Search found 12 matches

by maxsaidno
Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:22 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: What would it take to lure you back to North America?
Replies: 50
Views: 62008

Great Schools

IBRULES:
To name a few great schools:
Shanghai American School
Singapore American School
Taipei American School
American School of Japan
ISB Bangkok
Jakarta International
Seoul Foreign School

While not all of these schools might hit the 50K mark, I can tell you that, having worked at two of them (and having close friends who have worked at others) that they are schools who pay their employees well and treat them well to boot.
by maxsaidno
Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:50 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Bangkok Job Fairs
Replies: 2
Views: 5308

Bangkok

I attended the Search Bangkok fair in '07, and I had also enrolled in the ISS Bangkok fair as a safety measure. I figured that if I was going to spend the time and money I might as well enroll in both to cover my bases.

I received the job I wanted at Search, and so I went to the ISS fair, checked into the Shangri-La to receive my conference rate, and then un-enrolled in the ISS fair and enjoyed Bangkok.

The ISS fair was much larger than the Search fair; most of the quality schools were at both, and so there would have been many more interview slips to sort through. Also: there are more candidates, and so competition is steeper at ISS than Search.

Were I to do it again, I would enroll in both; I found the schools were VERY eager at Search to sign candidates. When I un-enrolled at ISS, a number of jobs were being crossed off the job list. My advice would be to strike while the iron is hot and try and get a job at Search Bangkok.
by maxsaidno
Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:29 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Heads Say - Int'l Teacher Recruitment Crisis - What Say You?
Replies: 8
Views: 13374

Reasons Observed and Anecdotal

While what I am about to write is based more on perception, I think it holds some water nonetheless; this is my 8th year as an international teacher, and 11th as a teacher in general.

1) I think a major reason for a shortage is that candidates are picky; I've been to 5 fairs in the past years, and at each one it seems the majority of people are going with one or two schools in mind, and if that school doesn't work out, then they go home. Heads of school would thus perceive a shortage simply because they aren't working at that destination: I doubt the head of a school in Rome would see a shortage, whereas a head in Colombia might.

2) International schools continue to open, using the moniker of being international, when they're just profit schools. My first job was at Seoul Foreign School in 2000; at that time, there were 3 other international schools besides SFS, and not all of them were "international." All the students were Korean, and the schools were profit-motivated. Now, at my count, there are something like 9-11 schools in Korea claiming to be international. These schools go to the fairs, and might siphon off a few unwitting young, inexperienced candidates. Or, they simply flood the market with jobs that don't get filled, thus creating the statistic that there are more jobs than teachers.

3) From everything I read from home (USA) there is a teacher shortage there, and that would logically lead to a shortage of people overseas. With the exception of one person, everyone I graduated from college with has left education; most did so in two year's time.

Solution: I think schools need to form an ultra-selective fair. This doesn't mean candidate entry, but school entry. They should create a criteria of what it means to be an international school (student body makeup, philosophy, accreditation, etc) and only allow those schools in the fair. Thus, instead of having 10 schools from Korea, there would only be 1 or 2. This would benefit candidates as well, and root out some of the poorer schools which seem to be the source of so much angst on this website.
by maxsaidno
Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:20 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Can 2 years of teaching experience land you a decent IS job?
Replies: 4
Views: 8080

Experience

At the time of my first overseas job fair, in 2000, I was on my third year of public school teaching. At the time, the job market was quite close, and the various recruitment agencies recommended that I have two years of experience before applying. I attended the UNI conference, and received six offers.

The field is far more open than before, and if you're open (i.e. don't go to a job fair just for one country or one school) you should do just fine. Openness is the key, though: there are many great schools in great countries!
by maxsaidno
Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:32 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Questions about the International School of Manila
Replies: 22
Views: 74311

Money and Experience

When reading posts, keep in mind that for some ISM might be a big step up from where he or she was last posted. It might seem small compared to the other Asian big schools, but it could be larger if someone was coming from a place such as South America.

Also keep in mind that the administration might have asked "cheerleaders" on staff to post positive comments about the school. I'd be more concerned about turnover rate vs. money.
by maxsaidno
Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:39 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Global dating
Replies: 3
Views: 7085

Dating

When you look at dating overseas, you need to look at the issue from a variety of angles:

1) What country are you in, and what is your gender? Single western females tend to struggle in Asia, whereas both genders can date locals in places like Latin America. If you're open to dating people of other ethnicities and nationalities, then what school you work at doesn't matter much.

2) Dating someone you work with can really be a mistake; at every school I've worked at there's always been a "Cassanova" who dates a few ladies on staff, and by the end of the first semester this has caused undue havoc in the workplace. On a professional level, unless you're absolutely crazy about someone, its best to keep your work and private life separate.

3) I've worked at three good international schools, and they've all hired more couples than singles...that's just the way it works. A school is hiring you to teach, not to date, and the school isn't in charge of your social life: you are. You have to be ready for the fact that being single abroad can be lonely.
by maxsaidno
Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:02 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: American School of Lima (Peru)
Replies: 4
Views: 17051

Reading Between the Lines

I'm replying to this thread as an experienced international teacher; I've worked in Asia and S. America for the past 8 years.

If a school is posting a lot of vacancies, it means two things:
a) there is either a large number of teachers who are leaving after multiple years at the school.
b) the school has real problems.

I've had six friends who have worked at the school, and all completed two year contracts and moved on. They all cited the lazy nature of the students, and the fact that Lima was a hard city to live in.

People might respond to this post, refuting either claims I've made above, which is normal. Some will be offended that I characterized the students as lazy, and others will say that Lima and Peru are great places; like everything on this website, keep in mind that it is opinion-generated, and I'm just reporting what six different people told me.

For what it's worth, I turned down a job offer with this school three years ago for these reasons:
1) The school couldn't answer a direct question about safety in Peru.
2) They refused to give any characterization of the student body.
3) They were iffy about nailing down the specifics of the financial package.

Whatever you do, don't take a job over the phone; wait until the job fair and interview face to face with an emploter.
by maxsaidno
Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:26 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Teaching at the top American schools in Asia
Replies: 3
Views: 8129

Rewards and Costs

Heya!

Yes, the teaching in my experience has been very rewarding.

Yes, the demands are much higher, and this is because I feel that large schools tend to take themselves too seriously; somehow the idea of being a "professional" school equates to a breakneck pace. I think it's just the psychology of believing that to be the best one must give all.

Having said that, there's a reason these schools have lines out the door at job fairs, and I don't think it's all just about the money, although that does play a part. Having worked at a school that was the definition of unprofessional, I work where I do now because it is the definition of professional. Life's too short to waste time in a rinky-dink operation.
by maxsaidno
Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:46 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Teaching at the top American schools in Asia
Replies: 3
Views: 8129

Working to the Bone

I've worked in the US, and at three international schools, two of which were in Asia, with the other being in S. America. Both Asian schools are high pressure, large schools. Before replying in full I would state this: I think stereotypes can be dangerous, as schools vary widely with just how much "work" there is. It can be disastrous to stereotype by continent.

The two schools I worked/work at in Asia both paid well, but they had/have much more evolved programs than smaller schools, because each had/has a large staff and many students. A large staff means more hands to do the work, and many students equates to lots of tuition money, and high salaries that attract good teachers. I have, and have had, to work much harder at these to schools than in the States or S. America, because there was much more that was expected.

Working in S. America was a switch from this (I won't go into the US public system...it's a different kettle of fish.) We had only about 1200 kids at my school, and I was able to save about 1100 US a month vs. the 2500 US a month I now save at my Asian school. Besides that, however, was the cultural context. At the particular school I was at, it was quite Latin, there was little pressure to succeed, and most of the teachers didn't care about working at all.

You have to take this into context of two elements: culture and the individual. The culture of Asia is demanding towards academics, and this bleeds into school culture. More importantly, though, is the individual: at both Asian schools I've worked at there were people who did it for the money, but couldn't handle the stress, which lead to them saying they're being worked too hard. However, there are many people who do handle the stress well, and don't feel it's that bad.

Yes, you'll work hard at a large Asian school, but you will be paid well for it, and it is rewarding working with driven individuals.
by maxsaidno
Thu Sep 06, 2007 3:40 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Boy, do I have questions! Korea... (of course south korea)
Replies: 3
Views: 7956

Be Careful

Hi Anne. I worked for 5 years at Seoul Foreign School, and had a very positive experience. However, if you're looking at Korea, be aware of these things:

1) Right now Seoul is the 3rd most expensive city to live in on the planet; if you eat more like a Korean then it's fine, but the odds are is that you could end up living in a very, very small apartment, which is "Korean." Meaning: no oven, but a hot plate. No bed, but a "yo," or mat. Your bathroom would have a showerhead and toilet. It is very basic.

I liked SFS for many reasons, but one was that they gave us Western housing, and treated us well.

2) Only work at an international school: SFS and SIS (Seoul International School) are the two large ones. Obviously, I'm going to be biased towards SFS. However, DO NOT GO WORK FOR A HAGWON, or language school. Yes, some of them are good, but I knew many, many people who worked at hagwons and were quite mistreated by management.

In the sake of fairness, you should know SIS is for profit, and friends I had who worked there mentioned that a lot of decisions centered on profit and not education.

3) Don't just do this to make money; Korea & Seoul can be very frustrating places to work, and some contracts are harder to break than others. Having traveled all over Asia, I can tell you honestly that Seoul is not one of the best places to visit, and it can be very hard living. If you're going to do this, really make sure that you're ready to get in quite possibly over your head. No amount of savings can replace a year or two of a negative experience.

4) If you do this, [u]get everything in writing before you sign a contract.[/u] When you get to Seoul, register with the embassy, especially if you are working for Koreans.
by maxsaidno
Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:53 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Problems with reviews
Replies: 20
Views: 33225

Negative Reviews

As a teacher who has been abroad for 7 years, I would say this: there are some great schools out there, but with the proliferation of schools in the past 4 years or so, there are many, many bad schools that hire teachers under the idea that their school is an international one, when it is not.

Living overseas can be positive, but you have to be wary of these bad schools; the amount of negative reviews reflects the poor recruiting practices of these schools. On top of that, not every country is for everyone. If you love working hard, Latin America may not be your cup of tea, as it is very laid back. If you are doing this for the experience of living abroad and don't care about money, look at Europe.

The simple message is this: there are, in my opinion, a few good schools in every region, many who are average, and sadly, many who are bad. This website helps to let you know where the bad schools are, and where the good ones are.
by maxsaidno
Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:40 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Great schools?!?!
Replies: 3
Views: 8129

Seoul Foreign School

I worked at Seoul Foreign School for five years, and had a great experience. While Korea isn't the best country in Asia, the school is top-notch: they pay their teachers well, the facilities are world class, and more importantly, they treat their teachers as professionals.

Because this is a Christian school, a lot of people are turned off from it, but it is no way shape or form an evangelical school. It's worth checking out.