TeachNow - Is it worth it?

[markadams384]

Hi Everyone!

Im a 25 year old British Kinder English Teach currently working in Istanbul, Turkey - I have 3 years teaching experience and this year I work for the Semi-International IB school in Istanbul. I am doing my IB training and currently hold CELTA, and a Masters degree in Chemistry. I am now determined to become a licenced teacher but going back to the UK to train is not an option. My aim is to become competitive for international schools in Japan where I aim to move in 2 years.

Ive been looking at the Teach Now course : – it looks fantastic, easy to do whilst working and gives a state licence in the District of Colombia. From this course, there is no certificate awarded at the end, after completing the course and the required state exams you can directly acquire the state teaching licence.

This sounds great to me but I was wondering how useful this would be in reality – would international schools value the person for having the state teaching licence but no official teaching certificate? Or is the teacher just having the teaching licence the main thing that international schools look for in a candidate?

TeachNow also offers the opportunity to continue the course and also attain a Masters in Education – this is only 3 months extra work (but 7000 USD more!). The MEd is issued by their own school ‘Educator’ and not from an official university. Do you think this would add significant value to me as a candidate international teacher, or the teaching licence and experience would make me a strong candidate by itself? Do you believe the online courses are respected enough in the teaching world?

It is also not NCATE accredited, but has Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).Is this valued and respected?

This seems to be the only option to get a teaching licence for someone doing it online from outside the US or UK. Is there any recommendations - do you think getting the masters MEd from Eductor is worth it? Should I just leave it and go with my current certificates?

Thank you for any advice,

Mark

[PsyGuy]

Well there are distant, online and global cohort programs through British Unis and you can do induction at a BSO, there is also the option of PGCEi, then apply for D.C state certification, and use the D.C. state certification to apply for QTS. The field experience issue will be the most difficult with Teach Now.

Teach Now isnt "easy" to do, the main issue is you will have to find an accredited IS in your location to do your 3 months of field experience, easy if you already have or are at a qualifying IS, not so easy if you dont.

Unlike the UK where you obtain a PGCE and then induction to obtain QTS, in the States Unis dont issue certificates (and if they do, they have no practical value), the teaching credential you obtain through the states regulatory authority is the "certificate".

Their masters program/degree is essentially a non-accredited degree. Its not really worth anything, and none of the credits would likely transfer anywhere. You may be able to use it for placement on a salary scale assuming no one checks too closely. In general a masters is a masters unless you go to an "Ivy" such as Harvard, Yale, OxBridge, McGill, Sorbonne, but those are accredited university degrees, the Teach Now degree isnt.

CAEP is the new organizational body for the former NCATE (they merged with TEAC). Its a club though, there is no benefit by being a CAEP member, what matters is if the EPP/ITT program is accredited by that states regulatory authority (which Teach Now is).

I wouldnt advise approaching IE without a professional qualification, if you are going to do an M.Ed in the states I would advise pursuing either an administrator credential, counselor, librarian credential, otherwise the time spent out of the classroom is a bigger loss then a generic M.Ed.

[MedellinHeel]

can non americans do teachnow and teacherready? if so what are the stipulations for them getting their state license?

[shadowjack]

Non-Americans can do Teach Now. Their licensure is through Washington DC. It's a bit of an anomaly there :-)

[PsyGuy]

@MedellinHeel

Non-Americans can do both programs, you just must be a US Citizen in Florida (Teach Ready) to be eligible for a state certification. Teach Ready will give you a certificate of completion thats worth very little.
The District of Columbia will issue state certifications to non-americans, so the Teach Now program has more utility. DC is a defacto clearing house for ITs coming to the US.

[markadams384]

Thanks for all the great responses.

I think I will be able to complete the teach now qualification at the school I currently work at.

So from what I understood the state licence becomes the teaching certificate? Do you think it it's valued like that in international schools?

Thank you again

[shadowjack]

markadams384 - there are teachers working globally with teach now certification. Remember - it is not teach now that certifies you - it is Washington DC educational authority, just like other states.

[PsyGuy]

@markadams384

A state teaching license is the same as a teaching certificate, license and certificate are often used interchangeably, unlike the UK where you obtain the certificate (PGCE) from your Uni, and your license (QTS) from the DfE (Teachers College).

[markadams384]

Thank you that's great. Cleared a lot up for me!

Just a final note... the schools im looking at ask för a teaching credential- does that us state licence count as this credential or is the credential something more like a pgce, BEd or masters?

Is it easy to traster the pcgei to state licensure? I called dc doe and they were not helpful or knowledge able about the process at all, nor had they heard of it before.

Thank you again your knowledge is so valuable!

Teachnow is very viable for me to do- I think I will go for it then?!

[PsyGuy]

@markadams384

Yes; license, certificate, qualification, credential, are all used interchangeably when referring to the document issued by the US states regulatory authority.

Yes you can transfer a PGCEi to D.C. through transcript - for a D.C. state certification. the representatives that answer the phones are just customer support reps, they arent actually credentialing specialists who do the actual evaluations.

If Teach Now will accept your current IS for your field experience than you are in a very strong position to be successful with Teach Now.

My recommendation is usually Teach Now over Teach Ready, the testing process is easier/simpler and more convenient, the field experience is longer and more meaningful, and there is little issue with D.C. certification and citizenship. The disadvantages are that: 1) the field experience is much longer, and potentially a barrier to a candidate who dont have a relationship/current employment in an acceptable IS. 2) The Cohort design of the program delivery is more structured, requires moving at the pace of your cohort, and isnt self paced, which can be inconvenient.
Teach Ready requires you to travel to the states for your examinations, and FL is less friendly a state for certification, but requiring only 5 days of student teaching is a much easier arrangement for a candidate who does not have a current IS they are working at, or need to move at their own pace do to work or time constraints.
PGCEi is ideal for those who want/need an academic program, self paced, and have minimal field experience options (you can do a PGCEi working in ESOL).

To summarize the main distinctions:

Teach Now: Working Professional, Structured delivery, non-US citizen.
Teach Ready: Non-Working professional with IS access, Flexibility delivery, US citizen.
PGCEi: No IS access, flexible delivery, non-US citizens