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Volunteer Teacher Qualifications
Peace Corps Teacher Qualifications
Peace Corps qualifications are a bit different from other volunteer teaching organizations. For me, the first step in applying to be a volunteer teacher for the Peace Corps was to make sure I was qualified. United States
Citizenship is required. You must be over 18 years old, and though a university degree is not
mandatory, 90 percent of PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) have them. Teaching experience
or certification are not required - in fact, in both of my assignments, in a training class of 35
volunteers, I was one of a very few who had professional experience. But your path to
becoming a Peace Corps volunteer teacher or other worker will be smoother if you have a professional or academic
background in one of Peace Corps' volunteer programs (English education, health or HIV/AIDS
education, business development, environmental awareness, and information technology).
There is a basic background check and health screening. Volunteers who have health issues
will serve in posts which can accommodate their needs. I have served with three inspiring
PCVs over 70 years-old in my two assignments.
Volunteer Peace Corps Teacher Interviews
From the time you complete the application (available on the Peace Corps website) to the
time you report for staging is generally 9-12 months. You can rank your preference for a
general region (Africa, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe), but the more flexible you are
about where you'd like to go, the more quickly you will be selected for an assignment. If
there's only one country you'd like to go to, you may be waiting for a long time. Some posts
have very specific needs for example, Latin American (including Mexico or Brazil) posts often require that you have
Spanish language competency.
If you are qualified to become a Peace Corps volunteer, youwill be asked to attend an interview at one of several recruiting centers throughout the US.
It is like a typical job interview, but there are a lot of questions that address on your ability to
work and live in environments with cultural differences and developing world infrasructure.
Soon, you will receive an official invitation to become a volunteer teacher in a particular post - it's a
great surprise to open up that envelope and learn where you're going to spend the next two
years of your life. You will have to get a thorough medical exam and vaccinations,
depending on where you're assigned.
For more information on the application process:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.howvol
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