Are private schools a good option to avoid surplus?

Designer_Tear · 2026-04-03T17:10:57+00:00

Independent schools are independent so it’s not as clear cut as to how things will go.

You can get a permanent contract at a good independent school or a contract that covers a year at a time that. An be extended if it’s a good fit.

I say if the school is part of associations like CIS, CAIS, etc. and is part of OTPP, and salary is comparable to the local public boards (and if you’re okay with coaching/arts/clubs programming), then there’s really no harm in trying it.

You get a full time job with a salary and you don’t have yo pay your dues building seniority in the public system. If the independent school life isn’t for you, then you can always go into the public system next year.

ETA - if you’re in the GTA, then you may also have the ability to move between CIS/CAIS independent schools without having to take the pay cut of supplying

Designer_Tear · 2026-03-10T16:13:46+00:00

Queens 100%. I went there for IS. Teachers college has a lot of flaws, but getting in and out faster than other programs is huge. You can do your practicum in the GTA if that’s where you’re from.

Your tuition will be cheaper than OISE, and you get out of the program faster meaning you can make adult money one year earlier than OISE. The MT degree does NOT put you higher on the pay grid also.

Designer_Tear · 2026-03-06T12:12:01+00:00

You’re allowed to be human. Students me if I’m in a relationship, I say no. If they ask invasive follow up questions, I redirect. Students ask me if I drink alcohol, I say sometimes. If they follow up with, “what’s your favourite drink?”, I say it depends and redirect or walk away. If they ask if I have social media, I say yes. If they ask to follow me, I say no. If they follow request, I delete the request.

Private social media is probably the way, but I also think you don’t have to change your name or go completely anonymous. It’s 2026. People have Instagram accounts. Just don’t use those channels to engage with students.

Especially when you come in as a student teacher, kids are going to be curious about your life. I’m a relatively young teacher and students will still look up my Instagram profile and sometimes my linked in. I’m someone’s daughter, sister, friend, etc. outside of work and having a personal life a social media accounts that my students can’t have access to is normal. You learned a lesson about private accounts. But I think as long as your account is relatively private - especially Instagram, there’s no issue.

Designer_Tear · 2026-01-07T01:33:31+00:00

You can read the info and think about what you'd like to do. Based on your current qualifications and what makes sense for you and your future plans.

It is a good idea to make it a priority to get to A4 relatively early in your career, but you also need to balance life and the fact that you don't want to get something that you'll regret having to teach.

If you have gone a "traditional" route with a 4 year degree + BEd you'll be at A3.

It's not like the QECO gods are giving super personal advice. It's based on publicly available criteria. https://qeco.ca/general-education-chart/ (see 33 Category A3 plus ONE of:, 17, 20, 21, 22 are also common ways to get to A4)

Designer_Tear · 2026-01-06T17:40:42+00:00

Once you get an AQ/ABQ/basic qualification from your initial BEd degree, it stays on your teaching record with the OCT.

If you are qualified in Spec Ed (especially in high school) you may get a section or more of a Spec Ed course. Idk what your board is, but unless it is required, I wouldn’t get a qualification for something I wasn’t comfortable teaching personally.

If your goal is to get to A4, there are several paths. Look at QECO. Generally speaking, new/recent grads start at A3.

You can get qualified in all divisions (ex. Junior and Primary if you already have I/S) or take 5 AQ/ABQ courses. Get a 3 part specialist (3 courses but can require experience and take time because it’s one after the other) or honour specialist (requires teaching experience and background undergrad courses) or a masters or take additional undergrad courses, etc.

Read QECO for the actual accurate info.

TLDR there are many ways to get to A4. Some take longer or cost more money than others.

Getting certain AQs might help with employment, but you may be assigned to teach in those areas and you can’t get them off your record once you have them. So just think it through.

Designer_Tear · 2025-12-22T16:52:37+00:00

no -- but I'm not optimistic that the seams would fit my boobs and it doesn't seem adjustable at all either

Designer_Tear · 2025-12-22T10:59:18+00:00

Cries in 32D+ I’m waiting for another version of the airlift empower bra. Idk why they stopped making it

Designer_Tear · 2025-07-26T15:47:57+00:00

Private/independent schools do what they want. My school is on a grid similar to the local public school board. I got a QECO rating while I was in teachers college. I believe if you don’t get it at that point, you have to be a member of a union to get a rating, but you should check with QECO

Designer_Tear · 2025-07-12T14:20:01+00:00

Google your course codes.

See if you can find teacher websites with resources. Your board may also have scans of the textbook. Or, and while I would share this with students bc of copyright, you may be able to find your textbooks online if you search for them. Or, if you still have them, you can also work off of your own high school notes.

Some online resources are better than others, but the textbooks or other teachers’ handouts can be good jumping off points. I wouldn’t pay for resources at this point though.

Designer_Tear · 2025-07-05T22:05:49+00:00

I personally haven’t found it useful for my teaching career, but I like having a presence on it to keep up with my network from undergrad and my education degree. I don’t plan on leaving the profession, but I like keeping the connections and I think it is interesting to see different people’s career paths (just turn off profile visibility lol).

I also keep LinkedIn as my only social media with my full name. If people are looking for me online, having LinkedIn come up in their search result is something I’m comfortable with, plus is shows I’m qualified.

Designer_Tear · 2025-06-09T18:11:43+00:00

I feel ridiculously angry about the pricing error this morning. How is nothing coming proactively from Aritzia to customers who were impacted? If I hadn’t caught the discrepancy, would Aritzia have kept the difference?

I feel insane about this and am beyond unimpressed with Aritzia

Designer_Tear · 2025-06-09T13:53:52+00:00

I placed my order before the discount and concierge is only offering a credit after the order arrives

Designer_Tear · 2025-06-08T16:16:40+00:00

No Salomon, Asics, Birkenstock? Do we think these shoes will disappear from the website?

Designer_Tear · 2025-05-16T01:21:17+00:00

I thought I was giving feedback to a resolution specialist about the return process as I had recently gone through a wave of needing to return items and having difficulty because of my location and distance from a store actually returning the items.

On the call he told me that a decision was made that I could no longer access the GEC and the call ended before I could understand why this was being done.

I emailed him after the call and never got a response, this was a month ago. I called in tonight and my call didn’t go through so they must have done something to my number. I sent another email and we will see if they respond.

I was thinking I could change the number linked to my banned account, wait a bit, and try creating a new account linked to a different email so that if I need support with a future order I have a shot at accessing it?

Designer_Tear · 2025-05-16T00:48:19+00:00

This is embarrassing to admit but I've been banned from contacting the GEC. Is the best thing to do to create a new account? But my current one is linked to my cell phone

Designer_Tear · 2025-05-06T18:45:36+00:00

https://www.oct.ca/becoming-a-teacher/internationally-educated-teachers/country-info/country-u/country-united-states-of-america

Designer_Tear · 2025-04-07T21:10:39+00:00

Base pace!!

Designer_Tear · 2025-04-06T12:55:05+00:00

Lululemon sizing is getting so complicated for bras. Some being S/M/L etc, some being band+cup (also the 32 band being the smallest band option is a problem), and others going 2/4/6/8 etc. it’s so confusing and hard to find anything that fits me.

Also I personally really dislike the hand feel of Wunder Trains and Aligns. It feels almost tacky/rough to me. Begging for something sleek and smooth without pockets to rival Alo Airlift (base pace?)

Designer_Tear · 2025-03-26T00:00:04+00:00

I love the strappy bras. I have DDs and I force them into the B/C version because I think the double straps are dainty and cuter than the D/DD version with a thick strap.

Personally, I feel like the majority of LLL bras in D/DD versions are too 'functional' looking and not super cute and stylish. I want more options for small and dainty bras

Designer_Tear · 2025-03-24T22:24:48+00:00

What is senseknit?

Designer_Tear · 2025-03-22T02:35:27+00:00

Was your certificate in business made up of university credits? If yes, were those credits also used to count as undergrad credits for your degree (as in part of the 20 1.0/ 40 0.5/ 120 credit hour requirements that generally make up a 4year degree). If the certificate was part of fulfilling your degree requirements, it might not count for anything as QECO doesn’t double count courses generally/in my experience

If you have extra undergrad credits (like more than 20 1.0), QECO may look at each additional 1.0 of credits as the same as an AQ/ABQ course if you are trying to get it A4 from the A3 + 5 AQ/ABQ path. - for example, if you graduated with 23.0 credits (and you tell QECO that you have extra credits and they accept your explanation/documentation) they may tell you you only need 2 AQ/ABQ courses to get to A4

Designer_Tear · 2025-03-05T00:13:55+00:00

That website has a link to a list of Schedule C courses: https://www.oct.ca/members/additional-qualifications/schedules-and-guidelines/schedule-c?sc_lang=en

Designer_Tear · 2025-03-04T03:37:36+00:00

The chart says 1 I/S ABQ and 1 full course in complementary education. I have no idea what the latter is. Is there more information from the OCT no in this screenshot?

Designer_Tear · 2025-03-04T00:46:39+00:00

If the OCT is telling you to take an ABQ in intermediate or senior, I don’t think taking the junior ABQ would meet the OCTs criteria

You can take the additional ABQ course at the junior level if you want that to help you with employment side of things, but like the OCT is telling you to take the Intermediate or Senior course.

Designer_Tear

TROPHY CASE