Preparing the way for a public school career

If the doom and gloom forecast hasn't dampened your dreams and you still want to be teach in the public school system, read on to find out more about the field and the steps you have to take to get ready for a teaching position.

Teaching is challenging, exciting and rewarding but it can also be a demanding and stressful job, says Veronica Tunzi, a French immersion teacher with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). "The public tends to see teaching as a nine-to-three gig, but the reality is that many teachers work more than a 40-hour work week, especially considering the lesson planning, extracurricular activities, report cards, parent interviews and other professional commitments."

Although teachers generally work a nine- to ten-month school year, they spend some of the summer preparing for the next school year or taking additional qualification courses. Also, many duties that Tunzi mentions, such as preparing lessons or attending professional development days, take place outside of the classroom.

Aptitude & personal characteristics
According to Alberta Occupational Profiles, a good teacher has the following characteristics:

• A genuine interest in and respect for young people
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong leadership skills
• Creativity, enthusiasm, patience and resourcefulness

"You have to be an actor actually to be a teacher ... to pass on things to the students," says Mohamed El Halla, who was trained as a teacher in Morocco, taught there for 10 years and is now looking for a teaching job in Ontario. "It's a job you have to put yourself into."

Education & training
Generally, you need at least three years of full-time study leading to a university degree. Then you will need at least one year of full-time, post-secondary study leading to a Bachelor of Education degree, according to the Thinking About Teaching (PDF) brochure out by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). (The provincial government plans to bump up the one year of teacher training to two years starting in 2014.) Technological education teachers, who teach such subjects as hairstyling, horticulture or electronics technology, must have five years of work experience in their field or a combination of work and post-secondary studies. Teachers of Aboriginal ancestry don't necessarily require a post-secondary degree, says the brochure.

York University offers several concurrent B.Ed. programs. It also provides a consecutive B.Ed. for students who have completed an undergraduate degree. (Those in concurrent programs are pursuing both a B.Ed. and another undergraduate degree at the same time. Students in consecutive B.Ed. programs already have another degree under their belt.)

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) delivers a consecutive B. Ed. General Studies Program and a Bachelor of Education/Diploma in Technological Education Program. The University of Toronto provides a concurrent program.

Certification
Once you have completed a teacher education program you need to apply to the OCT for certification. Teachers certified in Ontario are usually qualified to teach in two consecutive divisions: primary/junior, junior/intermediate or intermediate/senior. (A primary teacher teaches grades K to 3; a junior, grades 4 to 6; an intermediate, grades 7 to 10; and a senior, grades 11 to 12.) Secondary school teachers require academic credentials in at least two academic subjects.

Teachers must apply directly to specific school boards. In Toronto, you can apply to the Toronto District School Board, the largest board in Canada, or the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

Internationally trained teachers
If you're an internationally trained teacher wanting to ply your skills in Ontario, you must register with the OCT to receive a licence to teach in this province. You need to submit your educational and occupational credentials to the College. But first, get them translated if they are neither in English nor French, and then have the documents assessed to determine Canadian equivalency.

The OCT will decide if your qualifications are the same as the training required in Ontario. If you do not meet the licensing requirements, the College will tell you what you are missing and how you can gain the qualifications you need, according to Settlement.Org's e-Career Map: Certified Teacher.

Although the above-mentioned Mohamed El Halla entered Canada in 2003, he was only certified to teach in Ontario late last year. He had to make several trips back to Morocco to get the documents required for evaluation by the Ontario College of Teachers. After his documents were finally evaluated, El Halla found out that had to take three more courses in order to get certified. "If I had known that it would take this long, I would [have] retrained myself [in Ontario]," says El Halla. He suggests that internationally trained teachers start retraining in Ontario right away if they think it will take more than a year to get their documents evaluated. "You will save a lot of time," he says.

Internationally trained teachers might also consider related careers, such as teacher's aide or educational assistant (EA), which do not require certification by the OCT. According to an occupational profile in ONIP.online, an EA may support a teacher by helping students with lessons, marking assignments, supervising students during field trips and preparing classroom displays. (Note that the TDSB is considering cuts including the letting go of 430 education assistant positions.)

This article is based on an earlier version of this story (April 2010).