Posted on 10/07/2019 9:28:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
When Joevie Alvarado became a teacher, she never expected to teach American students 7,600 miles away.
But a dire shortage of US teachers means some schools are taking drastic measures -- like hiring teachers from half a world away.
"For the first year, it's a little bit of a struggle because I'm the kind of person who misses family that easily," said Alvarado, who taught for a decade in the Philippines before moving to Arizona.
But "in terms of pay, let's just say my previous pay was multiplied by eight or 10 when I got here," she said. "So having that kind of pay, it enticed me to be here."
Some parents may be surprised to learn their children are now being taught by international teachers.
Tom Trigalet, who was principal at Casa Grand Union High School when Alvarado was hired, said there's not much choice.
"When you really don't have any other applicants, how are you going to fill those spots?" Trigalet said. But hiring teachers from overseas is only a temporary fix to a widespread problem.
A nationwide crisis
Across the US, schools are hemorrhaging teachers while fewer college graduates enter the profession.
In 2018, the US had an estimated shortage of 112,000 teachers, according to the Learning Policy Institute.
Arizona alone had 7,000 teacher vacancies going into this year, said Joe Thomas, president of the Arizona Education Association.
Some of those vacancies are filled by people who don't have a standard teaching certificate, he said. Others are being plugged by long-term substitutes, contracted agencies or teachers who must add an additional course to their day.
So schools like Casa Grande Union High have hired several Filipino teachers using J-1 visas. Those visas allow teachers to stay in the US for up to five years.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
“Well I was trying to be funny when they said they wanted to import teachers from overseas. Guess I have to watch my humor in the future.”
I am sorry if I got riled up but its one of those subjects that is something I have been seeing and dealing with for a long time. Please don’t take what I said personally and I enjoy the discussion even if it gets spirited.
Keep throwing the humor out there...we all need it.
Go for it.
Just how deep should we cocoon in our homes?
People did fine before public schools.
When my sarcasm/humor is so advanced people actually think I'm stupid.
Take Care, Have A Nice Day
a notoriously hard subject to fill with US teachers.
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Why would anyone want to go into a classroom in today’s world. The pay is lousy. The respect for educators is dismal to say the least. And in the touchy feely environment that exists, no one is responsible for their own actions. The teacher is always wrong.
The authority to discipline was removed from the classroom teacher many years ago. Once the state took the position that it is inappropriate for teachers to teach responsibility and morality to students, it wasn’t long before chaos ensued.
Yet there are those teachers who valiantly hold on, keep teaching, and are the real heros, in today’s world.
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
Yet, there are more teachers than jobs in BC.
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Can we recruit, and develop Snowbird teachers, who come to Florida from August to May? Probably not considering the following:
Unfortunately the starting wage of $48,000 in BC is way above the $37,636 that Florida’s governor Desantis is proposing for beginning teachers, and only $1,199 below the average teacher salary in Florida.
In my North Florida county, the top salary for teachers is $49,500. with 16 years of teaching experience.
Maybe we need to develop Sunbirds, who go to Canada to teach?
There are a number of solutions to the so-called teacher crisis that will never see the light of day, thanks to the teachers union:
1. Get rid of the teaching credentials crap. Both of our children went to private schools where very few of the teachers were certified to teach in the public schools. Many were retired STEM professionals, who chose teaching as a second career. Some were fresh out of college with a useless masters degree in one of humanities or social sciences, but with a genuine passion for the subject matter that they wanted to share with the next generation. Some of them had taught English or other subjects in foreign countries. Very few of them had an education degree, and yet our kids graduated from high school well-ahead of their public school peers.
2. Beginning in the junior year of high school, teach classes using a lecture center format — as many of the students will experience in a year or two as college freshmen. Instead of three teachers teaching five classes a day with 20 students in each class, use one teacher to teach three classes with 100 students in each class.
3. Use on-line, virtual classrooms to allow one teacher to teach a greater number of students.
4. Turn teaching into a full-time job so that each teacher teaches all but one period a day instead of the current practice of teaching only five of eight periods.
Sorry I should have converted to US numbers. $48,000 CAD is only $37,000 in US dollars.
Many of the problems with public schools were caused by litigious parents. The balanced were caused by the socialists who filled the management vacuum of public office.
I actually already understand the history the same way you are describing it.
What I’m saying is that had their been the tools available back in the 19th century that we have today, we would never have needed public schools.
Which is why I say we don’t need them now. They are just free daycare for parents that have sold themselves into indentured slavery.
The public schools need serious overhaul. It is prudent for our Nation to do just that. This is a huge undertaking to be sure. It would not be helpful to approach that matter with any strong bias other than the need to get our citizens educated.
I understand why you have issues with public schools. On the other hand, not every parent can teach or even wants to teach.
I don’t think public schools need an overhaul. I think they need to be eliminated.
BTW, I went to an AMAZING school district followed by a TERRIBLE school district back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It’s part of what formed my opinion on schools.
The good one was Mercer Island schools. I was given homework and dived in. I had great teachers that really helped. Then, in 8th grade, I went to Kent schools. I was a year ahead of my peers in science. But that school was a pit with terrible and uncaring or supportive teachers. One was even an alcoholic and we saw him get called to the principle’s office in the middle of class, followed by him walking out to his car and leaving - and we never saw him again.
I went from straight A student at Mercer Island to barely passing in my senior year in Kent. I had lost all motivation to put anything in to it AT ALL.
Mercer Island schools were good because the parents were VERY involved in the quality of the schools. Kent schools were a middle class district and the parents were really not very involved at all. They paid their taxes and expected the schools to do it all.
My takeaway, in the internet age: If you have good parents you will get a fantastic education. Or you have poor parents and you will get a terrible education.
And home schooling simply amplifies both.
Public schools are a 19th century paradigm that outlived its usefulness in the early 21st century. Their primary reason for existing today is to supply free daycare to parents that have sold themselves into indentured slavery.
And some schools are far worse with comple
Ah, you repeat this. Are you sure this is written into the controlling documentation? You are just cynical and narrow minded.
The name calling is unnecessary.
I observe. I discuss with parents. What I find interesting is how many say they don’t have the time to teach their kids because they are both working, so they let the state basically shape their kids’ minds.
Sadly, people think they both need to work when what it is getting them is a bigger house, vacations, boats, nice cars, etc., while they just let the state raise their kids.
That aught not to be.
And yes, I know there are good teachers. I know a couple. But the bottom line is that we no longer need the state to provide a service that we now have the tools to provide for ourselves. But I think the stumbling block is that people need the daycare.
And this article speaks to exactly what I’m referring to in some of my points:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/k12_fake_news_fake_education.html
I observe. I discuss with parents.
I hope you do better than cut and paste in duplicate like you did with me.
What I find interesting is how many say they don’t have the time to teach their kids because they are both working, so they let the state basically shape their kids’ minds.
Ah, but you did gloss over the case of the single parent or perhaps a family shackled with a heavy debt load.
Sadly, people think they both need to work when what it is getting them is a bigger house, vacations, boats, nice cars, etc., while they just let the state raise their kids.
I agree, but that is not true in all cases. There evidently are people in worse conditions than you seem to experience.
But the bottom line is that we no longer need the state to provide a service that we now have the tools to provide for ourselves.
We have a society so that we can come together socially. Living entirely off the web is not my idea of living. I do believe children can and do experience more in life when they grow up with other children. One can't have an orchestra without a large group of people. We formed a Nation so that we can thrive together. We can certainly improve our society, but it is foolish to abandon it just because it doesn't always suit us. I think you should consider your usefulness to your society as much as you fret about your society's benefit to you. You are not being true to the Founders' principles.
One size does not fit all; and, you do not need to be telling me how to raise my children any more than I will be telling you how to raise yours. I came to you because I thought there would be some decent conversation. You never responded to my points except in the most general manner.
What, no one with a master’s degree wants to work for literal minimum wage??
I hope you do better than cut and paste in duplicate like you did with me.
Ah, but you did gloss over the case of the single parent or perhaps a family shackled with a heavy debt load.
My take is that it’s none of the state’s business. It’s not the state’s job to provide them free education, food, car, house, or anything else, IMO.
This becomes a non-issue when there is no such thing as public schools. Like food, houseing, etc., people can provide education to their children based on how much money they have and how much time they have.
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