Career Corner

As an educator, I find it imperative and a sense of duty to the profession, to engage in constant professional development, educational growth, and personal learning. Life-long learning, after all, is what being a teacher is about. International teaching, with its built-in structure of constant professional development combined with working in a culture and society far removed from our own, opens new horizons with endless opportunities for expanding our minds.

Should you consider the path of international teaching, you will find excellent benefits packages. These usually include excellent salaries, travel stipends, and housing. The typical K-12 American School abroad often educates students who are family members of embassy employees or top business professionals. Working with these students is a productive and rewarding experience. As a teacher, your expectations of the students lie on excellence in language acquisition, academic achievement, college preparation and character development.

On a more personal level, there are the service opportunities for both teachers and their students to contribute beyond the classroom and school borders. Both you and your students travel a path of mental growth through learning to understand, support and give to underprivileged groups. Many underdeveloped countries experience enormous gaps between poverty and affluent communities. You will find that there are unlimited options and opportunities to participate in community service projects.

Society today faces many challenges; in return, students across the global spectrum face greater pressures. The entire world is challenged by complex issues including the rapid development of new technologies, changing local demographics, and the rising cost of living. As individuals, we are confronted with a need to better understand other cultures. International teaching offers you the opportunity to gain a different perspective of the world. This international experience and insight will enable you to guide students in accepting, respecting, and responding appropriately to diversity.
Moving abroad does have its challenges, therefore it is important to do sufficient homework and background study on the country, city, community and the school. When communicating with international school representatives, do not be shy - vigorously investigate what you personally need to know about the school, the teaching contract, the community, and the country you are considering. Get in touch with the teachers, parents and community members. Seek the advice of veteran teachers you meet at international job fairs. The following recruiting agencies are a few of the useful resources available to you: The University of Northern Iowa International Educator Placement Service (http://www.uni.edu/placement/overseas/), International Schools Services (http://www.iss.edu/index.asp), Association of American Schools in South America (http://www.aassa.com/index.asp) and Association of International Educators (http://www.nafsa.org/).

It was a privilege and unforgettable learning experience to spend four years teaching at Colegio Internacional de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela. The meaning of the ¨two-way road¨ of learning and development in a culturally diverse and foreign environment, combined with the high expectations of students in the college preparatory process, has brought a new dimension to my experience and understanding of being a teacher.

With all the challenges that international teaching can bring forth, the result is an incredibly rewarding experience. Whether you teach internationally for a few years or a lifetime, you will become a better teacher with insight into other cultures and a new appreciation of the worldwide educational system.

--Ingrid Beute,
Career Counselor,
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

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The national newspaper USA Today recently ran an article about the coming tsunami in hiring teachers. I thought this was an interesting article since we are in the middle of a sharp downturn in the economy and there are layoffs in education. Many districts are cutting staff and laying off teachers, so how could this article be correct?

After browsing the article and pausing for a moment of thought I realized that this headline was correct. We will soon, maybe it will take a year or two, have a great need for new teachers. This will be a result of the delay in retirement for those who recently planned to retire but could not because their retirement savings were depleted by the stock market downturn. It will also be caused by the huge need to replace those teachers who were laid off this past year due to the lack of state funding for education.

The bright spot on the horizon of this problem will be the fact that in times of economic distress more people chose teaching as a career. Teaching is seen as more stable and less prone to the ups and downs of the business world. Hopefully this influx of new teachers will offset the outgo of those retiring from the teaching profession.

Bob Maxfield
Director
BYU-Idaho Teacher Career Services

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Does the law of supply and demand apply to teachers? The reason I ask this question is because we have a shortage of math, science, and special education teachers. Will schools eventually join the free enterprise system and reward teachers in these high demand areas with commensurate salaries from the non-teaching world? Recently I have seen signing bonuses for student teachers graduating in these fields. Will these bonuses continue for the career of the teacher?

The reason I mention this is twofold. First, I was visiting with an excellent junior high school science teacher who had been the teacher for my children when they were in school. He was taking classes to become a school administrator to increase his salary and unfortunately leave his position as a science teacher. He commented that if he were in industry he could make three times his teaching salary. Second, I worked at a university where the salaries of the engineering, math and science departments were forced to adapt to the real world. Too many of the faculty from these disciplines left on sabbatical to work with industry and were offered two to three times their salary. When they did not return the university took notice and was forced to accept the market value of their faculty.

Is this the reality for our school system? Is this the answer to our teacher shortage in these areas?

Bob Maxfield
Director
BYU-Idaho Teacher Career Services

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A few years ago I attended an AAEE (American Association for Employment in Education) national conference. The conference attendees were abuzz over a statement made by a recruiter. The statement was in essence that a teacher is hired because of his or her personality.

College and university faculty and career services personnel were very upset. How could someone think that a teacher was hired because of personality? What about the years of training and education? Didn’t those years of education mean anything?

After pondering the idea of personality as the reason for hire I came to the following conclusion. Both the recruiter and the faculty were correct! The student was hired because of personality. The teacher had reached a certain level of expertise as defined by the completed level of education. That level of expertise was a given for each graduate. In other words, the knowledge needed to be a good teacher had been achieved through education, but the intangibles were defined by the person himself or herself. If this were not so the teachers that had the highest GPA would be hired and there would be no need for an interview process.

This may be the reason that passing a Praxis test does not necessarily qualify someone as a good teacher. It does acknowledge a level of competency but it does not measure the level of a teacher’s compassion and care for students, ability to reach students, ability to nurture students, etc. This is also the reason that robots or computers do not teach classes.

I believe that the hiring process still boils down to the handshake, the presentation, and the warm feeling that is generated by a personal connection.

-Bob Maxfield, Director
Brigham Young University - Idaho Teacher Career Services

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A few years ago a student came into my office to discuss his teaching career. He said, “I just finished student teaching. I graduate in two months and I hate teaching. What do I do now?” I was stunned. How did this student get so far in his education without getting experience in the classroom to find out if he would be a good teacher? Was his teacher preparation program so rigid about his in-class studies that they missed the most important part of his education, real time in the public school classroom? How could the teacher education program better prepare this young man for the shock of having his own class?

I have also met students who seemed groomed to be teachers, from their time in high school until their graduation from college. Their resumes were chock full of teaching experiences ranging from tutoring while in high school or college, volunteering with special needs students, working part-time as a para-professional aide during college, working for the after-school program, teaching in a summer school, and other excellent teacher preparation experiences.

Why was there such a disparity in preparation between these students? Why was one student so unprepared for a career in education and other students so well prepared? Is it possible to prepare students for their careers in education by requiring or highly recommending volunteer work, part-time work, or summer work in a teaching setting while they complete their college education?

Speaking at a career services conference, Jaime Escalante explained his philosophy on hiring teachers. He said he told his principals that when interviewing potential teachers they should ask what the candidates do in their spare time. If the interviewees say they go motorbiking or go bar hopping they should not be hired. If they say they volunteer at the local YMCA, work with their church youth groups, etc. they should be hired.

The same is true of students graduating from college. They should have related volunteer or paid teaching experience to back up their choice of education as a career. They should NOT have student teaching as the only teaching experience on their resume. They should NOT have to realize after student teaching that they are not good teachers.

Bob Maxfield,
Director
BYU-Idaho Teacher Career Services

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I wish that I had a nickel for every time that I have heard these words spoken by a non-traditional age college student as we begin a job search discussion. Education majors seem to be worse than others. Maybe that is due to the fact that the students in our PK-12 system typically range from ages 4-19 and the logical assumption that follows is that the farther from these ages you are, the less effective you will be relating to young students. Some people will even go so far as to assume that “older” teaching candidates may lack the energy to “keep up” with their students and the fast pace of a school environment.

Well, if you are worried about employers having these assumptions, I have some good news for you. In the recently released Age & Generations Study—a research survey of 2,210 employees across the country conducted by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College in 2007–2008- the results were quite illuminating, though not entirely surprising. Two of the study’s key findings are particularly noteworthy:
1. Older workers are more likely to have higher levels of engagement than younger workers.
2. Employees reporting better physical and mental health are more likely to have higher levels of engagement than those with poorer physical and mental health.

I have found the first finding to be especially true of non-traditional age teaching candidates. The vast majority of these folks with whom I have worked have typically come to the realization that teaching is their passion and they are anxious to learn everything about the field and get to work. When that enthusiasm for teaching children and young adults is conveyed in the job search process, the candidate’s age becomes irrelevant to recruiters.

In my experience the second finding is definitely applicable to non-traditional age teaching candidates, as well. Those who are in good physical and mental health, regardless of age, are more competitive in the search process, as that process can be grueling at times. This does not mean that everyone should immediately begin an IronMan/Woman training regimen. It does mean, however, that teaching candidates should pay attention to their states of physical and mental fitness. Recruiters translate energy, stamina and good temper in the various interview phases as capacity to handle the physical and mental rigors of managing a classroom environment over the course of an academic year.

Age truly does not matter in the competition for teaching positions. I have seen 21 year old teaching candidates who presented themselves as though they were 81 and I have seen mid-life career-changers who possessed the zeal for teaching and the vigor of candidates who were half their age. My advice to both traditional age and non-traditional age teaching candidates is to be cognizant of the importance of engagement and health in your personal and professional development. They are traits that will help you get the job that you want and add to your satisfaction once you are there.

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I am fairly certain that most prospective teachers and even many first-year educators do not spend much time pondering the topic of tenure. Indeed, aside from possible mention in the introductory courses in education I would daresay tenure is considered germane to the actual training of teachers. I don’t think much about the topic, either, until I come across articles about its eminent demise. These articles appear to be occurring more and more frequently which is why all prospective and current teachers should increase their awareness and knowledge of tenure policies and laws. Whether or not you agree with the principles of tenure, you need to understand the history, as well as the current arguments, in order to know your present situation and speak intelligently on the topic.

I encourage you to start your research with the current laws in the state in which you are searching for jobs or presently teach. That state department of education’s website and the school district’s human resources or professional development website should contain this information. If you have questions about these laws you owe it to yourself to ask for clarification. Think of this information as you would your car or home insurance policies. We tend not to read those in detail until something bad happens. That may not be catastrophic with your car, or even your home but with your job, it is definitely better to know your rights before dire situations arise.

You must next proceed to the political arena and attempt to gauge the prevailing attitudes of elected officials, from your local school board members to state legislators and the governor, to our newly elected and appointed officials in Washington. For example, there have been very recent legislative actions in Florida, New York and Ohio that were designed to alter the tenure laws in those states. It is incumbent upon you as an educator, especially those of you teaching in those states, to know more about those efforts. I highly recommend that you regularly monitor EducationWeek and other reliable sources for developing trends on this topic.

Obviously, it is in your best interest to know more about your own current and projected tenure status. Beyond that, however, it would be advantageous to the entire teaching profession for you to at least be prepared enough to intelligently respond to the question, “Will Teacher Tenure Exist in the Future?” If you are not, it is much easier for others to make it go away.

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I really enjoy the opportunity to interact with prospective students at our Admissions functions. One such encounter occurred last Saturday when I spoke with a high school senior (and her parents) who is planning to become an elementary school teacher. Since these chance encounters do not allow time for a deep exploration of the prospective student’s reasons for their choice of majors and careers, I just assumed that her motives were well-analyzed, her chosen field was well-researched and elementary education is an appropriate fit. I then moved quickly to making my points about future marketability in this arena.
A study of the supply and demand data collected by the American Association for Employment in Education (which is available in AAEE’s annual “Job Search Handbook for Educators”) reveals an abundance of prospective elementary teachers in most parts of the country. A quick inquiry of your local districts will provide valuable feedback as to their balances of supply and demand at the elementary level, but in most cases, the story will be the same – landing an elementary teaching job is a very competitive process!! Aside from the common admonitions about good grades, relevant experiences, broadening your geographic preferences, etc., how do you go about increasing your marketability, particularly if you have legitimate geographic constraints?
The answer to the above question may very well be “learn to speak the language.” The specific language would be the language most needed by your targeted districts. Many school districts across the country are having great difficulties locating and hiring bilingual teachers. They are trying to fill bilingual education program positions, as well as, hiring teachers who are bilingual for their regular classrooms. The former programs previously existed only in the states along the Mexican border and in many urban areas. That is no longer the situation. Schools across the country are becoming multicultural settings with students and their parents bringing multiple languages into the mix. You can easily discover the language needs of your targeted districts by simply asking an HR staff member to identify current and projected student population demographics.
Once you have that information what do you do? The obvious answer, of course, is to master the needed language!! That may be easy for my high school friend who has a few years to prepare for the competition but what about those of you who are currently in the market for an elementary teaching position? The answer can be very close by or thousands of miles away. Nearby are the formal and informal resources on and around your college campus. The formal resources are foreign language courses that you can build into your curriculum if you are still pursuing your degree or take as post-baccalaureate credit if you have completed your degree. There may also be some non-credit courses taught through your university’s continuing education division. Informally, you may check out your university’s International Student Office to see if there are any students who might wish to provide a teaching/tutoring arrangement. International students are often eager to do so in hopes that you will reciprocate by assisting them with their mastery of English.
In addition to your campus and community resources, there are opportunities to learn a language through travel/work abroad. Numerous language immersion programs are offered by universities and private entities. Since this travel may be pricey for a new college graduate, you may want to check out paid opportunities to teach English in a foreign country. These programs are usually short in duration and do not require certification in a subject area. You are hired just to assist the native students with their English skills. In return, you have an ideal opportunity to learn that country’s language.
Your university’s career center contains a wealth of information on this topic and advisors there can provide valuable insights on the right path for you. As I told my high school senior/2013 elementary school teaching candidate last Saturday, it does not matter how you choose to acquire a second or third language, it just makes sense to do it. You’ll gain an incredible competitive edge!!!

Curt Schafer
Director of Career Services
Texas State University

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Our Teacher Job Fairs have a browsing session in the morning and structured interviews in the afternoon. The interviews are scheduled during the browse portion when school district representatives discover candidates who match their staffing needs and desired professional profiles.
As I monitored the afternoon interviewing process on April Fools’ Day it became strikingly apparent that almost all of the students and alumni who had scored afternoon interviews were very professionally dressed and groomed. Now, that may not come as a great surprise to many of you but I have been involved in teacher job fairs for over 20 years and have seen thousands of candidates present themselves to school districts in good economic times and bad. In all of those experiences, I cannot recall a time when this level of attention was paid to those personal image details.
I asked two of the recruiters about this observation and their replies were similar. First, with the exception of a few challenging teaching disciplines, there are many more qualified applicants than there are positions. This means that recruiters then need to look beyond basic credentials in order to narrow their choices. Professional presentation is one of the “other” criteria used in that process.
The second and more compelling reason they offered for the heightened emphasis on professional dress and grooming was an increase in the interactions between their teachers and the “public.” One recruiter stated that the days of teachers spending every day by themselves in their classrooms are history. In classrooms today and in the future, teachers are more likely to host visitors/observers and have meetings with supervisors, parents, board members, media members, business partners, etc. Outside of their classrooms they will be required to attend professional development events, PTA/O meetings, media events, community fundraisers, etc. The image projected by the teacher becomes a direct reflection on the district and the districts take that very seriously.
In short, it is not necessary to look like a GQ or Vogue model during your search for a teaching position but you don’t want to be an April Fool either. You should be professionally groomed and well-versed in the distinctions between business formal, business casual and other types of attire. The former will enhance your chances of getting the interview and quite possibly, the job that you desire, especially in difficult economic times and this era of transparency and accountability.

Curt Schafer
Director of Career Services
Texas State University

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For the first time in recent memory, several school districts from a large metropolitan area near our university canceled their attendance at our spring teacher recruitment event – after they had already registered. This occurred in large part because of, you guessed it, a cut in state funding, which is resulting in budget cuts.

District budget constraints and reductions adversely affect the job market for new teachers - no secret there. Because districts may not be recruiting actively in as wide a market as previously, the district in which you are most interested in teaching may not be coming or have come to your campus to recruit. Does this mean they are not interested in new teachers? Does it mean they will not be interested in you? Does it mean they are not hiring any new teachers? Does it mean you cannot apply to that district? The answer to each of these questions is “no.”

What it does mean is that you will have to exercise more initiative to make contact with and be considered by your districts of choice. I use the plural “districts” because any person putting all his or her eggs in one basket in this market is not approaching the search wisely.

Here are a three ways that you might be able to contact your districts of choice effectively when they do not come to your campus.

• Attend an event at another university. The districts to which I alluded did recruit at another university 25 miles away. Why there and not here? Our university is not a major supplier of teachers for those districts. We are located in a city of about 120,000, and we are a, if not the, major supplier of teachers for the school districts in our immediate vicinity. The large institution where the districts did recruit is a major supplier for them. If the districts have to prioritize where they recruit, knowing that they will have a reduced number of opportunities, they will focus on their most fertile recruiting ground. That university’s events are open to our students, so attending events there is an option.

• Attend an event that the district sponsors. Over the last five years, we have seen an increasing number of “fairs” or interview events sponsored by districts and held on Saturdays on in the evenings. Districts initially intended these to lure professionals in other fields to interview, but most are not limited in that way. Several of our students who were interested in one of our canceled districts attended an “interview night” sponsored by the district at one of their schools.

• Contact the district directly. This technique is always in play, of course. If the districts you want are at a long distance from you, schedule a trip to that location, and ask for interviews during your visit. Most districts will try to accommodate you, as they don’t want to miss out on good candidates. This works best if you are in a hard-to-fill subject area.

The teacher job market has changed rapidly and continues to evolve. In times like these, the good candidate who takes initiative and is creative with the search will generate the most opportunities.

--Kent McAnally
Director, Washburn University Career Services
On Behalf of AAEE

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