Is there a shortage of history teachers?

I recently called three different schools to inquire about teaching jobs. One was a historically black university and two were bible colleges. All three asked if I could teach history. When I told them the focus of my degrees, they wanted to know the number of credits I have in history.

Is this strange? Or is there a need for teachers in this subject?

Granted, contact with three schools is not a survey in any way. But I was intriqued by their interest, nonetheless.

Roscoe

 

Around my area there is no shortage of ANY kind of teachers (except maybe high school math teachers).
Jack

 

There always seems to be a need for teachers for lower-division western civilization/world history courses so that distribution requirements can be met. From the institution's point of view, if they can get even 5 or 6 through, then an adjunct pays for himself; if they can adjunct out a 30-35 student section of world or western civ., then they stand to clear a minimum of $30,000 on hiring an adjunct. (Let's assume discounted tuition at, say, $10K a year. Assume a 15c/h student load per semester, therefore each kid in my HIST-102 class is paying a thousand bucks for the privilege. Subtract the typical $2000 (plus some employer-paid taxes) an adjunct makes at non-Ivy campuses. QED.)

Jon Porter
(no longer in the adjunct game, at least for now ... but my one-year lecturer contract runs out in the spring.)

[Typo corrected.]

 

Roscoe,
Gosh, I hope there is a shortage, I plan on entering a Master's program in History by December!
- Buckwheat

 

There is a shortage of history teachers...

A shortage of low paid H-1B ones that is. Americans need not apply.

Bing

 

Where are CC teachers needed?

Hi-

This post brings up a good point. For those of us interested in teaching at the community college level, what subjects need teachers? Oh wait, that should be what liberal arts subjects? Never had a head for math .

I have a CSU MA in Humanities, but it's so broad, it doesn't seem to apply to teaching many courses. I've given some thought to doing another MA via distance ed, but what subject is likely to be needed in the future? It is said that some fields apparently are pretty hard to get employment in if you are not in some way a minority, so it might be relevant to know I'm a white male.

Anyone got a clue as to where the most need for CC teachers is in the soft sciences? History, Crim Justice, err- pottery making
?


Mike Mc

 

Please pardon my igorance

Bing,

What is "H-1B"?

Thanks.

Roscoe

 

Re: Please pardon my igorance

H-1B is a visa for foreign aliens to work in the US. Some believe that the H-1B was created to fill positions that required high level of education and low salaries like professors for example.

 

Re: Where are CC teachers needed?

I just read a report published by a provincial goverment in Canada and it seems that there is a lack of professor in almost all the areas. In you check the www.aucc.ca you will see plenty opportunities for history professors. Of course this trend won't last long, so you better get your PhD ASAP.

 

Re: Where are CC teachers needed?

I know of several people who teach community college in fields unrelated to their graduate degrees. For example, a friend of mine with an M.B.A. teaches government courses. His undergrad degree is in history & government, so the M.B.A. is basically window dressing, sort of a teaching permit.

Like most things in life, it can do no harm to apply for an adjunct position that you feel you're qualified to teach. The CSU M.A. certainly won't be a handicap IMO, and may in fact be an advantage because of its breadth.


Bruce

 

More on H-1B

The H-1B issue has been very large over the past few years in the computer and engineering fields. I am seeing it in the college research/teaching ranks, too. Schools are bringing in these H-1Bs into post doc programs at 30K or less per year(mostly less) with the "possibility of faculty" carrot hanging in front of them.

The H-1B program brings in unfair competition, which is great for all the global one economy thinker types. However, what it does is decrease wages, which we have seen in a number of H-1B heavy fields.

I have personally seen Americans cut from companies and fresh in the country H-1B's hired in at a fraction of what the fired employee was making. In this economy it is a nasty pill.

The NEA has even jumped on the bandwagon if you can believe that...with their "shortage of teachers" talk. They are sleeping with big business and government to be sure. Go to any teachers college and see what the outlook of teaching jobs is for the senior. It's not a pretty picture. My niece looked for a teaching job in Illinois for 2 years before taking a teacher's aid job. Finally, 1.5 years later she landed a job in the district. So, that was 3.5 years to find a teaching job(and she was a math ed major).

Norm Matloff, a professor at UC-Davis, is one of the foremost authorities on the H-1B issue. He has testified before congress on this subject many times. Take a look at his site on http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.html . It is geared more for computer professionals but he does have items of interest for teachers, too.

If you are a computer jock then the programmer's guild may be for you...http://www.programmersguild.org/Guild/fighth1b.htm .

Bing

 

More on Teacher shortage

Here is an article I just received from Dr. Norm Matloff that might be of interest on the "teacher shortage"...

To: age discrimination/H-1B e-newsletter

Note the article's tacit acceptance of the school district's claim to
be
experiencing a "teacher shortage." We hear the same thing from
districts here in northern California, yet I hear an entirely different
story from teachers.

One teacher I know, for instance, would like to work in a district near
her home, rather than driving a long commute as she does now. The
district near her home says they would be happy to hire her--but
without
giving her credit for all the seniority she built up in the other
district. She also says that in the district where she teaches now, an
inner-city, impoverished city that supposedly has a hard time
attracting
teachers, they are receiving hundreds of applications.

One of the first publications to start covering the critics' side of
the
H-1B issue in early 1998 was Computerworld. A CW editor told me that
this was because he was tired of hearing the press in Boston scream
"teacher shortage" when the Boston schools were unwilling to hire his
wife, an experienced teacher. Because of this, he was able to put the
IT industry lobbyists' "shortage" claims in proper perspective.

Norm

Foreign teachers win on pay but face problems with INS
By Ivelisse DeJesus
The Star-Ledger (Newark), July 12, 2002
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1026465027220426.xml

The Newark teachers from India who asked the district to stop sending
one-quarter of their paychecks to their recruiter are now receiving
full
salaries.

But trouble may still be ahead for the math and science teachers,
brought here to alleviate the district's teacher shortage.

In their story's latest twist, the Newark school district may have
violated immigration law when it changed the teachers' employment
status
without the necessary paperwork. As a result, the 15 teachers could
lose
their visas, an immigration expert said.

The teachers came to the country in September on H-1B visas, three-year
special work permits that are sponsored by the employer. In the case of
the Newark teachers, the initial employer was Teachers Placement Group,
a Long Island recruitment agency.

In November, the district replaced TPG as the employer, classifying the
teachers as employees of the district. However, Newark schools failed
to
file an amended petition with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service
before the switch.

Steven Ladik, an immigration expert and outgoing president of the
American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the teachers' current
visas could be in jeopardy.

"The teachers may now have been arguably out of status for months," he
said.

The teachers could be allowed to re-enter into the country after
completing a new immigration process with the district as their
employer, Ladik said.

Neither the INS nor the U.S. Department of Labor would comment for this
story, or confirm or deny any investigation into the Newark school
district or TPG.

But the head of the Newark Teachers Union, Joseph Del Grosso, said the
union will continue to support the teachers.

"I don't think there should be a penalty levied against the teachers,"
he said.

None of the teachers could be reached for comment; many have returned
to
India for the summer.

An H-1B visa is not a general work permit, but specific to an employer.
By law the teachers were to be employed and directly paid only by
Michael Vanjani, founder of the placement group.

According to school district attorney Perry Lattiboudere, school
officials amended the original agreement with Vanjani and classified
the
teachers as district employees in November in order to comply with
Newark's collective bargaining agreement.

The contract between the district and the teachers union prohibits
teachers from working for another employer. Vanjani's lawyer said the
employer change was done with his client's approval, but Vanjani was
not
aware that Newark had failed to notify INS about the changes.

In May, the teachers came to the NTU for help revoking a contract with
Vanjani that they said they were coerced to sign. The Dec. 3 contract
obligated them to pay 25 percent of their gross earnings for three
years
-- about $1 million, according to their calculations. A few weeks later
the money stopped being deducted from their salaries.

Vanjani said all parties involved in the recruiting arrangements -- the
teachers, districts and union officials -- were apprised of his service
fees. He said he has done nothing illegal.

In the past three years, Vanjani has recruited more than 100 Indian
teachers, most math and science specialists, to teach in American
school
districts, including Chester, Pa.; Cecil County, Md.; Baltimore and
Cleveland. A number of these teachers allege similar contractual
disputes with him.

"All the districts who have worked with our company knew we charge
fees," Vanjani said. "They knew prior to signing the contracts what the
fees were and what they were getting into."

William Stock, Vanjani's immigration lawyer, said officials from the
Labor Department had recently questioned his client. Stock said Vanjani
had cooperated fully with them and handed over documents.

If found to have been in violation, Vanjani could face additional fines
from the Department of Labor and be barred from filing any more H-1B
petitions for a period of time, said Ladik, the immigration expert.

Newark schools could face up to $3,000 in fines for employing the
teachers without authorization. Lattiboudere said agents from the INS
and Labor Department had also interviewed district officials.

Ladik said the district could argue that it had not knowingly failed to
file a new petition due to the confusing circumstances, which arguably
appears to be the case.

Lattiboudere, the Newark schools attorney, said district officials were
under the impression that Vanjani was responsible for filing the
transfer with the INS.

"To me any potential violation is not one of the district,"
Lattiboudere
said.

Ann Grossi, an attorney for the NTU, blamed both the district and
Vanjani for the mixup.

"These people will be hurt twice to no fault of their own," she said.