More than 100 school districts, including 20 in California, are recruiting in the Philippines to fill teacher shortages in math, science, and special education.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has hired 250 to 300 teachers from the Philippines -- the largest contingent among more than 600 foreign exchange teachers. LAUSD first begn recruiting foreign exchange teachers in the 1980s from Mexico and Spain to thelp wth bilingual elementary education. It shifted to the Philippines and Canada for math, science, and special education teachers in the last four years.
The Philippines is a favorable country because the higher education system is similar and credits are more easily transferable for teaching credentials. Most Filipinos speak English and can understand Spanish, which is embedded in the Pilipino language as a result of Spain's 300-year colonization of the Philippines.
Most teachers jump at the opportunty at earning ten times as much as the $300 to $400 a month they would earn in the Philippines. However, it is more temporary than anything, as the teachers are recruited on three-year teacher exchange visas known as J-1s.
It may be interesting to analyze how this situation affects Philippine education, society, and economics.
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