Professionals opt to swap to teaching career
(CNS): In a bid to increase the pool of home grown teachers, the Ministry of Education has joined forces with the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom to offer a local post graduate teaching course. Thirteen would-be teachers have signed up for the new Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) one year course, including ten Caymanians. All of the graduates are professionals in other fields who have opted to make a career change to teaching. “We need passionate, dedicated, hardworking and highly-skilled teachers in our education system to shape our youth and provide our students with the best opportunities,” Rolston Anglin told the inaugural class.
The local manager for the programme is Cetonya Cacho, the former Principal of Bodden Town Primary School, who explained that the course is a blend of online and practical study. Theoretical course information, readings and assignments will be provided through online distance learning from the University of Sunderland and this will then be directly linked to school experience in classrooms in the Cayman Islands.
During the school experience, PGCE students will have opportunities to put theory into practice with the support of a mentor teacher,” she said. The mentors are experienced teachers from the Government’s Education System who have volunteered to provide this service.
Cacho said a large component of the course includes weekly workshops on national strategies and school initiatives, such as the Cayman Islands National Professional Standards for Teachers.
Mary Rodrigues, chief officer in the ministry, congratulated the candidates on passing the rigorous selection processes administered by the ministry and the University of Sunderland, and on their desire to become teachers. “Teaching is a wonderful profession that too many people overlook as a potential career path. Work hard and focus on the difference you can make in a child’s life,” she said.
The PGCE is offered annually, starting each September, to interested persons who hold a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher. The main aim of a PGCE is to provide anyone aspiring to a career in teaching in primary schools with the professional training and experience necessary to develop as effective and reflective teachers.
Chief Education Officer Shirley Wahler said teachers have a great responsibility for every child in a classroom. “It is very important that, no matter how hard it seems, you havea positive attitude and create a positive learning environment," she advised the would-be teachers. “You control the weather in your classroom and as a result of this, your students control the climate of our country.”
For more information on the PGCE please visit www.education.gov.ky or email teachcayman@gov.ky.
Category: Local News
Does teaching at a Cayman Sunday School qualify as teaching experience?
If you can read this…….Thank a teacher!!!!!
I served as a teacher on Cayman Brac at the high school and as head teacher of Creek Primary School. I was trained at Sunderland College of Education. It was great training then and I’m sure it still is. I hope a few if my students at least feel I made a meaningful contribution. Dave Holmes aka Benjy
And all the while we have qualified Caymanian teachers who left because of pathetic leadership in the department and ministry. You have people who have been trained for 4 years who leave… Why? Because of the silly politics that the department and ministry play.
They force good teachers to leave because they don’t reward them positively and they never promote them to help others. Instead, they give the teacher who has been in a school the longest a promotion because that poor teacher doesn’t know any better and would never do anything to change the status quo or to actually improve the quality of learning at their school (they simply don’t know better because they’ve never done anything else). We wouldn’t be out wasting time or money on these kinds of programs if people were retained and promoted based on their qualifications and leadership experience not their tenure.
This problem, of course, is from the ministry right down. If the people who make the decisions to hire teachers would ensure that teachers were taken care of properly you wouldn’t need train teachers at more cost to government (some of these people got government scholarships for their bachelors and now they re getting a second degree that is nothing more than a bachelors no matter how they twist it).
Get real leadership for the CEO and the CO and you will see a system transform.
What a wonderful world this would be if everyone was patriotic to their own country and everyone placed in jobs they are qualified to do.
This is a splended idea whose time has come. There certainly is a need for more Caymanian teachers who will not only teach the 3 R’s but also instil the Caymanian culture to the students. It is always said that being a mother is the most noble of professions, I believe being a teacher ranks second. Now Education Department and Education Ministry please remember to pay them the same scale that the expat teachers are paid. Most of them will be paying rent or mortgages so please no monkey business with the salary. Teachers please also remember to get everything in writing, signed and sealed because the Ed. Dept and Ministry are not so good on keeping their words- ensure that every detailed agreement is included in the contracts. Apart from that you should enjoy your careers.
Caymanian teachers hired since the freeze on salaries (last 10 years) have come in at at starting salary of about 3500.00/month. These teachers now have 10 years experience, have proven they are in it for the long haul, but are at the bottom of the teaching pay scale. Contrast that to the new teachers hired from the UK and elsewhere who have fewer years experience, need to be shown the ropes by the more experienced Caymanian teachers, and are paid substantially more than the Caymanian teachers.
Currently there is a new strategy being unveiled by the ministry that speaks of attracting quality Caymanian teachers. How can they attract them when there is no chance of a salary increase, unless he or she stops being a classroom teacher. Do the people in this programme know that they will never make more than the amount they are offered when they first are hired because only experience in England, Canada and the UK counts as experience (okay, maybe other Caribbean islands too). Why come into a system that is biased against you from the start. Young Caymanian teachers who have been in the system have left to teach In Cayman’s private schools, where their years of experience are valued, and thus they are paid more.
I am a government teacher from the UK and have been here for several years. I was well experienced before I came – 6 years teaching in UK schools. I'm not entirely sure where you are getting your facts and figures from, but I will happily tell you that my current salary (and the salary I was hired on) is $3636 per month. I was recruited at the same time as a new Caymanian teacher with zero experience. This teacher was paid at 1 point up the scale from me and got promoted after just 4 years of teaching. There is enough 'us and them' on these islands without trying to force it into this discussion by simply telling barefaced lies about Caymanian teachers getting paid a pittance and treated so badly. It is just not true…
Barefaced lies? I am one of those Caymanian teachers hired at the bottom of the pay scale after the pay freeze. I have more than ten years experience and a masters degree and I can assure you that there is not a teacher on this island who makes less than I do and there are many, many contract teachers with less experience than me who make more than I do. We all know that the system is corrupt and favoritism is shown to certain teachers, but by in large Caymanian teachers are paid less than those who come here on contract.
Perhaps you are paid less becasue you were hired AFTER the pay freeze? Maybe your pay will increase when the freeze is lifted?
As a teacher it sounds as if you still have a lot to learn. First if an expat teacher is brought in on a contract then Govt must honor their contract. After the contract is up I am sure that if there is a better qualified local for the job then the contract wont be renewed. If you have as much experience as you suggest then I am sure promotion will be forthcoming.
Second the term is "by and large".
Lastly, please dont forget that just being Caymanian is not a qualification. It should serve as a tiebreaker between a Caymanian and a similarly qualified expat but that's it. If the expat teachers are paid more than the locals I would hope it is because they are better qualified and more experienced. I am assuming that the powers that be want to hire the best people at the most economical price but perhaps that is a false assumption.
Caymanian teachers are not given credit for years of experience, but teachers from abroad are. It is that simple. The system has lost quite a few Caymanian teachers who have gone to woriven private schools, because when they apply their years of experience are take into account, and they end up getting paid more than they would if they continued to work for government.
The "freeze on salaries" was/is usually accompanied by giving extra cash to faculty that take on extra-curricular projects. Only the most favoured received those oppurtunities while the rest suffer unaware that their co-worker, while having the same salary, is making much more money from these annointed projects. They have turned the education system into something as corrupt as what you would see from the Mafia paying off thier friends under the table.
"….need to be shown the ropes by the more experienced Caymanian teachers…". Total nonsense – the usual Caymanian silliness about foreigners having to be shown how to do the job by brilliant Caymanian workers supposedly overlooked by employers. In the Education dept ALL the "bosses" are born Caymanians so if they are "overlooking" their own Caymanians they must have very good reason to do so.
Protecting their own job… that's why they overlook other Caymanians. They were socially promoted and now have to ensure they bring in the foreigners who don't intend to stay so they can keep their position with limited management skills and strategic planning ability.
Sorry, Bobo! I can't see any logic in your explanation ("socially promoted etc etc") as to why born Caymanian bosses do not want to appoint other born Caymanians to teaching positions. Try again.
I think the first posters comment had more to do with the fact that experience gained within the system does not count toward setting a teacher’s salary, but years outside of the system does count when deciding a teacher’s salary. If you come in as an NQT, your pay does not increase even if you work for 9 or 10 years in the Caymanian system, but if you have worked abroad and then come into the Caymanian government system, those years of experience are counted and you end up being paid more. Also, in regard to all of the bosses being “born” Caymanians, the head of HR for the METE is British the head of the preschools is from NZ, the head of special needs is also from elsewhere, so your facts about the bosses being born Caymanian is wrong……
Teachers are not generally paid more in private schools than in the govt. schools here. Actually, in many cases it is significantly less.
Wow! I want a career change too so I can have all the holidays off – summer, easter, christmas, work shop, days when it rains too hard, days when my nail hurts me ahhh the life.
Don't forget the other months when those sweet angels and their parents are cursing you out. The kids just because they can and the parents because, "how dare you say their child can do wrong." Also, when they all get sick, their parents send them to school because God forbid they stay home with them so they send them to school and now you are out sick for a week with the flu. Or better yet, you have Montezuma's revenge. Still think it's a cushy job? As for me, the only way I would be a teacher if they gave me a million dollars to work one day.
I have been a teacher in an urban district for 22 years (not in GC). Yes, I get all those days off that you are talking about….snow days, holidays, vacation weeks, summer's off and don't forget , I am out each day by 3:30 p.m. Can you imagine? I am not just the teacher, but I am the disciplinarian,, the nurse, the school psychologist, the mom to 150 children each week. My class size runs between 28-35 children, but I do not complain and believe it or not, I actually love it!
I feed your children when you have forgotten to feed them breakfast. I give them a notebook and pencil when you send them to school without their supplies. I supply tissues to them when they have a runny nose and give them a cough drop when their throat hurts. I support them at their sporting events when you are too busy to show up (oh, by the way, that is after hours when I am "off the clock"). I support them in all their fundraisors ( yes, I buy the gift wrap, the candles, the t-shirts, the car wash on Saturdays….I attend the concerts and plays and even the proms). I break up the fights and bandage the bruises. I listen to all their stories , their worries and their concerns.I try to correct them when they are swearing at me or another. I deal with their bad moods, their frustrations, their outbursts. I applaud their accomplishments. I hang their art work in my room, their sports news and news articles.I help them with their college/job applications, , the recommendations letters. I have even bought them their clothes. In my 22 yrs. of teaching, I have even taken a gun and a few knives off students, but I return to the job the next day. I try to make my classroom their safe haven . I know that I am a role model to these students and in some cases, I know that I have made a huge difference in their lives. I teach them every day because I LOVE my job.
Teaching is not an easy job. For those of you who think it is so wonderful, please come join us. We can always use good teachers. Students need good role models. For those of you who are making fun of the profession, try it for one day. It is not as easy as you think. You never know….you may like it!! it is a very rewarding profession!!
** and while writing this I just remembered that we even did a fundraisor for GC after hurricane Ivan…so whomever received a package of clothes, diapers and wipes that was from this teacher who enjoys her summer holidays down in GC!
You reminds me of my daughter, who is also a dedicated teacher. God Bless you and thank you for your kindness.
To 11:58~ Thank you. Your words mean alot to me. Your daughter must be a very special person. The job is getting more difficult each year, but it is just as rewarding. I hope she has a wonderful school year.
I always thanked my mother for raising me with a good heart and giving me the patience that I need each day to do this job. I would bet that you must have raised your daughter with the same values(good heart, caring and kind, and patience) that she needs to do the job. 🙂
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I know several professionals who went back to university to get their teaching certificates for the reasons you cite, or because they wanted to "get out of the rat race and really make a difference," or because they wanted to be home with their kids after school. How many of those people are teaching now that they have finished their practice year? Zero. I am imagining you at a desk job, working at a computer in a quiet little cubicle, able to pee at will and eat when you are hungry, without anyone sucking their teeth at you at all in a single day and with your bum firmly but delicately planted on a comfortable chair. I imagine that you get annoyed when your higher-ups introduce new schemes and force you to ditch the work you've spent months on because some new boss or MLA wants his name in lights, but I also imagine you get to make any necessary changes during the day, without twenty-five "energetic" teens to control at the same time. I imagine there are no bells ringing and no stampede of prepubescents in and out of your cubicle all day. It might even be relatively quiet there.
I beg you to try teaching. I really do. I would love to see how long you would last. Ask any teacher you know why you might find the reality to be different from your dream-life above. Or rather, don't bother; you won't believe a word of it anyway. Here's what you do to compare your job to ours: go into a classroom and watch a teacher. Spend the day. Spend the week. I know your job is hard. So is hers. Don't belittle what she does; you need her. Is teaching good fun? Yes, it is. It's also a job, like any other, with its own special challenges and irritations. Done properly, it's exhausting, and it takes up all your time. You don't get paid much either — in fact, your wages are lower than those of other professionals BECAUSE you have lots of holidays. Your salary is pro-rated, across twelve months, but you're only paid for contact days. (But you knew that, didn't you?)
I imagine there are some fairly good reasons you didn't go into teaching in the first place — why would you assume those reasons have changed?
"Ah, the life." Give me a break.
I hope the teachers qualifying in this new scheme are going into the profession for the right reasons. I hope they have realistic expectations and that they are well-trained, so that they stay in the classroom happily, for many productive years. I sincerely hope none of them are becoming teachers for the holidays. If so, they'll either be mediocre teachers at best, or they won't last six months.
Congratulations to all the future dedicated teachers!!!! Sure hope that at the end jobs will be available for those who complete the course and will not be told sorry there are others more qualified than you, or you have reached the mandatory retirement age. Or better yet, the job is already filled by a foreign teacher.
One has to wonder how many family members that are included in this figure. Some people know how to take care of their own.
And just a note for those who have signed up for this programme: When I say teaching is good fun, I mean it's good fun once you're good at it. You probably won't be very good at it for at least five years and you may find those first five years a genuine struggle, particularly if you are in a truly comprehensive school. Parents will complain, kids will test you (because they can), the workload will seem overwhelming during term time and (if you are any good at all) you will not feel up to the job. Don't give up. If you think you have even a glimmer of talent for it, stick it out for five years at least. It gets better…but many don't make it long enough to find out.
Give me a damn break – your rant would make it seem as if ALL teachers are dedicated, loyal and interested in their students well being. Some just don't give a f***! You might not be one of them but they are here and all around the world. Trust! Yes the pay is shitty, the students are rude and a lot of the parents are enablers (completely agree) but some teachers are in it only for a pay check (even if it's chicken feed $$) and the days off.
No, I don't think I will give you a damn break. There really is no call for cursing…even though I may be only a lowly teacher.
I most clearly did NOT say that all teachers are dedicated, loyal and interested in students. Conversely, I quite clearly DID say that those who enter the profession only for the perks will NOT be effective teachers, and I DID say that DONE PROPERLY, it is a difficult job. I DID suggest that the poster above, who expressed a desire to get into teaching so that he or she could benefit from more frequent holidays, might not be a stellar candidate for the post.
Thank you for your comment, but next time please try to respond to what is written instead of what you yourself feel like arguing against.
Yes, exactly. Thank you for making the point again.
Just how pleasant do you imagine working days are for the teachers you mention you just don't give a f***? Do you imagine they relish going to work, or that the holidays make up for the fact that they don't like their jobs? Do you imagine dealing with children all day is easy when you don't have the passion for it? Do you imaginethat someone who gets a teaching certificate ONLY for the holidays is going to be a happy camper in the classroom?
That was EXACTLY the point. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher, and those who are constantly pointing to the holidays and saying they would love to teach for that reason alone really, REALLY don't understand what goes into being a good teacher. We do not want any more of that kind in our staff rooms, thank you very much.
What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
What's your job?!?!?!?
It amazes me that a community with such an aversion to seeing its own teenagers in public (evidenced by the outcry against teens congregating in Camana Bay to (gasp) wait in line for the cinema) could produce an individual with such rose-coloured visions of a teacher's life.
Please feel free to spend your days making hundreds of teenagers do things they don't want to do any time you like.
Aaah the life……..
Come try do what we do for just one day. Day starts at 7:30 for most of us. Official cut off time for being late is 8:15!!!! By 8:20 my students are already in my room getting started. Yes we teach, we listen to their complaints, we comfort them from the fights and arguments they witnessed at home, we give them snack because they came without, we take the lashings from parents when we try to discipline them………. I could go on!!!! You will get a 15 min break at 10:00 where you eat your snack standing up supervising 27 9 year olds eating and going to the bathroom. Lunchtime- if you are not on duty on the playground then you are on duty in the canteen with 150 students. When do you eat lunch? Standing up in the canteen or on the playground. Let's not forget the afternoons now. After school duty starts at 3:00 and continues on sometimes til 5:00 or later….why you ask? Because some parents don't come to collect their children in a timely manner. Wait, not done yet. Take home the papers to be graded, plan for the next day. Last but not least, I am sure you will be impressed with the salary you will be making. Hope so because you will making it for a long time to come…..no increase, no increment, no bonuses.
Then you will soon realize that "vacation" is a misnomer, be prepared to work Saturdays, Sundays , grade or write exams until 3am in the morning, and brush up on your skills over ALL the holidays so you dont lose your edge. Teachers have an advantage in that our schedule for the classroom can be flexible, but for every hour your teach to your kids, be prepared to set aside 2 hours for prepatation. I keep detailed track of all the work I do and work on average 65 hours per week when classes are running, and about 15 hours/week during my "holidays". AND If youre intentions are not to be 100% dedicated, then dont become a teacher because I spend about 3 hours a week picking up the slack for some teachers and administrators who turn out to be nothing more than posers.