Where did you go to get your doctorate? Did you do it online or face-to-face at a school?

I was just wondering if psyguy put his shields down or not. Thanks for the laugh.

Anyone have any thoughts about programs offered by the Open University in the UK? I was looking at their EdD in ELT and wanted your thoughts.

Thanks!

Thanks for the info. So what is so bad about a polytech? In America it would be a good thing - RPI, WPI, etc are all great schools.

It looks like MMU is at least okay - right?

Being an American, I'm clueless about education in the UK. Is MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University) accredited and is it at least an okay university? I'm looking at an MA in English Language Teaching from them, but don't know if their degree would count in the international arena.

Any help, especially from those awesome British teachers, would very much appreciated. Any thoughts about the program would also he helpful.

Thanks in advance!

Seriously, I would just move on with the thread and ignore psyguy. He knows everything, has been everywhere. and knows everyone - who can argue with someone like that? He is obviously a savant so why argue with him?

Just ignore him. It's hard to do, but it helps focus the topics and use info from people who actually know what they are talking about.

Wow! You all have some nice places. I just wish there was more time in my life so I could work in all of those places - what a dream :)

Try http://comments4kids.blogspot.com/ as they have a lot of classes looking to collaborate. I would also ask around on twitter. My class has been blogging off and on with 8 other classes.

As an international educator, I think we are some of the most lucky people around. Look at all of the places around the world where we could work/visit. What schools/areas kind of make you dream sometimes?

My list (in no particular order) are:
Georgia (the country not state)
South Korea
Thailand
Hong Kong
Mongolia
Vietnam
Switzerland
Peru
Mexico
Colombia
Senegal

I know they are a weird mix, but someday I want to work in at least some of these places. Anyone want to post their "dreams"? I would honestly be happy if I worked at 4 or 5 of these before I die - any 4 or 5.

Let me tell you why. Psyguy draws page views. The admin of this site are not interested in truth, they are interested in selling subscriptions to the paid site - Psyguy helps do this. Look at the terms of service. You can literally write anything you want to about a school or an administrator - say something bad about a teacher and... delete.

I have come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is just ignore his comments and move on. Let him make a fool of himself. There is a saying about arguing with a fool... don't do it. He literally has nothing better to do.

I do however appreciate most of the other people who ask some good questions and try to do their best with questions that are asked. I really loved the Colombia and Mexico threads as those two countries sound fascinating. Thanks to all those people who answered my questions :)

As far as I can tell, there are basically two scenarios: The country could care less, or the country requires some proof that the person is qualified to teach the subject(s).

For those countries who care, they usually require a degree and certification, but some are okay with the degree. Even fewer are okay with just the certification.

The best thing to do would just be to ask. Most of the recruiters are happy to answer questions if you are polite. Give it a shot and report what you find out.

Since we were talking about honesty and how wrong it was to violate terms of service to look stuff up about another teacher on Search. I do not belong to Search (never have), so I have to ask.

1. Is it okay to look up school info on your account and post it on a BBS such as the ISR Forum?

2. Is it okay to recruit at a Search Fair by hanging around the lobby, all the while accessing your Search account?

Couple of quick things. I don't belong to Search, and have no way to access what is on the Search databases (whether it is about schools, or about teachers. I do belong to ISS, but that disappointment is another story). I also do not violate Search terms of service by looking up info and sharing it with people who do not belong. Maybe we could get some clarification on that. Is it okay to use your Search account to look stuff up for someone else?

Psyguy, you missed it again. National accreditation is almost useless. In the US the most useful is accomplished by the regional agencies. You say that a school can choose 1 of 3 options. Wrong again. They can choose all 3 options (substituting regional for national). I'm also unaware of a "national curriculum" for the United States. Common Core is sort of a national curriculum, but it is not a national necessity for a school to belong to/follow it. There are no national curriculums that I am aware of for universities in the U.S.A.. Am I wrong? If so, are they all scams since they don't follow one?

You seem to equate accreditation with that agency setting forth a curriculum. None of the regional agencies does this. Does this mean that all of the US schools and universities are operating under a shady agency? Is Harvard a scam because it is regionally accredited and does not follow a pre-set curriculum set forth by the regionals? IB and AP can do this, but I'm not sure a school could just offer those programs in many countries. I know Egypt couldn't do this as it has to also follow a national curriculum to some degree. In some countries it's even stricter. I know it would never work in Turkey as the government is very strict about courses that have to be taught, as well as the nationality of the teachers of some subjects.

You seem to have a lot of fans here on this site, which is actually awesome. But seriously you seem to think that direct knowledge/experience=looking something up on the internet. Also, I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish by slamming accreditation.

tdaley, I generally agree with what you are saying, but disagree in 3 of the areas. He does act like he is an expert. He is not saying, "I think this..." he is saying he is stating facts. However his experience is looking something up on the internet and then acting like an expert. While you may trust him, I don't. Would you trust a guidebook written by someone who had never been to the country, but looked it all up on the internet (oh, but they told you they have direct experience)? You are saying, "Oh yes! I trust him and appreciate all of his comments."

Second he does comment on almost every topic. Seriously, you do not notice this? Seriously?

Third thing is that he has high standards for everyone else, but not himself. He will criticize an admin's/school's reputation, but is very dishonest himself. He is not who he states he is. I understand being anonymous, but to hide behind this to create this admin character with vast experience is just wrong. He questions these accrediting bodies as not being rigorous, but then he goes out and loads up with test only certifications. I'm sorry but hypocrisy bothers me.

You state that we have an open forum so that things can be disputed, but when they are disputed, you say we shouldn't - which is it? My question to you tdaley is why are you okay with this? Why is this dishonesty okay with you? Not the anonymity, but the dishonesty... Why shouldn't someone call this out, just the same as why shouldn't we call out a school's dishonesty?

Psyguy, I would also add a question for you. How could CIS possibly set up a curriculum for each school? Each host country has its own requirements, each school then targets one or more countries to gear their curriculum towards. How would CIS put all of that together? So they would need a curriculum plan for each individual country, plus sub plans for each targeted curriculum following another country's standards (or state/common core). The regional agencies don't have a pre-set curriculum either. You seem to think that these agencies have to have a CIS provided checklist in order to be valid.

IB can do this because IB does not have to worry about the curriculum dictated by the host country - schools do have to worry. IB does not take into account the requirement for host country exams - they ignore them/ they don't count (or not very much). Schools also have to worry about using a curriculum that is appropriate for students who are not IB. Once again, how could CIS set up a "one ring for them all" approach?

The fact that you have 20 or more certifications means that you do not follow that same rigor that you espouse. There is no way that you have taken the appropriate number of classes, and degree programs to satisfy that portion - you tested out as per the Texas provision that lets you test out once you are certified in another area. Where is that same rigor and quest for doing what's right in your life? How is it a personal attack to ask you do the same in your life as you ask others to do?

Seriously, do you realize that you are becoming the running joke now? Do you think these administrators who do the hiring do not know who you are and what you are saying? Are you trying to get/stay unemployed? It would give you some time to catch up on some much needed certifications - you are missing some of them. Are these certifications like a baseball card collection?

My school is going through the accreditation process and even I do not totally understand it all. How could you grasp much of it when your school isn't even accredited? Again, why are you doing this? Maybe I would have some sympathy for you if I knew why.