Connecticut school district recruiting teachers from India
The Associated Press reports that Bridgeport, facing a chronic shortage of math and science teachers, is the only urban district in Connecticut to take the state up on an offer to accept teachers from India. Carol Pannozzo, director of human resources for the city's school system, said the Indian teachers originally assigned to Cesar Batalla School had a hard time adapting and lacked the classroom management skills needed to cope with middle-school students. The teachers assigned to Bassick and Harding high schools fared better. The teachers report that while students in India respect limits and keep their personal lives in check in the classroom, students in America do not. However, some teachers have learned to stand firm when students shout obscenities and pound on desks. Some of them say they have discovered that the students are not “bad” but rather are “unfocused. According to one teacher “most [students], 98, 99 percent, are respectful.” While the teachers acknowledge that the class management side of teaching in the United States is challenging, there is an upside to the experience. The teachers say that American classrooms also do a more effective job using technology, something they hope to share with colleagues back home at the private schools where they teach. Three years of international experience will also give the teachers leverage to make more money back home. Ms. Pannozzo points out that the Indian teachers have enjoyed a lot of support from other city teachers and their principals. All the teachers agreed with that assessment, saying they have received guidance and support from their American colleagues.
Source: Newsday.com, 5/31/08, By Linda Connor Lambeck (Associated Press)