# Advice needed for a possible move to Canada!



## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Hi there,

I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

pinkdolphin said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!


It may prove difficult to find someone who can comment on living in both cities. South Africa's reputation for excessive crime would certainly preclude me from visiting, never mind living there. Vancouver is having some gun crime (drug gangs) problems at present but, for the most part, it doesn't affect the general public and I think, a temporary situation. It is a glorious city in a marvellous location (as is Cape Town) and I would suggest a much better place to raise young children. There are many South African nationals who have moved to Canada in recent years to escape the high crime in that country. Teaching is a very portable profession so finding employment in Vancouver should prove relatively easy.


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Hi Auld Yin,
Thank you very much for your reply! I've posted the same message on the SA Forum & had quite a few responses, all with the same overtone: don't go due the excessively high crime rate! Ok, so SA it isn't. In terms of work, would it be better to secure a job from here before I move or is it relatively easy to get a teaching job once over there? And also, would I be allowed to teach in a local school or would I have teach in a British/International school? 
Happy sunny Sunday!
Pinkdolphin


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## chan_konabe (Mar 8, 2009)

Hi Pinkdolphin,

I'm an elementary school teacher in BC. I've taught in several areas of BC, including Langley, one of the suburbs of Vancouver. It isn't easy for teachers to break into the profession in BC. There are many reasons for this and I'll explain some below. I'll try not to make it sound gloomy, but you should know beforehand that the current employment situation for teachers in the province isn't good.

The first two questions any BC school district will ask you are 1) Can you legally work in Canada? and 2) Do you have a BC professional teaching certificate? I'm not an expert on the immigration process, so you should check out the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) web site for details. As for the second question, you'll have to apply for teacher certification through the BC College of Teachers (BCCT). You can find an application package on their web site. They just want to make sure that your teacher training and education is equivalent to that of a teacher who went through a BC university teacher training program. The BCCT evaluation process could take several months so start it before your expected arrival date.

Without finishing these two steps first, it's very unlikely that any school district would consider you for a teaching position.

Teaching in BC is a great, but it's very difficult for someone to break into the profession. Some reasons are:

1) Teaching in BC is very unionized. As a result, years of seniority are often weighed more heavily than experience or ability when filling teaching positions. Teachers new to the school district start out at the bottom of the seniority ladder and must climb their way up. A teacher's years of experience outside of BC count very little. In fact, teachers moving from school district to school district within BC have difficulty having their experience recognized.

2) Declining enrolment. All but 3 of 60+ school districts in BC are experiencing a rapid decline in student population. Simple demographics are to explain for this - people are having fewer children. Fewer children mean fewer classrooms and fewer schools. Almost 200 schools have been closed across the province over the last 10 years.

3) High new teacher graduates. Education is still viewed as a good profession to get into for university students (well, because it's true). New teacher education programs have sprung up around the province. As a result, more new teacher graduates are being turned out into the system. Most were mistakenly told that there would be plenty of new positions available because of the impending 'retirement of older teachers'. However, this large retirement never resulted in the creation of jobs because of #2 above, the declining student population. Basically, retiring teachers were taking their jobs with them when they retired. 

***I wanted to post an article from the Vancouver sun on this topic, but apparently I need 4 or more posts to do so. I'll create another post below this one to build up my numbers.

4) Teachers who wish to work in the more 'desirable' areas of the province (ex, Vancouver and Victoria), have to start as Teachers on Call (TOC's), aka substitute teachers. As many teachers want to live in these cities the competition for jobs is fierce and teachers must build up years of seniority before they can even get temporary contracts, much less continuing ones. As a result, it often takes anywhere from 3-7 years of doing this supply work before one has enough seniority to get a contract. For more information on the life of a TOC in BC, I recommend you read a TOC survey that was done by the BCTF, the teachers' union. You'll find the results on the BCTF web site. It reported that the average salary of a TOC in BC is $12,000, hardly enough to live on. As a result, many TOC's leave the bigger cities for the smaller towns or leave the teaching profession altogether.

I'm sorry to make everything seem so gloomy, but, unfortunately, that's the current state of teaching in BC. However, it's a great profession once you're inside. You'll just need the time and patience (and additional money to tide you by) while waiting to do so.

If you have any more questions, please ask. I'll point you in the right direction.


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## chan_konabe (Mar 8, 2009)

One positive note - the employment situation for teachers in BC improves the farther you move from the large urban centres. Vancouver and Victoria are two of the most difficult markets for teachers to find employment. However, it's much easier to get continuing teaching contracts in the small-, mid-, and large-sized towns in BC.


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## chan_konabe (Mar 8, 2009)

Well, I did my 4 posts and I'm still not allowed to post links. I'll see if I can PM you the article. If not, Google "teacher", "surplus" and "vancouver sun". The title of the article is "Provinces warn of 'critical' teacher surplus."


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Hi Chan!

Thank you very much for your very comprehensive reply to my thread! I didn't expect the employment situation for teachers to be so difficult. It doesn't seem to be a viable option to apply to a local school once in Canada. Besides, I don't really want to start at the bottom yet again and fight for seniority, AND I can't afford it financially to work as a supply teacher until I get my foot into the door somewhere. The only option seems to be to pick-up a post with either a British or International school which in turn will take care of the question of whether I am allowed & qualified to teach in BC. I have read the article you suggested which was a very interesting read indeed, thanks for the link. Not quite sure where to go from here, I suppose I'll have to start contacting British/International schools in BC & see what happens?!
What is Vancouver like for a working mum with a 12-year old daughter? 
Pinkdolphin


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## chan_konabe (Mar 8, 2009)

Hi Pinkdolphin,

I haven't heard of any schools in BC that use the British school curriculum and therefore require British-certified teachers, not BC-certified ones. All of the schools I'm aware of use the BC school curriculum only. If such schools exist, they will be few in number. If you find any, please let me know.

The independent schools (aka private schools) in BC all use the BC curriculum. There is a large variety of them around BC, with either an academic or religious focus. You can find a list on the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA) web site. You won't have many of the same union-related issues with them as you have in the public school system. However, working conditions can vary greatly among them.

Vancouver is a great city to grow up in and I'm sure your daughter will do fine. It has its good points and bad points just like any other place. For me, the highlights of Vancouver are its multiculturalism, its proximity to nature and outdoor activities, and its centre as an international travel hub. On the downside, Vancouver isn't an affordable city to live in, the traffic can be terrible, and the grey weather can be depressing for some. 

All the best with your research!

chan konabe


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Ok, great, thanks for your reply! BUT which school do expat children attend if not an International / British / American etc one???


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

pinkdolphin said:


> Ok, great, thanks for your reply! BUT which school do expat children attend if not an International / British / American etc one???


If you wish your children to receive a British type education, assuming such is available in BC, then you would require to send them to a private school and, of course, pay fees for that. Canada is not a third-world country. We do not take the position, and rightfully so, that education here is inferior to that in the UK. Education is paid from taxes, as in the UK, unless you want the private blend, then it's on your dime.


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## chan_konabe (Mar 8, 2009)

pinkdolphin said:


> Ok, great, thanks for your reply! BUT which school do expat children attend if not an International / British / American etc one???


All expat children I know attend your average BC public school. Some are sent to private schools, but they still follow the BC curriculum. The quality of education is very high in BC. Perhaps this is why there aren't schools I'm aware of that follow foreign curricula. There just isn't a need (or a demand) for such institutions here.


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