America's Newest Outsourced Job: Public School Teachers

so this presentation is for all international teachers now let us face who is really an American when Americans tell you how are you they're not really concerned about your well-being it's just a great thing Americans are loud good or bad both right Americans love burgers and fries Americans are direct to the point they value personal space please go out on Fridays and drink yes the United States is a little juice Society they can accuse you of anything if you're stopped by police do not resist keep your drinks loved because your students can put a poison drop of poison no I'm not joking it's true it's true in a few weeks half the teachers in this room will be heading to their new homes in America the same conditions that have led thousands of us teachers to strike in protest like stagnant wages underfunded schools overcrowded classrooms have also created an opportunity for foreign teachers virtually every state in the country now has a long list of vacancies Angelia Desai's Oman has built a business to capitalize on Filipinos speak English they teach in a similar education system and they're highly motivated by the wages offered in the US I started in New York City public school system as an international teacher way back in 2003 I recently put up our company two years ago the main purpose is to bring in international teachers from the Philippines when I first came to the United States they said you can be anything you want to be in America I didn't believe that but as the years went by I realize it's really true today is the last step in what's been a long anxiety filled process we've had to submit applications pass English tests performed demo lessons and then ace job interviews with school districts in the US there are what about 50 teachers in this room many of them that are going many of whom really want to go correct do you think they're in for a surprise yes because when I first came to the United States as a teacher myself I told myself no it's not gonna be a culture shop but lo and behold it's not true everything was like totally different mrs. Simmons company is one of the now several taking advantage of a growing trend school districts around the u.s. have quietly begun using the j-1 visa program which was originally created as a means of cultural exchange to hire Filipino teachers in 2009 there were just 21 Filipino teachers in the US on j-1 visas last year there were almost 800 teaching in 19 states throughout the country and this year mrs. Hauser Minh is sending Chicago Public Schools its first 27 including Johanna nacionales hi people [Music] have you started to imagine what your life in the u.s. is gonna be like yeah a lot I've been watching serious in Nets Knicks like it's a comedy show like Brooklyn nine-nine also the Big Bang Theory just to get a glimpse of what the culture is like and knowing the people talk when Joanna applied to teach in the u.s. she didn't know Chicago was an option just that the country needed teachers what does it like to know that you're going to go fill a position or do a job that someone doesn't want in the u.s. it's a big advantage for you because one of the main reasons to go there is for greener pastures greener pastures yeah greener pastures the money you know it's shameful the same shoeshine but yeah this is a reality last year joini made about $3,500 teaching in the Philippines her starting salary in Chicago is 52,000 the only catch is mrs. Simmons one-time fee it's still thousand seven hundred I talked to my father about it in when Union oh man he was so shocked he just told me okay let's take the risk happy for you but you have to pay as well I'll be sending money home not just for me but for my family [Music] so below another seven ago saying tonight on OSHA Lana was wounded way so she's the chef I'm the heat so how do you feel about your daughter leaving a little bit sad but it's okay because it's career growth a lot of people from the Philippines go to work abroad right yeah there are many people looking for a job with a mores highway yes we're in the Philippines how do you think she's gonna do in Chicago I think she will do well [Music] okay that's enough save some water mrs. Solomon and her husband have been in the US for 16 years they split their time between New York City where she teaches high school the Philippines where they recruit teachers in the Poconos but they have a weekend in 2017 I saw a nose on MSNBC there was a need for teachers I'm kind of business minded and so I told myself hey I think I can do this this this one should be like deeper right mrs. Solomon came up with a name trades and professions incorporated registered her company in Delaware and then started harnessing the power of the Internet how do you decide what school districts or schools to reach out to you can google it I tried to search for schools that need teachers and in the forefront came New York City Texas Chicago Florida it may not be updated but those are the things that gave me ideas where have you placed teachers so far Texas Tyler Texas Montana Louisiana and Chicago so how do you find the teachers well by word of mouth we also have a Facebook page mrs. Solomon hears from roughly 200 teachers a year this way at the moment she has about 70 in her back pocket already vetted and ready to go you're kind of like a mother almost to a lot of these teachers do you feel that way I think so and and that's the role that I want to have you know [Music] of course mrs. Osmonds children are also her clients and the more of them she has the better because she pockets about half of her $12,700 feet the rest she uses to pay for things like booking their flights arranging their transportation and finding their apartments Johanna was set up in a group before I mean I'm Bahama bagua she's paying six hundred and fifty dollars a month to share a two-bedroom apartment with three other teachers [Music] the Internet's included this all you - I am devoting than wanting Manoir a chalet [Music] ei are you in conversations with other districts aside from Chicago yes we are but it's going to be for next my school year can you tell me what they are absolutely we are looking forward to working with Dallas Independent School District do you have any idea how many teachers they're looking for they said we want to start small which means plenty that's what they said [Music] we're the first batch of Filipino teachers who are hired here in Chicago to teach I don't want to make a bad impression about us I want to say I belong here as a teacher there are now more than 500 schools around the u.s. with Filipino teachers on j-1 visas and the list is still growing but all of those visas only last for three years at the end of your term you have to come back but it makes me question whether for the schools that are hiring the teachers they're like putting a band-aid on a problem instead of fixing the problem I would say it's a temporary solution we are filling in the name Chicago Public Schools didn't want to be part of this story and they ignored multiple requests for comment the district still has 735 teacher openings listed on its website you you

Channel: VICE News

Views: 1,044,966

Keywords: VICE News, VICE News Tonight, VICE on HBO, news, vice video, vice news 2019, America's Newest Outsourced Job: Public School Teachers, education, public school teachers, teaching in america, manila, chicago public schools, outsourced jobs, filipino teachers, cultural exchange, healthcare workers, foreign labor, economy, american jobs, famers, US educators, protest, department of education, J-1 visa program, teacher vacanies

Id: Eit4PzABDoI

Length: 10min 10sec (610 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 09 2019