Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Hidden Outrages in Overseas Teacher Recruitment - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education


Hidden Outrages in Overseas Teacher Recruitment - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"A new report released by the American Federation of Teachers reminds us of a topic education writers like me almost never address---the unseemly side of the recruitment of teachers abroad for U.S. schools. The AFT report, 'Importing Educators: Causes and Consequences of International Teacher Recruitment,' has some shocking disclosures, and deserves a close reading.

The report says that one recruiter for overseas-educated teachers in Newark, N.J., forced recruits to sign a contract obligating them to kick back 25 percent of their salaries to the recruiter. Other recruiters gouged the teachers they were allegedly helping with 60 percent interest rate loans. Some forbade them to own cars. Some placed the newly arrived teachers in overcrowded, unfinished housing, the report said."