Hey everyone!I hope you're having a wonderful day I hope you're having a wonderful day
and welcome back to my channel 我是卡娜
Today we have a very special guest
She is one of my good friends
a certified Ontario teacher who has eight years of working experience
Let's welcome teacher Zoe!
Recently I've also been and certified as an Ontario teacher
And so today we decided to share with you all the
must knows of becoming a certified teacher here in Ontario
We will be sharing the requirements of becoming a teacher
here the cost and what to expect
if you want to enroll in teacher education programs
Now this video is going to be in all English
but Chinese subtitles will be available
so feel free to turn on the subtitles if needed
if you're interested in finding out how you can become
a certified teacher here in Ontario
Let's dive right in
Okay so the first question we have is
What kinds of teacher are there here in Ontario Canada?
Now basically if you become a teacher
you could either teach in a private school
or you could teach in a public school
But there are different divisions in which you can teach in
Right, Zoe?
Yeah! That's correct
So when it comes to the division
There are four. There's primary
junior intermediate and senior
And primary which is what I teach
is kindergarten to grade three
junior is grade four to six
intermediate is grades seven to ten
So leading into high school
and last but not least
senior is grades eleven and twelve
Okay so you could choose which grades you prefer
That's correct. Right.
Onto the second question
What are the requirements to become a teacher in Ontario?
First of all, to teach in Ontario
you need to be certified by OCT
You're going to hear that a lot
Ontario College of Teachers
And from your experience
can you tell us more about the requirements
So in order to get the OCT
you will first need at least three years of post secondary education
So that could mean a bachelor's education
You will also need to go through four semesters of teacher education program.
Now after you're done with both of these
that's when you can apply for the OCT
Another thing to note is that if you did get your
teacher's education abroad you can still apply for the OCT
It doesn't have to be here in Ontario, Canada
However, we did hear some stories where teachers had to wait
quite a bit in order to get their OCT
So just bear that in mind if you do want to apply
Moving on to question three
How much does teacher education cost in total?
Yes. So there are a few options
If you are considering teacher's college
you could do a concurrent program
or apply to go to teacher's college after you finish your degree
So the concurrent program
which is what I did
you do it at the same time as your bachelor's degree
So you're getting your bachelor's
and you're getting your Bachelor of Education at the same time
The second option that I mentioned is you could finish your degree
your bachelor's or another degree
and apply to go to teachers College
which is two years after you graduate from your bachelor's degree
Let's take a look at the numbers here
If you are going to take the Masters of Teaching program
here in University of Toronto
It is slightly pricier than the other school that provide teacher education
So if you are a fulltime domestic student
it would cost you around $12000 per year
So that for the whole program
it would cost you around $24000
But if you are an international student
then it's $44000 per year
So there's quite a big difference
So that would be $88000
for the whole teaching education program
Worth it though! Absolutely!
And if you are going to pursue your bachelor's
then it would be $9000 per year.
If you go to Western Education and for international students
it would be $41000 per year.
So still,
when it comes to international tuition
it is on the pricier side.
Now there's also something else that I would like to share
So in Ontario we do have OSAP
If you need financial aid and you are a domestic student
then that's something that you can apply for
But for international school students
OSAP is not available for you
But you could definitely look into your local banks
For instance, if you are from Taiwan
the interest rates are a lot better than OSAP
The interest rate was around 1.4%
as compared to OSAP is 5.2%
Also, if you do have OSAP
you have to start paying your debts
That's correct. How quickly?
Right away. Pretty much right away.
No, it's actually six months.
But, yeah. It feels like right away.
Whereas did you know that in Taiwanese banks
they give grace periods for up to three years
That's really nice... It could be a big relief.
But anyways, if you do need any financial assistance
do remember that you will have that option
and please do contact your local bank for further information
All right now that we've covered the tuition for the Teachers College
let's take a look at how much it will cost
to live in Toronto
If you wanted to share an apartment
like a little room in an apartment
you would probably need to pay $800 to $1500
If you want to rent your own studio
it's just like a little space that has all inclusive living space
then it would be around $1800 or more
Now if you wanted to rent
like a whole apartment with one bedroom then currently
now it's $2300-$2400
So not on the affordable end
Yeah so it's quite expensive
especially with Covid and prices after, I drive
So my commute total cost for my car, for insurance,
for gas, monthly it would come up to around $ 800
Now there are other options
like public transportation but still
public transportation is also quite pricey
too And then your food and entertainment
I don't know about you
Canada but food and entertainment
It's pretty expensive!
And just bits of things here and there
miscellaneous things $150.
So in total
you are looking at $1650 to $3800
So annually you could get up to $84000
a year
Question number five. What will I learn in Teachers College?
I thought it was pretty useful for me.
When I moved here
was when I realized that
Wow! Classroom culture can be really different
So one of the things that I do remember is fundamentals
like how do you navigate the curriculum?
How do you do unit plans?
strategies for classroom management
which can be very different compared to a Taiwanese classroom
How do you do level reading with your kids?
How do you introduce tough topics like racism?
indigenous identities
These were some topics that were really foreign to me
Another thing that was really important,
was also how do you assist English Language Learners
Now if you come to Canada
you'll notice that in your classroom
you actually have kids from all different types of culture
and it's so important
that you are aware of how you can accommodate and differentiate
What about you, Zoe?
For me, it was a lot to do with
the theory of teaching
So I remember learning about a lot of different types of pedagogy
educational philosophers like Maria Montessori
and really developing myself
as a teacher and also as a lifelong learner
Yeah So now that we're done with
sharing with you what we learned at Teachers College
let's take a look at what exactly is the practicum?
So the practicum is basically like internship for teachers
Now you will get two chances to participate in a practicum
where you will be assigned to a school
and work with an associate teacher
For the first year,
you will get a four week internship
mostly to observe how the teacher manages her class or his class
And then you'll get some time to actually teach within that class
For the second year,
you'll get six weeks
and you'll have less observation time and more time to actually
engage with the classroom
That is actually a very important experience for teacher candidates
Yes, I totally agree.
The practicing is such an important part of the teacher's college education
because I remember when I did my practicum
it was a lot of hands on experience
So you learn how to manage
a classroom with your associate teacher or mentor teacher
You learn how to lesson plan
You learn how to assess your students' work
You learn how to get up in front of a class
and teach.
At the end of the year,
you get evaluated.
They provide you with feedback
Also, a reference.
That is very important.
I also remember them
reminding us that if you can get the principal to
watch you teach. It would be a big plus as well
And I also want to add that the collaboration
is so great when you're a student teacher because
chances are you're at the school with one or more student teachers
So it's a really great
collaborative community where you can learn from one another
Question number seven Now that you're done with teachers College
you're ready to be employed
How quickly will you get employed?
What is the job market like right now?
So let me explain the route of becoming a teacher
Pretty much when you graduate
you have to apply to be a supply teacher first
So you supply teacher for a few months to a few years
and then you can apply to be a long term occasional teacher
So there's two types of supply teachers
Exactly.
So there's a supply teacher
and then there's a long term supply teacher.
So your long term supply teaching roles
are more like they could
go from a few weeks
where you're in the same classroom or the same role
to a full year or even longer full year
Okay. After that,
you then apply for permanent teaching roles
Now, that's how I did it when I graduated
But I know recently things have changed
Now seniority is not an issue anymore
So that means that if you're a supply teacher
if you're a long term occasional teacher
you can apply to be a permanent teacher
Now moving on to question eight
which is a question
I think a lot of people would be interested in
How much do teachers make in Ontario?
What are the benefits and what does pension look like?
Now,
this really depends on the teacher's education background
how many years of teaching experience this teacher has
and also which school board the teacher works for
We have like a little chart here that we prepare for you
and you can actually find this on the school board website
Take for example if a teacher
has a bachelor's degree and finished teachers education
and the teacher has zero years of working experience
then they'll usually start at $49,000
per year But if a teacher has a master's degree
and finished teachers college with zero years of working experience
that teacher will get around $69,000
There is something called a "Sunshine list"
Zoe would you like to share with everyone,
What does it mean to make it onto the "Sunshine List"?
Yeah so basically you work for the public education
system and you make over $100,000
You are automatically in the Sunshine list
But does the salary increase after year eleven?
No. So we are capped.
But with inflation we do get 1% or 2% increase every year
So in Taiwan teachers actually get year end bonuses
And we're wondering do teachers here get year end bonuses as well?
No. you do not.
But you get a lot of happiness at the job
You know what? I think that's A+ answer.
You know what? Yes.
Some of you may know that in Canada
we're taxed pretty heavily
So what does the tax look like on teacher's salary
Yeah. So my income tax on each paycheck is 17%
and we get paid biweekly
so that means every two weeks
and then the tax is 17% of each paycheck
What are some of the benefits that teachers here have?
Okay. Benefits are amazing.
We have really good benefits
So some of our benefits include medication
dentist, therapist, massages just to name a few
But the list goes on
So even though a chunk of our paycheck is taken off for
other expenses and taxes
we are gifted with really good benefits
This reminds me.
You could add your partner into your...
Exactly.
So when you get married and when you have children
they can also be part of your plan
So that's like triple the benefit
It's a lot.
Now. The last question is
What does the pension look like?
It really depends on
when you start working
and what your contract look like when you started.
But for newer teachers like me
you are basically putting in around $200,000
but you are getting paid for the rest of your life.
Okay... so that sounds like a pretty
secure plan right after you retired
Exactly.
Moving on to our last question of the day
Unions and school boards
What are those?
Yeah. Good question!
So the difference between
school board and a union is that
when you become a teacher in Ontario
you are part of the school board
depending on what region and where you are teaching
Unions on the other hand
are a group of representatives who will
negotiate teacher contracts with the government
They will mediate conflicts
bargain for teachers and
pretty much set general guidelines and expectations in the teaching role
And the union is important because it does protect teachers
All right that's it for today guys!
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We hope you have a wonderful week
I'll see you in my next video.
Bye guys!