Today we got results of the latest IB satisfaction survey. Isn't it amazing that those that were surveyed by the IB are these: 1) School Heads - those who are very removed from its implementation, and 2) MYP coordinators - those whose jobs depend on having the MYP remain. However, those in the classroom weren't involved at all. Amazing!

I couldn't figure it out. I was at a Search fair and several colleagues were also there. They had received several posted/file requests for interviews, but I had none. I was, at that time, more qualified than some of them. Even one man I know was offered interviews for jobs that I was more qualified for. What was going on? Then it became clear. I sat down with a school that had my file in hand, and I asked the admin. rep. why I hadn't received a request from them for a position I was teaching at that very point in time. He went on to tell me that they didn't want to hire someone who had only had one year of teaching experience. I said, "what, I have taught 4 years now, one back home and three in XXX." I asked if I could look at my file. Why not, it was mine. Search had blown it big time. They had photo-copied the file I used when I first recruited with them. Nothing of the update from my last 3 years of overseas teaching had been included. But Search would never have allowed me to recruit if I did not have an updated file. So what was going on? I talked to the Search Rep. in charge of my candidacy. He couldn't explain it. This was on Thursday afternoon of a T-F-S conference, and by that time nearly every interview slot had been filled. The Search rep. asked me for my list of desired schools, which I gave him. He ran around begging them to interview me. In the end I got 3 interviews from among the dozen, or so, schools I had on the list. Following the first one I figured I was out-of-luck. The administrator told me that he was really reluctant to add me and that he was doing it as a favor to "Mr. Search." It was definitely not a very serious interview, and since it had to be done after the scheduled interview period, he probably didn't really want to do it. The other two interviews didn't go much better, and besides they were both with the last 2 or 3 schools on my list, which weren't much of a step up from where I already was.
What could I do? Mr. Search couldn't explain what had happened, and he was too busy running around "smoozing" with the school reps. anyway. The letter I later sent to Search went nowhere. I didn't even get a response. I had paid plenty of money to get to that fair, stay in the host hotel, and for it I got nothing. If I could have, I would have sued them, but it would have gone nowhere as they would have covered their tracks I am sure. I had no proof, they had all the power. How could I prove they were negligent when I couldn't prove I had sent them new papers, and sent them in time, which I had by a long shot?

I should have known better than to use Search at all anyway. The founding director is a jerk, in my opinion. Back in the pre-Search days, when he was a school head in SE Asia, he was recruiting at an ISS conference. I had just graduated, with honors, and with a double-major and good references for a new graduate from a highly-rated state university - one often cited for excellence in a major publication that ranks universities. I approached him about an internship at his school, and he had the audacity to tell me, to my face, that he "only considers interns from Ivy League level schools."

These guys are too full of themselves!!!

...and just one more tidbit that will, perhaps, give you an idea what the Head is like. Go take a look at his school's website. Then compare it with 99.9% of the websites of other international schools. Notice any difference? Sure you notice it right off, on page 1. It is a glorious photo of the Head himself, in living color. It speaks volumes about his opinion of himself, like another poster said, perhaps using different terminology, but his school is his school and he wants you to know it. More significantly, he thinks he is a handsome charmer and he wants you to SEE it! When I was in Beijing, even that far away from Shanghai, the news got around.

I lived in Beijing and had several occasions to visit Shanghai. IS Beijing is one large building, and looks like a factory. Shanghai AS is more of an open "California-style" campus. As to cities, Shanghai is much more metropolitan and open. Both cities are difficult to get around in by car. Beijing is horrible in winter, but Shanghai isn't much better, just a little warmer. In truth, Beijing is in a desert!
As to salary, I know that Shanghai AS did have a pretty similar scale/format as IS Beijing. I think they have 12 steps, and give a 1:1 placement all the way to the top of the scale. Which means, if you have 12 years experience you come in at the top, and stay there unless they provide a COLA, which I know not about. IS Beijing's scale is a bit higher at the top end, but relatively close.

If I had to chose today I would chose Shanghai. Perhaps since I have not lived there, but have in Beijing, but also because I hear the housing is excellent. Shanghai is growing still I hear, and there are usually many openings.

What the previous poster has said is unfortunately true. I worked at a school with connections with his Shanghai school, and this guys reputation is well-known among them. Too much time on his hands for too many tasks that he had not business being involved with, while neglecting much of what he should have been doing well. That's the word anyway, and my several sources are highly-professional. But if you are an attractive young woman, you will do well there!

The Head, Matt Mills, is one of the nicest, most professional men you could work for. Don't hesitate to work for Matt.

I would like to contribute to the forum on the issue of Headmasters. I first would like to say that I feel this forum is long overdue as a medium for teachers to discuss international school administration. As I read the recent (Feb. 2008) TIE articles written in response to the ISR website, there were times I had to bite my tongue. TIE is part of the root of the problem, along with ISS, Search Associates and other similar organizations. These are largely staffed/headed by previous international school heads, and due to this, are at least in some measure seeking to protect their own. Many of the people in these organizations flow in and out of international school head positions and organizations such as the aforementioned. Case in point - look at the Feb. 2008 TIE advertisement for the Principal's Training Center (PTC). Note that it also lists the names of the school heads from member schools. Why is this? You can bet that the school heads listed didn't pay anything out of their own pocket for their school to be a PTC member. So why in the world does TIE list their names? There is an easy answer for that. The TIE heads are in the business of making international school heads happy. You can bet my school's head is happy every time his name shows up in the TIE. Why should it be there at all? No answer necessary.
I, personally, applaud the owner of ISR. I appreciate your willingness to offer this forum for communication of all kinds, regarding international schools. While there will undoubtedly be some dishonesty displayed in print on this site, there will likely be a whole lot more truth. Yes, isn't it ironic that TIE can criticize ISR.com as dangerous due to the anonymous nature of most information posted, yet the writer of that particular editorial doesn't even include a name? Indeed ironic! It is about time teachers had a forum to express their opinions. School administrators are part of a "club" who meet regularly to discuss their experiences. You can bet that the names of teachers frequently are mentioned during these encounters, especially since alcohol seems to flow quite heavily at them (yes, a few issues back my school head was in two photos, and only two photos, both of which he was holding a bottle of beer - I found that amazing). I will post again, no doubt, but let me share with you my experience of 18 years in international education and six headmasters:

Head #1: This guy had no business being in education. He was a tyrant. I personally was offered under the table money by him. He frequently did special favors for people who "kissed-up" to him. After working for him for 3 years, he tried not to pay departing benefits to me and 2 other teachers, while he did pay them to teachers who had been at the school for one year or less. While we all had the same one-year contract, these short-timers had been recently hired through ISS. ISS was forcing him to pay, and even though all our contracts had this stated benefit, he tried to not pay those of us leaving who had been there longer than one year. He feared ISS, but didn't have the integrity to honor our contracts. Amazing!

Head #2 (same school as #1): While I did not have the same experience with him as I did with #1, the following did happen. I saw it with my own eyes. He had an affair with one of the local married female teachers. I saw him, with my own eyes, sneak into the sleeping room of this female teacher while we were on a school retreat. Tell me, what is a school head doing at 12:30 AM going into a female teacher's room? This is the same woman who just shortly thereafter, quit mid-year once her husband learned about it.
There was another story like this, and a police report to go with it, but I will save that one for another time.

Head #3 (new school): A qualified headmaster. Hired his unqualified/uncertified wife to be a principal. Had a habit of promoting uncertified friends into administrative positions. People who openly told me that they "need to stay close to Mr. X, so they can get moved up in the school." Had the Board reverse one of his promotions, only to turn around and rewrite the job description so the friend could qualify for the job. Never mind that several other qualified candidates lost out on the position. This guy openly lied to the school board at meetings that I attended. For a while we, the teachers, were banned from attending Board meetings! He was fired. But after a couple years back home relaxing, he managed to get an even higher paying job doing what he did in his last post.

Head #4 (same school): Another tyrant. He was, and likely still is, rude and abusive. Openly gave some benefits to SOME teachers while denying them to others. Had horrible personal skills. Example: After not seeing him for weeks, and after a 3 week Christmas holiday, he came up to me and just started asking questions. Not a "hello, how was the holiday?" Nothing like that at all. He needed to take a long vacation. He did, for 2 years, then went back out to do it all again in another international school.

Head #5 (new school): A genuinely nice person. I would work for him again. Not everyone agrees with me, but I feel I am fair-minded, and this man was honest. I only had the pleasure of working for him for one year.

Head #6 (same school): Another nice person. Although, he is gone far too much and in my opinion, spends far too much of the school's money flying business class wherever he goes! But, he is sincere and a fairly good leader. He has done well to support his teaching staff and continues to do so.

So, there you have it. Some good and some bad, but believe me, the bad ones (1-4) were pretty bad. If you take my experience as representative of what most people experience, you end up having had too many horrible school heads as your boss. Four out of six in the "really bad" category isn't a very positive report. I am interested in what others have to say, so please feel free to add to my "report."

To TIE, ISS, and Search Associates, isn't it about time you hired some people who really have it in their minds to serve teachers equally as well as you serve schools (Heads)? Stop defending and start exposing, and then perhaps, all international school administrations worldwide will really do what they should do.