Dame Jennifer: Teacher Exemptions
A total of 17 unlicensed teachers have been permitted to teach in Bermuda’s schools for limited time periods in order to temporarily fill key vacancies, Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith has told the House of Assembly [Feb.10].
The Minister said the posts will be publicised in the Official Gazette so the public will be aware of which unlicensed teachers the Education Ministry’s Exemption Committee assigned and under what circumstances.
“The Exemption Committee has put forward additional exemption requests in response to various vacancies in the public school system,” she said. “Vacancies caused by the non-arrival of teachers, unfilled positions and unexpected teacher absence.
“The 17 exemptions which they have recommended are to fill posts in social studies, motor mechanics, English, French, Spanish, music, learning support, mathematics, physical education and science.”
The Minister’s full statement follows below:
Mr. Speaker, this Honourable House will recall that last November18th, I informed Members that I had gazetted an Exemption Order to allow unlicensed teachers to teach under certain specific circumstances for a specified period of time.
Members will recall that Section 6 of the Bermuda Educators Council Act 2002 establishes an Exemption Committee which advises the Minister on exemptions.
Mr. Speaker, the Exemption Committee has put forward additional exemption requests in response to various vacancies in the public school system. Vacancies caused by the non-arrival of teachers, unfilled positions and unexpected teacher absence.
The seventeen exemptions which they have recommended are to fill posts in social studies, motor mechanics, English, French, Spanish, music, learning support, mathematics, physical education and science.
Mr. Speaker, as required, these exemptions will be gazetted so that the public will be aware of who has been exempted and under what conditions. Gazetting this information lessens the possibility of these persons being used outside of the area for which they are approved and/or qualified.
Mr. Speaker, it may appear from the date of these exemptions, that 12 of them are retroactive – the fact is that there was some confusion as to whether or not Cabinet approval was required for each exemption.
This matter has now been resolved and in the future, the process will allow us to issue exemptions on a more timely basis.
Once again I thank the Exemption Committee for ensuring that we have qualified staff in our schools to deliver the curriculum.
Thank you.
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How the h**l the get hired in the first place? Oh that’s right – Friends & Family Plan – its not what you know that counts – it’s WHO you know… Now we know why the public education system is so messed up. We definitely getting real close to an election. Don’t want anyone to be let go in case they may vote against us.. More FAILURE by our current Govt..
Skink,Dame Jennifer was the premier of this Island..and we all know she was like Brown.. she had to have fresh flowers etc and a maiden to cook her meals…I wonder if Gary goes back a few years ago at cup match when our premier was drunk out of her mind..I think Gary is a fantastic reporter…I will be wathing and paying attention to his show on monday…..Gary Moreno do not be a ass kisser …Bermuda has had enough of this crap….ask the tough questions…
Her last sentence seems contradictory to the whole speech!
Yup – thanking people for doing a good job to make sure we have 17 unlicensed teachers teaching our children while we have qualified teachers who could be fully licensed unemployed. More poor management and acceptance of mediocrity by our current Govt. You can almost “smell” de election in de air..
The downward spiral continues ?
The article says unlicensed NOT uncertified.
Ok Einsten, you have to be QUALIFIED to get a LICENSE. So if you do NOT have the QUALIFICATIONS, you do NOT get a LICENSE. This has been in place for 5 years, not last week.
Okay was it necessary to attempt to get your point across by being sarcastic..Well aware as to how long it has been in place as I am a Licensed Teacher!!! FYI there are certified teachers that have not paid their fee so therefore they would fall under this category. But thanks for your input.
Not really worth responding to.. but I will anyway…I am a licensed teacher and therfore am well aware of how long it has been in place. I also KNOW FOR A FACT that there are several certified teachers whon have not paid their fee to BEC so therefore would fall under the category that the Dame speaks of……
Not having a license does not mean that one is unqualified. I do not have my license to teach, but I have a B.S. in Mathematics, Masters in Education, currently pursuing a Masters in mathematics, and ten years teaching experience. Are you going to say that I am not qualified to teach because I don’t have a licence? If I were to return to public education, I would be in the same predicament as to what’s described above. So yes, you need to be qualified to get a licence, but just because one doesn’t have a licence, that does not mean he is unqualified to teach. The license is basically a security vetting, a set number of hours of PD each year, and a fee.
I know more than you think. May I suggest that you go and get licensed and teach so that some of these unlicensed individuals who have decided not to meet the licensing requirements can be replaced but a passionate teacher like yourself. One really has to wonder WHY the Education Minister is protecting these 17 individuals from meeting the licensing requirements at a time of such high unemployment and an election looming. Smells fishy to me.
With all do respect….as a parent it is the only proof I have that you are qualified and have a legitimate degree from a certified collage is your license. If a teacher has not taken the effort to get or stay licensed and thinks they should still teach, it does not say much for their standards. Sorry, I don’t agree with you.
So are you saying that every teacher in Bermuda before 2007 was unqualified because they didn’t have a license? As you may or may not know, this was the year that licencing began. I was a public school teacher before that, so I was not licensed. I now teach at the college level where your qualification is based on your degree in your subject area. I said if I were to return to public education, I would be unlicensed. However, like I said, with my qualifications, teacher certification, and 10 years classroom experience, I am a highly qualified teacher of excellence, proven by the more than 500 students I have taught in my career so far. If I were to return, it would take me some time to get a licence because I would still need to complete the required hours of PD in the school system. So the licence is not the only proof of being a qualified teacher, because if it were, every teacher before 2007 would be unqualified.
Get real…No Im not saying that at all. If there was no license requirement before 2007 than what is there to argue about or compare. Let me put it to you another way. I was an electrician for 10 years, 20 years ago. I’ve worked selling electrical products for another 14 years and a manager the last six. The governemt (rightly so) made a policy a few years ago saying that all persons calling themselves electricians needed to become certified just like the most of the developed world. Just because I was an electrician 20 years ago woould you trust me to do work in your home if I was not cerified. Keep in mind that energy requirements, codes and safety standards have changed alot in these last 20 years. Sure, I could argue that the principles are the same. However, if you would trust me with your families life and allow me to work on your home without proving that you I was qualified you would be a fool. So please don’t ask me to “trust” that you are qualified (based on previous experience) and up to scratch with the latest teaching methods and allow you to teach my children. Like I said before you being licenced is the only way I , like the ministry can know that you are qualified.
just an aside but that national certification leaves something to be desired. I acknowledge the intent by government but they have yet to certify auto mechanics etc. Almost 2 years later still nothing has been done. So I really woudn’t put any real confidence in this so called certifcation by the national training board. All designed to make it appear like something is being done to protect the consumer.
Is there a benefit to our children when licensed teacher do their required 30 hours of PD each year to maintain their license? My guess would be yes! So…if you would like to teach at that level you should be licensed. If not stick to teaching at the College level. By the way Im pretty sure that not every teacher before 2007 is unqualified …just those that made the personal choice not to get qualified when the opportunity(s) arose.
Clearly point of calrity needed . . .licensure of a teacher on a global basis means the teacher has completed a bachelors degree or above from whatever state or country and have also been certified by that country by its standards to teach. In most cases teachers coming out of the US have to take state exams that once passed are given a license at a certain level with descriptors of what they are able to teach and at what grade level.
What the article above is referencing are perswons who may have a degree but not in education who are allowed 3 years to complete Teacer Certification program.
Just because you have a degree in math and/or a masters degree does not necessarily qualify you to teach in most public schools, in the US anyway, as one is required to take methodology classes, that are faar more indepth than a general math class.
In any case and any way that you look at it, there are 17 unqualified, uncertified, unlicensed persons teaching our children.
@Rock Skink
It is obvious that you have no clue when it comes to the education system in this country…you can have a qualified teacher who is unlicenced and it is possible to be licenced and a non-certified teacher.
Will they be paid a much lower salary than the licensed teachers. Can a licensed teacher apply for their position.
Why oh why if they can’t get their act together to get licenced, do we expect them to get their act together to teach. What risks if any do these teachers place on our chilren. Why can’t they get a licence?
Hmmmmmmmmm says I was wondering the same as you but you know what its civil servants again and untill the management of them hold people accountable we will have the same crap. Like I say there is no accountability.
Very good questions…
There is a different pay scale for uncertified teachers which is lower than a certfie teacher. The 3 year program is not uncommon and is being used globally due to the shortage of teachers period. Usually they have a reduced loadin comparison to a certified teacher and have a mentor as well as must be enrolled in a teacher certification program.
So what do the rest of the teachers who are paying for licencing and attending 30 hours of PD per year saying about this? What is the remarkably effective Bermuda Educator’s Council saying? What would happen if all teachers decided to forgo the licencing requirements? Can’t replace them all, so they would get exemptions?
Very good point
From what I can see, and I could be wrong, but it’s more likely that these are qualified individuals that were be hired because there were no other qualified applicants and they will have to do their PD, security vetting, and pay their fee as a condition of employment. If you think about it, no new teacher in the BDA education system can be licensed when they start. How could they? They would not have done any PD yet.
It scares me @YA that you teach young adults at the college level, because if you don’t see the benefits of annual or regular licensing …you never will. Heck lets stop requiring our EMT’s to get recertified and licensed on a regular basis. CPR is CPR right…its never changed…has it? Ah yes. Like I said if you don’t get it, and see the benefits, you never will. ot saying that licensing is the answer to everything, but it sure is a start.
You are missing the point completely. All educators regularly undertake PD, whether they teach at the college level or younger students. The training is beneficial and is usually immediately put into practice. As an educator at the college level, I go through many hours of PD each year, well more than what is required by the ministry’s standards for licencing. I also constantly do research to improve my teaching techniques. The point that I am making is that if I were to return to the public education system, I would not have a licence because the college level does not require licencing, I have not paid the fee or undertaken PD in the K-12 system. However, I am a highly effective and qualified teacher, and any of my students or parents would back that up.
I think you are confusing certification with licencing. The licencing that is required is specific to Bermuda through the BEC. Any qualified, certified, and licensed teacher from any other country would not be licensed upon arriving in Bermuda because they would have to do their PD here and pay their fee. Any college graduate with their degree and teacher certification upon return to Bermuda would likewise be unlicensed.
I understand your concern as a parent in that you want qualified individuals for your child’s education. I too am a parent and obviously want the best as well. But not having the Bermuda teaching licence does not mean one is not qualified to teach. It just means that he needs to pay a fee and do the required number of hours of PD in the Bermuda education system. However, if someone is not certified, then they should not be allowed to teach in the K-12 system. I believe this article is talking about unlicensed teachers, not uncertified. If these are uncertified individuals, then I have an issue with it.
@Ya . . . theere is a significant difference to being licensed and certified. Please understand that when a teacher is hired they are hired based on teaching qualifications, which enable them to get their initial teaching license. To be licensed one must maintain PD hours.
These exemptions are people who do not meet the basic requirements of teacher certification.
I well know that there is a huge difference between having a license and being certified; which leads me to believe that those in this article are certified teachers that just need to meet the PD requirements during the school year so that they can be licensed. However, if these are uncertified individuals, I do take issue with it.
They are actually uncertified persons who have or are transitioning to the teaching profession. They are supposed to be enrolled in a teacher certification program, but are allowed to teach while studying or pursuing their certification. The problem that arises is follow up and accountability. For example, I know there is one techer in this program who is purtsuing a masters degree in Counselling. No one is following upo to ensure that they are doing what they say they are doing.
I am sending my child to school overseas!! I will not allow her to pay for our government’s mistakes!! We’re just raising another generation of unqualified workers giving companies another excuse to bring in more foreign worker. I’m not against expats but less will be here if more Bermudians were qualified and educated. Our children are being crippled by a failing educational system from primary school level!! How will they compete when they graduate high school without basic skills!!
That’s what I did. Didn’t want my child to be a victim of a failed experiment. Two jobs ,much sacrifice and resentment that she had to go. I am angry that she did not benefit from what used to be a very good system as I did.
if it was such a good education system in your days, why did you have to work 2 jobs to afford private school for your child? i guess it wasn’t that good after all, was it?
at least, i applaud you for realizing that the current system is failing your child.
Sinz eye nawar vant 2 skool kan sumvun spall allactshon ann wote 4 uz pleeeze.
why is it that not one politican in the government or the opposition that has children send their child to a public school? Is it that they don’t really believe it in the first place? At the end of the day it is mainly black children that the political games are affecting. quite sad.
Very true ‘curious’.
It’s all about class and perception.
Just in reply to Curious. I have two children in the public school system. I believe that we can enhance/fix the system and have dedicated tremendous energy in this belief.
When did public schools become segregated in Bermuda? You must go by the one drop rule but I think thats only valid in the American nations. There’s many grey kids in public schools also.
N u live in a bubble of seeing what you want to see too . . . take a closer look buddy at the public school system . . . its predominately black!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let’s keep it real and stop talking DAMN crazy . . . it is what it is!!!!!
How is it that there are 12 retroactive exemptions? That means they fell through the cracks and got jobs without being licensed. How can that possibly happen with 700 MOE Civil Servants hard at work every day administering the 500 teachers?
It should be an interesting “Lets Talk” on Monday as Dame Jennifer will be on the program.
Its funny BECAUSE l know a couple of people that do NOT have license’s OR Qualifications and they are not on this list……………..
Explain that one Ms Ex-Premier that just has no other means of money and has resorted to a career in Politricks like all your other PLP wannabe millionairs!
Ya….l said it…………
For the people who think that the non-licensed teachers need to get their act together, i think that it is important that you understand the procedure to in fact get your certification.
Firstly many of the non certified teachers have multiple degrees in their field of interest, they simply did not get their degree in education. Now don’t get me wrong this degree is important; but mostly for teaching the middle and lower schools, in fact the teaching degree for middle and primary is a different degree for teaching high school. In my honest opinion a teaching degree isn’t the best option when teaching high school and pre college students. (remember college professors do not having teaching certification either) I would rather my child be taught complex science or math by an individual who knows what they have to cope with after high school than a person who has a BEd and quite possible teaches straight from the text because they themselves don’t understand.
Secondly, in order to get your certification without leaving the island, the teacher would work for free for 3 months of that year, from a monetary perspective that is a little bit of an issue but let us look at it from the child’s point of view.
Let’s say your child is sitting the IGCSE in May 2012. In September 2011, they meet their new math teacher (not certified), she teaches them, gets familiar and builds a report. In February 2012 she is required to leave the school where she is employed and work at another for her practicum. Her students will be given a substitute for 3 MONTHS. She then returns in May and has just days to regain the report she had and prepare her students for an IGCSE in maths.
The question is “If you truly cared about your students, would you leave them to someone else (certified substitute(s)) for the 3 months before one of the most important exams of their high school career?” The answer for many has been ‘no’ and it has been for many years, please remember just because a teacher is not certified doesn’t meant they haven’t taught before, or that they are not effective. It simply means they worry more about their students’ performance than jumping governments’ NEW hurdle. I have had a non certified teacher before; and he was one of the best teachers I had ever encountered, and his reasoning for not working on it was the above situation. He said he couldn’t live with himself if he got his second degree and we failed our IGCSE’s.
Certification does not make a good teacher, that was proven by the Hopkin’s Report; almost 50% of the lessons taught were sub-par, but only around 10% of the teachers were non-certified. If certification ensured quality, that number would be a lot different.
Neyo,
I do agree that certification does not necessarily make a good teacher, but at the same time having multiple degrees in your subject does not necessarily mean that you can teach it well. Having secure subject knowledge is one thing, but being able to teach it effectively is a skill that takes time to develop. Doing a certification course does actually help though.
Yes, college professors usually do not have teaching degrees, this is true. However, their job is to lecture to a room full of hundreds of students, who they have no personal relationship with. Teachers directly manage the learning of 30 students at a time, on a regular basis.
The teaching degree for middle school is not always different from that of secondary school. In the UK, teacher training degrees are divided into primary and secondary, with the latter including middle school. While training you will teach across the entire secondary age range (so M1 to S4 in Bermuda), so a teaching degree is just as useful for primary and middle as it is for senior schools. I understand your concern about the Bed, but the post-graduate teaching qualification is also very common, so your child still can be taught by teachers with multiple specialist degrees.
In regards to your scenario about the class sitting exams that year, ideally, a teacher who is training to be certified should not even be given one of these classes. That is the way it works in the UK (I do not have experience with other education systems at the moment, so I can only speak about what I know). If this is happening in Bermuda, then they should rethink what classes they allow teachers to take.
Certification may not necessarily make a good teacher, but it definitely does less harm than good. Perhaps certification courses should be evaluated before hiring. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the individual teacher. Those who are not striving to give our children the best should not be teaching. Those who truly care, but the issues of certification and licenses get in the way, should be helped to meet the necessary requirements.
Just because you have a master in something does not mean you know how to teach.here are certain things, including “how to teach effectively” that a teaching degree brings with it. I agree that some people are naturally good at teaching. I would also agreee that so certified teachers while very smart and “qualified” do not even with their teaching degree have the ability to teach effectively. However, we must recognize that become certified and registered as a teach is not to much to ask and it is the only barometer that we have to start with.
Slightly off topic but to give an example of what I mean.
Tiger woods is arguably the greatest golfer there is, does that automatically mean he would be an effective teacher…no.
The Williams sisters are arguably some of the greatest tennis players, but does that mean they would make the best tennis teachers…no.
Would Einstein automatically make a great math teacher…not neccessarily.
A teaching degree and licence is the only thing that we have as parents to know that our kids are being taught by individuals that met certain criteria. I appreciate that there are exceptions to every rule and for those dedicated maybe we can help them.
We need to stop settling for the minimum qualifications for teaching and step up our game. WE tend to settle for the minimum here.
Exactly. There are plenty of teachers who have been teaching for years, but are curently not certified. They are now doing their certification as they teach. For any of these amazing unqualified and/or uncertified teachers that truly care, it is possible for them to do their certification on island. They can teach at their normal school the whole time (and so not disrupting learning by leaving their class to do their practicum elsewhere, as Neyo said in his example).
Again, it is just the bare minimum requirements, but it is a start, and it is not difficult to do.
you are not supposed to do your practicum at the school you wish to work for. Anyone who has done so should consider themselves lucky, and if they got paid.. even luckier.
I am sure that Dr. Avis Glaze has a pretty firm grip on things by now, given our size and number of schools.
So how much are we paying for Doctor Glaze ? and how come the dame needs to have her as a consultant ????
Are these the same Teachers that were fired without warning in the summer… the ones that weren’t needed?
Whay another royal f..k..up
Bingo. Their kids’ education is just as important as that of ours SHOULD be. And, I’d go one step further and say it’s not a black/white thing but an issue of whether or not you can pay. Plenty of black students in the private schools these days, I bet they reflect the racial composition of Bermuda a lot more accurately than most of us think. The problem is that if you can’t afford it, chances are your kid can’t go. What I think The Great Equalizer would be is if the private schools had ‘need blind’ admissions, but of course no school here has that kind of endowment. Instead, members of The Lucky Sperm Club get to attend, and the rest of us whose finances aren’t up to it can’t send our children to private school, unless they are truly exceptional and they get scholarships (which do exist). Which means that there may be a lot of not-so-smart legacy students attending, or just average kids whose folks are rich, but they’re all well behaved and no one has any severe learning challenges. Not a perfect system at all, so what happens is that among the mediocre, the cream does rise, but there aren’t many at all from disadvantaged backgrounds. What we need is either a few charter schools or magnet schools, where students are admitted strictly on the basis of achievement and assessment. It would be grand if those of us with school-aged kids got vouchers for the school of our choice. There would be SUCH an exodus from the public system that the message would be sent loud and clear. Unfortunately, the other ingredients are parental involvement, values instilled at home, and the student’s interest in their own achievement. No school in the private system tolerates the level of disrespect that public school students get away with, both directed at the teachers and staff and indeed at one another. We need to look at the real differences in the systems, and it’s not a simple solution at all.
Whitney Houston dead @ 48. So sad!!!
Are these 17 any of the bermudian teachers that got laid off last year?
Dad thanks for putting me in goverment school, i love it. I Learned to say,( aye by, up de hill, down de hill and raund da coner.
@ Mark you probably learned those words at HOME because they are NOT TAUGHT in school. If you attended the school where I am employed the Language Arts Teacher would have you saying it over and over again until you “got it right”
It’s not all about the piece of paper in the first place – there are fully licensed teachers who don’t care and there are unlicensed teachers who do. Some of us might be surprised at which teachers fall which side of the line.
To all the conspiracy theorists, this is common practice in most parts of the world as teacher shortages in key areas like math, science, special education are global in nature.
Wrong. In deeloped countries some teachers ed certification is required on top of the regular degree
@Hmmmmmm . . . you are in fact WRONG!!!!! I think the United States is considered a developed country, and I am a product of a three year program to become a certified Special Education teacher. The difference is that state departmets mean exactly what they say when they say three years only!!!!! If you don’t get done in that time period, there is no extension period. You are going to be jobless and starting all over . . . period!!!!!!
The saddest part of what the public doesn’t know, is that the tax payer is paying for these people to do student teaching which should be an anpaid trainign period!!!!!!!!
Sorry for the typos, I was typing faster and faster the more frustrated I became.
No wonder the natives can read or write.
Let’s stop with the conspiracy theories. The fiollowing represent examples of the person’s that Dame Jennifer is referring to:
A qualified accountatn without a teaching certificate
A qualified lawyer without a teaching certificate
An actuary without a teaching certificate
A fully trained plubmer without a teaching certificate
A dentist without a teaching certificate
A medical doctor without a teaching certificate
In each instance, you can be a professionally qualified person in your field but unable to get a licence to teach becaus eyou lack a teaching certificate.
I believe the 3 year rule makes sense. If you are in any of the above categories and want to teach for an extended period, you should be prepared to undertake the necessary studies to get a teaching licence. If you are teaching on a short term basis (i.e. one year) it may not be practival to get a licence to teach.
interesting bernews on how the people have spoken
What exactly are Dame Jennifer’s qualifications to be a Minister of Education? Does she have ANY certification in the area of education? Maybe the overpaid ministers should have their names and certifications posted so they can’t be utilized in an area other than what they specialize in. Can the ministry prove that these teachers are not effective? Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, if there is a shortage; place the teachers, monitor them, if they are effective, keep them. Period.
also, what are Premier Cox’s qualifications to be Minister of Finance?
NONE!
accountant? no. CFA? no. she’s a freakin’ lawyer for god sake!
Hmmm…it seems now gov has advertised for teaching positions overseas. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have not seen these jobs advertised locally:
http://www.tes.co.uk/jobsSearchResults.aspx?area=jobs&keywords=bermuda