How difficult is it for a History teacher to find a position
How difficult is it for a History teacher to find a position
I have never taught overseas before, but I understand that getting a position at all is relatively competitive. So, being a Social Studies teacher, will it be even harder? It is one of the more difficult jobs to find stateside, but I've managed to do it a few times now. I am not limiting myself to the "top" schools I keep reading about, just wouldn't want to work in a horrible school. Middle tier is fine with me, I think. Any thoughts on how hard it would be to find a middle or high school Social Studies position? Should I try to add ESL to my certificate? Thanks.
I would try to find a job before spending money on another line on your certificate unless you need the hours for your certification.
It is a bit late for this school year but as a single you could still do it with tie online.
For next year get signed up and something should come your way if you have a bit of expereince. It isn't like the states where the only History positions are filled by xxx Head Coach. Keep an open mind to location.
It is a bit late for this school year but as a single you could still do it with tie online.
For next year get signed up and something should come your way if you have a bit of expereince. It isn't like the states where the only History positions are filled by xxx Head Coach. Keep an open mind to location.
Thanks puka2. Appreciate the input. I am not looking for this or maybe even next year. It might be a year or two before I am looking to take that plunge. I am just long term planning and want to know how realistic this option is. It isn't expensive to add ESL to my certificate. I already have most of the credits I need, just not sure if I want to teach it. My passion is History. But I also want a job. I am open as to location. Are there any History teachers out there who would be willing to talk about their experiences on the international teaching market? I would love to hear about it. From this forum though I still have detected that science/math are the high demand subjects. Really interested to learn about where Social Studies falls on that demand continuum.
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jeffofarabia
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 5:32 am
- Location: Shanghai, China
If you have a subscription to The International Education (tieonline.com) then you can see jobs that are currently being listed and still need to be filled.
I am a Social Studies teacher overseas and I think there are definitely fewer openings, particularly when compared to Math and Science, but if you have good experience then you should be okay. One thing I have noticed is that schools like Social Studies teachers who are willing to teach all subjects in that discipline. My current school asked me if I would be willing to teach Economics, and I, of course, said yes. It has been difficult to learn it but it has also been a lot of fun. I love teaching internationally because learning is valued and I have been given the opportunity to teach subjects that I would never have been allowed to in the states.
If you are serious about moving overseas then you should start registering with one of the agencies like Search Associates or ISS, or get a subscription to TIEonline. Many schools will start hiring for the 2011-2012 school year by December of 2010.
Good luck.
I am a Social Studies teacher overseas and I think there are definitely fewer openings, particularly when compared to Math and Science, but if you have good experience then you should be okay. One thing I have noticed is that schools like Social Studies teachers who are willing to teach all subjects in that discipline. My current school asked me if I would be willing to teach Economics, and I, of course, said yes. It has been difficult to learn it but it has also been a lot of fun. I love teaching internationally because learning is valued and I have been given the opportunity to teach subjects that I would never have been allowed to in the states.
If you are serious about moving overseas then you should start registering with one of the agencies like Search Associates or ISS, or get a subscription to TIEonline. Many schools will start hiring for the 2011-2012 school year by December of 2010.
Good luck.
Thanks a lot for the input. Sounds doable. Another question: you mentioned how many of my students would be ELL-is there a demand for ESL teachers too? If there are so many second language learners in the international schools, are these students put into straight ESL classes? Or are they mostly mainstreamed into regular English classes? I wrote about how History is my passion, and that is very true, but I am also open to teaching ESL if the right postition opens up for me. Are there many positions out there for ESL? Sorry for the change of direction. Just curious about this too, as it is likely that at some point in the near future I will finish the two classes I have left to add it to my certificate. Again, thanks.
From my expereince they try to mainstream kids as quickly as possible. True international schools (where kids have more than a passport and are really from different countries) tend to have a higher level of English. Local schools (some claim to have expats, but kids only have passports) tend to be lower because socially the kids don't need English to connect and can use their native language out of school. An ESL background is always valuable in an international setting. In the schools that I have worked in the support varies.
In Kuwait ESL was the code word for Special Ed. The only kids that got pull out had learning problems. Other schools such as QSI schools pull out kids that can't function at grade level in English. Most of the specialist teachers fill the role of ESL pull out for 2 periods in the morning. There are different models.
Any ESL methods you learn will be put into use all day long and will in the end make you more marketable to teach History. If you have experience teaching immigrant kids already the cert. is not as important. If you have been teaching middle class homogenous groups in a suburb then it is probably a good idea to prove you have some training.
In Kuwait ESL was the code word for Special Ed. The only kids that got pull out had learning problems. Other schools such as QSI schools pull out kids that can't function at grade level in English. Most of the specialist teachers fill the role of ESL pull out for 2 periods in the morning. There are different models.
Any ESL methods you learn will be put into use all day long and will in the end make you more marketable to teach History. If you have experience teaching immigrant kids already the cert. is not as important. If you have been teaching middle class homogenous groups in a suburb then it is probably a good idea to prove you have some training.