It Has to Stop!
I liked this opinion that was written by one of our new teacher candidates at Brock University's Faculty of Education for the Toronto Star (October 24th, 2024)
It is a great discussion starter!
What do you think?
Preamble:
I have taught at the Faculty of Education, Brock University for the past 14 years.
When I started teaching there in 2008, the Teacher Education Program was one year long.
That included two teaching block placements. Each 7 weeks long.
I feel that after students have attended university for four years that the present two year new teacher education program could be shortened as far as time spent in lectures. The practicum placements should be longer in my opinion. This is where the theory is applied. The real hands on experience is invaluable.
Students are shouldering huge economic costs to be in post secondary institutions for 5 to 6 years. The final year could certainly be a paid apprenticeship.
Newly hired teachers also need to be part of NTIP (The New Teacher Induction Program). This helps support new educators as they learn to take on the burden of their new roles in their schools. Why not help them transition into the world of education with a paid apprenticeship?
Mark Wickens M. Ed. Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Education, Brock University (2008 to 2023)
Check the article:
This is a link to the article posted below: Student Teachers and Teaching Blocks
By Jacob Lopez, Contributor
Jacob Lopez is a student in the concurrent education program at Brock University.
Ontario is facing a looming teacher shortage by 2027 according to briefing documents prepared for the new Minister of Education. There is no one, simple way to solve that problem. It is imperative, however, that more young people enter the profession. After all, you cannot solve a teacher shortage without more teachers.
Surely, then, to entice students to take on the lengthy six year teacher education program, it must be designed with their best interest in mind, ensuring that their dedication to learning the craft through classroom based practicums is compensated fairly.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Of particular note, practicums — the practice teaching periods fundamental to teacher training — are unpaid. That basic fact is harming and hampering the future educators of Ontario.
The majority of those enrolled in teachers college are young, with real financial responsibilities such as rent. More than half of post secondary students in Ontario are living alone, and the cost of living has skyrocketed. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is around $1700 in Ontario, leaving many unable to balance the rising cost of basic living expenses with unpaid practicums.
Additionally, practicums are rigorous, requiring students to put in eight-hour work days. More puzzling is that, due to having little say in which school board they will work in, a candidate living in Toronto may be placed in a school in the Niagara Region, leaving them to spend more time and money just to complete the requirements of their degree.
This design of the practicum structure thus becomes actively harmful to the livelihood of future educators. In large part, it’s because that structure prevents students from earning money in other, ordinary ways. In order to properly complete the placement, they must drastically reduce work hours or even take time off completely from their paid jobs, leaving them with no source of income to cover the increasing cost of living. For many teacher candidates, reducing work hours or quitting their jobs during practicums is not an option, forcing them to find new work while having very limited availability, or deterring employers from hiring them.
One may argue that the level of compensation relates to the demands of practicum – that little is expected out of new teacher candidates in the classroom. This is far from accurate. Teacher candidates are often expected to take on extra responsibilities such as lesson planning outside of school hours, attending before and after school meetings, and running school teams and clubs. I personally found myself at school until 7pm on some days running clubs and then having to commute back to Toronto from Markham.
Interestingly enough, unpaid internships are illegal in Ontario. But the Ontario Employment Act of 2000 outlines how they are permitted if they are either offered through a post-secondary institution, or approved by a secondary school board. Young adults with a passion for their career are being exploited for free labor under the guise of “paying your dues” to the profession. This legal loophole allows institutions to sidestep employment standards, and ultimately, allows for exploiting future educators who are burning themselves out for that same institution.
It can be argued that paying teacher candidates is costly, and regardless of who shoulders the burden, in the end it would cost the Ontario Government. This uncompensated model has functioned thus far, so why change it? Why shell out 50 million dollars by giving nearly 5000 teacher candidates a weekly stipend of $1000 for 10 weeks?
The answer is because the model’s limitations have become increasingly apparent. In a time when a teacher shortage is inevitable, change may be required to encourage future educators to not only join the program, but remain in the program. Such an investment would alleviate financial burdens and attract candidates into the profession who will remain there in a time when Ontario is facing a teacher shortage. In the long term, investing in future educators is an investment in the stability and quality of Ontario’s education system.
By Jacob Lopez, Contributor
Jacob Lopez is a student in the concurrent education program at Brock University.
Ontario is facing a looming teacher shortage by 2027 according to briefing documents prepared for the new Minister of Education. There is no one, simple way to solve that problem. It is imperative, however, that more young people enter the profession. After all, you cannot solve a teacher shortage without more teachers.
Surely, then, to entice students to take on the lengthy six year teacher education program, it must be designed with their best interest in mind, ensuring that their dedication to learning the craft through classroom based practicums is compensated fairly.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Of particular note, practicums — the practice teaching periods fundamental to teacher training — are unpaid. That basic fact is harming and hampering the future educators of Ontario.
The majority of those enrolled in teachers college are young, with real financial responsibilities such as rent. More than half of post secondary students in Ontario are living alone, and the cost of living has skyrocketed. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is around $1700 in Ontario, leaving many unable to balance the rising cost of basic living expenses with unpaid practicums.
Additionally, practicums are rigorous, requiring students to put in eight-hour work days. More puzzling is that, due to having little say in which school board they will work in, a candidate living in Toronto may be placed in a school in the Niagara Region, leaving them to spend more time and money just to complete the requirements of their degree.
This design of the practicum structure thus becomes actively harmful to the livelihood of future educators. In large part, it’s because that structure prevents students from earning money in other, ordinary ways. In order to properly complete the placement, they must drastically reduce work hours or even take time off completely from their paid jobs, leaving them with no source of income to cover the increasing cost of living. For many teacher candidates, reducing work hours or quitting their jobs during practicums is not an option, forcing them to find new work while having very limited availability, or deterring employers from hiring them.
One may argue that the level of compensation relates to the demands of practicum – that little is expected out of new teacher candidates in the classroom. This is far from accurate. Teacher candidates are often expected to take on extra responsibilities such as lesson planning outside of school hours, attending before and after school meetings, and running school teams and clubs. I personally found myself at school until 7pm on some days running clubs and then having to commute back to Toronto from Markham.
Interestingly enough, unpaid internships are illegal in Ontario. But the Ontario Employment Act of 2000 outlines how they are permitted if they are either offered through a post-secondary institution, or approved by a secondary school board. Young adults with a passion for their career are being exploited for free labor under the guise of “paying your dues” to the profession. This legal loophole allows institutions to sidestep employment standards, and ultimately, allows for exploiting future educators who are burning themselves out for that same institution.
It can be argued that paying teacher candidates is costly, and regardless of who shoulders the burden, in the end it would cost the Ontario Government. This uncompensated model has functioned thus far, so why change it? Why shell out 50 million dollars by giving nearly 5000 teacher candidates a weekly stipend of $1000 for 10 weeks?
The answer is because the model’s limitations have become increasingly apparent. In a time when a teacher shortage is inevitable, change may be required to encourage future educators to not only join the program, but remain in the program. Such an investment would alleviate financial burdens and attract candidates into the profession who will remain there in a time when Ontario is facing a teacher shortage. In the long term, investing in future educators is an investment in the stability and quality of Ontario’s education system.
Posted to the Blogs and Articles That Inspire Tab October 29th, 2024
