The International Schools Review Forum

I have a problem, from previous posts you may remember that my school, is looking too fill 2 positions for January, and I have it down to about 65 applications for each position. Today the junior leadership team (myself, the other 2 VP's the counselor, and the librarian), decided to bring to a meeting on friday 5 candidates each and then wed go through them and pick 10 for interviews.

My problem, is I have a candidate that I would like to bring, but they dont have a teaching certificate anymore, at least not a government one. They have an "IB teacher award". So this person is a former NY state teacher. From my understanding in NY you have 5 years to get your masters while on the job, and they never did this so their certification expired. Last year (July) they completed their level 1 IB teaching award, and has been at their current job for the last year and a half. When they started they were still on the last year of their certification, but it has since expired.

While I have an IB teacher award, I wouldnt represent it as my sole teaching qualification, but seeing some of the programs and reviewing the course sequence and requirements for this teachers particular IB award program, its pretty close to a Post Bach certification program in education, or a PGCE (without QTS), for reference the program was completed through Bethel University (USA).

I'm interested in what other professionals and educators think about extra-governmental teaching qualifications.

Is the IB teacher award a "valid" teaching qualification/certification?

In the states would a NTSB (national teaching standards board) certification with out a supporting state certification be "qualify" an individual as a teacher)?

Does a government "seal" matter? Is teaching content key, regardless of the location?

What about university credentials from countries that dont have a formal/official teaching qualification (In Canada, having a B.Ed, is "the" qualification to perform as a teacher)?

If the United Nations (UNESCO, maybe) issued some kind of teaching certification, would it really be valid globally? (INTERPOL, started issuing its own "Official" passports this year after all)?

Regarding National Boards certification, you must hold a valid, current state issued teacher certificate in order to teach - at least in most states. Just having your NB certification will not allow you to teach.

I realize that in the states, most states require you to have Their state certification anyway, haveing an NB is a path to certification when applying in most states. NB certification is good for 10 years, so what if a teacher had a NB certification that was still valid, but their state certification had expired, outside the USA would they still be "certified/qualified" to teach?

The world has gone mad.

I will paraphrase sochrates who would have said....."what the f*ck"

or Dunkin and Biddle...who would have said "for fu**sake if they can teach they can teach"

or St Augustine of Hippo......"Give him a break"

The world has gone mad and political correctness prevails. If the candidate is the best candidate then give them the job.

[quote="PsyGuy"]I have a problem, from previous posts you may remember that my school, is looking too fill 2 positions for January, and I have it down to about 65 applications for each position. Today the junior leadership team (myself, the other 2 VP's the counselor, and the librarian), decided to bring to a meeting on friday 5 candidates each and then wed go through them and pick 10 for interviews.

My problem, is I have a candidate that I would like to bring, but they dont have a teaching certificate anymore, at least not a government one. They have an "IB teacher award". So this person is a former NY state teacher. From my understanding in NY you have 5 years to get your masters while on the job, and they never did this so their certification expired. Last year (July) they completed their level 1 IB teaching award, and has been at their current job for the last year and a half. When they started they were still on the last year of their certification, but it has since expired.

While I have an IB teacher award, I wouldnt represent it as my sole teaching qualification, but seeing some of the programs and reviewing the course sequence and requirements for this teachers particular IB award program, its pretty close to a Post Bach certification program in education, or a PGCE (without QTS), for reference the program was completed through Bethel University (USA).

I'm interested in what other professionals and educators think about extra-governmental teaching qualifications.

Is the IB teacher award a "valid" teaching qualification/certification?

In the states would a NTSB (national teaching standards board) certification with out a supporting state certification be "qualify" an individual as a teacher)?

Does a government "seal" matter? Is teaching content key, regardless of the location?

What about university credentials from countries that dont have a formal/official teaching qualification (In Canada, having a B.Ed, is "the" qualification to perform as a teacher)?

If the United Nations (UNESCO, maybe) issued some kind of teaching certification, would it really be valid globally? (INTERPOL, started issuing its own "Official" passports this year after all)?[/quote]

It depends on your school and community's expectations really. If you think they would be a good candidate, what is the downside? Do you think there would be negative ramifications? Could you say that they "are certified" based on their current, open qualifications? If, not, would that paint you or the school in a negative light?

NY is very demanding with their certifications. I was teaching there 2 years and never received my final permanent certification, as we then went back overseas. I didn't really care because I still had my professional teaching certificate from FL and finally finished up my Masters (which still was not good enough for NY).

I guess thats what Im wondering, would their current IB "teacher award" be considered a certification. The ramifications effect everything from the local labor board and immigration, to accreditation. At a very basic level i think, if this person doesnt need a certification, then why does anyone? Is teaching "really" a regulated profession? I can understand why youd want licenses for people like doctors, and nurses (maybe even lawyers) but then I start thinking about fields like accounting, and do you really need to have a license to be a CPA if you can do the job, and know your stuff?

The other issue is of course regulatory compliance, and accreditation. The IB requires a pretty high percentage of "qualified" teachers, but leaves ample interpretation is what constitutes "qualified".


Lastly, my candidate didnt make it into the final interview pile.

Psyguy- In Canada, a B.Ed alone does not qualify you to teach in the k-12 classroom. You have to apply to your provincial certification association. The university sends a recommendation letter and your practicum reports. It is up to the applicant to send in an application form and transcripts. The university offers courses based on what the certification association requires for certification. In some provinces, your first certification is only good for a couple of years. Luckily, in my province as long as I pay my yearly dues, then my certification should be good for my entire career. Plus, my certification is good for all subjects from k-12.

Thank you for the clarification. I didn't mean to over simplify the process, and I do apologize. I am familiar with the process, your right you can't just walk into a classroom with a B.Ed. My intention was to indicate that after your B.Ed, outside of applying and receiving approval, there isn't further certification training to undergo that results in an additional formal certificate or license (such as a PGCE).

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[quote="PsyGuy"]Thank you for the clarification. I didn't mean to over simplify the process, and I do apologize. I am familiar with the process, your right you can't just walk into a classroom with a B.Ed. My intention was to indicate that after your B.Ed, outside of applying and receiving approval, there isn't further certification training to undergo that results in an additional formal certificate or license (such as a PGCE).[/quote]

No apologies necessary. I think you have a raised a good point. In my province, teachers are supposed to be assessed by their principal every couple of years but whether this happens depends on the school district. In-service professional development is supposed to be a way to provide current training to our teachers but the quality of professional development varies from seminar to seminar.

I like the idea of a NQT or probationary year for new teachers but I can't see that happening here any time soon. There aren't enough jobs for the teachers already out there.