Future African-American English teacher seeking Florida move. (Orlando, Gainesville: house, find a job)

[jerseygirl815]

I am from NJ & I was offered 2 teaching positions this year in Osceola County. My advice would be to check for any job fairs throughout the year and get in touch with a recruiter through the Florida Dept. of Ed website. Best of luck!

[NikoTroi]

Originally Posted by IshGibbor

They do. Every teacher that I know in the industry (hate to call it that) has said finding a job won't be a problem for me since I am a black male. Now if I were a white female then it would be a concern.

I have to agree with you here Ish. My husband is also black and please don't take this the wrong way, but you will add diversity to the school and they can't be seen as biased so you will have preference over a white woman, which is usually the norm in schools. In certain situations my husband calls himself the token black guy. Sad statement but sometimes so very true.

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

Then I as a white woman with a graduate degree would be discriminated against and I could sue them.....Doesn't work that way......

They would never admit to it but if you were both up for the position, he would get hired before you for the diversity. I worked as an HR contact in this one job and was told by a hiring manager that he took the 'black guy' cause there weren't enough black people in the company. Both candidates had the same qualifications but the black guy helped with the diversity.

[NikoTroi]

Originally Posted by boy3365

I think with that attitude, you will be successful.

I agree!!!! I do hope you get a job here locally, your attitude would be great for our kids, teaching positive things. Good luck to you!

[boy3365]

Originally Posted by NikoTroi

I have to agree with you here Ish. My husband is also black and please don't take this the wrong way, but you will add diversity to the school and they can't be seen as biased so you will have preference over a white woman, which is usually the norm in schools. In certain situations my husband calls himself the token black guy. Sad statement but sometimes so very true.



They would never admit to it but if you were both up for the position, he would get hired before you for the diversity. I worked as an HR contact in this one job and was told by a hiring manager that he took the 'black guy' cause there weren't enough black people in the company. Both candidates had the same qualifications but the black guy helped with the diversity.

The only problem I see with this is that as a black person, you may be pushed into working in the high minority schools. Yeah, you may have situations like that above where a black/minority person is hired just to have a minority, but I don't think that is widespread. However, there are people out there that think the teachers should reflect the majority population of the school/environment. For example, the black police officer's first assignment may be to Pine Hills or Paramorre. The white post office worker may get to deliver to the whiter side of town.

If you want to do that, then that's fine. But just because you are black doesn't mean that a nearly all-black school is where you want to be just like a white middle to upper middle class raised person may not want to teach at Winter Park HS or Winter Springs HS. The Bush twin who was a teacher wanted to teach in inner city Harlem.

[mrFlaBound]

i'm interested in everything in here, as my wife is hispanic, so fluent in both english and spanish, has a journalism certification and is working on english and ESOL certs and is looking to get into teaching.

Sorry to threadjack, but this is interesting to me and stories people have.

EDIT: Before anyone jumps on me though, we are aware that it may not be an instant thing and it will take some work as the education in Florida is terrible thanks to the economy and governor, but its still what she wants to do and I have to support that as a husband

[annerk]

When looking through resumes, school administration generally pay no attention to a persons name. "Casey Anthony" could be a white female or a black male, or anything in between. Administrators look for relevent experience, education, and certifications.

[mrFlaBound]

Originally Posted by annerk

When looking through resumes, school administration generally pay no attention to a persons name. "Casey Anthony" could be a white female or a black male, or anything in between. Administrators look for relevent experience, education, and certifications.

who was the "person's name" directed at? I'm not sure who in this thread brought up name.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by mrFlaBound

who was the "person's name" directed at? I'm not sure who in this thread brought up name.

OK, let me be more specific. The OP insists that he'd get hired over another person simply because he is a black male.

My point is that the administration is colorblind and gender nuetral when looking at resumes, and his could very easily be in the no thanks pile for any number of reasons. They don't look for resumes with names that might indicate a specific race or gender.

[mrFlaBound]

Originally Posted by annerk

OK, let me be more specific. The OP insists that he'd get hired over another person simply because he is a black male.

My point is that the administration is colorblind and gender nuetral when looking at resumes, and his could very easily be in the no thanks pile for any number of reasons. They don't look for resumes with names that might indicate a specific race or gender.

ah got it... that makes sense, or I'd hope thats how they look at things.

[NikoTroi]

Originally Posted by annerk

OK, let me be more specific. The OP insists that he'd get hired over another person simply because he is a black male.

My point is that the administration is colorblind and gender nuetral when looking at resumes, and his could very easily be in the no thanks pile for any number of reasons. They don't look for resumes with names that might indicate a specific race or gender.

Yes, when looking at resumes they don't know what they are getting, however if they are called in for an interview, that's when being a black male who wants to teach will be a plus. This article I found from the Washington Post states that "Only 2 percent of the nation's 4.8 million teachers are black men, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." 2%, that is a very low number so yes, the black male will get preference if he is interviewed.