So, you want to teach English in Vietnam…..

Peter Goudge, Managing Director of the Australia-Vietnam School of English

The Vietnamese Government is very focused on improving the quality of English language teaching across the country. Unlike a number of countries in South-East Asia – Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia for example – the days of the ‘backpacker’ foreign English ‘teacher’ have largely finished in Vietnam with more hoops to jump through to be eligible to work.  Over the past year or so, there’s been a noticeable exodus of backpacker ‘teachers’. Continue Reading

The United States vs. China: Are Technology Needs Being Met?

One on one, see how the United States and China feel about their students technology needs being met in the following infographic. Continue Reading

A Breakdown of the Chicago Teachers’ Strike

While you may have heard about the teachers’ strike in Chicago, the following infographic offers a detailed look at the strike’s impact and more. Continue Reading

Underperforming Teachers: Release Them or Help Them?

We understand that teachers are the ones who help to shape the lives of students by filling their minds with knowledge.  However, what happens when students are not performing well?  Are the teachers at fault, and if so, what should be done with them?  There are two ideas, according to the following infographic. Continue Reading

How Education Can Be a More Effective Tool

Do students actually learn something in the classroom?  Students are so focused on getting the right answer on a test that they may not be obtaining knowledge.

As a teacher, Diana Laufenberg believes that education has to be reformed to make a real difference in students’ lives.  In the following video, she shares her experiences as an educator and talks about what can’t continue in the school system if education is to be a more effective tool. Continue Reading

Interview with a Professor

My official job title is Associate Professor. I work in the education field, and I have fourteen years of teaching experience at a state university in Georgia. To prepare for this career, I earned a bachelor’s degree in English, and then I received my MFA in poetry writing. I earned my Ph.D. in English fifteen years ago.

Education, publications and work experience are the most important things a person needs to get hired and succeed as a professor. In graduate school, I discovered that most colleges and universities would not hire someone without an advanced degree, and most schools wanted their professors to have doctoral degrees and lengthy lists of publications. I found that the graduate schools I attended were both good at shopping their graduates around and finding job placements for them, but I also networked for myself whenever I could. My extensive list of publications also made me a good candidate for a position as a professor. Continue Reading

Interview with a High School Teacher

* What is your job title and what industry do you work in? How many years of experience do you have in this field?

I am a special education teacher. I just got a permanent teaching job this year. However, I have been substituting for about 3 years. I substituted while I was finishing up my education degree. Continue Reading

Step-By-Step Cover Letter Guide For Teachers

To teach and become a teacher is the dream of many college grads. To realize this dream, you must have a couple of things in order, as competition for jobs heats up and salary levels going through the roof. To begin with, your grades through out your academic career must be more than impressive. But more importantly than this, your resume and cover letter combination is the instrument that will either get you the job interview or not.
First of all, if you are a new graduate having no real experience in teaching, you can compensate for this by taking up a substitute teacher’s position so that you are able to mention this in the résumé and cover letter. This will come in handy when highlighting your accomplishments. Along with your academic merits, highlight classroom accomplishments, such as how students began scoring better grades under your instruction, or how you volunteered for difficult or unusual assignments.
Let Your Personality And Passion Shine Through
Your teacher’s cover letter should reflect your strengths and your dreams of becoming a teacher. The more experienced you are, the better your chances are. Also, since teaching requires a love of the profession, you should be sure to project your enthusiasm and passion for helping others to learn. You should also include whatever teaching experience you have, including your stint as a substitute teacher and any overseas teaching experiences.
Follow The Format
Make sure that your cover letter is three paragraphs long, because breaking the letter into too many paragraphs without clear direction will disinterest and bore the reader. Open the conversation with the first paragraph introducing yourself and why you are applying for the job. This means making reference to the job advertisement or any reference through which you became aware of the job vacancy. Conclude the last paragraph on a positive note while stating your intentions to follow up later (and then do follow up!). This brings us to the all- important second paragraph, where you should speak about your credentials and why you think you are the best candidate for the position. Keeping the body of this paragraph short and to the point is crucial to hold the recruiter’s interest. You make bullet points to highlight your accomplishments, but keep it limited. Your cover letter should mention your passion for helping others succeed.
Even more crucial in a teaching cover letter, than among cover letters for other professions, is to avoid typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Think about it from the employer’s point of view. If you can’t avoid these mistakes in your own work, how can you teach it to others?
What makes the teaching profession different from all others is that your job is specifically to prepare others for the working world. Accuracy, intelligence, passion and job commitment are the keys to being successful in teaching. Make sure that these traits come through in your cover letter, and you are well on your way to landing that coveted teaching position.

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