Any Teachers Here From Philippines?

[JoBri 552]

My wife was a teacher for 16 years in the Philippines. She did well in her job. Here in the United States, in Tennessee specifically, she is required to take the Praxis exams. As any of you teachers know, these exams are normally required right out of college before ever getting the first teaching job. Everything from college is still fresh in one's head, and most colleges here will guide and teach the Education students so that they are well prepared to pass the Praxis exams.

The theories and phylosophies and principals are basically the same here in the USA as in the Philippines, but the textbook specifics fade with time, especially over 16 years. She tried taking 2 of the 4 Praxis exams already that she is required to pass here, but she failed them both...one by only one point, the other by just a few. She is going to retake them, one at a time.

Something that would help her considerably is if she could do better with U.S. geography and U.S. history. Maybe if she got a geography and history book for 6th grade level, that might help some. But the biggest area that is the hardest to study for is the Social Studies portion of the tests. It is so broad of an area, as follows:

Social Studies:

Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, United States History, World History

And that is just the social studies portion of ONE test.

Anyways, are there any teachers here who studied for the Praxis exams here and passed them? If so, what did you find most helpful in studying, other than taking the sample tests?

We would appreciate any help from anyone else who prepared for these tests. She is working 2 jobs right now, in a school cafeteria and in a hospital in housekeeping. We sure would be happy to get her qualified to work in her gifted profession.

Thanks a lot...

Brian in Tennessee