialize specifically aiming at APs.
There is nothing wrong with working at a smaller, less 'elite' school for a while. I initially only planned to do it for a year, but my school is awesome, and I get to teach things bigger schools would probably never have allowed. (Combination of English and social studies in my 2nd contract)
Good luck.
As of today, TIE has 24 social studies openings listed. 11 if these are in Asia and the others in africa, south america and the middle east. There will be quite a lot opening up in the next few weeks as the signing deadlines for the schools gets near. I agree with another poster however that jobs in the elite schools are hard to come by and are usually filled by teachers with a lot more experience than you indicate you have. The ESL experience may not carry much weight with the bigger schools either.