Getting a teaching job is no easy task
Jun 27, 2006
<b>Perspective of a Ugandan in canada</b><br><br>Last Friday inside Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto about 600 newly-minted teachers from the graduating class of 2006 were feted to colourful pomp.
Perspective of a Ugandan in canada
OPIYO OLOYA
Last Friday inside Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto about 600 newly-minted teachers from the graduating class of 2006 were feted to colourful pomp.
At the ceremony presided over by the Chancellor, the Honourable Vivienne Poy, a Chinese Canadian, and at which one of Africa’s most celebrated writers, Dr. Chinua Achebe was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters, there were decidedly few visible minorities among the educators of tomorrow.
In fact, fewer than 10 of the graduates were black — one of them was Mr. Cankech, a Ugandan immigrant who went back to school to become a teacher.
The irony was not lost on Achebe who narrated his own personal journey from a small village in Ogidi, Nigeria where “at the end of the school year we used to perform concerts†and where “I first heard the name of the city of Torontoâ€.
To Dr. Achebe, the world in which he was born has shrunk to the point where, many years later, the son of an evangelical Protestant from a small village in West Africa is honoured on the large stage.
However, even as the world becomes a small village, in big cities like Toronto, visible minorities generally and immigrants specifically are still kept waiting at the gate. For instance, according to Statistics Canada, of the 5.3 million people living in Toronto, 37 per cent are visible minorities.
The largest visible minority group in Toronto, in terms of population, is South Asian, followed by Chinese and then Black.
By the next decade, visible minorities will account for 51 percent of Toronto’s population. Yet, Statistics Canada also notes that visible minorities, like Aboriginal peoples, are at a distinct disadvantage in Canada’s job market.
Essentially, the employment rate is lower and unemployment rate is higher for visible minorities than for non-visible minorities
And although a recent survey of immigrants in Toronto by the Toronto Star newspaper found that 81 percent of immigrants feel a very strong attachment to Canada, 56 percent say that job opportunities are fair or poor.
This is especially true of the teaching profession where the growing number of visible minorities is not reflected in the classroom.
According to research by the Ontario College of Teachers, the governing body that regulates teacher accreditation in the province, foreign-trained teachers who are certified to teach in the province are less likely to find a job in the classroom than teachers who graduated in the province. For example, the grim statistics show that less than 20 per cent of foreign-trained teachers found regular positions in 2004, less than half the rate of Canadian graduates.
Instead, 48 per cent of immigrant teachers worked as occasional teachers, compared with 18 per cent of those who graduate here. In that role, foreign-trained teachers travelled from school to school daily, doing work that pays significantly less than a permanent teaching position, and with no benefits.
Part of the hurdle is the length that foreign teachers must go in order to become certified to teach in Ontario. The Ontario College of Teachers demands that the application for certification for foreign-trained teachers be accompanied by post-secondary academic records, teacher education academic records, statement of professional standing from each jurisdiction in which you have been certified to teach, and proof of language proficiency in English or French, if applicable.
What is more, each institution must send supporting documents directly to the Ontario College of Teachers, a process that is near impossible when information is being sought from developing countries.
For Mr. Cankech, once it became apparent that he would not get a job in line with his Social Sciences degree from Makerere University, the decision was easy to apply to get into the teacher training programme.
“For one thing, I discovered that teaching is a respected profession in Canada and that I could make a career at it,†he said after his graduation ceremony.
Furthermore, he realised that as an immigrant he had to work hard to avoid falling into the trap of working at odd jobs to make ends meet.
But even he admitted that he had to overcome several handicaps including lack of familiarity with modern technology that is a part of teacher training in Canada. “I also had to overcome the fear of applying to get into one of the most prestigious universities in Canada, knowing that I was competing with literally thousands of applicants,†he said. That said, he was happy to be graduating with a teaching degree after an intense year during which he mastered the technology and the language of teaching in a Canadian school.
All his grades were excellent, and his teaching practicum rated very highly by his Canadian associates.
For Mr. Cankech, receiving a teaching degree from one of Canada’s prestigious universities will increase his chances of being hired as a probationary teacher with a starting salary of about $43,000 and benefits such as dental and medical plans. He will also have the chance to mentor young visible minorities toward the teaching profession.
Unfortunately, he will still be one of very few minority teachers in the classroom in a country where the minorities are fast becoming the majority.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca
OPIYO OLOYA
Last Friday inside Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto about 600 newly-minted teachers from the graduating class of 2006 were feted to colourful pomp.
At the ceremony presided over by the Chancellor, the Honourable Vivienne Poy, a Chinese Canadian, and at which one of Africa’s most celebrated writers, Dr. Chinua Achebe was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters, there were decidedly few visible minorities among the educators of tomorrow.
In fact, fewer than 10 of the graduates were black — one of them was Mr. Cankech, a Ugandan immigrant who went back to school to become a teacher.
The irony was not lost on Achebe who narrated his own personal journey from a small village in Ogidi, Nigeria where “at the end of the school year we used to perform concerts†and where “I first heard the name of the city of Torontoâ€.
To Dr. Achebe, the world in which he was born has shrunk to the point where, many years later, the son of an evangelical Protestant from a small village in West Africa is honoured on the large stage.
However, even as the world becomes a small village, in big cities like Toronto, visible minorities generally and immigrants specifically are still kept waiting at the gate. For instance, according to Statistics Canada, of the 5.3 million people living in Toronto, 37 per cent are visible minorities.
The largest visible minority group in Toronto, in terms of population, is South Asian, followed by Chinese and then Black.
By the next decade, visible minorities will account for 51 percent of Toronto’s population. Yet, Statistics Canada also notes that visible minorities, like Aboriginal peoples, are at a distinct disadvantage in Canada’s job market.
Essentially, the employment rate is lower and unemployment rate is higher for visible minorities than for non-visible minorities
And although a recent survey of immigrants in Toronto by the Toronto Star newspaper found that 81 percent of immigrants feel a very strong attachment to Canada, 56 percent say that job opportunities are fair or poor.
This is especially true of the teaching profession where the growing number of visible minorities is not reflected in the classroom.
According to research by the Ontario College of Teachers, the governing body that regulates teacher accreditation in the province, foreign-trained teachers who are certified to teach in the province are less likely to find a job in the classroom than teachers who graduated in the province. For example, the grim statistics show that less than 20 per cent of foreign-trained teachers found regular positions in 2004, less than half the rate of Canadian graduates.
Instead, 48 per cent of immigrant teachers worked as occasional teachers, compared with 18 per cent of those who graduate here. In that role, foreign-trained teachers travelled from school to school daily, doing work that pays significantly less than a permanent teaching position, and with no benefits.
Part of the hurdle is the length that foreign teachers must go in order to become certified to teach in Ontario. The Ontario College of Teachers demands that the application for certification for foreign-trained teachers be accompanied by post-secondary academic records, teacher education academic records, statement of professional standing from each jurisdiction in which you have been certified to teach, and proof of language proficiency in English or French, if applicable.
What is more, each institution must send supporting documents directly to the Ontario College of Teachers, a process that is near impossible when information is being sought from developing countries.
For Mr. Cankech, once it became apparent that he would not get a job in line with his Social Sciences degree from Makerere University, the decision was easy to apply to get into the teacher training programme.
“For one thing, I discovered that teaching is a respected profession in Canada and that I could make a career at it,†he said after his graduation ceremony.
Furthermore, he realised that as an immigrant he had to work hard to avoid falling into the trap of working at odd jobs to make ends meet.
But even he admitted that he had to overcome several handicaps including lack of familiarity with modern technology that is a part of teacher training in Canada. “I also had to overcome the fear of applying to get into one of the most prestigious universities in Canada, knowing that I was competing with literally thousands of applicants,†he said. That said, he was happy to be graduating with a teaching degree after an intense year during which he mastered the technology and the language of teaching in a Canadian school.
All his grades were excellent, and his teaching practicum rated very highly by his Canadian associates.
For Mr. Cankech, receiving a teaching degree from one of Canada’s prestigious universities will increase his chances of being hired as a probationary teacher with a starting salary of about $43,000 and benefits such as dental and medical plans. He will also have the chance to mentor young visible minorities toward the teaching profession.
Unfortunately, he will still be one of very few minority teachers in the classroom in a country where the minorities are fast becoming the majority.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca