Living in a fishbowl, finding a mate and limited career opportunities were among drawbacks identified by new teachers considering jobs at rural schools.
Richard Schwehr, in his final year at education college, said fellow teacher interns who found a lack of privacy in small communities felt school and personal life should be kept separate.
Others worried about teaching multi-grade classes and school closures or simply missed the city life.
But for those like Schwehr, who grew up in rural Saskatchewan, such issues raised few eyebrows, he told a workshop at the eighth national congress on rural education in Saskatoon April 2-4.
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Schwehr has trained in both Perdue and Meadow Lake and found the smaller schools and divisions supportive and “excited to have new young staff.
“I’m more than just a name. I’m not just an intern,” he said.
Smaller classes and the ability to interact with staff and students outside school hours were positives, he said.
“You get to know students and their entire family,” said Schwehr, who recalled his own experience in a school where his grandmother taught.
He also welcomed opportunities to meet division office staff, participate in mock job interviews and hear what schools are looking for in teacher recruits.
Schwehr said that would serve him well in looking for work in a rural school in the coming months.
Edwin Ralph, who supervises teacher interns in the University of Saskatchewan’s college of education, led the session on recruiting rural teachers. He asked participants what they were looking for in teachers, what teachers liked and disliked about rural teaching and how such information could be used by rural boards.
Participants cited a severe shortage of science and mathematics teachers in Canada and a trend toward teachers living in larger towns and commuting to jobs in rural centres.
One Saskatchewan division admitted to favouring teacher candidates with Saskatchewan addresses, believing they would be more likely to stay.
Ralph said rural schools are looking for teachers with skills like good classroom management, planning and presentation and a good rapport with students, but also those with a commitment to rural education.
“Rural directors want a community-minded outlook,” said Ralph.
Housing issues and the need to maintain two residences during internships were identified as one deterrent to students choosing rural divisions.
Ralph said that could be offset by rural divisions offering monthly housing subsidies.
The session also heard that rural divisions should sell their schools with strong displays at career fairs.
Recent Saskatchewan research has shown new teachers do not choose rural schools because they feel they would be too far from resources and overloaded by the many different courses they are expected to teach.
But participants also said rural divisions offer new teachers greater opportunities for leadership and advancement than in cities.
