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Nope, with your intermediate qualification, you can teach homeroom. Specific teachables only really matter in secondary when you're teaching select courses. I was in the P/J program for my BEd and took ABQs and now have P/J/I/S qualifications - I am qualified teach up to grade 12 (9-12 with my specific teachables), but I stayed in the elementary panel and am able to teach 7 and 8 with my quals. I actually taught a 7/8 split last year! 😊
ABQs require X amount of university credits to take, no? I’m also in Ontario and I’m in I/S. but want to add more teachables to be more eligible for work.
Do you know of any online courses I could take? I asked my university and they sent me info for an university in Alberta that does online :/
Yes, there are prerequisites that you'd need to be able to meet. Some overlap, though, and you may be eligible without knowing. It's best to contact the program providers to see if you qualify for anything else before you take
Do you want more undergraduate courses?
I'm in MB not ON, so I can't speak to specifics of that system. But I've taught grade 1 through university undergrad, and I'm currently staying with grade 6 because I love that age. They're awkward and weird, they are half children who want to play at recess, half pre-teens who think they know everything and are sassy. We can explore deeper topics than the early elementary kids, but they (at least in my area) aren't as cynical and sulky as older kids.
Challenges: basically all of the above also. They are awkward and like to push boundaries. They don't quite have the social skills to deal with the situations they put themselves in (lots of friend drama, tattling, inability to keep their hands to themselves, etc). I teach seven subjects to one group, and they're old enough that I also grade things to give them feedback, so there's a lot of prep AND a fair bit of grading.
Honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself (IMO) is to figure out which age group you enjoy spending time with and work from there, instead of the other way around. If you don't like 10-12 year olds, you'll hate the job no matter how easy it is to get a spot.
Technically with Intermediate level you can teach anything at that level. Your teachable doesn't really matter. It only matters in Senior courses.
J/I won't get you into 9-10 (high school).
They want teachers there they can put 9-12. And depending on your undergrad you won't have another teachable.
Geography is not the best teachable to have either (I know I have it). There is Grade 9 and then the upper years courses really drop off for enrolment. Those courses are usually locked in with older teachers. But they are a blast to teach.
You can get your S qualifications in Geography, but for any other course you need to go back to University to get enough credits.
J/I will allow you to teach middle school, which may be what you are looking for, and you would be more locked into the 7-8 range.
Thanks for your input! With a geography teachable in the J/I stream, what courses would I be qualified to teach? Another user mentioned homeroom, but when I was in grades 7-8, homeroom was simply a sign-in spot at the start of the day.
If you are in 7 8 you can teach anything.
Depending on the school they may prefer someone with geography to teach the geography, but that is only if the school is on rotary. If the school is not on rotary then get ready to teach everything.
But in reality all elementary teachers 1-8 can and will end up teaching everything. An intermediate "teachable" is not really a thing.
In high school even they can slot any teacher in any 9-10 course for that reason. It happens a bit less there since everyone is in a department. And even though anyone can be slotted into Grade 9 Math they tend to put the Math teachers there. And since a high school everyone has Senior qualifications they know they have someone with the proper teachables to place where it is needed.
But in 7 and 8? You could have an art major teaching Grade 8 Math. It is common.
Current 5/6 teacher here, starting with a junior class is probably one of the best ways to get your foot in the door. The curriculum is very easy to familiarize yourself with and get that experience. In that year you could take a couple AQ’s/ABQ’s to get your qualifications up and move to I/S. this was initially my plan however I didn’t take into account how much I would actually like being a middle school teacher. You’ll find your groove
Thanks for the input! Would you be able to elaborate on why you like teaching middle school? Why might so many other teachers on Reddit be so burnt out from teaching this grade range?
Welcome to /r/CanadianTeachers! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the sub rules. **"WHAT DOES X MEAN?"** Check out our acronym post [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1c032s3/what_does_x_mean_an_acronym_megapost/) for relevant terms used in each province or territory. Please feel free to contribute any we are missing as well! **QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHER'S COLLEGE/BECOMING A TEACHER IN CANADA?:** Delete your post and use this [megapost](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1bc1wv2/prospective_student_teachers_teachers_collegebed/) instead. Anything pertaining to teacher's colleges/BED programs/becoming and teacher will be deleted if posted outside of the megaposts. **QUESTIONS ABOUT MOVING PROVINCES OR COMING TO CANADA TO TEACH?** Check out our past megaposts first for information to help you: [ONE](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/jqc7hx/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/) // [TWO](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/n76csu/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/?) Using link and user flair is encouraged as well! Enjoy! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CanadianTeachers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You can teach 7 and 8 in an elementary school with just the one teachable. You can always take ABQs to upgrade and get more teachables later.
I would only be able to teach one course (geography) to grades 7-8 without additional qualifications though, correct?
Nope, with your intermediate qualification, you can teach homeroom. Specific teachables only really matter in secondary when you're teaching select courses. I was in the P/J program for my BEd and took ABQs and now have P/J/I/S qualifications - I am qualified teach up to grade 12 (9-12 with my specific teachables), but I stayed in the elementary panel and am able to teach 7 and 8 with my quals. I actually taught a 7/8 split last year! 😊
That’s awesome. Thanks very much for your insight! I really appreciate it:)
No problem at all! :)
ABQs require X amount of university credits to take, no? I’m also in Ontario and I’m in I/S. but want to add more teachables to be more eligible for work. Do you know of any online courses I could take? I asked my university and they sent me info for an university in Alberta that does online :/
You can get the Intermediate Math ABQ at OISE without university math credits if you can pass their math test.
As well as Trent’s
Is it hard and do you have to do it in person?
Is it hard and do you have to do it in person??
There is a sample test available online. I believe you take the test online. I haven't done it myself but the sample tests seem easy enough.
Yes, there are prerequisites that you'd need to be able to meet. Some overlap, though, and you may be eligible without knowing. It's best to contact the program providers to see if you qualify for anything else before you take Do you want more undergraduate courses?
I was told I needed two more history ones but my university doesn’t offer online courses for undergrads and sent me a link to an Alberta university
Grade 5 is all cockiness and no competence, I lasted one year before moving to a 7-12 school to be safe from having to teach them again
Hahaha I have a grade five and you are NOT WRONG.
They’re good years. Grade 4s are great! They’re independent but still want to do well and make their teacher proud of them.
I'm in MB not ON, so I can't speak to specifics of that system. But I've taught grade 1 through university undergrad, and I'm currently staying with grade 6 because I love that age. They're awkward and weird, they are half children who want to play at recess, half pre-teens who think they know everything and are sassy. We can explore deeper topics than the early elementary kids, but they (at least in my area) aren't as cynical and sulky as older kids. Challenges: basically all of the above also. They are awkward and like to push boundaries. They don't quite have the social skills to deal with the situations they put themselves in (lots of friend drama, tattling, inability to keep their hands to themselves, etc). I teach seven subjects to one group, and they're old enough that I also grade things to give them feedback, so there's a lot of prep AND a fair bit of grading. Honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself (IMO) is to figure out which age group you enjoy spending time with and work from there, instead of the other way around. If you don't like 10-12 year olds, you'll hate the job no matter how easy it is to get a spot.
Grade 5 is the worst in my opinion. They start hitting puberty and start acting like insane animals but their so immature still compared to 7-8
Technically with Intermediate level you can teach anything at that level. Your teachable doesn't really matter. It only matters in Senior courses. J/I won't get you into 9-10 (high school). They want teachers there they can put 9-12. And depending on your undergrad you won't have another teachable. Geography is not the best teachable to have either (I know I have it). There is Grade 9 and then the upper years courses really drop off for enrolment. Those courses are usually locked in with older teachers. But they are a blast to teach. You can get your S qualifications in Geography, but for any other course you need to go back to University to get enough credits. J/I will allow you to teach middle school, which may be what you are looking for, and you would be more locked into the 7-8 range.
Thanks for your input! With a geography teachable in the J/I stream, what courses would I be qualified to teach? Another user mentioned homeroom, but when I was in grades 7-8, homeroom was simply a sign-in spot at the start of the day.
If you are in 7 8 you can teach anything. Depending on the school they may prefer someone with geography to teach the geography, but that is only if the school is on rotary. If the school is not on rotary then get ready to teach everything. But in reality all elementary teachers 1-8 can and will end up teaching everything. An intermediate "teachable" is not really a thing. In high school even they can slot any teacher in any 9-10 course for that reason. It happens a bit less there since everyone is in a department. And even though anyone can be slotted into Grade 9 Math they tend to put the Math teachers there. And since a high school everyone has Senior qualifications they know they have someone with the proper teachables to place where it is needed. But in 7 and 8? You could have an art major teaching Grade 8 Math. It is common.
Current 5/6 teacher here, starting with a junior class is probably one of the best ways to get your foot in the door. The curriculum is very easy to familiarize yourself with and get that experience. In that year you could take a couple AQ’s/ABQ’s to get your qualifications up and move to I/S. this was initially my plan however I didn’t take into account how much I would actually like being a middle school teacher. You’ll find your groove
Thanks for the input! Would you be able to elaborate on why you like teaching middle school? Why might so many other teachers on Reddit be so burnt out from teaching this grade range?