Once I became interested in teaching, the next step was trying to figure out how to become a teacher. I have already talked about The New Teacher Project here, but I will spend the next couple of posts outlining some of the other options I researched, starting with private schools.
In many cases, you do not need to have state certification in order to teach at a private school. These jobs may pay less, and have fewer benefits compared to teaching in public school, but they can also allow you more freedom with regards to curriculum and teaching methods.
You can start by finding out which private schools are in your area and contacting them to see if they are accepting teaching applications, and what their requirements might be. The Private School Review allows you to find schools by zip code, grade, gender, and religious affiliation.
I also recommend checking with the National Association of Private Schools to find schools and job openings.
For listings of Catholic schools in your area as well as job postings, try the National Catholic Educational Association.
Keep in mind that many religion-based schools will ask you questions about your own personal religious beliefs and lifestyle choices. I saw several applications for private Christian academies that ask about religious affiliation, your views on the creation of the universe, and whether or not you consume alcohol. I knew right away, that my application would not be a good fit for these institutions.
My next posts will focus on Pathways to becoming a certified teacher.
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In Ohio, a teacher absolutely must be certified to teach in any "chartered" private school, e.g. a Catholic school, not to be confused with "charter schools," which are public schools where teachers are not required to be certified (one of the many contributing factors in Ohio's charter schools being a national embarrassment). Like you, initially, I was attracted to the idea of being able to teach in a school without the expectation of certification, because certification in Ohio is now a minimum 5-year process(that is 5 years AFTER you graduate from a state-approved traditional teacher education program, so we are really talking about 9 years, and in that amount of time, let's face it, I could become a brain surgeon, so that seems to me a bit excessive for certifying a high school math teacher!!), but the many fellow students in my teacher preparation classes who do teach at charter schools quickly disabused me of the notion that a school that doesn't even want to hire certified teachers is a place I would want to work.
ReplyDeleteThe overwhelming majority of public charter schools in Ohio are run for profit. Their goal is to squeeze as much money out of the kids as possible. So not only is your pay VERY low (one of the girls in my class who taught at a charter left to take a position as a part-time paraprofessional at a traditional public school because it paid better), your benefits are poor or nonexistent, your working conditions are worse (30+ students to a classroom), but most importantly, the things you care about as a professional--teaching & learning--these are not the things your employer cares about. Your employer cares about the bottom line. So if there is, for example, a student in your class that you identify as requiring special education, your school --in spite of federal law-- is going to do what they can to make sure that child is not identified, because providing more services means they get less profit.
Any teacher considering taking a job at a charter, especially a new teacher, I strongly advise you to talk to as many people as you can find who actually teach (or have taught) at one. Generally, they aren't proud of their schools, and I would go so far as to say that some are actually ashamed to work there.
Personally, I would prefer to teach in a penitentiary than at a charter school. If I really needed a job and couldn't find a job teaching anywhere but a charter school, I'd go back to working at the pizza shop.