Search found 12 matches

by cattalus
Wed Mar 29, 2017 6:33 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Is IB more important than AP?
Replies: 3
Views: 7456

Re: Is IB more important than AP?

I had the same question and experience when I took the jump. I agree 100% with what Sid said. I got hired without it and then went to training, which for me was not very helpful. As another poster says, training never beats experience
by cattalus
Wed Mar 29, 2017 6:28 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Ship it or just bring it in extra suitcases?
Replies: 11
Views: 26095

Re: Ship it or just bring it in extra suitcases?

I bought rubbermaid (or something similar, whatever Home Depot had) 18 gallon totes. The airline had a cubic inches requirement. Anything over that amount would be charged as oversized. I agree they are great for areas with high humidity and just general storage until you get something more permanent.
by cattalus
Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:08 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Ship it or just bring it in extra suitcases?
Replies: 11
Views: 26095

Re: Ship it or just bring it in extra suitcases?

We had a shipping allowance to a posting, but found it was more economical to buy rubber totes, ziptie them, and bring them on the plane as excess baggage. The airline we went through charged us $150 per extra item. We ended up shipping 10+ totes on the plane and had no issues (except trying to get them all through customs in smooth fashion) and the allowance covered the cost. We didn't have any furniture so it worked for us as the shipping company route was very complicated, very expensive with a very long wait until we got our stuff
by cattalus
Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:03 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How do I tell the kids...if they're toddlers?
Replies: 6
Views: 12643

Re: How do I tell the kids...if they're toddlers?

The car seat depends how clunky it is. We brought one for my toddler but it is the easily removable kind that secures with a belt buckle. If you don't mind spending the money, you could always buy one there after you get in (a fun first time shopping adventure). My location has a facebook group for expats as well and there are always used ones available. Still it can be an issue, especially if you don't buy a car or have public transportation available and need to take taxis everywhere.

I would suggest loading up on some of the favorite foods if they can be packed tightly. We brought loads of applesauce packets as they were eating 2-3 a day before we left the USA. When we got overseas, we rationed them and they forgot about them in 2 weeks. Obviously favorite and toys are big deal, I ended up buying smaller versions of the bigger toys we had in the USA but we brought a toy basketball hoop and a bike as excess baggage on the plane. It helped them settle in as those were two things that they were very used to. Books too are a big deal. Whenever we take a long trip, we also let them pick out a new toy a week or so before, but they can't play with it until the trip starts.
by cattalus
Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:31 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Administrative Certification
Replies: 31
Views: 60085

Re: Administrative Certification

Do you need a masters in educational leadership (or something like it) or does a masters in education/teaching work as well?
by cattalus
Sun May 08, 2016 5:42 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Banking
Replies: 10
Views: 13101

Re: Banking

Thanks for the advice Sid. I guess a better question is what large American bank have people used. I bank at the local small town bank and I think a bigger bank would be more useful
by cattalus
Sun May 08, 2016 5:09 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Banking
Replies: 10
Views: 13101

Banking

I am preparing to embark on my first posting as an international teacher and I am curious about how other teachers set up their banking situation. My school will pay in a combination of USD and the local currency (whichever combination I choose), but I am curious as to which bank is the best for lowest fees, ease of use and number of locations worldwide. I am also wondering if we should keep a USA credit card and if so, which one would be the best one? Of course I will get information from my the school as well, but I thought I would ask the community for answers as well.
by cattalus
Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:07 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: At the fair now... some observations.
Replies: 15
Views: 22981

Re: At the fair now... some observations.

Thanks for the updates. Enjoy reading and learning the insights of others on Job Fairs. Best of Luck in your search.
by cattalus
Tue Dec 29, 2015 4:15 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Our "Ichiro" was a hit at the AASSA fair!
Replies: 32
Views: 45047

Re: Our "Ichiro" was a hit at the AASSA fair!

My wife and I attended the ASSAA fair with my wife this year. Since we are newbies to this, we were thinking of using this as our "warm-up" to the Search fair in Cambridge that would come later. Here is a quick diary of the fair. (BTW, I want to say THANKS to Shadowjack as his detailed dairy of the Bangkok Fair a few years ago really let us know what to expect at a fair)

DAY 0: Thursday Night
Mrs. Cattalus and I flew into Atlanta, got checked at our hotel and then walked over to the fair hotel. We registered too late to get reservations at the fair hotel, ours was the economy version of the Hilton. It was nice and a quick walk over to the fair hotel, but if I had to do it again, I would stay at the fair hotel. We attended the orientation session put on the ASSAA admin. It was well done and entertaining (as much as those things can be), but much of was common sense and if someone has been to any fair before I would imagine that they skipped it. We then checked our mailbox (i.e. file folder) and found some cards from schools that we had never heard of before that wanted to meet us. It was a good way to get juices flowing for the fair and raise our excitement level as I was worried about getting zero interviews. At least now we would get some practice at interviewing for an international school.

Day 1: Friday Morning Sign-up Session
After a decent breakfast, we got to the Ballroom site way too early and just waited. After reading Shadowjack's diary I was worried there would be a huge line to get in and I wanted to be one of the first ones since I knew that our dream school had openings for both of us. The advantage of getting there super early was that we were able to walk in the ballroom, see where the school tables were set up and review the jobs they had posted behind them. I was surprised to see the number of jobs available for us. After scouting it out, we sat down and made a gameplan on what schools to go to in what order. We decided to take the ASSAA admin advice and go to these tables as a couple. We figured we would work better together. In a bigger fair, we would maybe have to split up.

Anyways, the doors open up and we race to our first school choice. We meet the admin, we spend a minute selling ourselves and he politely and professionally lets us know, that while Mrs. Cattalus is qualified, I really don't have the qualifications he is looking for. He hands back my resume and says “thanks, but no thanks.” After that disappointment we move on to our number #2 school, which has about 30 people in line for it. Thankfully we get on their interview list for the afternoon. After that, we head to other schools on our list, including one of the schools that had asked us to stop by. We ended up with interviews with five schools and struck out three times.

Day 1.5: Friday Afternoon Interviews

Our interviews start in the evening (after 5 pm). We have 3 interviews scheduled in a row, with two coming saturday morning. All interviews go well. It is a bit strange to interview in someone’s hotel room, especially the waiting out in the hall. But once the questions start, it was like your pretty standard interview. Many questions on Standards Based Grading, Learning Targets, Technology and PYP/MYP/IB experience. Mrs. Cattalus and I have zero experience with IB so it was very beneficial to read up on the lingo and methods of that type of curriculum. It was also interesting to see how the recruiters handled a dual interview. Sometimes it was straight ask one candidate for 15 minutes then ask the other times it was more integrated. I think it is important for couples to have a method to handle this. We handled it like two separate interviews and the other rarely jumped in unless they were asked to. I found it actually easier to interview with Mrs. Cattalus because sometimes the same questions were asked of each of us and I could think of my answer in my head while she answered her question. From our three interviews, we got 3 second interviews and Mrs. Cattalus got additional skype interviews with the principals of those schools as well. After all that, it was time for dinner and to rank the schools.

Day 2: Saturday - Interviews, Offers and Decisions oh my!
We start the day off by slipping a note cancelling an interview with one school. It wasn’t one that we were super interested in and we felt pretty confident from the other three interviews.

We then went to a first interview with the school that had shown interest in us. It went well and we set up a 2nd interview for right after lunch. We then headed to a 2nd interview with the school that was our number #2 choice going into the fair, (but now number #1). It seemed like a great fit. We really liked the administrators and it had good positions for both of us. They told us they would let us know after 2 pm if we would get a job offer. While Mrs. Cattalus was completing her skype interviews, I had some time to kill and I went to socialize. It is amazing how friendly people were, even though we were all competing for jobs. It was interesting to hear stories and experiences about all kinds of schools. After the skype interviews were done, we went to our 2nd interview with the school that had put the note in our mailbox. They let us know upfront that they would be offering us a contract today and that this was the time to answer any questions we had. They were extremely patient with us as we had many! Overall we felt very comfortable with them and the school and could see ourselves working there. As it was over, they told we had to let them know by the evening if we were going to accept or not. As we made our way to a 2nd interview with school from a smaller country, we got a call from the school that we had interviewed with yesterday and this morning and really wanted to go to. They wanted to meet us soon and talk again. We took this as a good sign, so we decided to cut our the upcoming interview a little short. Even though we had to rush out, we got offered a job there as well. As we raced to meet the school that seemed perfect for us, we gave thanks for the good luck to have jobs available in our fields from schools that we are interested in. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how great of teacher you are, there are just not the jobs out there for you. We got to the room of the school administrators and they offered us a contract and spent a lot of time going through it line by line and answering any questions we had.

After that, we decided to go have a late lunch and think about it. Though there wasn’t much to think about as the last school to offer us a contract was a school that we went to the fair specifically for. It also had to best package and was the best for us professionally, so in the end it wasn’t a tough choice. What was the toughest was to tell the administrators that we were going to a different school. I know they will just move on to the next candidate, but I truly felt that it would have been great working for them and in their school.

Day 3: Sunday - Reflections

As we had nothing to do until we flew out, we spent the morning reflecting on what we had learned:
We were very fortunate that many schools that interested us had positions for us and this was just in Latin America We belong to SA as well and as I looked for the last time at their database it seems that the rest of the world doesn’t have that many openings for us.

-All of the administrators/recruiters seemed very friendly and professional. They generally seemed to want to get to know you and wanted to make sure for you sake and theirs that you fit into their school

-I was struck by how many administrators were hiring at this fair, even though they themselves are leaving the school. It was a bit strange to hear how wonderful the school is, but then to hear that this was their last year.

-If you don’t teach IB, make sure you know the lingo of it and can relate how you have done the same thing in your classroom

-Our Ichiro was a brochure. It didn’t seem to be that big of deal as no administrators commented on it. They did comment on Mrs. Cattalus’s visual resume where she replaced the words with pictures of her trainings and experiences. Many administrators liked it, some were confused by it. To me the lesson is to be who you are. That is totally Mrs. Cattalus’s style. I kept the standard 2 page resume to explain me and it seemed to work fine as well.

-The ASSAA people said it and at first I didn’t believe it, but as busy candidates can be, recruiters seemed even busier. We had 4 initial interviews and 4 second interviews and talks in between, but we also had some down time. Recruiters seemed to be busy all the time.

-We were amazed at how the schools pitched themselves to teachers. Coming from USA public schools, we were unaccustomed to that. From the information sessions to the interviews they seemed to really want good teachers. In our experience, it seems to us that USA public schools just want a body in the room. Schools that we turned down seemed disappointed and the school that we choose seemed excited. In USA public schools it seems that they are doing you a favor by hiring you and if you don’t want it, there are many others who will take it .

-Lastly, ASSAA runs a good fair. It has been referred to as a “dump fair” on this board, but a lot of schools were hiring. I didn’t hear of many people being told “we will let you know in the future.” It was small (30-40 schools, about 200 people) and not that much stress. Anytime we had an issue or even needed counsel, the ASSAA people were available to help us. If you are interested in teaching in a Latin America school, I would highly recommend it.

Of course, we are newbies so these impressions might not mean anything thing and experienced ITs can and will probably laugh at some of our reflections, but to two teachers stepping into this world for the first time, the fair was an exciting time. Though I hope not to have to do it again anytime soon.
by cattalus
Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:56 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: PE teachers?
Replies: 15
Views: 31726

Re: PE teachers?

PSY,

Do you know of any websites offhand that would allow a person to get information on IB, MYP and PYP teaching lingo and theories for free?
by cattalus
Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:57 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: IB Certification
Replies: 21
Views: 25399

Re: IB Certification

Thanks everyone for so much information, which naturally leads to more questions. I am also a social studies teacher an am state-licensed in all areas of social studies grades 5-12. If the IT route ends up happening for me and I work in an IB school, would I need to get IB certified in all the subjects that I would teach for that school? For instance, if I get a job teaching IB in history, would I need to pay the IBO some money to be official qualified? And then if I moved schools to teach IB Geography, would I need to get certified in that area as well? If so, how much would all that cost? Is it possible that the broad IB program from the University would cover all that? I think this was touched on before, just looking for some clarification.

I am trying to weigh the costs/benefits. I was contacted by a school before fair season for a social studies job and IB experience was a pre-requisite. I looked up substantial IB information online and I discovered that I already incorporate many of the IB practices in my teaching, but since I was unable to attend a fair and because I didn't have the experience, the school was only willing to schedule an interview if the position was open after the fair season, which it wasn't. This was slightly disappointing as I think I would have been a good match for the school. I came away feeling that if I just had the formal training I would have the chance to interview. The program is 10 credits, which would also move me over a lane on my school's salary schedule and I would get a raise of $3000. So in two years the program would roughly pay for itself and my credits would mean something as well, however insignificant.

The idea of $6,000 is concerning, especially if this school is abnormal or if I didn't have other requirements that they were looking for, but never mentioned to me. I am worried that this might be a fools errand and the formal certification would mean nothing without experience. Another route would be to get IB training from the IBO.
by cattalus
Sat Feb 28, 2015 2:50 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: IB Certification
Replies: 21
Views: 25399

IB Certification

Looking to get into International teaching. I have twelve years of experience teaching various subjects in the social studies field but primarily history. I have multiple years of experience in the middle school setting, though for the last seven years I have been primarily high school. I am new registered with Search and from their database, I have seen that IB or MYP experience is almost a pre-req for every job. In my current school I have no chance of gaining this experience, however there is a local university that is offering an IB certification program that can be completed in 6 months. It costs about $6,000 and I am wondering if getting it would get my foot in the door of these schools. I am also curious if schools are significantly interested in recent experience in the age levels. Should I be requesting to teach some middle school classes?