Features
Got no classA look at job prospects for new teachersJessica Sturm│April 13, 2009 What do some university students want when they graduate? Perhaps a downtown condo, a Volkswagen, dinners at sushi spots and a recently acquired nine-to-five job that is full of opportunity. Having a degree from a teachers college in Ontario five years ago yielded such possibilities. In recent years, however, the dynamics of being a new teacher in Ontario have changed. Years of schooling leaves teachers-to-be feeling like just another brick in the wall amongst the thousands of new teachers college graduates. Job prospects are not as high as they used to be. In the 1990s a wave of retirements washed through Ontario boards. In response, universities increased the amount of students that they would accept in for teachers colleges, simply because of demand. School boards pulled in an undertow of new teachers in the early 2000s, offering full-time, permanent jobs. Now, the employment pool has partially dried up. The problem in not having a full-time job prospect is that new teachers do not have benefits such as paid sick days, and health coverage. In addition, if new teachers are tossed around amongst different schools, they risk not getting comfortable with a familiar group of students and neighbourhood. “I know I won’t get an ideal job, like teaching in North Toronto,” said Dean Francey, a 22-year old York University student. He is completing his history degree while taking concurrent education classes, meaning he will graduate with both a Bachelor of Arts and a teaching degree. “My ideal would be teaching history or religion at a place like Brebeu (College School) or St. Mike. That way I could teach students who could relate to me, but realistically I know I’m going to be stuck supply teaching for a few years before I get lucky enough to be settled permanently in one school,” Francey said of his job prospects. He thinks he would relate to students at those schools because they are all boys schools that he thinks could use a teacher with his sense of humour. Job fantasies aside, the numbers tell the story. Just to get into teacher’s college in Ontario, last year 17,000 people applied. Out of that number, only 7,500 will be admitted. Of that number, one third of graduates will find a full-time, long-term job within one year. In addition to the glut of new teachers coming out of teachers colleges, older teachers are retiring at a slower rate than they did up to five years ago. Baby-boomers do not want to retire and they are taking up the supply teaching gigs for extra cash, on top of their pensions. Another reason for the lack of jobs is the “border college”. Private colleges in Buffalo, N.Y., nicknamed “border colleges”, offer Canadian Teaching Certification programs that require less competitive admission standards than Ontario universities. According to the admission requirements for Canisius College, a college in Western New York, all one needs to get accepted to study is a Bachelor of Arts, a minimum 2.7 grade point average, and two letters of recommendation. Most other schools, like D’Youville College, for example, do not require hours upon hours of teaching related experience to be considered for admission.These schools, however, require payments of a hefty tuition. Tuition is around $20,000 per semester. Though it is easier to get accepted into their teaching program, these schools do not offer sub-par education. Principals, however, are less likely to hire potential teachers from border colleges. For example, according to a study administered by the provincial government, border college graduates have a one in 10 chance of getting a long-term permanent job during their first year out of school. Border colleges are sometimes regarded as institutions where people who did not get accepted to Ontario universities end up, since the tuition is relatively expensive and the locations of the schools are inconvenient. But not all hope is lost. Competition for jobs is forcing new teachers to sharpen their own competitive skills and assets in order to impress principals. Francey, for instance, is honing his French skills. Ontario schools need French teachers more than any other specialized teachers. Seventy per cent of students who graduated from a French teaching program in 2007 found long-term employment within their first year after graduation. Also, Canadian teachers are spreading their lessons all around the globe. For instance, Michael Dunsiger, a teacher with more than 30 years of experience, has a son who graduated from teachers college last year. He was unable to secure a teaching job in Toronto, so he is moving to London, England to teach. After a year of killing time, and not teaching, spreading his skills internationally was an attractive option. There are hundreds of international American schools that employ English-speaking teachers. Though there are few empty classrooms waiting for fresh new faces, perhaps young teachers can look at the lack of jobs as a challenge, an opportunity for travel and self development. A few years hunting for a long-term job is not half bad, especially if it means eventually getting a job that includes the summers off.
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