If the certificate says 2015, and the person in question was living in Taiwan for all of 2014, the MOE would know, or at least suspect, that the program that led to certification was taken online. Since they have a history of your past and current residency, I think it’s likely that they could put two and two together and figure out that something strange is going on. After all, you can’t be in two places at once. I’m not sure what the MOE’s position on that would be, but if I were taking that course, it would be a concern. Plus, it’s hard to say how the recruiters would react. They handle most public school hiring, and if you were living and working in Taiwan while you were taking the pre-certification course, they will see that on your resume, and they will know that the program that led to certification was taken online. Since they’re a business, they might not care. But that’s a big might.[/quote]
They don’t really care when/how/where you got your teaching certificate, just that you have one that is legitimate. They have no reason to look into it further than that the one you hold is real and yours. They will look at your undergrad degree and if you didn’t do your original degree online you’re fine. The recruiters will work with you, even if you tell them this. The public schools here are desperate for certified teachers and there are not enough to fill all the available positions.
Really! I had no idea. I always assumed that since schools are closing due to low enrollment, there were few K-12 positions in Taiwan. They’ve also shut down a lot of the teacher training programs in universities. Are you referring to a need for native English teachers? Interesting. I guess this explains all the questions about MOE validation.
I used to teach in a teacher’s college here and loved it. Great students, but they were all worried about not being able to get jobs. That department has since closed, or rather been transformed into a general education program.
So, are these jobs you speak of for English teachers or other subject areas? I’m curious.
Really! I had no idea. I always assumed that since schools are closing due to low enrollment, there were few K-12 positions in Taiwan. They’ve also shut down a lot of the teacher training programs in universities. Are you referring to a need for native English teachers? Interesting. I guess this explains all the questions about MOE validation.
I used to teach in a teacher’s college here and loved it. Great students, but they were all worried about not being able to get jobs. That department has since closed, or rather been transformed into a general education program.
So, are these jobs you speak of for English teachers or other subject areas? I’m curious.[/quote]
Yeah, they are using foreign teachers as a method to attract students actually. Such as the English Village program in Taipei City. There are only so many students to grab and the public elementary schools are drawing from the same wells, so in order to get more students at their school, they are using foreign teachers as a draw. It really doesn’t help the system as a whole overall, so I have no idea why they are doing it, but there are jobs out there in Taipei and New Taipei City for foreign teachers and plenty of other places too. Many of these programs are not so well run, depending on the adminstriation and far too often the individual school; many have no idea how to actually recruit teachers. Some are in rural areas or smaller cities and it’s just hard in general to find someone willing to live out there. So if you are in Taiwan and want to get one of these jobs, doing this online certification program, or others, is a good way to get yourself out of buxiban hell. Depending on the situation an individual school, it can be hell too; at least you’ll be better paid and get paid holidays though.
The positions at the public schools for foreign teachers are for native English speaking teacher, that’s it. There are still plenty of middle and high school students for now. The elementary schools are already feeling the pinch from lack of students. Middle schools are getting some welcome relief from high numbers, but I guess that depends on the area. Most of the public school jobs are at elementary schools, then middle schools, then the least at high schools. Although this should probably be the other way around if they wanted to effectively use native English speakers as language teachers.
Really! I had no idea. I always assumed that since schools are closing due to low enrollment, there were few K-12 positions in Taiwan. They’ve also shut down a lot of the teacher training programs in universities. Are you referring to a need for native English teachers? Interesting. I guess this explains all the questions about MOE validation.
I used to teach in a teacher’s college here and loved it. Great students, but they were all worried about not being able to get jobs. That department has since closed, or rather been transformed into a general education program.
So, are these jobs you speak of for English teachers or other subject areas? I’m curious.[/quote]
Yeah, they are using foreign teachers as a method to attract students actually. Such as the English Village program in Taipei City. There are only so many students to grab and the public elementary schools are drawing from the same wells, so in order to get more students at their school, they are using foreign teachers as a draw. It really doesn’t help the system as a whole overall, so I have no idea why they are doing it, but there are jobs out there in Taipei and New Taipei City for foreign teachers and plenty of other places too. Many of these programs are not so well run, depending on the adminstriation and far too often the individual school; many have no idea how to actually recruit teachers. Some are in rural areas or smaller cities and it’s just hard in general to find someone willing to live out there. So if you are in Taiwan and want to get one of these jobs, doing this online certification program, or others, is a good way to get yourself out of buxiban hell. Depending on the situation an individual school, it can be hell too; at least you’ll be better paid and get paid holidays though.
The positions at the public schools for foreign teachers are for native English speaking teacher, that’s it. There are still plenty of middle and high school students for now. The elementary schools are already feeling the pinch from lack of students. Middle schools are getting some welcome relief from high numbers, but I guess that depends on the area. Most of the public school jobs are at elementary schools, then middle schools, then the least at high schools. Although this should probably be the other way around if they wanted to effectively use native English speakers as language teachers.[/quote]
Wow, that’s actually quite fascinating, and I had no idea it was going on. Thanks for the explanation.
Of course, it will cost around four-plus months’ salary – NT$210,000 to get the certificate courses – and [1probably some small costs in addition like application fees to DC – to land another Engrish teaching job. And my guess would be that this program has no dedicated foreign language/ESL teaching component, as most do not.
When I did online courses for cert I was told to take methods of teaching physical education, and that it was “fine” because it was for the correct age group of students. (With a PhD in the field i was also already eligible to teach the course, but the box had to be checked. It’s all about the money.)
If you’re going back to the US, maybe. But I can’t imagine where you could get real student teaching in a subject area in Taiwan while still working an EFL job, and you can’t quit to do that if you’re on a work visa. Maybe as a night-school Mandarin student?
I think a lot of these programs can be quite flexible in terms of what they will accept as student teaching. Another such program called Teacher Ready www.teacherready.org will even count the work done at a buxiban as student teaching. I know a couple people who have done this. I think the price of Teacher Ready is around the same as this program.
I think these types of programs would be fine if you want to get a public school job. There are some easier ways though, but would require going back to the US. As for working at an international school, the College of New Jersey has an off site graduate program in Hsinchu I think would be better for getting into those types of schools. You take classes at a brick and mortar institution and get your degree from TCNJ (one of the oldest teacher colleges in the US) and a State of New Jersey teaching license, but you still have to take the Praxis there and take care of some legal mumbo-jumbo with the state. It’s a lot more expensive, over $15K USD for the cert alone. Doing a masters will be well over $20K USD. Would take around a year to complete, and one semester of student teaching is required. And it’s in f*&^ing Hsinchu. International schools can be quite competitive, so I’m not sure how well they would look upon a license earned from an online program.
[quote=“gavmasterflash”]I think a lot of these programs can be quite flexible in terms of what they will accept as student teaching. Another such program called Teacher Ready teacherready.org will even count the work done at a buxiban as student teaching. I know a couple people who have done this. I think the price of Teacher Ready is around the same as this program.
I think these types of programs would be fine if you want to get a public school job. There are some easier ways though, but would require going back to the US. As for working at an international school, the College of New Jersey has an off site graduate program in Hsinchu I think would be better for getting into those types of schools. You take classes at a brick and mortar institution and get your degree from TCNJ (one of the oldest teacher colleges in the US) and a State of New Jersey teaching license, but you still have to take the Praxis there and take care of some legal mumbo-jumbo with the state. It’s a lot more expensive, over $15K USD for the cert alone. Doing a masters will be well over $20K USD. Would take around a year to complete, and one semester of student teaching is required. And it’s in f*&^ing Hsinchu. International schools can be quite competitive, so I’m not sure how well they would look upon a license earned from an online program.
offsitegrad.pages.tcnj.edu/[/quote]
Those prices for the Hsinchu program are actually not that bad, believe it or not. Prices for degrees in US universities have gotten stupidly expensive. This is why you read about people graduating with $50,000+ of debt. It’s insane and one has to wonder if it’s worth it. A good plumber or electrician can make a lot more money in the US than most college graduates. So the cost of that program is fairly standard. But, yes, Hsinchu, hmmm. I lived there for a year.
There are a lot of choices for people wanting to get certified. You really have to ask yourself what you want. The cheapest and easiest? A learning experience? Online? F2F? Theoretical or applied? And Ironlady makes a good point regarding student teaching. If you’ve never taught your target subject area, it’s really important, even essential, to complete your practice teaching in your subject area. If you’ve been teaching high school math for five years and want to get certified in high school math, maybe less so, maybe not. It all depends. I chose Teach-Now because it suited my needs. It emphasizes technology, and I liked it’s general approach and methods. I liked working with people from all over the world. I don’t know that much about Teacher Ready other than that they are slightly cheaper than Teach-Now and they don’t have regular synchronous meetings. They’re also out of Florida, and Florida requires US citizenship for certification. If you want cheaper and no synchronization, and citizenship is not an issue, that might work better for you. Personally, I really liked meeting with my classmates and instructors every week. I’ve dropped out of online programs because there was no sense of community or collaboration. So it all gets back to identifying your needs and preferences and doing your homework.
How do you know this? The OP mentioned that he doesn’t actually know anyone who has got a job teaching in a government funded school in Taiwan using this online certification. Do you know anyone who has got a job in a K-12 school in Taiwan using a teaching certificate that they obtained online?
Your life doesn’t depend on MOE approval, but if you want to teach in a government funded school in Taiwan, your job does.
I honestly have no idea. That’s why I’m asking. Personally, I would contact the MOE before taking this program to make sure that it won’t be a problem after I graduate. It’s a lot of time and money.
The other thing to keep in mind, if you want to teach in the US, is that the majority of state require you to get a Master’s degree within a certain number of years of your initial certification, in order to be able to renew it and/or progress to permanent certification (most states distinguish these two). So if you can pick up an MA in an easy way while doing certification, it MIGHT be worth it – depending of course on the reputation of the school, if you’re looking to ever do anything else with the MA. If you ONLY want an MA to fulfill requirements to teach, then just do the cheapest and easiest one available – many people don’t have an MA in the actual area they are teaching in, and it’s hellish to try to deal with a new placement as a new teacher (even just “new to the US”) while simultaneously trying to do graduate courses.
Like any other place, the reputation of the university is really important in terms of what doors the degree will open by itself. Suitability for a purpose, etc. etc.
How do you know this? The OP mentioned that he doesn’t actually know anyone who has got a job teaching in a government funded school in Taiwan using this online certification. Do you know anyone who has got a job in a K-12 school in Taiwan using a teaching certificate that they obtained online?
Your life doesn’t depend on MOE approval, but if you want to teach in a government funded school in Taiwan, your job does.
I honestly have no idea. That’s why I’m asking. Personally, I would contact the MOE before taking this program to make sure that it won’t be a problem after I graduate. It’s a lot of time and money.[/quote]
Dude, they seriously don’t give a shit how you got your license. All that matters is that you have one. You are worrying way too much. If you wanna do this, just do it. There are a million reasons how someone can get a teaching license while still being in Taiwan without having done an online program. And they probably don’t give a shit if it’s done online anyway, because they are not accrediting the program you did to get your teacher’s license, but just the license itself and your original university degree. They don’t have the time to look into how you got your license, just that you have one that is real and yours. That is it.
If you’re so worried about getting rejected, then do one of the quick/easy ways of getting a license. You can apply for substitute teaching licenses in many states by just sending in some paper work. Some of them will get past the MOE but others not, so it’s not 100% but is a very low investment on your part. Go Massachusetts and take a test in a certain subject area and if you get a good enough score, they will issue you a license that will last for 5 years. There are probably other states that have something similar but I know for sure about MA.
How do I know? I work in the public school system and have met many teachers who have taken these round about ways toward getting a license. Including everything I have mentioned in this thread from online certification programs, substitute licenses and taking tests to get a license.
[quote]Dude, they seriously don’t give a shit how you got your license. All that matters is that you have one. You are worrying way too much. If you wanna do this, just do it. There are a million reasons how someone can get a teaching license while still being in Taiwan without having done an online program. And they probably don’t give a shit if it’s done online anyway, because they are not accrediting the program you did to get your teacher’s license, but just the license itself and your original university degree. They don’t have the time to look into how you got your license, just that you have one that is real and yours. That is it.
If you’re so worried about getting rejected, then do one of the quick/easy ways of getting a license. You can apply for substitute teaching licenses in many states by just sending in some paper work. Some of them will get past the MOE but others not, so it’s not 100% but is a very low investment on your part. Go Massachusetts and take a test in a certain subject area and if you get a good enough score, they will issue you a license that will last for 5 years. There are probably other states that have something similar but I know for sure about MA.
How do I know? I work in the public school system and have met many teachers who have taken these round about ways toward getting a license. Including everything I have mentioned in this thread from online certification programs, substitute licenses and taking tests to get a license.[/quote]
I’m not worried about myself; I already have my teaching license. I was just curious as to whether the MOE would accept online certification. I’ve never met anyone in Taiwan who has taught K-12 using online certification, and I wasn’t sure it was possible.
[quote=“gavmasterflash”]You can apply for substitute teaching licenses in many states by just sending in some paper work. Some of them will get past the MOE but others not, so it’s not 100% but is a very low investment on your part. Go Massachusetts and take a test in a certain subject area and if you get a good enough score, they will issue you a license that will last for 5 years. There are probably other states that have something similar but I know for sure about MA.
How do I know? I work in the public school system and have met many teachers who have taken these round about ways toward getting a license. Including everything I have mentioned in this thread from online certification programs, substitute licenses and taking tests to get a license.[/quote]
I didn’t know that about Massachusetts. I’m learning all sorts of things!
Yes, there are many ways to get licensed. Check this opportunity in Hawaii: htsb.org/licensing-permits/l … -overview/. If you have a degree, pulse, and no criminal record, looks like you’re in. Hawaii used to have a program where they would award a fairly good license (licenses come in many flavors) if you were enrolled in a SATEP, but I couldn’t find that information. States change their rules almost by the hour.
Guam is another option. If you have a degree, they will give you a provisional license. I think you have to take the Praxis or something, but those are easy. Like Hawaii, Guam has an ongoing teacher shortage. The starting pay in both places is laughable, something like $37,000/year, which is nothing in Hawaii. But you can survive on it (maybe) and if you’re really into surfing or fishing or volcanoes, it might work.
But remember that if you want to eventually get a good license, you would still need to go through a SATEP (State Approved Teacher Education Program) if you start with a provisional license on some tropical island. Massachusetts I don’t know about.
I’d like to add that I also completed my MA completely online from a very reputable brick and mortal school in the states WHICH ALSO allowed me to take a praxis exam to qualify for an ANCILLARY STATE LICENSE for K-12 ESOL certification… This WOULD NOT allow me to walk into a school and teach in the states immediately, but the qualification DOES work in Taiwan, and my masters also was fully accepted… To be fair, if you’re willing to teach outside of Taipei and Taichung cities, the MOE is relatively adept at NOT asking certain questions about your methods of acquisition if it means you’re happy to work in the countryside… That’s my only experience with MOE but I had no trouble at all with my masters or my ESOL certification.
Is this a master’s of teaching? Like the programs people can join to get a masters and teacher certification all in one go? If so, mind sharing the school and what program, or messaging me the info? I’ve been thinking about trying to do an online one lately and the only one I really know of is the Teach-Now.