CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) has teamed up with the Andalusia provincial government in having English teachers work in the Andalusian public schools (the bilingual ones, apparently) as "Culture and Language Assistants". There are opportunities for advancement within the program. From the site:
*** Assistants help teachers in English language and culture classes as native speakers and experts on the U.S. in order to stimulate the students' interests in subjects such as social studies, art, and music. Assistants may work with small groups of students to develop speaking, listening, reading, writing skills, and cultural understanding. They also teach English language to school staff. Assistants do not undertake formal class teaching nor are they responsible for the discipline or supervision of students.
Assistants and the classroom teacher (or the school representatives) may agree upon other activities and responsibilities they should be involved in, including attending faculty meetings, making presentations in classes, and participating in extra-curricular activities such as workshops, field trips, music and theater performances, sporting events, international day, English language clubs, and more. ***
To enroll, you must pay CIEE about $1,500 US for their support services which are provided for the whole length of your program. The monthly stipend you will receive is about 630 euro (a little over $800 US), and your assignment is for the academic year, so you do earn that payment back several times over.
Other details: * school levels: primary and/or secondary * school locations: Andalusia: urban, town, rural * typical teaching load: 12 hours weekly* * contracts: Spanish academic year: late September - late May * application deadline: April 15
(*most participants devote additional time including class planning, presentations, faculty meetings, and extra-curricular activities.)
The positives are that this program involves the government and you get to work in the bilingual public schools, so there may be an added prestige factor. You work in a set location. You also bring in a guaranteed minimum income without having to haggle with customers or go out and find new ones. There is considerable demand for people willing to teach kids.
The negatives are: low salary, possibly being a city person stuck out in a rural area (or vice versa), the required commitment, having to get a Spanish visa in person, and paying money up front for CIEE's support services.
If this sounds like something for you, good luck in applying.
Posts: 35 | Location: AZ | Registered: 26 January 2007
Yeah, they said it was for their orientation, which is apparently a refresher course on teaching English. Of course, they encourage applicants to already have certification.
But don't people who travel around a lot already have money, especially teachers, with their often useless Masters degrees and such? What about credit card interest payments?
And I see plenty of people wasting this kind of $$$ on "gadgets".
So, it's a matter of perspective.
(I got the amount wrong, it's actually $1,850 US. Wince!!)
Posts: 35 | Location: AZ | Registered: 26 January 2007
This CIEE program is a rip-off because the Spanish Embassy in Washington, DC is offering the same program throughout Spain and they aren't asking for a single dime. Please don't waste your time with this.
Shawn
"Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down" - SONG OF SOLOMON, Toni Morrison
Posts: 1239 | Location: Richmond, VA but in MADRID now | Registered: 10 February 2002
Originally posted by instantrejoinder: But don't people who travel around a lot already have money, especially teachers, with their often useless Masters degrees and such? What about credit card interest payments?
And I see plenty of people wasting this kind of $$$ on "gadgets".
I don't see your point - you're saying if you have some money, you won't mind wasting some, even when you could get the same job without paying that money up front?
And you think 'wasting' money on mp3 players and PSPs is worse than wasting money on a program that is stinging you for money and then leaving you with an underpaid job? I happen to like my mp3 player.
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Originally posted by instantrejoinder: Yeah, they said it was for their orientation, which is apparently a refresher course on teaching English. Of course, they encourage applicants to already have certification.
(I got the amount wrong, it's actually $1,850 US. Wince!!)
That's more than the Cambridge and Trinity exams themselves. Why would I want 'refreshing' when I could just take the internationally recognised exam again, if I was so inclined?
I agree with Redwood, this is a rip-off to the point of being a complete scam.
Thank you for posting the link, I am in the process of writing a page on getting into EFL and I'll mentioning this as one to not touch with a bargepole.
when i saw this thread, i first thought it was an advertisement and almost deleted it right off but i think it is important to leave it here to show people the mage rip-off that the ciee program is.
i say more power to em if they can make a pretty penny off of people with this but i will not endorse it.
as redwood says, you can get the same gig for free.
i do know for a fact however that there are a lot of rich american kiddies whos parents WILL pay for this type of program so ciee makes a fortune on this.
it is obvious that ciee targets the well-to-do americans.
it is similar to the internship placement companies that charge a placement fee to place interns in either non-paying or low-paying internships all over the world.
long live capitalism! i say if a parent or the student him/herself is willing to pay the fee then kudos to ciee for taking it.
So true. This is why I had to come in and let people know to save their money. I like the way that it said that participants can easily recover the money that they put into the program. Whatever!
But, hey, I am not mad at them. There's always a way to get rich people to pay for something and hand over their money.
Shawn
"Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down" - SONG OF SOLOMON, Toni Morrison
Posts: 1239 | Location: Richmond, VA but in MADRID now | Registered: 10 February 2002
Is it people's richness or their naivety that means they'll pay this kind of money? I always thought it was the more well-off people that were the shrewdest with their money (that's what you've always taught me, Master Obi jer!)
To feed off people's wealth, I agree - fair play to them. If you're providing a BETTER service and can charge high amounts for it, then great. But to feed off people's innocence and charge MORE for the SAME service, that is immoral.
Does anyone know of any other scams, sorry, "services for rich people who don't know better" such as this? Specifically regarding teaching in Spain. This thread has prompted me to write my page on EFL and I'd like to dissuade as many people from this kind of program as possible.
Also, does anyone know of any similar service which provides people with a cushy teaching job to arrive to, but which doesn't charge so much? I think, say, 100€ to have a job placement in Spain is a fair price for this kind of service. Redwood, do you have an exact link to the embassy placement program you mentioned?
I don't see your point - you're saying if you have some money, you won't mind wasting some, even when you could get the same job without paying that money up front?
First of all, even the various EFL info. pages on this and other sites talk about certification programs that require payment up front. Those programs do not offer *legal* public school contracts. They're not in Andalusia, either.
And I didn't find too much about public school teaching on these boards, so I was just adding to the discussion. I guess mentioning the cost multiple times (as a negative) wasn't clear enough for some of us.
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And you think 'wasting' money on mp3 players and PSPs is worse than wasting money on a program that is stinging you for money and then leaving you with an underpaid job? I happen to like my mp3 player.
Yeah, I knew someone would get defensive about their high-priced kiddie entertainment.
Averaging the hourly pay from the monthly stipend, even figuring in the extra work required beyond just the stated 12 hours weekly responsibilities, comes out to roughly typical for what people can pull in according to what's on these boards. It also leaves considerable time for private lessons.
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That's more than the Cambridge and Trinity exams themselves. Why would I want 'refreshing' when I could just take the internationally recognised exam again, if I was so inclined?
Because this isn't a certification program...
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I agree with Redwood, this is a rip-off to the point of being a complete scam.
Thank you for posting the link, I am in the process of writing a page on getting into EFL and I'll mentioning this as one to not touch with a bargepole.
I just wrote the Embassy an email message to get more information about that program Redwood mentioned. We'll see what the details are.
Posts: 35 | Location: AZ | Registered: 26 January 2007
when i saw this thread, i first thought it was an advertisement and almost deleted it right off but i think it is important to leave it here to show people the mage rip-off that the ciee program is.
I haven't come across too many program ads which described their own cost as a negative.
Posts: 35 | Location: AZ | Registered: 26 January 2007
Yeah, I knew someone would get defensive about their high-priced kiddie entertainment.
I put my answer in a deliberately jokey way. The thing is, you can't compare the way people spend their money on gadgets with forking out an astronomical amount of money (far more than most "kiddie entertainment" or even laptops!) on a job placement that you could get another way. I know of no other way of carrying around large quantities of music than with an mp3 player (or a very large backpack), but I do know of other ways of teaching English. And you really don't do yourself any favors with that kind of attitude.
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Originally posted by instantrejoinder:
Averaging the hourly pay from the monthly stipend, even figuring in the extra work required beyond just the stated 12 hours weekly responsibilities, comes out to roughly typical for what people can pull in according to what's on these boards. It also leaves considerable time for private lessons.
So if it gives you the same amount as I would get if I struck out on my own, then why would i fork out such money? If you go it alone, you have the freedom of abandoning the position if you are not treated fairly. When you invest 1,500€ of your own money, you're stuck.
Plus, if I was to fork out that kind of money, I expect a FULL teaching timetable with a full salary. This is 1,500€ for HALF a job. This placement is aimed at people who are daunted by the idea of going out there and getting the work themselves, so why are they going to be happy with 12 hours a week and have to go get more hours elsewhere?
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Originally posted by instantrejoinder: Because this isn't a certification program...
I know of no other way of carrying around large quantities of music than with an mp3 player (or a very large backpack)
I don't feel the need to carry entertainment around with me... certainly not while in a unique, exciting foreign country.
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but I do know of other ways of teaching English.
None that match this program's features, obviously. My post was just an attempt to do something about the paucity of information regarding public school teaching to be found here.
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And you really don't do yourself any favors with that kind of attitude.
It's funny you'd even try to lecture me about attitude.
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So if it gives you the same amount as I would get if I struck out on my own, then why would i fork out such money?
It gives you an opportunity that is much different than striking out on your own *in Andalusia*, and you have many easy chances to earn more. What I said was a comparison with Madrid, which is the location most talked about on these boards.
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If you go it alone, you have the freedom of abandoning the position if you are not treated fairly.
Any participant can ditch this program at any time.
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When you invest 1,500€ of your own money, you're stuck.
Any participant can ditch this program at any time. As well, the program might treat you fairly.
You invest your own money either way. I don't see why someone would be "stuck" because they have to pay that money in full before even going to Spain. Consider that the routine advice around here is for people to save ***$5,000+ US*** just to fly over and teach privately. That's an investment, too, and for no prestige, stability, or professional development as a teacher.
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The thing is, you can't compare the way people spend their money on gadgets with forking out an astronomical amount of money (far more than most "kiddie entertainment" or even laptops!)
People waste that amount of money routinely and then some - but they don't get to teach in a European public school, forging those vital enchufes and getting paid work experience. Instead, they are in Spain with no papers, live with roommates, commute all over, and struggle to balance private lessons. Qualified teachers on this board repeatedly complain about pulling in enough money every month.
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Huh?
It's not a certification program. After the orientation, which is not intended to provide a certificate, they move straight to the job placement component.
Posts: 35 | Location: AZ | Registered: 26 January 2007
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