I wonder if anyone had any experiences of trying to teach here in Canada. I'm in BC and I know it varies enormously from each province.

I have spent 6 years working hard to get into teaching here and it's been a hard slog. I taught in the school system and was delighted by the behaviour of the kids but horrified by how under challenged they and the staff are. Of course they behave well if little to nothing is expected!

I had the great fortune to be hired in the September and then fired in the June....no one discussed it with me and myself and 12 others (in a staff of twenty four) were told goodbye but we 'MIGHT' see some of you back in September as went up on stage to receive our goodbye flowers!

I was asked to return and told they had never employed such a popular teacher (no one ever saw me teach) but the job was not advertised until Aug 31st and was less than a .5 position. I was supposed to start on the 8th Sept and politely but firmly said thanks but no thanks. The kids have no idea who is going to be there from one year to the next unless they have seniority but still no guarantees as the school board can move you at ANY time. Really great for developing relationships with colleagues and kids.

People are constantly knocking on our door and emailing me to raise money for the schools which I totally object to. It is shocking to me that we pay taxes to educate our kids but we have to contribute on top of that significantly. Also, if your child goes to a school in a wealthy area such ass Kerrisdale, Vancouver they will do extremely well and the school will have a theatre better than the local one. However, if you come from a poorer area without a strong PAC that can fund raise effectively they will lose out and little to no facilities.

The UK has its faults but it is an incredible system compared to here!

Any thoughts...good or bad.....?

I can't comment on teaching here as a profession but I am a nurse and so have also been subjected to the seniority system -don't get me started on that!
It makes me so mad that I've just had to try and let it go and not get worked up about as its so entrenched, people just don't get it when you try to point out it's unfairness.
I also hate the way I'm constantly having to fork out for fundraising stuff, at our school they offer prizes to the kids who raise the most money, of course with no rellies here to try and get cash from its never going to be my kids. My oldest got v upset in kindergarten when over 1/2 the class were given prizes and the rest weren't.
As far as the kids getting an education, my oldest is bright and has yet to do anything remotely challenging at school despite my asking for more difficult work to do.
My youngest not so much (he can't read yet so he'll never see this) and I worry about him not being challenged either and being allowed to flounder.
We liked the laid back attitudes of the schools when we first arrived but now it just irritates us.

I've heard that before! My girlfriend has three boys and loathes the teachinghere. Her kids have gone from motivated kids, eager to get to school to sloth like and apathetic. It's very sad. The only ones who seem happy with their kids progress are those in the French system....

The kids rarely go on trips anywhere and when they do the parents have to pay for a sub teacher. Going to a theatre show is unheard of here. It's the strangest place and they say we have a class system! If you haven't been to the theatre with your parents you won't be going with the school. I'm guessing this would be different from place to place but WHY, WHY, WHY!!!

And it is a constant problem for bright kids here as they don't seem to differentiate. My year teaching here was so EASY compared to home. Assessment modules are weak or non existant and teachers don't collaborate. The art teacher wouldn't let me have any paint for a set no would he let us use his brushes without a hefty deposit! He lives in Comox which is full of elderly people as 'I hate kids'. He of course has a continuing contract!!!!!

Sorry, having a bad morning....from the waiting room to die......Comox Valley....pretty but deadly!

Thanks Betty Boo...Blue....for sharing your gripes with me.

lilybilly10

My 2 sons have experienced both schooling in Canada and now back in UK after 8 years in Canada. We lived in rural Ontario and found the schools were poorly equipped and run down compared to the schools we visited in Ottawa.

Basis schooling was good i.e English and Maths and good as if not better than the UK. After being back England for a year I asked my sons about UK schooling. They found they did a lot more interesting subjects i.e wood work/ Tech labs that they would not do until they would be for another 3 years in Canada.

Their view was that schooling in Canada was more socially orientated where as in the UK you are expected to study harder.

My sons are 14 & 16 and both attend the local Boys Grammar school who vision education the boys to "become the leaders of the future" and look at the international job market for their careers.

My 16 year old passed 5 GCSE's all A*last school year as top students go through an accelerated programme at school and additional qualification.

I have visited the school 3 times this term and I like the system the school has to challenge the students and have individual educational development programmes which suits the ability of individual students.

One of our deciding factor to move back to the UK was educating our sons through the UK secondary school and then onto a good university.

hudd

The thing I do like here (I'm not having such a bad day so I can be positive for a change) and is the school counselors and the suppor the kids can access without going to a teacher necessarily. I have also found the class sizes to be smaller. The kids behaviour here (on the island) is generally excellent adn I rarely have classroom management problems and you have time to plan lessons. Sadly, however the whole environment feels very, very dated.

I'm so glad your boys are doing well at school and it reminds me of why we are returning. I also love school uniform!

63 Grade 7's in my class down here in Nanaimo (I'm the EA, not the teacher) mind you, there are 2 teachers & 2 EA's in the room ... we're taking them all to Science world tomorrow on the 6:30am ferry so I'm sure the teachers will be coming back with a few more grey hairs!!

Are you kidding? How on earth EVEN with two teachers do you manage? WOW, that's fascinating.....does it work? And why is it set up like that? Are you teaching them on afootball pitch!?

I'm sure Nanaimo kids get to do more stuff....we're part of SD71 and yikes.....they are always in a pickle here with opening and closing schools, very limited funds.....science books from 1986....Pluto was still a planet!

Anyway......good luck on you trip but please tell with regards to your day to day teaching. BIZARRE.

bettyboo67 - I too am a nurse and the seniority system here infuriates me also, I know of 5 other Uk nurses who have been totally flabergasted by it and 4 of us are planning our return (infact 1 has already gone)

elaine

I too am very diasappointed in the education system here. Our eldest (8) is unhappy in her school, her motivation that used to be huge for her village school in the uk is now non existant. They move kids around each year, how can they develop long lasting relationships and security!
The school is huge, everyone is a no one.
The actual education is so behind the uk and she is finding it all mundane. i get very upset as i know how much she loved school and now i know she doesn't here. What have we done!!!

Her behaviour in general has gone downhill.

It also irritates me that each year, we get asked to provide all the materials for the school year (glue, tissues, pens sissors etc etc). Whats that all about??

Get me back to my community village, great people, teachers, fab countryside, high streets, character, pubs, village green........oooh sorry i'm rambling now.

Amazing what you take for granted. Lots of great stuff in Canada too, but not in my heart.

Hi Elaine

Have PM'd you so as not to hijack Lillybilly"s thread with nursing stuff

No, not quite a footie pitch the two classrooms are side by side with a dividing wall. They come in & start the day with grammar ... then at 9:10 there are announcements followed by 'O Canada'. At 9:15 the wall is closed & they are split into 3 math groups for 1hour, the enriched group to one class, the core math to the other class & the ones that need extra help come with me & the other EA to the Special Ed teacher. 10:15 is the Grade 7 run ... 1k around the block followed by a quick snack, the run is timed & they are supposed to finish within 10 mins .
Depending on the day it's either french/current events or language arts till lunch when the wall is opened again ... after lunch it's PE ~ dodgeball if the kids get their way but usually football or soccer (boys & girls are separate for this)

1pm (ish) science/computers/art/library (depending on the day) so when half the group are in the library the other half are in the computer lab etc ... seems to work OK most of the time.

Nanaimo does have a fair bit for the kids to do, it was one of the reasons we chose here rather that somewhere more remote ~ so far, locally I have taken groups of students kayaking, to the movies, ice skating, swimming at the pool & at the lake, dancing, walks to the beach, & now & again, the odd trip to Vancouver .

(Nowhere near enough 'English' IMHO but hey ... I'm just the EA )