Hello everybody
I am a teacher specialized in Greek language, literature and history . My degree is in Philosophy and education and my MA in continuing education. I am interested in applying for a job to IB schools but I am not sure what kind of qualifications are required to teach at this position.I am also wondering if the field of my studies is demanded by IB schools.
Could anyone give me some information about what kind of professional development is best for the IB schools? And what kind of teaching position I could apply for?
Thank you
PD for non IB teachers
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Re: PD for non IB teachers
A couple of questions.
1. Are you a certified teacher, with a teaching certificate issued by your government authority (state, federal, etc)? 2. What teaching areas are you currently teaching?
2. Where do you want to teach?
Some answers. Greek language, literature and history (if it is only Greek history :-) are not in high demand internationally. You might do well to hit up some of the UK or Swiss private schools.
As for PD for IB schools, don't waste your money. The courses you would take won't count for much. Finding a lower tier IB school that will train you is the best route in.
1. Are you a certified teacher, with a teaching certificate issued by your government authority (state, federal, etc)? 2. What teaching areas are you currently teaching?
2. Where do you want to teach?
Some answers. Greek language, literature and history (if it is only Greek history :-) are not in high demand internationally. You might do well to hit up some of the UK or Swiss private schools.
As for PD for IB schools, don't waste your money. The courses you would take won't count for much. Finding a lower tier IB school that will train you is the best route in.
Reponse
What are you certified to teach and what teaching experience do you have?
IB isnt a school its a curriculum/program. It can be implemented in private/independent schools in which case the qualifications are likely whatever the school wants them to be. IB can also be implemented in public/regulated schools in which case you must meet whatever qualification requirements mandated by the national educational authority.
In addition, IB ISs look for experience teaching IB and some level of IB training (typically IB workshops). The rule is that no amount of training equals any kind of experience. IB experience is far more valuable than training, to the point that training is only valuable when compared to those who dont have any experience or training.
You have a very specialized niche. Within IB you want to look into TOK, or Theory of Knowledge its a DIP level program (year 11 & 12) that is a epistemology and philosophy course that all DIP students take. The problems you are going to find are:
1) Only at large ISs is TOK a full time slot, in smaller ISs TOK is a part time work load requiring you to teach something else or have admin/coordinator duties.
2) TOK is very specialized within a IS, its not just how to do TOK its how a certain IS does TOK, and as such IB ISs tend to promote TOK teachers from within.
3) You really need experience in TOK, there is no academic training that prepares you to teach TOK, so ISs with vacancies typically require TOK experience.
Greek is very specialized you really need to generalize yourself and expand your qualifications and resume into a more recognized field, such as humanities/social studies, and adding latin, religious studies, etc.
IB isnt a school its a curriculum/program. It can be implemented in private/independent schools in which case the qualifications are likely whatever the school wants them to be. IB can also be implemented in public/regulated schools in which case you must meet whatever qualification requirements mandated by the national educational authority.
In addition, IB ISs look for experience teaching IB and some level of IB training (typically IB workshops). The rule is that no amount of training equals any kind of experience. IB experience is far more valuable than training, to the point that training is only valuable when compared to those who dont have any experience or training.
You have a very specialized niche. Within IB you want to look into TOK, or Theory of Knowledge its a DIP level program (year 11 & 12) that is a epistemology and philosophy course that all DIP students take. The problems you are going to find are:
1) Only at large ISs is TOK a full time slot, in smaller ISs TOK is a part time work load requiring you to teach something else or have admin/coordinator duties.
2) TOK is very specialized within a IS, its not just how to do TOK its how a certain IS does TOK, and as such IB ISs tend to promote TOK teachers from within.
3) You really need experience in TOK, there is no academic training that prepares you to teach TOK, so ISs with vacancies typically require TOK experience.
Greek is very specialized you really need to generalize yourself and expand your qualifications and resume into a more recognized field, such as humanities/social studies, and adding latin, religious studies, etc.
Re: PD for non IB teachers
Thank you very much for your reply. For the last 5 years I have been teaching at an American elementary school but only Greek as a foreign language .
If I attend some workshops and at the same time try to be certified in social studies will that increase my chances? How can someone have the experience for an IS ?
My other option off course is to find IS in Greece but there are not many and you usually have to know the right people that could introduce me to a particular school. Still, I would rather have more options to work either to Greece or to any school in Europe. I'm just making a research to see if it's worth it. What can someone do to get the first experience?
Also, at the ibo website I saw a list of universities recommended for obtaining a certification . I looked into it but it usually last too long and it costs a lot! What is the difference between the workshops and the certification from a university?
Thanks again for your answer!
If I attend some workshops and at the same time try to be certified in social studies will that increase my chances? How can someone have the experience for an IS ?
My other option off course is to find IS in Greece but there are not many and you usually have to know the right people that could introduce me to a particular school. Still, I would rather have more options to work either to Greece or to any school in Europe. I'm just making a research to see if it's worth it. What can someone do to get the first experience?
Also, at the ibo website I saw a list of universities recommended for obtaining a certification . I looked into it but it usually last too long and it costs a lot! What is the difference between the workshops and the certification from a university?
Thanks again for your answer!
Re: PD for non IB teachers
My first thought as a subject area would be Humanities in an MYP program; there would be more openings in MYP (because there are more grade levels to teach). Second thought, with the degree in philosophy, was Theory of Knowledge in the DP. A smaller school would probably be interested in your being able to teach both subjects.
You would certainly need to get a real teaching certificate to get anywhere on the international circuit. A secondary certificate with an endorsement in social studies/humanities would help. Some schools, including one I taught at, will do their own IB training with new hires. You don't need to settle for lousy schools just to get international experience, and you could very well teach TOK without prior experience (I've seen it happen, and this was at a well-established school).
You would certainly need to get a real teaching certificate to get anywhere on the international circuit. A secondary certificate with an endorsement in social studies/humanities would help. Some schools, including one I taught at, will do their own IB training with new hires. You don't need to settle for lousy schools just to get international experience, and you could very well teach TOK without prior experience (I've seen it happen, and this was at a well-established school).
Reply
@thaleia
Greek at primary level, very interesting.
Yes adding social studies/humanities will increase your marketability, understand though that social studies/humanities is one of the most common certification fields within IE. A lot of ITs have a social studies/humanities qualification and that as a social studies/humanities IT you still have to offer a subject area that an IS needs. Certification or not Greek just doesnt have very much demand (like really close to zero). How would your background justify your candidacy to an IS? History (world history) is the most common subject within social studies/humanities, can you teach that? Can you teach it at ELQ (Exit Level Qualification) to year 11/12 students? Can you demonstrate that to a recruiter to the point that they would give you a classroom and not worry that their scores will drop because of you? Do you have any expertise in other fields of social studies/humanities?
Yes a qualification in social studies and humanities will make you more marketable but a Greek teacher is practically invisible, and a social studies/humanities with no marketable experience and skills is visible, but your going to be on the bottom of a very large stack of applications, unless an IS needs someone to teach Greek, in which case that stack would be a LOT smaller.
No amount of training equals any amount of experience. IB workshops only have value when compared to ITs who have nothing. At about $600/each they really arent worth it, and they arent going to do much if anything for your resume or marketability.
IB workshops meet the minimum requirement for an IB school in providing PD (professional development). They are 15-18 hours in length (F2F) and typically last over a weekend. Online versions last 3-6 weeks and require the same amount of time. The difference is that in an online workshop you actually have to do some work, in a group F2F workshop, you just have to show up and participate.
IB Certification is less a certification and more a "Master" workshop training program. IB Certificates meet all PD/training requirements for an IT regardless of what they teach. IB Certificates work best for ITs that do not have a professional educator qualification, those who would pursue a masters degree anyway, or IB teachers who teach a lot of different subjects either within a cluster or within DIP. Originally their market focus was IB admins and coordinators. Most of the IB certificates are graduate level programs.
Most ITs start at third tier ISs or ISs in hardship locations and work there way up and over. The problem is going to be that many third tier ISs unless they are a Greek school are not going to have any need for a Greek teacher.
You could look for a municipal school or IS in Greece. The labor market in Greece is very high and lots of available teachers are unemployed, it would be difficult (very difficult) for an IS to justify hiring and receiving approval for a foreigner to be hired.
I would suggest setting aside the Greek, the social studies the humanities, philosophy, and TOK. Youve been working in an elementary school (primary) for 5 years youre a primary/elementary school teacher. While there are a lot of primary ITs there are also a lot of primary IT vacancies each year, a lot more than there are Greek FL vacancies, and you are much more marketable as a primary teacher than a social studies/humanities teacher. You could find an IB world school start out in PYP and once you were in an IS you were comfortable with you could train in TOK and move into PYP coordinator and TOK Teacher.
With your 5 years of experience you would likely be eligible now for a Connecticut initial teacher license without having to complete an EPP/ITT program in World Languages (Greek) by taking the ACTFL oral and writing exam.
MYP doesnt have more opening than DIP, most IB ITs teaching at various levels at the secondary level, and MYP still isnt implemented as popular in many ISs. DIP is a means for an IS to provide an ELQ, and many ISs use a national curriculum or local curriculum for their lower and mid secondary program.
Greek at primary level, very interesting.
Yes adding social studies/humanities will increase your marketability, understand though that social studies/humanities is one of the most common certification fields within IE. A lot of ITs have a social studies/humanities qualification and that as a social studies/humanities IT you still have to offer a subject area that an IS needs. Certification or not Greek just doesnt have very much demand (like really close to zero). How would your background justify your candidacy to an IS? History (world history) is the most common subject within social studies/humanities, can you teach that? Can you teach it at ELQ (Exit Level Qualification) to year 11/12 students? Can you demonstrate that to a recruiter to the point that they would give you a classroom and not worry that their scores will drop because of you? Do you have any expertise in other fields of social studies/humanities?
Yes a qualification in social studies and humanities will make you more marketable but a Greek teacher is practically invisible, and a social studies/humanities with no marketable experience and skills is visible, but your going to be on the bottom of a very large stack of applications, unless an IS needs someone to teach Greek, in which case that stack would be a LOT smaller.
No amount of training equals any amount of experience. IB workshops only have value when compared to ITs who have nothing. At about $600/each they really arent worth it, and they arent going to do much if anything for your resume or marketability.
IB workshops meet the minimum requirement for an IB school in providing PD (professional development). They are 15-18 hours in length (F2F) and typically last over a weekend. Online versions last 3-6 weeks and require the same amount of time. The difference is that in an online workshop you actually have to do some work, in a group F2F workshop, you just have to show up and participate.
IB Certification is less a certification and more a "Master" workshop training program. IB Certificates meet all PD/training requirements for an IT regardless of what they teach. IB Certificates work best for ITs that do not have a professional educator qualification, those who would pursue a masters degree anyway, or IB teachers who teach a lot of different subjects either within a cluster or within DIP. Originally their market focus was IB admins and coordinators. Most of the IB certificates are graduate level programs.
Most ITs start at third tier ISs or ISs in hardship locations and work there way up and over. The problem is going to be that many third tier ISs unless they are a Greek school are not going to have any need for a Greek teacher.
You could look for a municipal school or IS in Greece. The labor market in Greece is very high and lots of available teachers are unemployed, it would be difficult (very difficult) for an IS to justify hiring and receiving approval for a foreigner to be hired.
I would suggest setting aside the Greek, the social studies the humanities, philosophy, and TOK. Youve been working in an elementary school (primary) for 5 years youre a primary/elementary school teacher. While there are a lot of primary ITs there are also a lot of primary IT vacancies each year, a lot more than there are Greek FL vacancies, and you are much more marketable as a primary teacher than a social studies/humanities teacher. You could find an IB world school start out in PYP and once you were in an IS you were comfortable with you could train in TOK and move into PYP coordinator and TOK Teacher.
With your 5 years of experience you would likely be eligible now for a Connecticut initial teacher license without having to complete an EPP/ITT program in World Languages (Greek) by taking the ACTFL oral and writing exam.
MYP doesnt have more opening than DIP, most IB ITs teaching at various levels at the secondary level, and MYP still isnt implemented as popular in many ISs. DIP is a means for an IS to provide an ELQ, and many ISs use a national curriculum or local curriculum for their lower and mid secondary program.