The American International School of Chennai, India is doing the TC Readers-Writers Workshop Model. They have also sent teachers to TC to do the summer institutes, as well as bring TC educators to the school for PD. The workshop model seems to be the 'hot' model in many Asian schools, and several schools at the most recent job fair I went to asked me if I was trained or used the model.

Does your school use the Teacher College Reading and Writing Workshop Model? What are your thoughts on it? It seems to be the hot new bandwagon in international schools, and I recall getting a few questions on it at a job fair last year. Is this the direction that most schools are going in for the literacy model? Is this model used in the U.S. much? I asked a couple of friends who teach in the U.S. and they had never heard of it.

I know Lucy Caulkins is a bigwig and her emloyees at TC are on the consulting tours (NESA, schools, etc.). I am wondering if I need to do training in this model (because most or all school are going to this model). Any advice or opinions on this model would be appreciated.

Bostonfan,

There are a lot of expats there and many are dating locals. I married one! :>) No issues and I was welcomed into the family with open arms.

Mexico City is an awesome city with a lot of history and culture, as others have mentioned. I lived in Mexico for three years, but not in Mexico City. I would go there often for weekend trips and to use the bus station to go to other cities. The city to city bus system is excellent and the service is excellent. It puts Greyhound to shame.

Like any major city, you need to be wary of certain parts of the city and certain metro stops. I am a seasoned traveller and the only time I have ever been pick-pocketed was on the metro in DF - they are pros! The people are warm and friendly. Learning Spanish would be helpful and you will find people supportive of your efforts.

I don't really have anything bad to say about DF, other than the pollution. However, you re an easy bus trip to some awesome parts of the country. DF must be up there as one of the top three Latin American cities. ASF is a solid school in the region and probably the best in the country. Enjoy!

How would it appear to potential employers if someone who has worked as an assistant principal for a couple of years applied for a teaching position at a new school? I would like to move on from my current school and I am looking at teaching positions, not principal or AP positions, which seem to be filled from within a school. Is it possible to go back into the classroom after working as an A.P. for a few years and have this not be viewed as some kind of demotion or a step back professionally? Are superintendents at fairs going to find this strange, or will they view me as a stronger teacher, having been in my current position as an AP? I miss teaching to be honest.

Season4greatness...Getting back to your topic before I got the thread off track (apologies) - Ethiopia sounds awesome. I flew through Adis Ababa a couple of years ago. It was not what I expected. Growing up in the Live Aid/drought years, I had a certain perception of what it would be like. It has changed, and I have heard wonderful things about traveling there. I am not sure about living there, but I do hear that the international school is good.

In regard to the continued debate about your and you're, I have a website/blog for my students. I don't accept comments using incorrect grammar, spelling, or messages that look like text messages. Your comments are very helpful Psyguy, but reading your messages are a bit painful at times, and it makes me wonder if you are actually a teacher.

Your 'point' is interesting and unique though, although I don't necessarily agree with you. Forums like these tend to be informal in terms of grammar, but it's hard for me to seriously take a comment on this forum or a school review when someone can't tell the different between principal and principle, moral and morale, and your and you're. Typos are one thing, incorrect usage is another. If we let our students, many of them English language learners, take this stance, then their errors would soon become fossilized and they would not know the difference.

Ok...it's tough enough seeing a middle school student confuse these. I cringe when I get email messages from colleagues who continually make this error.

I think author Cormac McCarthy doesn't like using quotation marks.

PsyGuy,

Learn the difference between your and you're.

I am looking ahead to recruiting next year and considering some IB professional development. I have looked at the IB website at their online PD options and have found a 4 week MYP course through Triple A Learning in the UK. Has anyone done a course through them? Any comments on them?

I guess my biggest concern before dropping some cash on this is whether this will be valued come next January when we go to to Bangkok. My concern or fear will be that IB schools will still say, "That's all nice, but you still don't have IB experience. Step aside." I suppose it's better to do something and to have some training, but I will be bummed if this is not valued or considered. I have friends who have landed jobs at IB schools without IB training, but I don't want to take any chances. I ran into a wall on this issue years ago when I first recruited and didn't have IB training or experience.

The online courses seem to be significantly less expensive than on-site courses, but they say they are legitimate and looked at equally by IB schools. Is this true? Well, any advice or suggestions about the courses I should take as a first timer would be appreciated. I could either take this 4 week course (focused on my subject area) or the less expensive 2 week course, which is just a general category 1 course. I figured the 4 week course might be smarter.

I appreciate the comments. Apologies if I hyjacked the thread. I have a feeling this topic will be important as people return from job fairs. Personally, I would prefer that a school pay for me to get IB training. I know a few people who have the good fortune of getting this training paid for by a school. However, I also know some teachers who, like me, are very experienced and did not even get an interview because they had no IB training.

So, am I correct to believe that IB will allow me to take a course, even if I don't work for an IB school? I seem to have this in my head that they only allow IB-registered schools to send teachers to IB training.

I am a middle school teacher and looking at humanities. I have spent some time looking at their website and it appears I would sign up for a category 1 course. This seems to be the initial course for those who have no training or background.

I do not work for an IB school. However, I am looking ahead to recruitment next year and thought I would do a course this summer, if possible. This may not be true, but is it possible for teachers to do an introductory course, if you do not currently work for an IB school?

It seems like someone told me a while back that they only allow teachers to do PD, if schools pay for it. Just checking. I would think they'd be happy to take money from anyone. I am looking at MYP, the category 1 I guess, from what I understand. Please clarify if I can pay out of pocket for this workshop and whether you think it's worth the investment. Even though I have a graduate degree and much experience, I am just trying to make myself more marketable.

I have read the reviews for both of these schools. I was wondering if there are any updates on them.

The comments on the Bangladesh school's former administration and superintendent are scathing. How is the current director, Walter Plotkin? The school's website is very informative and it looks like a solid school that is very diverse in student population. Both India and Bangladesh seem like they would be tough places to live, but the packages seem really good. Is the savings potential very good? We have two young children and my concern would be about medical care as well.

Any feedback on what it is currently like there would be helpful. Thanks.

"The question is can you save enough overseas that will give you about $50,000 a year in retirement for the rest of your life?"

RobSq's question basically sums up my concern in a nutshell. This is the $50,000 question! I will continue to seek advice and share ideas.

Wow! I really appreciate all the feedback. I think this topic really needs to be discussed, debated, and shared. I don't see a lot of people out there in the international school world (ISS, superintendents, etc.) helping us out in this department. There are a lot of young teachers teaching overseas and they need advice on this as well. I am always thinking, "If I had only known..." I don't have any major regrets though and I am at a decent school now where my wife and I are able to save good money.

I sometimes wonder if the grass is any greener at other schools, but obviously with ISR you see that each school has its own issues. Very good points about not hopping from one to school to another every two years. When I was young and single and wanted to see the world, I could afford to do that. Now that I have a family, I need to plan better for our future. Plus, we can still travel a lot and save money. We might go recruit next year, but we will be very selective. There are so many schools out there, but the salaries don't look great at many of them. I know salaries and savings potential are very different whether you are overseas or in the U.S., Canada, or...

Danda, in regard to your investments, we are bascially doing the same thing you are doing. I have heard good things about Vanguard and will look into that this summer. We are investing money with the plan to not touch it. We keep some 'emergency' money in a savings account, but I don't see the need to keep a lot there since it collects so little interest. We have a couple of CDs as well. We try to diversify and we are not risk-takers. I read up on investing, etc. but I am not the brightest bulb in this department, so that is why we work with an investor who we trust. He knows our situation and goals and will hopefully lead us to a good retirement and money for a college education for our kids. By the way, anyone doing these 529 savings plans for college education?

Someone said something about finding a school that pays into U.S. Social Security. Are there many out there? I heard that the American School of Dubai does. Anyone know of other international schools that also do this? I have asked people before about whether it would be worth it to pay into S.S. and it sounds like I'd be better off doing what I am doing. I have put enough quarters in S.S. to be eligible to collect, but it looks so miniscule now that it would barely buy me a park bench and a shopping cart. Most teachers I meet seem to downplay S.S. and question whether it "will be around in 20 years." I am not sure if they really believe this.

Danda, the salaries may sound better in the Northeast, but it's all relative. I taught in the northeast and made what I make now (high 30s'K, not including a lot more in tutoring - no taxes) and it still seemed like I lived month to month investing a paltry few hundred dollars at the very most each month. After car payments, insurance, rent, etc. etc. I was left with little. I was single then, of course, but it gives you a sense of what life is like and what we would be returning to.

How many of you have kids or work with families with kids? Our children are very young now, so this also seems to be a good time to be overseas. Not sure if I would want to do this with children in middle school or high school, but it seems like there are a lot of families out there and most of the kids seem pretty well-adjusted. Like some of you have said, these experiences are awesome for families and children. I would like to think that my children will be more open-minded, mature, empathetic, etc. etc. for these experiences. Finally, I wonder if I would be bored going back home also.

Thanks for all of the advice and keep it coming. Savings, retirement, and school quality are important issues that NEED to be discussed. Enjoy your summers. Look forward to reading more.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and personal experiences. Yes, this is a tough question. Not having a pension, I am concerned. In my experiences with talking with other teachers, I feel most do not give savings and retirement serious thought and that it is an after-thought.

As mentioned, you have to look out for number #1 and you have to have robust investments/savings. One never knows how much you will actually need. I don't want to let fear for our future retirment dictate what we do - staying overseas or going home to teach. The thread on ISR on the state of international schools (i.e. difficulty hiring) has raised some interesting opinions about whether teaching overseas is all that it is cracked up to be and whether you can have a decent job, lifestyle and, in the end, save good money.

The experiences for our kids has been great and they will never forget the things they have seen and done. As a couple, my wife and I have been able to save about $30,000 a year which I have been told is good. I know I wouldn't be able to do this back home with all the bills we'd be paying there.

A couple of other questions and concerns:

1. Do most teachers (or should) have an off-shore account to save money or invest? Right now, we just wire money home and send a check to the investor or an IRA (which is currently not doing so hot - like everyone else's).

2. I know some teachers have property or houses at home and lease them, etc. while they are overseas. It seems like a lot of trouble, especially when we are unsure of where we will end up of living some day. Is this smart?

Thanks again.