I’m going to be graduating later this year with a BGS. I had previously planned on going into ESL teaching, and since the main entrance requirement to that field seems to be any accredited degree, I chose BGS since it gave me more leeway in taking the courses I wanted. After learning more about the job prospects of ESL teachers, I’ve decided I would like to become a licensed teacher and eventually teach at an IS. I’m not particularly close to getting B Ed or any other degree, and I would prefer to just finish the BGS and find another way to get certified (and possibly an MA down the road).
Based on reading these forums, it seems like Teach Now and Teacher Ready are the two main alternate certification routes. My tentative plan is to teach ESL somewhere in South America while completing one of the aforementioned programs. I’m trying to steer away from ESL, but I’m graduating in July, and well, I have to do something. If there are other cert options I should consider please let me know – I’m a resident of North Dakota if it matters, but have no problem going to any other state to get certified. After getting certified I would look for an IT position.
My two main concerns are 1) whether the ESL schools I would be starting out at would qualify for the classroom observation portion of the certifications, and 2) if starting at an ESL school would actually be detrimental and get me labeled as a “tourist teacher” (though I’m not exactly sure what other choice I have).
I’ve also been thinking about what subject to teach…Taken off of Teach Now’s list of subjects, here’s a list of the ones I believe I would have the interest/competence to teach (with more or less review for some of them):
-Middle School English
-Middle School Mathematics
-Mathematics*
-English
-ESL
-Special Ed.
-Health and Phy. Ed.
-Home Economics
-Social Studies
-Performing Arts (Violin specifically)
-Geography (?) – it wasn’t listed on their site but I’ve seen it listed elsewhere as an option
*I’m not sure exactly what’s required at the high end of the grade 12 maths to teach at the better schools. I took two semesters of Calc in college and got As in both of them, but they took a lot of work (well Calc II anyway), and I don’t think I’m especially good at math. It is an interesting topic to me, though.
I would be pretty happy teaching any of the above areas, so from that list it sort of comes down to what subject would give me the best job prospects. Any suggestions appreciated here as well.
Last few things that may or may not be relevant:
-I listed S. America (probably Argentina) as my initial destination because I am good friends with a few teachers there (not at ISs though), and I imagine they could help with getting my first job there. I also spent a semester abroad there and I’m proficient in Spanish.
-I have a strong preference for Latin America (doesn’t have to be Argentina, it just seems like the most obvious choice). That said, I’m ultimately open to a lot of locations in the near-term – there’s really just a handful of ME and African countries I want to avoid if possible. But there would need to be a pretty clear advantage in terms of either compensation or future career trajectory for me to go somewhere outside of Latin America.
-I invite everyone to take a wrecking ball to my current plans and assumptions; the only part I’m probably unwilling to compromise on is the degree (as in, I’ll finish my BGS and get alt. certification instead of changing my current major to a B. Ed or something).
-I’m leaning towards going down the admin route, eventually. I assume that primarily means getting the requisite Masters at some point, but if anything I do now will somehow impact future options in that regard, I’d certainly be interested in hearing about it. It’s far from being a set-in-stone plan though, just something in the back of my mind.
I’m sure I’m forgetting lots of questions, but that’s all for now!
Help me optimize my IT path
Response
This is a lot, first to begin with I will cover the general forum consensus regarding this topic, in which the major contributors have a general consensus that it is highly advisable to obtain 2 years of domestic post certification experience before attempting entry into IE. This doctrine is not advanced lightly, its 'THE' VERY HIGHLY recommended pathway for maximizing success in IE as an IT.
It depends how you define "main entry" requirement. In most regions a undergraduate degree is a requirement in such occupations for obtaining a working visa/permit. However, a TESOL certificate is becoming more prevalent as a working requirement to secure even ordinary TESOL positions. At the bottom of such credentials you find <100 hour online/internet programs that are worth little more than the paper they are printed on. The gold standard in Independent certificates is a Cambridge/Trinity certificate. Professional Educator credentials from regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions offer censure or endorsement in ESOL. These credentials are far more marketable though they are not superior (they focus on different types of EL acquisition, and are directed at different audiences/purposes). An advance degree in TESOL is typically required a tertiary/Uni appointment.
The job prospects for ESOL instructors is far far greater than that in IE. Our appointment cycle is on an annual basis, whereas the recruiting cycle in ESOL is monthly. There are far, far more ESs and vacancies in EL than there are in IE.
There are two 3 general types of Professional Educator credentialing programs.
1) Traditional: These are university sponsored programs that involve a sequence of academic courses that prepare you for a prescribed field experience (student teaching, etc). The strength of these programs is their universal acceptability (many jurisdictions will grant equivalency in licensure) and the predisposition by recruiters and leadership that traditional preparation provides both depth and breath in SKAs for a trained teacher. The weakness are the amount of time (12-24 months) and financial resources (whatever the cost of tuition is), as well as the potential of being "unsuccessful".
2) Alternative Certification Programs (ACP): These programs are typically provided by third . external organizations that are not academic institutions. Instruction is generally provided either F2F in a seminar format or as online instruction. You dont complete courses and earn grades and credit, you show up, complete the modules and then transition to your field experience which can be as short as student teaching or as long as an internship (1 year). The strengths of these programs is their lower cost (about $5K), speed (from 4 months to a year, typical length is 9 months) and their success rate (its very difficult to "fail' as longa s you dont give up. Non-completers are those who generally give up, cant pass the exam cant obtain a field work placement, or are barred from the education profession entirely). The weaknesses include inadequate preparation/quality and a recruiter can easily tell you have no academic background in education.
3) Hybrid or "Post-Bachlors" programs: These are essentially ACP programs offered by traditional Uni academic departments. You complete an accelerated program of academics and then complete a field experience. These programs are typically 9-12 months, have the benefit of academic preparation, but at the cost of traditional programs.
The critical comparison of various EPP/ITT programs for ITs comes down to field experience requirements:
1) Teach Now.... If you have an appointment at an accredited IS currently and/or have ready access to a classroom. The field experience requirement is 3 months/12 weeks.
2) Teach Now.... If you do not have a current IS appointment but can secure a cooperating IS to allow you observation with a current IT and allow you to teach for 5 days. This is a a much easier sell to an ISs leadership as opposed to asking a fee generating IS to give you a classroom for 3 months.
3) A PGCEi.... If you cant get into a classroom at all, a PGCEi is a UK academic qualification, and while it does not provide QTS at lower tier ISs it is not a n issue, and you can use it to apply for a standard license in various jurisdictions in the States and then apply for QTS. Since this is a purely academic qualification there is no field experience requirement.
4) Completing the "Texas Teachers" ACP program.... If time is an absolute priority. This program can have you certified in 3-4 months. However you must relocate to Texas for about 3 months during the academic year.
5) An IB Teaching an Learning Certification (w/ state certification).... If you need want a graduate degree, and have lots of time and coin. This is a traditional program at the graduate level and is fairly expensive requiring either foreign university tuition, or private university tuition, however while no amount of training equals any amount of experience this is the most likely pathway that will give you experience in an IB DS that combined with one of the higest levels of training can signifigantly increase your marketability, this is in addition to the Masters degree, which can then be used to obtain an administrator credential. If this is really a priority for you FairView IS in Malaysia has a work/study program that allows you to obtain the IB T&L certificate and a Masters degree while working for them, the working conditions are very similar to that of a University students on campus employment.
6) A Ph.D/Doctorate.... If you can gain admission to a research Ph.D program because you have a dissertation proposal ready to go. These take about three years of intense full time academics to complete. A number of states will grant you professional educator certification in your doctoral degree field without further preparation.
7) The Peace Corp.... If you want to make the world a better place and want to teach overseas, but dont know for how long. Upon completion of an education related assignment California will issue you a 5 year preliminary credential. This credential has some esoteric requirements however that make transition to a CLEAR (professional) credential difficult.
8) Connecticut Certification.... If you can teach at an accredited DS/IS for two years. Connecticut will waive the preparation requirements and issue you an initial certification valid for 3 years and renewable 5 times for a total of 18 years. You will very likely however never be able to transition this certificate to the provisional or professional level.
9) A PGCE.... If you are a maths or science candidate your transcript may have enough hours to gain admission to a PGCE program. The UK is really hurting for maths/science DTs at many of the disadvantaged DSs and you can qualify for a bursery that would pay your universyt fees and provide for basic living expenses while you complete the one year academic program. Unlike a PGCE1 the PGCE does include QTS status (thoush at the NQT level).
10) A B.Ed or similar degree.... If your BGS degree had sufficient coursework to qualify you in a region/ jurisdiction in which the degree ''is'' the functioning teaching credential. In a portion of the third tier a number of ISs will hire you on the basis of a degree alone. There are leadership members who have no formal professional leadership qualification, their credential is an M.Ed in Ed.Ld.
11) A Masters.... If you cant wait to get into a position as counselor, librarian, technology coordinator/director, leadership.
An ES is not suitable for your field experience for either Teach Now or Teach Ready, the IS must be accredited (an inspected BS or IB Authorized IS would be sufficient).
What do you consider detrimental? Being an ET pays the bills, has low performance expectations and has abundant opportunities. In IE however TESOL is generally treated like poison. It doesnt count, and anything with even a taint of TESOL is dismissed. The exception is of course instruction provided at recognized ISs with a professional credential for K-12 instructional services.
You would not be a tourist teacher. A tourist IT is a DT that pursues IE for the primary sole purposes of traveling, cultural experience and enrichment for a temporary/limited period of time. Essentially they want an IS to fund their travels. These are the ITs that phone in their lessons, do the minimum and are out the door as soon as the day is over, because their goal is to experience overseas living and travel not the profession of education. Such ITs are more difficult to manage as opposed to career path ITs, since many of them have other professions or positions to return to, and the reference isnt important to them. Recruiters avoid tourist ITs.
In regard to the subjects you listed:
1) Only at very large ISs, which are typically elite tier ISs are large chain ISs could you really be marketable with only a lower secondary/middle school certification. The expectation at the majority of small/medium sized ISs is that an IT needs to be qualified and capable of teaching all secondary or all school courses in their certification area.
2) Secondary Maths ability levels vary across region and IS. At school leaving level in western curriculum ISs this mostly comes down to calculus. You will also be expected to have mastery in Algebra and competence in statistics, geometry, and trigonometry.
Being interested in Maths isnt really important what matters is being good at TEACHING maths a lot of very bright mathematicians are horrible ITs/DTs, because they can not transfer knowledge.
3) Literature and Social studies are highly saturated fields. You however may have a niche in TOK based on your BGS degree. getting into TOK however would be the primary issue (TOK is Theory of Knowledge, an IB hybrid of philosophy and epistemology. It is usually combined with other roles such as CAS and Essay coordinator, which could be bridging appointments to leadership roles.
4) Culinary Arts is uncommon outside of a few ISs. It would be very difficult gaining experience or a field placement in this subject field.
5) Many ITs feel that PHE (Physical and Health Education) is easy, and part of that is the routine use of coaches to run PHE programs in third tier ISs. Unless you have a lot of successful coaching experience in football (soccer) etc, your not going to find a lot of marketability.
6) A music IT generally needs to be able to do everything from K-12 (including producing recitals), you can not make a career on teaching the violin as an IT. While there is a degree of specialization between choral and instrumental, at the majority of ISs you need to be able to teach a range of grade and age level appropriate instruments as well as vocal. This means in addition to the aforementioned annual recital you need to be able to teach musical theory with bells at lower primary, recorders at upper primary and piano at secondary with at least an emphasis in either strings or wind instruments. Piano is very important for a music IT at a small IS as you will be expected to assist musically with the drama/theater departments productions.
7) Geography is typically included as part of a states social studies certification. Some states specifically offer Geography, and its more common in the British NC.
8) Special Education (SPED/SEN/LS/LD) is a niche field. Its not common in lower tier 3rd tier IS, making it more difficult to find a field placement, but you may find an IS with no LD/LS department that will take a free IT, since scheduling would be easier. LD/LS is generally found in upper tier ISs and this can be a short cut to move up a tier. Another major forum contributor will be by shortly to address this subject area in more detail.
9) ESOL would go well with LS/LD especially in cross curriculum ISs that half PTE vacancies for both. However understand that the demand for ESOL ITs is far more prevalent in lower tier ISs that contain substantially more local students.
I dont have a very strong understanding on what your academic preparation is but in order:
1) Maths: You got As in Calculus, thats something you can point to to demonstrate mastery and Maths is a high needs area.
2) ESOL and LS/LD: Both fields rely more on meds/peds than on strict academic content and as a generalist you likely know a little bit of many areas that would quickly find you over your head in a dedicated academic class, but would allow you to work with various ITs across the curriculum to address individual student needs without having to resort to nodding your head to quickly.
3) Primary (Elementary): Not on your list and while the field is saturated is has the widest dispersion of vacancies and the greatest number. It is also a "generalist" field where you would find yourself teaching a little bit of everything (though the focus is on reading development, language arts).
4) TOK: If you went the dedicated cult of IB route, once you have experience in TOK, while its not a common vacancy it has a low number of applicants.
5) Librarian: Again not on your list but the generalist nature of your academic background is very closely aligned with the tasking of a librarian where your general knowledge background would be an advantage. Especially if you start a Masters program soon. This is one of the few areas of IE where a professional credential is less a requirement, a Masters in Library Science is either the defacto requirement for a professional certification or absent a certification is not a disqualifying factor.
How relevant are friends? Soem ITs follow a girl/biy around the globe, a preference for a location where you ahve resources and contacts is an advantage early in your relocation, but very quickly you meet new people, new friends and figure things out, or you dont and then you pull a runner.
You are unlikely to find sufficiently motivating compensation packages anywhere for an intern class IT. Which is another option. An Intern class IT is a fully certified IT who lacks the two years post certification experience. The SA BOS fair is the intern fair. This can be a way 'in' to some higher tier ISs. The trade off is that you usually dont get a full OSH package (typically full salary at STEP, not no OSH benefits such as relocation, etc.) The second main issue is that of the minority of ISS that have a true intern program , its typically only one vacancy school wide. Some bottom tier ISs will advertise for intern vacancies that are essentially nothing more than low salary appointments with a LH package (IE.. cheap labor).
How important is admin to you? While a number of admin (the majority) have a MAsters and a professional leadership credential their are many lower tier ISs where the HOS and senior leadership have only an undergrad degree and no professional leadership credential. They have just stayed at the IS long enough that ownership likes them and is comfortable with them that when their is a vacancy they ask you to take the position.
The other pathway is that if leadership is where you want to be you will likely find it sooner, faster and with less coin involved in EE (ESOL). Go to CSA work for an ES and in a a couple years center manager or DOS is very reasonable.
The factor that will have the most impact over the short and long term is who you marry and not having kids. A teaching spouse or better a spouse in administration is going to pull you into IE like a spring stretched to its limit and released.
It depends how you define "main entry" requirement. In most regions a undergraduate degree is a requirement in such occupations for obtaining a working visa/permit. However, a TESOL certificate is becoming more prevalent as a working requirement to secure even ordinary TESOL positions. At the bottom of such credentials you find <100 hour online/internet programs that are worth little more than the paper they are printed on. The gold standard in Independent certificates is a Cambridge/Trinity certificate. Professional Educator credentials from regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions offer censure or endorsement in ESOL. These credentials are far more marketable though they are not superior (they focus on different types of EL acquisition, and are directed at different audiences/purposes). An advance degree in TESOL is typically required a tertiary/Uni appointment.
The job prospects for ESOL instructors is far far greater than that in IE. Our appointment cycle is on an annual basis, whereas the recruiting cycle in ESOL is monthly. There are far, far more ESs and vacancies in EL than there are in IE.
There are two 3 general types of Professional Educator credentialing programs.
1) Traditional: These are university sponsored programs that involve a sequence of academic courses that prepare you for a prescribed field experience (student teaching, etc). The strength of these programs is their universal acceptability (many jurisdictions will grant equivalency in licensure) and the predisposition by recruiters and leadership that traditional preparation provides both depth and breath in SKAs for a trained teacher. The weakness are the amount of time (12-24 months) and financial resources (whatever the cost of tuition is), as well as the potential of being "unsuccessful".
2) Alternative Certification Programs (ACP): These programs are typically provided by third . external organizations that are not academic institutions. Instruction is generally provided either F2F in a seminar format or as online instruction. You dont complete courses and earn grades and credit, you show up, complete the modules and then transition to your field experience which can be as short as student teaching or as long as an internship (1 year). The strengths of these programs is their lower cost (about $5K), speed (from 4 months to a year, typical length is 9 months) and their success rate (its very difficult to "fail' as longa s you dont give up. Non-completers are those who generally give up, cant pass the exam cant obtain a field work placement, or are barred from the education profession entirely). The weaknesses include inadequate preparation/quality and a recruiter can easily tell you have no academic background in education.
3) Hybrid or "Post-Bachlors" programs: These are essentially ACP programs offered by traditional Uni academic departments. You complete an accelerated program of academics and then complete a field experience. These programs are typically 9-12 months, have the benefit of academic preparation, but at the cost of traditional programs.
The critical comparison of various EPP/ITT programs for ITs comes down to field experience requirements:
1) Teach Now.... If you have an appointment at an accredited IS currently and/or have ready access to a classroom. The field experience requirement is 3 months/12 weeks.
2) Teach Now.... If you do not have a current IS appointment but can secure a cooperating IS to allow you observation with a current IT and allow you to teach for 5 days. This is a a much easier sell to an ISs leadership as opposed to asking a fee generating IS to give you a classroom for 3 months.
3) A PGCEi.... If you cant get into a classroom at all, a PGCEi is a UK academic qualification, and while it does not provide QTS at lower tier ISs it is not a n issue, and you can use it to apply for a standard license in various jurisdictions in the States and then apply for QTS. Since this is a purely academic qualification there is no field experience requirement.
4) Completing the "Texas Teachers" ACP program.... If time is an absolute priority. This program can have you certified in 3-4 months. However you must relocate to Texas for about 3 months during the academic year.
5) An IB Teaching an Learning Certification (w/ state certification).... If you need want a graduate degree, and have lots of time and coin. This is a traditional program at the graduate level and is fairly expensive requiring either foreign university tuition, or private university tuition, however while no amount of training equals any amount of experience this is the most likely pathway that will give you experience in an IB DS that combined with one of the higest levels of training can signifigantly increase your marketability, this is in addition to the Masters degree, which can then be used to obtain an administrator credential. If this is really a priority for you FairView IS in Malaysia has a work/study program that allows you to obtain the IB T&L certificate and a Masters degree while working for them, the working conditions are very similar to that of a University students on campus employment.
6) A Ph.D/Doctorate.... If you can gain admission to a research Ph.D program because you have a dissertation proposal ready to go. These take about three years of intense full time academics to complete. A number of states will grant you professional educator certification in your doctoral degree field without further preparation.
7) The Peace Corp.... If you want to make the world a better place and want to teach overseas, but dont know for how long. Upon completion of an education related assignment California will issue you a 5 year preliminary credential. This credential has some esoteric requirements however that make transition to a CLEAR (professional) credential difficult.
8) Connecticut Certification.... If you can teach at an accredited DS/IS for two years. Connecticut will waive the preparation requirements and issue you an initial certification valid for 3 years and renewable 5 times for a total of 18 years. You will very likely however never be able to transition this certificate to the provisional or professional level.
9) A PGCE.... If you are a maths or science candidate your transcript may have enough hours to gain admission to a PGCE program. The UK is really hurting for maths/science DTs at many of the disadvantaged DSs and you can qualify for a bursery that would pay your universyt fees and provide for basic living expenses while you complete the one year academic program. Unlike a PGCE1 the PGCE does include QTS status (thoush at the NQT level).
10) A B.Ed or similar degree.... If your BGS degree had sufficient coursework to qualify you in a region/ jurisdiction in which the degree ''is'' the functioning teaching credential. In a portion of the third tier a number of ISs will hire you on the basis of a degree alone. There are leadership members who have no formal professional leadership qualification, their credential is an M.Ed in Ed.Ld.
11) A Masters.... If you cant wait to get into a position as counselor, librarian, technology coordinator/director, leadership.
An ES is not suitable for your field experience for either Teach Now or Teach Ready, the IS must be accredited (an inspected BS or IB Authorized IS would be sufficient).
What do you consider detrimental? Being an ET pays the bills, has low performance expectations and has abundant opportunities. In IE however TESOL is generally treated like poison. It doesnt count, and anything with even a taint of TESOL is dismissed. The exception is of course instruction provided at recognized ISs with a professional credential for K-12 instructional services.
You would not be a tourist teacher. A tourist IT is a DT that pursues IE for the primary sole purposes of traveling, cultural experience and enrichment for a temporary/limited period of time. Essentially they want an IS to fund their travels. These are the ITs that phone in their lessons, do the minimum and are out the door as soon as the day is over, because their goal is to experience overseas living and travel not the profession of education. Such ITs are more difficult to manage as opposed to career path ITs, since many of them have other professions or positions to return to, and the reference isnt important to them. Recruiters avoid tourist ITs.
In regard to the subjects you listed:
1) Only at very large ISs, which are typically elite tier ISs are large chain ISs could you really be marketable with only a lower secondary/middle school certification. The expectation at the majority of small/medium sized ISs is that an IT needs to be qualified and capable of teaching all secondary or all school courses in their certification area.
2) Secondary Maths ability levels vary across region and IS. At school leaving level in western curriculum ISs this mostly comes down to calculus. You will also be expected to have mastery in Algebra and competence in statistics, geometry, and trigonometry.
Being interested in Maths isnt really important what matters is being good at TEACHING maths a lot of very bright mathematicians are horrible ITs/DTs, because they can not transfer knowledge.
3) Literature and Social studies are highly saturated fields. You however may have a niche in TOK based on your BGS degree. getting into TOK however would be the primary issue (TOK is Theory of Knowledge, an IB hybrid of philosophy and epistemology. It is usually combined with other roles such as CAS and Essay coordinator, which could be bridging appointments to leadership roles.
4) Culinary Arts is uncommon outside of a few ISs. It would be very difficult gaining experience or a field placement in this subject field.
5) Many ITs feel that PHE (Physical and Health Education) is easy, and part of that is the routine use of coaches to run PHE programs in third tier ISs. Unless you have a lot of successful coaching experience in football (soccer) etc, your not going to find a lot of marketability.
6) A music IT generally needs to be able to do everything from K-12 (including producing recitals), you can not make a career on teaching the violin as an IT. While there is a degree of specialization between choral and instrumental, at the majority of ISs you need to be able to teach a range of grade and age level appropriate instruments as well as vocal. This means in addition to the aforementioned annual recital you need to be able to teach musical theory with bells at lower primary, recorders at upper primary and piano at secondary with at least an emphasis in either strings or wind instruments. Piano is very important for a music IT at a small IS as you will be expected to assist musically with the drama/theater departments productions.
7) Geography is typically included as part of a states social studies certification. Some states specifically offer Geography, and its more common in the British NC.
8) Special Education (SPED/SEN/LS/LD) is a niche field. Its not common in lower tier 3rd tier IS, making it more difficult to find a field placement, but you may find an IS with no LD/LS department that will take a free IT, since scheduling would be easier. LD/LS is generally found in upper tier ISs and this can be a short cut to move up a tier. Another major forum contributor will be by shortly to address this subject area in more detail.
9) ESOL would go well with LS/LD especially in cross curriculum ISs that half PTE vacancies for both. However understand that the demand for ESOL ITs is far more prevalent in lower tier ISs that contain substantially more local students.
I dont have a very strong understanding on what your academic preparation is but in order:
1) Maths: You got As in Calculus, thats something you can point to to demonstrate mastery and Maths is a high needs area.
2) ESOL and LS/LD: Both fields rely more on meds/peds than on strict academic content and as a generalist you likely know a little bit of many areas that would quickly find you over your head in a dedicated academic class, but would allow you to work with various ITs across the curriculum to address individual student needs without having to resort to nodding your head to quickly.
3) Primary (Elementary): Not on your list and while the field is saturated is has the widest dispersion of vacancies and the greatest number. It is also a "generalist" field where you would find yourself teaching a little bit of everything (though the focus is on reading development, language arts).
4) TOK: If you went the dedicated cult of IB route, once you have experience in TOK, while its not a common vacancy it has a low number of applicants.
5) Librarian: Again not on your list but the generalist nature of your academic background is very closely aligned with the tasking of a librarian where your general knowledge background would be an advantage. Especially if you start a Masters program soon. This is one of the few areas of IE where a professional credential is less a requirement, a Masters in Library Science is either the defacto requirement for a professional certification or absent a certification is not a disqualifying factor.
How relevant are friends? Soem ITs follow a girl/biy around the globe, a preference for a location where you ahve resources and contacts is an advantage early in your relocation, but very quickly you meet new people, new friends and figure things out, or you dont and then you pull a runner.
You are unlikely to find sufficiently motivating compensation packages anywhere for an intern class IT. Which is another option. An Intern class IT is a fully certified IT who lacks the two years post certification experience. The SA BOS fair is the intern fair. This can be a way 'in' to some higher tier ISs. The trade off is that you usually dont get a full OSH package (typically full salary at STEP, not no OSH benefits such as relocation, etc.) The second main issue is that of the minority of ISS that have a true intern program , its typically only one vacancy school wide. Some bottom tier ISs will advertise for intern vacancies that are essentially nothing more than low salary appointments with a LH package (IE.. cheap labor).
How important is admin to you? While a number of admin (the majority) have a MAsters and a professional leadership credential their are many lower tier ISs where the HOS and senior leadership have only an undergrad degree and no professional leadership credential. They have just stayed at the IS long enough that ownership likes them and is comfortable with them that when their is a vacancy they ask you to take the position.
The other pathway is that if leadership is where you want to be you will likely find it sooner, faster and with less coin involved in EE (ESOL). Go to CSA work for an ES and in a a couple years center manager or DOS is very reasonable.
The factor that will have the most impact over the short and long term is who you marry and not having kids. A teaching spouse or better a spouse in administration is going to pull you into IE like a spring stretched to its limit and released.
-
MedellinHeel
- Posts: 169
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:59 am
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
You are gonna need a decent amount of money to go do ESL in Latin America AND complete the Alternative Certification Program.
For example (rough figures)
500 - Flight there
500 - Emergency Exit flight back
1,000 - Two month start up funds
6,000 - ACP cost
Total - 8,000 dollars
This does not include money to fly back to the US to take the required exams for licensing. Add another 500-1,000 on to the total. If you do TeacherReady you will have to go back to the US for your test. TeachNow has some international test locations but I am not sure if any are in Latin America.
If I were you I would go to Korea.
- Free flight there
- Free studio apartment
- Health Insurance
- End of contract bonuses (3,000 dollars)
- Can save 1,000 dollars each month
- Set easy schedule which will make it easy for you to do your ACP
- Numerous International Schools for completing your field work
As for what subject, id would def do HS Math. Will be a lot more marketable.
For example (rough figures)
500 - Flight there
500 - Emergency Exit flight back
1,000 - Two month start up funds
6,000 - ACP cost
Total - 8,000 dollars
This does not include money to fly back to the US to take the required exams for licensing. Add another 500-1,000 on to the total. If you do TeacherReady you will have to go back to the US for your test. TeachNow has some international test locations but I am not sure if any are in Latin America.
If I were you I would go to Korea.
- Free flight there
- Free studio apartment
- Health Insurance
- End of contract bonuses (3,000 dollars)
- Can save 1,000 dollars each month
- Set easy schedule which will make it easy for you to do your ACP
- Numerous International Schools for completing your field work
As for what subject, id would def do HS Math. Will be a lot more marketable.
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
Thanks a lot for your detailed reply PsyGuy, I've learned a lot from reading some of your other posts here as well.
Re: job prospects and IE vs. ESOL, I was referring more to compensation than availability, although availability matters to an extent of course. From what I understand IE offers better pay and benefits than ESL jobs, substantially in some cases. Suffice to say I'm not going into education for the money, but I'm not going to pretend it's irrelevant either. I'm aware I lack qualifications at the moment and I'm happy to scrape by with whatever job allows me to get my foot in the door. But I'd like to eventually not only pay the bills, but also save some non-trivial amount of money. Correct me if I'm wrong, but IE seems to have more potential in this regard. Also, as you said, there's always ESOL positions available somewhere. If I go into IE I can always switch over to ESOL, but not the reverse so much.
Just to clarify when I mention compensation I'm mostly thinking in terms of the future; I'll take whatever I can get starting out.
You mentioned you were unclear about my educational background...I don't think I can add much that would be relevant, but I'll try to clarify as much as possible:
I started out as a Computer Science major but quickly decided I didn't like it. Most people who drop out of CS do so because of the math requirements, but I was pretty much the opposite - I ended up enjoying the math but disliking the programming.
I switched to an English major but absolutely couldn't stand a couple of the professors, and being a small school it was impossible to avoid them while continuing to pursue the degree so I just ended up settling on a BGS. I currently do part-time freelance writing while attending college, although nothing that's likely to be relevant in the academic world.
Music is probably the oddest one to explain. I took private violin lessons from the age of 5 until my first year of college, have played in orchestras most of my life and won a couple regional solo competitions, but I never had a desire to teach music. I wanted to have a solo career, but realized that is an option for an ultra-tiny percentage of musicians, so I figured I would move on to something else and keep it as a hobby. I don't know if things like this matter, but I won my state's MTNA competition. If the piano and aural skills requirements are similar to those to get a BA in music, it wouldn't be a problem. The main issue would be that I've always hated music theory, and for that reason I'm still leaning against teaching music. Still, with my background it seems like I should at least mention it for consideration.
The other topics are just areas that I am interested in and have spent at least some time learning about. I hadn't heard of TOK before you mentioned it, but after some Googling around it's definitely something I could see myself teaching. Currently mulling over the rest of your comments on subject areas.
Friends: They're pretty important, but I guess everything is relative and I don't know what the trade-offs are.
Let me put it this way. For my first two years of teaching, if I were given the options of:
A) School in China (or pretty much any non-S. American country): $2400/mo. salary with potential to save 50%, relatively nice staff/students/work environment.
B) School in S. America: $1200/mo. salary with potential to save ~10% (maybe), difficult-but-not-impossible students, somewhat unhelpful (but non-adversarial) staff.
I would snap-take B. The numbers might be off and I certainly don't expect to save 50% of anything starting out, I'm just using the figures to make a point. However, if the options are between:
A) School in China: $1200/mo., ~10% savings, and gives me a good chance to work towards a $4-5k/mo. 50% savings potential job in 5-6-7 years
B) School in S. America: same salary/savings, but leads to a ceiling of $2500/mo. or so.
I would take option A.
For my medium-longer term goals, I would say:
$4k/mo.+ in S America >>> $5k/mo. in most Asian countries > $2.5k/mo. in S. America > anything under $4k/mo. in Asia. I realize this is deeply flawed and simplistic since Japan and Bangladesh are both Asian countries, but I hope it gives a rough idea of how I prioritize being in S. America. If a more specific assessment is needed to be useful please let me know.
Admin path: It's really just a consideration for right now, I'm not ready to make a hard commitment to this yet.
Qualifications:
-With the Texas ACP program, I noticed that after you complete the program, there's a 1-year probationary period before you get your full license. Are you limited to where you can teach/intern during that period?
-For the Malaysian IB school, I checked their website but didn't find any tuition info. I will e-mail them and check it out, but do you have a ballpark idea? All I saw was that they have a scholarship available that basically pays for everything, but nothing about how selective they are with the scholarship or what it costs without one. 3 years is a hefty commitment if I'm also going to be significantly in the red afterwards...I wish I had a more quantifiable way to measure its impact. Will it open doors that would otherwise be permanently closed to me, or does it just shift the odds in my favor?
-Teach Now/Ready - Do I have a reasonable chance of finding an accredited IS that will allow me to do my field experience with them? Do I simply reach out to them and ask, or is there a more formal process?
-Intern IT options: If I'm interpreting your description correctly, this sounds like a potentially good option. How difficult is it to get into these for the top-tier schools? Or any school? After completion, do IT interns typically continue at the same IS but with full/normal benefits, or go job-hunting elsewhere? Since it's for fully-credentialed teachers, would it make sense to do the Texas program -> IT internship -> ???
Thanks again for all the information. What would you recommend based on my answers?
Re: job prospects and IE vs. ESOL, I was referring more to compensation than availability, although availability matters to an extent of course. From what I understand IE offers better pay and benefits than ESL jobs, substantially in some cases. Suffice to say I'm not going into education for the money, but I'm not going to pretend it's irrelevant either. I'm aware I lack qualifications at the moment and I'm happy to scrape by with whatever job allows me to get my foot in the door. But I'd like to eventually not only pay the bills, but also save some non-trivial amount of money. Correct me if I'm wrong, but IE seems to have more potential in this regard. Also, as you said, there's always ESOL positions available somewhere. If I go into IE I can always switch over to ESOL, but not the reverse so much.
Just to clarify when I mention compensation I'm mostly thinking in terms of the future; I'll take whatever I can get starting out.
You mentioned you were unclear about my educational background...I don't think I can add much that would be relevant, but I'll try to clarify as much as possible:
I started out as a Computer Science major but quickly decided I didn't like it. Most people who drop out of CS do so because of the math requirements, but I was pretty much the opposite - I ended up enjoying the math but disliking the programming.
I switched to an English major but absolutely couldn't stand a couple of the professors, and being a small school it was impossible to avoid them while continuing to pursue the degree so I just ended up settling on a BGS. I currently do part-time freelance writing while attending college, although nothing that's likely to be relevant in the academic world.
Music is probably the oddest one to explain. I took private violin lessons from the age of 5 until my first year of college, have played in orchestras most of my life and won a couple regional solo competitions, but I never had a desire to teach music. I wanted to have a solo career, but realized that is an option for an ultra-tiny percentage of musicians, so I figured I would move on to something else and keep it as a hobby. I don't know if things like this matter, but I won my state's MTNA competition. If the piano and aural skills requirements are similar to those to get a BA in music, it wouldn't be a problem. The main issue would be that I've always hated music theory, and for that reason I'm still leaning against teaching music. Still, with my background it seems like I should at least mention it for consideration.
The other topics are just areas that I am interested in and have spent at least some time learning about. I hadn't heard of TOK before you mentioned it, but after some Googling around it's definitely something I could see myself teaching. Currently mulling over the rest of your comments on subject areas.
Friends: They're pretty important, but I guess everything is relative and I don't know what the trade-offs are.
Let me put it this way. For my first two years of teaching, if I were given the options of:
A) School in China (or pretty much any non-S. American country): $2400/mo. salary with potential to save 50%, relatively nice staff/students/work environment.
B) School in S. America: $1200/mo. salary with potential to save ~10% (maybe), difficult-but-not-impossible students, somewhat unhelpful (but non-adversarial) staff.
I would snap-take B. The numbers might be off and I certainly don't expect to save 50% of anything starting out, I'm just using the figures to make a point. However, if the options are between:
A) School in China: $1200/mo., ~10% savings, and gives me a good chance to work towards a $4-5k/mo. 50% savings potential job in 5-6-7 years
B) School in S. America: same salary/savings, but leads to a ceiling of $2500/mo. or so.
I would take option A.
For my medium-longer term goals, I would say:
$4k/mo.+ in S America >>> $5k/mo. in most Asian countries > $2.5k/mo. in S. America > anything under $4k/mo. in Asia. I realize this is deeply flawed and simplistic since Japan and Bangladesh are both Asian countries, but I hope it gives a rough idea of how I prioritize being in S. America. If a more specific assessment is needed to be useful please let me know.
Admin path: It's really just a consideration for right now, I'm not ready to make a hard commitment to this yet.
Qualifications:
-With the Texas ACP program, I noticed that after you complete the program, there's a 1-year probationary period before you get your full license. Are you limited to where you can teach/intern during that period?
-For the Malaysian IB school, I checked their website but didn't find any tuition info. I will e-mail them and check it out, but do you have a ballpark idea? All I saw was that they have a scholarship available that basically pays for everything, but nothing about how selective they are with the scholarship or what it costs without one. 3 years is a hefty commitment if I'm also going to be significantly in the red afterwards...I wish I had a more quantifiable way to measure its impact. Will it open doors that would otherwise be permanently closed to me, or does it just shift the odds in my favor?
-Teach Now/Ready - Do I have a reasonable chance of finding an accredited IS that will allow me to do my field experience with them? Do I simply reach out to them and ask, or is there a more formal process?
-Intern IT options: If I'm interpreting your description correctly, this sounds like a potentially good option. How difficult is it to get into these for the top-tier schools? Or any school? After completion, do IT interns typically continue at the same IS but with full/normal benefits, or go job-hunting elsewhere? Since it's for fully-credentialed teachers, would it make sense to do the Texas program -> IT internship -> ???
Thanks again for all the information. What would you recommend based on my answers?
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
MedellinHotel:
I hear you. I should be okay on the savings front, if nothing else I can subsidize my income with freelance writing if I have to. If that's a standard compensation package for S. Korea and it's not too hard to arrange the field experience with one of the online ACPs, it's definitely tempting. I really want to feel out my options and see if I can get what I need from S. America though.
I hear you. I should be okay on the savings front, if nothing else I can subsidize my income with freelance writing if I have to. If that's a standard compensation package for S. Korea and it's not too hard to arrange the field experience with one of the online ACPs, it's definitely tempting. I really want to feel out my options and see if I can get what I need from S. America though.
Reply
@MedellinHeel
Teach Now uses th Praxis and there are test centers in a variety of L.A. and CSA locations.
@cookies4u
Absolutly IE has better compensation and professional opportunities and prospects. However at a certain stage in the third tier its not really practical to differentiate between an ES and an IS. In some of those scenarios you could make more as an ET then you could as an IT given lesson rates vs. salary. Absolutely though IE compensates better.
Your violin talents would be an excellent means of supplementing your income with private lessons.
There is no "probationary" period after getting the Texas Standard certification. The confusion may be from one of two points of confusion.
The first point of confusion is that Texas has three certification types the standard certificate which is the professional working certificate, the probationary certificate mentioned below, and third has a provisional certificate valid for one year that is given to out of state teachers allowing them to teach while they complete the Texas exam certification requirements.
Second issue of confusion, many ACP programs offer two routes to certification in the first your have an internship for your field experience. You have to find essentially a job teaching your subject area (with full salary and benefits) for a year as TOR (Teacher of Record). During this period you are teaching on a one year probationary certificate for the duration of the internship. The second route is clinical teaching, which is a 12 week, 3 month period very similar to student teaching where you work daily in the classroom of another teacher. At the end of both pathways you receive the Texas Standard certification, which is Texass only professional certification, it has no restrictions or limitations. The clinical teaching field experience and the self paced online portions offer the fastest option to certification, taking about 3-4 months.
You can find the link here
http://www.texasteachers.org/clinical-teaching/
If you are hired by Fairview you qualify for the scholarship. Essentially the compensation package is adjusted for their ITs to cover the cost of the masters and IB T&L program. The primary benefit aside from the Masters and IB T&L certificate is that you will have 3 years of IB classroom experience as TOR, thats highly marketable.
You have a much better chance of Teach Ready than you do with Teach Now. You only need a classroom for a week (5 days) for Teach Ready, but still you need a cooperating IS, and you have to approach them and secure their cooperation, then you notify your EPP/ITT program and they set up the rest. Teach Now is more ideal for ITs that already have an appointment. For Teach Now you would find some subjects such as LS/LD or ESOl because they are supporting roles than some areas such as chemistry, where a small or medium IS is only going to have one lab and they arent going to bench their science chem IT and turn the keys over to a visiting IT for 3 months.
The Intern option still requires you to be fully certified first. The positions are highly competitive. It is common for an intern IT who performs well to be offered an appointment provided there is a FTE vacancy. Many intern vacancies are the result of a short term "cover" (such as maternity cover vacancy). It depends at the upper tier ISs Yes in such cases where the intern is appointed to a position after the internship they are considered an OSH with full benefits. Some of the lower tier ISs however will consider you only as a LH.
Even if you were not offered an appointment a reference from an upper tier IS would be highly valuable when recruiting in the applicant pool with other entry class ITs. In which case your HOS/senior leadership will probably make some inquiries and make some calls and facilitate your recruiting search.
The fast track Texas Program and Internship does sound expedient. However it requires 1) Relocating to Texas for 3 months and while this would allow you to attend the BOS fair fully certified its success requires that you are one of the lucky interns who gets and internship. Its a small number of upper tier ISs that have internships and the competition for them is very high. However as an inter candidate with S.A. and at the same fair as other ITs you would have the opportunity to potentially secure a traditional IT appointment.
Teach Now uses th Praxis and there are test centers in a variety of L.A. and CSA locations.
@cookies4u
Absolutly IE has better compensation and professional opportunities and prospects. However at a certain stage in the third tier its not really practical to differentiate between an ES and an IS. In some of those scenarios you could make more as an ET then you could as an IT given lesson rates vs. salary. Absolutely though IE compensates better.
Your violin talents would be an excellent means of supplementing your income with private lessons.
There is no "probationary" period after getting the Texas Standard certification. The confusion may be from one of two points of confusion.
The first point of confusion is that Texas has three certification types the standard certificate which is the professional working certificate, the probationary certificate mentioned below, and third has a provisional certificate valid for one year that is given to out of state teachers allowing them to teach while they complete the Texas exam certification requirements.
Second issue of confusion, many ACP programs offer two routes to certification in the first your have an internship for your field experience. You have to find essentially a job teaching your subject area (with full salary and benefits) for a year as TOR (Teacher of Record). During this period you are teaching on a one year probationary certificate for the duration of the internship. The second route is clinical teaching, which is a 12 week, 3 month period very similar to student teaching where you work daily in the classroom of another teacher. At the end of both pathways you receive the Texas Standard certification, which is Texass only professional certification, it has no restrictions or limitations. The clinical teaching field experience and the self paced online portions offer the fastest option to certification, taking about 3-4 months.
You can find the link here
http://www.texasteachers.org/clinical-teaching/
If you are hired by Fairview you qualify for the scholarship. Essentially the compensation package is adjusted for their ITs to cover the cost of the masters and IB T&L program. The primary benefit aside from the Masters and IB T&L certificate is that you will have 3 years of IB classroom experience as TOR, thats highly marketable.
You have a much better chance of Teach Ready than you do with Teach Now. You only need a classroom for a week (5 days) for Teach Ready, but still you need a cooperating IS, and you have to approach them and secure their cooperation, then you notify your EPP/ITT program and they set up the rest. Teach Now is more ideal for ITs that already have an appointment. For Teach Now you would find some subjects such as LS/LD or ESOl because they are supporting roles than some areas such as chemistry, where a small or medium IS is only going to have one lab and they arent going to bench their science chem IT and turn the keys over to a visiting IT for 3 months.
The Intern option still requires you to be fully certified first. The positions are highly competitive. It is common for an intern IT who performs well to be offered an appointment provided there is a FTE vacancy. Many intern vacancies are the result of a short term "cover" (such as maternity cover vacancy). It depends at the upper tier ISs Yes in such cases where the intern is appointed to a position after the internship they are considered an OSH with full benefits. Some of the lower tier ISs however will consider you only as a LH.
Even if you were not offered an appointment a reference from an upper tier IS would be highly valuable when recruiting in the applicant pool with other entry class ITs. In which case your HOS/senior leadership will probably make some inquiries and make some calls and facilitate your recruiting search.
The fast track Texas Program and Internship does sound expedient. However it requires 1) Relocating to Texas for 3 months and while this would allow you to attend the BOS fair fully certified its success requires that you are one of the lucky interns who gets and internship. Its a small number of upper tier ISs that have internships and the competition for them is very high. However as an inter candidate with S.A. and at the same fair as other ITs you would have the opportunity to potentially secure a traditional IT appointment.
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
You're right, I was confusing the certification types in the Texas ACP program.
Putting aside financial and time commitment discrepancies, is there any difference between the Texas ACP route and Teach Ready in terms of marketability? What is the BOS S.A. fair and when is it? Sorry, I tried searching but
When you say there's a small number of upper-tier IS internships available with the Texas option, is it safe to assume there will still be lower-tier IS options available somewhere upon completing the certification?
On that note, how much mobility is there between the tiers? If I go with one of the "expedient" certifications and start with a third-tier school and all goes well, how many years should I expect before I'm competitive for 2nd tier? 1st tier? Assume I stay single with no dependents. I'm still trying to gauge the price I'm paying by not doing two years domestically first.
I'm sort of trying to take your scoring system and project roughly how many points I can achieve after X years, but some things are still unclear to me, such as:
-How soon I would have access to a school where I could gain IB/AP/IGCSE experience
-What would qualify as a special skill set - For example am I correct in assuming that my music experience would qualify if I decide to specialize in Music, but otherwise wouldn't be (since it wouldn't really be synergistic with anything else)?
-What "Cross Certified" means in this context...Does it just mean being certified in related fields like Math and Physics?
PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System:
1) 1 pt / 2 years Experience (Max 10 Years)
2) 1 pt - Advance Degree (Masters)
3) 1 pt - Cross Certified (Must be schedule-able)
4) 1 pt - Curriculum Experience (IB, AP, IGCSE)
5) 1pt - Logistical Hire (Single +.5 pt, Couple +1 pt)
6) .5 pt - Previous International School Experience (standard 2 year contract)
7) .5 pt - Leadership Experience/Role (+.25 HOD, +.5 Coordinator)
8) .5 pt - Extra Curricular (Must be schedule-able)
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)
Putting aside financial and time commitment discrepancies, is there any difference between the Texas ACP route and Teach Ready in terms of marketability? What is the BOS S.A. fair and when is it? Sorry, I tried searching but
When you say there's a small number of upper-tier IS internships available with the Texas option, is it safe to assume there will still be lower-tier IS options available somewhere upon completing the certification?
On that note, how much mobility is there between the tiers? If I go with one of the "expedient" certifications and start with a third-tier school and all goes well, how many years should I expect before I'm competitive for 2nd tier? 1st tier? Assume I stay single with no dependents. I'm still trying to gauge the price I'm paying by not doing two years domestically first.
I'm sort of trying to take your scoring system and project roughly how many points I can achieve after X years, but some things are still unclear to me, such as:
-How soon I would have access to a school where I could gain IB/AP/IGCSE experience
-What would qualify as a special skill set - For example am I correct in assuming that my music experience would qualify if I decide to specialize in Music, but otherwise wouldn't be (since it wouldn't really be synergistic with anything else)?
-What "Cross Certified" means in this context...Does it just mean being certified in related fields like Math and Physics?
PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System:
1) 1 pt / 2 years Experience (Max 10 Years)
2) 1 pt - Advance Degree (Masters)
3) 1 pt - Cross Certified (Must be schedule-able)
4) 1 pt - Curriculum Experience (IB, AP, IGCSE)
5) 1pt - Logistical Hire (Single +.5 pt, Couple +1 pt)
6) .5 pt - Previous International School Experience (standard 2 year contract)
7) .5 pt - Leadership Experience/Role (+.25 HOD, +.5 Coordinator)
8) .5 pt - Extra Curricular (Must be schedule-able)
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)
Reply
@cookies4u
There are two answers to your first question a technical answer and a practical answer. The technical answer is that Texas enjoys less status/prestige than Florida, but its very minor, and trivial in the CSA region. The practical answer is that reciprocity makes the issue moot. Texas and Florida have nearly congruent certification pathways and requirements. The major difference between certification pathways between states are 1) States that have solely academic pathways meaning that completion of an EPP/ITT program and issuance of a certificate can be accomplished entirely by academics, there are options for certification that dont require examination at the state level. As opposed to 2) States that have an option or require a common examination for certification. This means in general that states that require examination will require out of state applicants to also have taken an exam to receive their certificate or will require you to take the state exam where you are seeking certification.
It should be noted that neither Texas or Florida are desirable states to park (meaning to transfer your certification for the remainder of your career) your certification. The two states preferred for ITs are California and New Jersey.
I only recommend the Texas ACP Program when resources are not an issue and for extenuating scenarios where one needs to be certified very quickly. The typical scenario is a couple goes to the SA BOS fair, only one spouse is a certified IT, they interview and the IS wants to offer them a position but to make the appointment happen they need to hire/appoint both of them to positions. The Texas ACP is such that you could begin the online training immediately (anywhere) and start your field experience as late as March and still be certified by June with certificate in hand.
SA refers to Search Associates one of the two premium recruiting agencies for ITs (the other being ISS - International School Services). BOS refers to the Boston/MA (Cambridge) recruiting fair. It is the Third super fair in IT recruiting and is generally focused on Entry class ITs.
Thee are a small number of internships available in IE regardless of the certification pathway or organization/institution you use.
The rule is there is a job for everyone if you will accept anything. Yes their are ISs that hire ITs without the standard 2 years post certification experience, and the CSA region is one such area, but these are commonly very low tier ISs. These are the kind of train wreck ISs that ITs most often pull runners and leave IE all together.
There is a lot of mobility between tiers, the standard transition route is on average about 6 years. The general rule is that you can move up one tier or move from laterally from a hardship region to a more desirable region. Many ITs have a dream position of either an elite tier IS or a particularly high desire region, such as JP or WE.
1) Access to cross curriculum experience really depends on you. You could start locally in a domestic DS and get access to AP, upper secondary, and finding an IB appointment is easier domestically. Even internationally a program such as FairView would give you access to IB classroom from the beginning for 3 years. You could also find yourself with very limited options because your restricted to a narrow regional area for years waiting for a vacancy in your subject that your competitive for at the next tier of IS.
You could take the PGCE route and have access to IGCSE class forms very quickly in a low performing DS.
2) A special skill set is a skill, talent, interest that an IS for various reasons really wants/needs. Its something there is a demand for by parents/students and those parents are willing to support and pay for it. Yes your Music/Violin skill/talent would be worth the .25pts, if a had such a program that they really needed to fill. Often these types of positions are coaching, etc. types of vacancies. If an IS had an ASP string ensemble program, then your music skill set would give you a marketable edge.
3) Yes, cross certified means having complimentary certifications across fields. Typically small and medium sized ISs either need an IT who can teach multiple subjects or the flexibility in scheduling is a significant advantage. Common cross certification pairs are Literature/Humanities and Science/Maths, etc..
There are two answers to your first question a technical answer and a practical answer. The technical answer is that Texas enjoys less status/prestige than Florida, but its very minor, and trivial in the CSA region. The practical answer is that reciprocity makes the issue moot. Texas and Florida have nearly congruent certification pathways and requirements. The major difference between certification pathways between states are 1) States that have solely academic pathways meaning that completion of an EPP/ITT program and issuance of a certificate can be accomplished entirely by academics, there are options for certification that dont require examination at the state level. As opposed to 2) States that have an option or require a common examination for certification. This means in general that states that require examination will require out of state applicants to also have taken an exam to receive their certificate or will require you to take the state exam where you are seeking certification.
It should be noted that neither Texas or Florida are desirable states to park (meaning to transfer your certification for the remainder of your career) your certification. The two states preferred for ITs are California and New Jersey.
I only recommend the Texas ACP Program when resources are not an issue and for extenuating scenarios where one needs to be certified very quickly. The typical scenario is a couple goes to the SA BOS fair, only one spouse is a certified IT, they interview and the IS wants to offer them a position but to make the appointment happen they need to hire/appoint both of them to positions. The Texas ACP is such that you could begin the online training immediately (anywhere) and start your field experience as late as March and still be certified by June with certificate in hand.
SA refers to Search Associates one of the two premium recruiting agencies for ITs (the other being ISS - International School Services). BOS refers to the Boston/MA (Cambridge) recruiting fair. It is the Third super fair in IT recruiting and is generally focused on Entry class ITs.
Thee are a small number of internships available in IE regardless of the certification pathway or organization/institution you use.
The rule is there is a job for everyone if you will accept anything. Yes their are ISs that hire ITs without the standard 2 years post certification experience, and the CSA region is one such area, but these are commonly very low tier ISs. These are the kind of train wreck ISs that ITs most often pull runners and leave IE all together.
There is a lot of mobility between tiers, the standard transition route is on average about 6 years. The general rule is that you can move up one tier or move from laterally from a hardship region to a more desirable region. Many ITs have a dream position of either an elite tier IS or a particularly high desire region, such as JP or WE.
1) Access to cross curriculum experience really depends on you. You could start locally in a domestic DS and get access to AP, upper secondary, and finding an IB appointment is easier domestically. Even internationally a program such as FairView would give you access to IB classroom from the beginning for 3 years. You could also find yourself with very limited options because your restricted to a narrow regional area for years waiting for a vacancy in your subject that your competitive for at the next tier of IS.
You could take the PGCE route and have access to IGCSE class forms very quickly in a low performing DS.
2) A special skill set is a skill, talent, interest that an IS for various reasons really wants/needs. Its something there is a demand for by parents/students and those parents are willing to support and pay for it. Yes your Music/Violin skill/talent would be worth the .25pts, if a had such a program that they really needed to fill. Often these types of positions are coaching, etc. types of vacancies. If an IS had an ASP string ensemble program, then your music skill set would give you a marketable edge.
3) Yes, cross certified means having complimentary certifications across fields. Typically small and medium sized ISs either need an IT who can teach multiple subjects or the flexibility in scheduling is a significant advantage. Common cross certification pairs are Literature/Humanities and Science/Maths, etc..
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
Cookies4u - my advice? Avoid Fairview like the plague. It's a trap!
Discussion
I concur with @SJs assessment as far as employment, however looking at it from the perspective of a onsite Masters and IB T&L certification program, without tuition and program cost, and its an attractive option compared to University.
Update and More Questions
Thanks again for the advice posted so far. The past month and a half has been pretty busy and I've let this slide somewhat, but it's getting to the point where I need to make a concrete decision. I would prefer an option that allows me to re-locate outside the US while pursuing certification if at all possible. I did some digging for more info re: certification options and I'm inclined to go the PGCEi - US state certification - QTS route, but still have some questions:
1. On the University of Nottingham's website, their PGCEi entry requirements state that applicants should have "an approved degree with at least second class honours or equivalent". As an American I don't know what this is, but I assume my degree would be workable since it was suggested as an option here? It also says I should be an "established educator" (clearly not, but again is it safe to say there's leeway on this?) https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/ ... ments.aspx
2. Since my preferred region is CSA, I was eyeing the venues in Peru and Ecuador. However, the start dates for those courses are June 1, and I won't finish my degree until late July (and whatever additional time it takes to get transcripts after classes end). I've arranged for my final semester to be all online classes so I am flexible in that sense, but I don't know if I would be allowed to take the PGCEi concurrently in CSA, or if I'd have to choose a different location with a later starting date: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/ ... index.aspx
3. According to PsyGuy's response, there are bottom-tier ISs that will hire on the basis of a (any) degree alone. I assume CSA is a region that has some of these schools, where I might be able to find work while completing the PGCEi. What would be the best way for me to get in touch with them? TIE, AASSA? I know there are supposedly some that hire based on PGCEi alone, but I need to do something while I'm obtaining it. I wouldn't be opposed to working at a language school temporarily to make ends meet, but I don't really want to invest time and money into a CELTA or similar for a position I'd probably have less than a year.
4. I'm not sure I understand exactly how the transition from PGCEi -> state certification -> QTS works. PsyGuy mentions PGCEi application to "certain jurisdictions" in the US - which jurisdictions? Does the PGCEi allow me to take the relevant Praxis exams without completing additional training? And once I have that, I can apply for NQT immediately and after one year be granted QTS? I haven't been able to find anything specific about this.
While I'm at it, I have some further questions about subject area. Am I correct in assuming that once I am certified in a particular jurisdiction, the process of adding additional subjects becomes simpler (as in, passing the tests and paying a fee)?
Based on the suggestions here, I was thinking I would pursue a Primary cert. to cast the widest net, possibly considering either Maths or TOK as well depending on how things progress. I was leaning toward Math initially, then I noticed some variance in the 6-12 requirements. I saw the following sample test which covered Algebra, Geometry, Trig, Calc, Stats, some logic questions, and teaching-related questions. If that reflects the test I'd have to take, I think I'd be fine, with some review. However, I also saw a curriculum for 6-12 Math cert. that included Linear Algebra (which I've spent little time on) and Abstract Algebra (which I haven't touched).
While I hope I could learn them in the available timeframe, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to add addition pressure to what will probably already be a busy period of time. So I guess it goes back to the question of which jurisdiction PGCEi would qualify me for, and which test I'd have to take. Either way, I would probably end up using the PGCEi credits towards completing an MA. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some other questions, but hopefully they will come. Also if you feel strongly that I should be doing the Texas ACP, Teach Now, or Teacher Ready instead of the PGCEi route, please say so :)
1. On the University of Nottingham's website, their PGCEi entry requirements state that applicants should have "an approved degree with at least second class honours or equivalent". As an American I don't know what this is, but I assume my degree would be workable since it was suggested as an option here? It also says I should be an "established educator" (clearly not, but again is it safe to say there's leeway on this?) https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/ ... ments.aspx
2. Since my preferred region is CSA, I was eyeing the venues in Peru and Ecuador. However, the start dates for those courses are June 1, and I won't finish my degree until late July (and whatever additional time it takes to get transcripts after classes end). I've arranged for my final semester to be all online classes so I am flexible in that sense, but I don't know if I would be allowed to take the PGCEi concurrently in CSA, or if I'd have to choose a different location with a later starting date: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/ ... index.aspx
3. According to PsyGuy's response, there are bottom-tier ISs that will hire on the basis of a (any) degree alone. I assume CSA is a region that has some of these schools, where I might be able to find work while completing the PGCEi. What would be the best way for me to get in touch with them? TIE, AASSA? I know there are supposedly some that hire based on PGCEi alone, but I need to do something while I'm obtaining it. I wouldn't be opposed to working at a language school temporarily to make ends meet, but I don't really want to invest time and money into a CELTA or similar for a position I'd probably have less than a year.
4. I'm not sure I understand exactly how the transition from PGCEi -> state certification -> QTS works. PsyGuy mentions PGCEi application to "certain jurisdictions" in the US - which jurisdictions? Does the PGCEi allow me to take the relevant Praxis exams without completing additional training? And once I have that, I can apply for NQT immediately and after one year be granted QTS? I haven't been able to find anything specific about this.
While I'm at it, I have some further questions about subject area. Am I correct in assuming that once I am certified in a particular jurisdiction, the process of adding additional subjects becomes simpler (as in, passing the tests and paying a fee)?
Based on the suggestions here, I was thinking I would pursue a Primary cert. to cast the widest net, possibly considering either Maths or TOK as well depending on how things progress. I was leaning toward Math initially, then I noticed some variance in the 6-12 requirements. I saw the following sample test which covered Algebra, Geometry, Trig, Calc, Stats, some logic questions, and teaching-related questions. If that reflects the test I'd have to take, I think I'd be fine, with some review. However, I also saw a curriculum for 6-12 Math cert. that included Linear Algebra (which I've spent little time on) and Abstract Algebra (which I haven't touched).
While I hope I could learn them in the available timeframe, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to add addition pressure to what will probably already be a busy period of time. So I guess it goes back to the question of which jurisdiction PGCEi would qualify me for, and which test I'd have to take. Either way, I would probably end up using the PGCEi credits towards completing an MA. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some other questions, but hopefully they will come. Also if you feel strongly that I should be doing the Texas ACP, Teach Now, or Teacher Ready instead of the PGCEi route, please say so :)
Reply
@cookies4u
1) Classed degrees for honors refers to the norm referencing system in the UK. A second class honors degree is approximately equivalent to a 3.0 undergrad GPA. They will take foreign international students who have lower GPAs. Yes theres a lot of flexibility in "established educator" many candidates were already working in lower level ISs (EAP) or in ESs. Thats why the program exists to transition ETs into IE.
2) Youd have to talk with the tutor, if they do they will likely allow you to attend the welcome session and then delay the start of your coursework until your degree is conferred.
3) Yes CSA has those ISs, its a hardship region, there are a couple upper tier ISs, but salaries are generally very low and its difficult to recruit ITs into the region on $20K and less salaries. Its go because they like the lifestyle. TIE is probably the best option, but Daves ESL cafe would assist you in finding something to do. Really the best option is pick a major capital city in the country and go. Then start looking around a lot of vacancies are only advertised or posted locally, as they essentially are only interested in LHs and not OSHs.
4) The clearinghouse is mostly D.C. (District of Columbia) they offer certification through transcript -. You would have to have your CRB fingerprints taken the Nottingham PGCEi transcript evaluated and then take the three Praxis exams. You would then receive a D.C. standard (level 2) teacher certification. You then use the D.C. teacher certification to apply as an OTT (Overseas Trained Teacher) for QTS.
There are other jurisdictions in the States that have similar pathways but usually those are local authority (district) sponsored.
Anyone can take the Praxis exams.
No you get full QTS, not NQT and no induction year is required.
Exemption from induction is found in Annex B, Para 22 of the statutory induction guidance.
QTS for OTT is found in the statutory Guidance for QTS.
5) Yes and No, some states only allow additional endorsement in subject areas by completion of academic preparation. Some states have examination pathways that allow you to add endorsement by completing an appropriate examination. D.C. and FL allows you to add additional certifications by examination. CA requires you take a course and demonstrate subject matter competency (which can include examination). CT requires completion of an academic program.
6) I know of no licensing authority that issues a credential in TOK, aside from an IB workshop in TOK.
Many states have additional certification requirements for primary education, often requiring you to hold an additional certification to meet the requirements of highly qualified.
The PRAXIS covers Numeracy, Algebra, Functions, and Calculus on 2/3rds of the exam and Geometry, Probability, Statistics and Discreet Maths on 1/3rd of the exam. Its not that difficult of an exam from my experience. Even in the assessment program with esoteric components such as linear or abstract algebra those areas represent a very small portion of the exam. You could miss those domains entirely and still pass the exam.
7) D.C. requires three exams at a minimum: Core Academic Skills, Principals of teaching and learning (there are separate exams for secondary and primary), and the appropriate content knowledge examinations.
8) I would always advise a traditional EPP/ITT program since you arent already an IT and you are still in university and are in the states. Then Id advise Teach Now, then Teach Ready and then the PGCEi.
The issue is do you have the resource opportunity to do those and the key factor is availability of field experience. If you cant obtain an appropriate cooperating IS to do your field experience than the PGCEi is the only program you can complete. If you have a cooperating IS that you can get a week of time in the classroom than the Teach Ready Program. If you have a cooperating IS that you can get a semester (12 weeks) of time in the classroom than Teach Now. The Texas program is probably too late to start as this is March, that program is only really advised if you have a scenario where you went to BKK or one of the super fairs and your a couple and a great opportunity is available if your spouse can be certified in time for the next academic year. The Texas program would be pricy, involve relocating, but its the only program that can get you certified in about 4 months. The PGCEi is what you do if you: 1) Want to focus more on the British system. 2) Dont have a cooperating IS to do field experience.
1) Classed degrees for honors refers to the norm referencing system in the UK. A second class honors degree is approximately equivalent to a 3.0 undergrad GPA. They will take foreign international students who have lower GPAs. Yes theres a lot of flexibility in "established educator" many candidates were already working in lower level ISs (EAP) or in ESs. Thats why the program exists to transition ETs into IE.
2) Youd have to talk with the tutor, if they do they will likely allow you to attend the welcome session and then delay the start of your coursework until your degree is conferred.
3) Yes CSA has those ISs, its a hardship region, there are a couple upper tier ISs, but salaries are generally very low and its difficult to recruit ITs into the region on $20K and less salaries. Its go because they like the lifestyle. TIE is probably the best option, but Daves ESL cafe would assist you in finding something to do. Really the best option is pick a major capital city in the country and go. Then start looking around a lot of vacancies are only advertised or posted locally, as they essentially are only interested in LHs and not OSHs.
4) The clearinghouse is mostly D.C. (District of Columbia) they offer certification through transcript -. You would have to have your CRB fingerprints taken the Nottingham PGCEi transcript evaluated and then take the three Praxis exams. You would then receive a D.C. standard (level 2) teacher certification. You then use the D.C. teacher certification to apply as an OTT (Overseas Trained Teacher) for QTS.
There are other jurisdictions in the States that have similar pathways but usually those are local authority (district) sponsored.
Anyone can take the Praxis exams.
No you get full QTS, not NQT and no induction year is required.
Exemption from induction is found in Annex B, Para 22 of the statutory induction guidance.
QTS for OTT is found in the statutory Guidance for QTS.
5) Yes and No, some states only allow additional endorsement in subject areas by completion of academic preparation. Some states have examination pathways that allow you to add endorsement by completing an appropriate examination. D.C. and FL allows you to add additional certifications by examination. CA requires you take a course and demonstrate subject matter competency (which can include examination). CT requires completion of an academic program.
6) I know of no licensing authority that issues a credential in TOK, aside from an IB workshop in TOK.
Many states have additional certification requirements for primary education, often requiring you to hold an additional certification to meet the requirements of highly qualified.
The PRAXIS covers Numeracy, Algebra, Functions, and Calculus on 2/3rds of the exam and Geometry, Probability, Statistics and Discreet Maths on 1/3rd of the exam. Its not that difficult of an exam from my experience. Even in the assessment program with esoteric components such as linear or abstract algebra those areas represent a very small portion of the exam. You could miss those domains entirely and still pass the exam.
7) D.C. requires three exams at a minimum: Core Academic Skills, Principals of teaching and learning (there are separate exams for secondary and primary), and the appropriate content knowledge examinations.
8) I would always advise a traditional EPP/ITT program since you arent already an IT and you are still in university and are in the states. Then Id advise Teach Now, then Teach Ready and then the PGCEi.
The issue is do you have the resource opportunity to do those and the key factor is availability of field experience. If you cant obtain an appropriate cooperating IS to do your field experience than the PGCEi is the only program you can complete. If you have a cooperating IS that you can get a week of time in the classroom than the Teach Ready Program. If you have a cooperating IS that you can get a semester (12 weeks) of time in the classroom than Teach Now. The Texas program is probably too late to start as this is March, that program is only really advised if you have a scenario where you went to BKK or one of the super fairs and your a couple and a great opportunity is available if your spouse can be certified in time for the next academic year. The Texas program would be pricy, involve relocating, but its the only program that can get you certified in about 4 months. The PGCEi is what you do if you: 1) Want to focus more on the British system. 2) Dont have a cooperating IS to do field experience.
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
Thanks once again for the informative reply. Is the preference for Teach Now > Teach Ready > PGCEi directly correlated to the field experience component? I've seen you say the California CLEAR and QTS are the two best certifications to have, and that the CLEAR process is obnoxious, so why not go the route that leads me to a QTS?
What are LHs and OSHs?
I'm not taking the advice to go with a traditional EPP/ITT program lightly, and it's given me pause about these alternative options. But as you can probably tell, I really want to move out of the US (particularly my state) sooner rather than later. I really don't much care about how much I make for the first couple years, but if there is still a significant longer-term glass ceiling as a result of nontraditional certification, that is definitely a concern. I checked licensing requirements for my state (North Dakota), and it would take at least an extra year to meet the criteria.
What are LHs and OSHs?
I'm not taking the advice to go with a traditional EPP/ITT program lightly, and it's given me pause about these alternative options. But as you can probably tell, I really want to move out of the US (particularly my state) sooner rather than later. I really don't much care about how much I make for the first couple years, but if there is still a significant longer-term glass ceiling as a result of nontraditional certification, that is definitely a concern. I checked licensing requirements for my state (North Dakota), and it would take at least an extra year to meet the criteria.
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
@cookies4u
Yes the preference is directly related to the field experience component. The more experience you have in a classroom the better you are able to discuss classroom practices in interviews but more importantly two factors: 1) You have to have a cooperating and accredited IS to do the field experience, Teach Now is 12 weeks and thats essentially a term/semester thats a hard sell to the type of accredited ISs that are charging significant coin to parents to provide a world class education. Those parents arent paying to have their kids as guinea pigs so a IT candidate can train. Teach Ready has a much shorter requirement of 5 days, thats an easier sell to an IS, but they still have to give you a classroom. The PGCEi has no field experience requirement.
2) Many (almost all) intern class ITs look the same and their resumes are mostly blank space, they have a degree they have a certificate. If you do the Teach Now program (12 week field experience) thats enough time you can obtain a reference from that ISs leadership and since its in IE and the IS is likely to be a recognizable IS, that reference allows you to stand out from other candidates, it might even lead to an offer/appointment once you are credentialed. Teach Readys field experience is 5 days, no one really learns anything in 5 days except whether or not they want to stay in education. Its not nearly long enough to base a reference on.
So when it comes to IE and American credentials CA and NJ are the optimal places to park your certificate, because they require no PD (professional development) to maintain. NJ offers a lifetime certificate and is easier to obtain but its NJ it doesnt have the status that CA has. CA drives WASC accreditation which is the majority of accredited ISs (Asia skews this), but its well recognized, and has status. CAs credentialing process has rigor, and thats why its more difficult to obtain you need to add an ESOL endorsement and effectively need a Masters degree to qualify for a CLEAR credential, thats what makes it more esoteric.
QTS is very easy to obtain as an OTT, and it works if all you teach is what your academic preparation/degree is in (there is no PD). However, no BS (British School) is going to equate a foreigner with QTS and no experience in the UK NC as knowing anything about British education, curriculum, operations, or organization. QTS is a lifetime license that makes you legal and demonstrates you have training in meds/peds, nothing else.
All the routes traditional, alternative, etc.. would lead to QTS.
LH = Local Hire
OSH = Over Seas Hire
After a few years of successful experience in IE/DE, no one cares how you got credentialed. Its not a long term ceiling. Though when you start looking at Elite tier ISs where an IS can get a 1000 applications for one vacancy and the leadership/recruiter who has to reduce that application pile down to 5 people that executive leadership is going to interview, something as negligible as traditional vs. alternative training could mean the difference (and the difference could go either way).
It would mean a year either way, Teach Now, Teach Ready are 9 months or about one academic year programs. Im sure your program in SD would be about a year (maybe closer to 12 months) depending on your prerequisites. You typically do one summer of prerequisite courses, the fall semester of the professional education trinity (C&I, Meds/Peds and Assessment) plus a course on whatever that universities Pop.Ed topic is (SPED, ESOL, Reading, Writing, Maths, Ethics, etc..) then you student teach in the Spring and take your licensing exams in May/June.
Yes the preference is directly related to the field experience component. The more experience you have in a classroom the better you are able to discuss classroom practices in interviews but more importantly two factors: 1) You have to have a cooperating and accredited IS to do the field experience, Teach Now is 12 weeks and thats essentially a term/semester thats a hard sell to the type of accredited ISs that are charging significant coin to parents to provide a world class education. Those parents arent paying to have their kids as guinea pigs so a IT candidate can train. Teach Ready has a much shorter requirement of 5 days, thats an easier sell to an IS, but they still have to give you a classroom. The PGCEi has no field experience requirement.
2) Many (almost all) intern class ITs look the same and their resumes are mostly blank space, they have a degree they have a certificate. If you do the Teach Now program (12 week field experience) thats enough time you can obtain a reference from that ISs leadership and since its in IE and the IS is likely to be a recognizable IS, that reference allows you to stand out from other candidates, it might even lead to an offer/appointment once you are credentialed. Teach Readys field experience is 5 days, no one really learns anything in 5 days except whether or not they want to stay in education. Its not nearly long enough to base a reference on.
So when it comes to IE and American credentials CA and NJ are the optimal places to park your certificate, because they require no PD (professional development) to maintain. NJ offers a lifetime certificate and is easier to obtain but its NJ it doesnt have the status that CA has. CA drives WASC accreditation which is the majority of accredited ISs (Asia skews this), but its well recognized, and has status. CAs credentialing process has rigor, and thats why its more difficult to obtain you need to add an ESOL endorsement and effectively need a Masters degree to qualify for a CLEAR credential, thats what makes it more esoteric.
QTS is very easy to obtain as an OTT, and it works if all you teach is what your academic preparation/degree is in (there is no PD). However, no BS (British School) is going to equate a foreigner with QTS and no experience in the UK NC as knowing anything about British education, curriculum, operations, or organization. QTS is a lifetime license that makes you legal and demonstrates you have training in meds/peds, nothing else.
All the routes traditional, alternative, etc.. would lead to QTS.
LH = Local Hire
OSH = Over Seas Hire
After a few years of successful experience in IE/DE, no one cares how you got credentialed. Its not a long term ceiling. Though when you start looking at Elite tier ISs where an IS can get a 1000 applications for one vacancy and the leadership/recruiter who has to reduce that application pile down to 5 people that executive leadership is going to interview, something as negligible as traditional vs. alternative training could mean the difference (and the difference could go either way).
It would mean a year either way, Teach Now, Teach Ready are 9 months or about one academic year programs. Im sure your program in SD would be about a year (maybe closer to 12 months) depending on your prerequisites. You typically do one summer of prerequisite courses, the fall semester of the professional education trinity (C&I, Meds/Peds and Assessment) plus a course on whatever that universities Pop.Ed topic is (SPED, ESOL, Reading, Writing, Maths, Ethics, etc..) then you student teach in the Spring and take your licensing exams in May/June.
Re: Help me optimize my IT path
"QTS is very easy to obtain as an OTT, and it works if all you teach is what your academic preparation/degree is in (there is no PD). However, no BS (British School) is going to equate a foreigner with QTS and no experience in the UK NC as knowing anything about British education, curriculum, operations, or organization."
Two questions on this:
1. Would generalist roles like Primary be considered under the umbrella of what my degree (BGS) is in?
2. When you say no British School will assume a foreigner with a QTS and no experience knows anything about their system, are you referring to BS in the UK or all British IS? Or are they essentially the same in that regard? (sorry if it seems like I'm being obtuse, just want to make sure my understanding is clear)
Two questions on this:
1. Would generalist roles like Primary be considered under the umbrella of what my degree (BGS) is in?
2. When you say no British School will assume a foreigner with a QTS and no experience knows anything about their system, are you referring to BS in the UK or all British IS? Or are they essentially the same in that regard? (sorry if it seems like I'm being obtuse, just want to make sure my understanding is clear)