Advertising teaching positions in Ontario becuase ‘it’s the rules’

June has arrived in Ontario, and with the coming of summer also comes the postings for September teaching opportunities. A number of the boards have begun to post their vacencies, full time and contract, thus opening the flood gates for resumes from hopeful teachers. Sadly, what these ambitious young newcomers will face is litte in the way of satisfactory employment. From my conversations with teachers at schools who have postings online for ‘vacancies’ in September, 4 out of 5 of these positions are already filled by a promise to a current supply teacher or LTO contract worker.

By all means these individuals who have worked in the school, who understand its politics and methods of business, should be at the top of the list. If I was in their position I’d appreciate the priority treatment. I’m also confident that these teachers are being promised the position because they are good teachers. And that is part of the conundrum — if you are already in a school then the system can work in your favour, but if you are trying to get in, the system is only able to block your way. This creates frustration for teachers seeking a ‘foot in the door’ as they are forced to cling to these false hopes of employment that border on outright lies. I’ve talked to a number of newly trained teachers who express joy in the fact that 4 new math positions were posted online today, or 2 new science positions, or maybe a grade 7 core. The sad truth is they’ll be lucky to get an interview let alone a job offer.

Why must we post these positions when the schools have little to no intention of actually hiring an outside individual? Why waste the resources, not to mention the demorailzing effect it has on new teachers. Why promise the carrot that dangles on a stick just out of reach?

Jim Grieve claims hiring boom in Peel Board, but new teachers still under-employed

The Toronto Star today discusses the increased need for teachers representing minority groups in Ontario schools. With 40% of the population representing visible minorities, and 7 in 10 high school students (at least in the Toronto District School Board) being non-white, school boards are looking to foreign trained teachers to fill the gap.

In booming Peel Region, where the public school board is hiring hand over fist to serve an explosion of new Canadian families, schools need more diverse teachers than universities can churn out, so they’re turning to foreign-trained teachers to fill the gap, said education director Jim Grieve. (The Toronto Star)

That is a confounding statement when one looks at one school in Peel, where for the first time in 20 years, 7 teachers have been declared surplus. In total 57 teachers in the secondary panel have been declared surplus by the school board. They are all contract teachers and have to be placed before anyone new can be hired. In the midst of this ‘hiring boom’ we have 57 surplus teachers who will be placed before any new teachers can be hired.

What gives Jim Grieve? when you say ‘hiring boom’ are you talking about hiring teachers in general, or specifically a hiring boom for foreign trained teachers? The goal of hiring teachers should be to hire the best teachers available, regardless of other considerations. A good teacher can motivate, teach, and connect with students regardless of race or creed.