America's Newest Outsourced Job: Public School Teachers
1,090,522
Published 2019-09-09
The same conditions that have led thousands of U.S. educators to strike and protest — like stagnant wages, underfunded schools, and overcrowded classrooms — have also contributed to a long list of vacancies in virtually every state.
The Department of Education's database suggests there are 46 states with vacancies (47 if you include the District of Columbia). And each of them has sizable needs that span several disciplines. Some states need teachers in all grades for almost all subjects.
So public schools have been getting creative.
Over the past decade, school districts around the U.S. have quietly begun using the J-1 visa program, which was originally created as a means of temporary cultural exchange, to fill persistent teacher vacancies. And no country has stepped up quite like the Philippines. In 2009, there were only a handful of public schools with Filipino teachers on J-1 visas, according to data from the U.S. Department of State. Today, there are more than 500, spanning at least 19 states throughout the country.
VICE News Tonight traveled to Manila to report on what's slowly becoming America's newest outsourced job, and embeds with the first 27 Filipino teachers hired by Chicago Public Schools.
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All Comments (21)
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VICE News Tonight traveled to Manila to report on what's slowly becoming America's newest outsourced job, and embeds with the first 27 Filipino teachers hired by Chicago Public Schools. WATCH NEXT: Why Charter Schools May Be the Future of Public Education - https://youtu.be/yvir2PqkXuQ
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0:41 “the US is a litigious society, they can accuse you of anything” Jesus, she knows more about the US than a lot of people who’ve lived here their whole lives.
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Filipino teachers are moving to America because the schools in the Philippines can't prove them with a decent salary while American teachers are going on strike because they're not provided with a decent salary. I think both countries need to think about this.
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When she said “your students can put a drop of poison in your drink”, I had a flashback to my HS when two twin brothers in a chemistry class put hydrochloride acid in the teachers’ coffee. They urged him to drink his coffee and he got suspicious and tested it. They were expelled. I can imagine their parents thoughts
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I went to middle school in the US and I remember having a Belgian teacher in our English class. The way many of my classmates treated her was absolutely appalling. They bullied her and continuously made fun of her accent. How she managed to go to work everyday knowing she'd face the same form of abuse and harassment from self obsessed, self entitled kids and their parents who tolerated their bad behaviour I will never know.
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Now wages will go even lower. Because international teachers will not complain and will take less just for opportunity
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Teachers jobs are outsourced due to pay. Hard to live in America on the pay. So let's under pay foreigners to do the job of educating out youth. Insane. Shallow thinking, very short term.
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This angers me. I come from an immigrant family and I’m happy that these people can have opportunities. But I’m angry that the US has such a bad culture with their teachers that they have to outsource them. This is so frustrating that we don’t appreciate teachers as we should!
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sooo... these districts are hiring foreign teachers as strikebreakers? I respect the Filipino peoples, and I applaud them for their determination and optimism. They deserve actual opportunities, not to be exploited because American school districts don't want to pay educators what they are worth
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I wish I could correct the interviewer...there are plenty of people who would love to do the job, but we just ask for liveable wages. It is a shame that our country is failing our citizens (both kids and teachers).
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They are all excited about the money until they have to deal with rude American kids.
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The high standard of living enjoyed by Americans are built on the hardwork of cheap labours around the world, including cheap teachers
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My nephew’s high school had a Filipino English teacher. She was very nice, very knowledgeable, but totally shocked at the terrible behavior. She couldn’t control the class.
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If another country paid me 15x what I was making here I'd head out.
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When an American asks “How are you doing”, they don’t mean it!!!! Soooo true!
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As a teacher, this pisses me off. Just pay us!!!! Stop outsourcing!
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I am a Filipino teaching in a university here and I met a lot of Filipino teachers employed to teach k-12 here in the US. It's amazing how much companies like these ask for payments, fees, which is a LOT of money. Filipinos taking advantage of Filipinos. The US is not like what the TV portray. Then, there is also WINTER!
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Teachers are over worked and underpaid. it was only a matter of time!
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The wonders of American conservatism, implement neoliberal policies that favour cost cutting and privatisation but also complain when immigrants come to do jobs.
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I hope they’re doing okay. Forever grateful for the Philippines and their hardworking people who leave their country and come work as nurses, teachers, etc. thank you.
