America's Newest Outsourced Job: Public School Teachers

Outsourcing jobs is nothing new to the United States. The country has been recruiting foreign labor to do its dirty work for decades — farmers, meat-packers, home healthcare workers, cooks. But now the U.S. needs teachers, and it needs them badly.

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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[VICENews]

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.

[jcnot]

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.

[TheMan]

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.

[ironbornpyke]

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.

[RAsphalt]

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

[sparklyunicorn]

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).

[MrWatchmen]

Now wages will go even lower. Because international teachers will not complain and will take less just for opportunity

[fil_britbunnyboi]

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.

[PoorMuttski]

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

[gregoryfortner]

They are all excited about the money until they have to deal with rude American kids.

[Being_Joe]

If another country paid me 15x what I was making here I'd head out.

[Lukini]

Teachers are over worked and underpaid. it was only a matter of time!

[nearthgg]

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!

[michelledalenaa]

Didn't have to watch the video. I'm a former public school teacher with many years under my belt. I left because I couldn't do it anymore. People don't want to continue teaching because our culture is awful. People aren't parenting, teachers aren't allowed to hold students accountable, and I watched the public schools get gradually worse every year. They also don't pay well. It isn't worth it. I moved on, and so have countless other teachers. We all know what's up. The outsourced people won't last long either. The job now needs hazard pay. It's all down to a lack of parenting and accountability.

[qv]

The wonders of American conservatism, implement neoliberal policies that favour cost cutting and privatisation but also complain when immigrants come to do jobs.

[prncssdiva]

When an American asks “How are you doing”, they don’t mean it!!!! Soooo true!

[michaelzz]

The high standard of living enjoyed by Americans are built on the hardwork of cheap labours around the world, including cheap teachers

[donovan]

American teachers move to China, Filipino teachers move to America.

[rohitroll]

In Asia Teachers are almost worshipped, I'm not talking about money but respect. It's almost a crime to be rude of a teacher even when she's wrong. It's just respect. Parents will always ALWAYS take the teacher's side in case of any conflict between teacher and their child.

[orp]

This has been going on for a decade and they target failing districts. This was happening in Louisiana in the mid 2000s and the teachers were treated badly. It did not work out well.