I've been teaching in a high school classroom for 20+ years- 4 different countries, 6 different schools. I'd like to transition into either counseling (social and/or university admissions) or the library. I have U.S. teaching certification, a masters degree in literature and, as I said, 20 years of experience including IB and AP.

I still love the students and my subject. I just feel like I can't do another 10 years of marking and planning.

What would be the best way for me to get credentialed as either a counselor or librarian? I don't plan to go back to the U.S., so whatever is accepted readily in international schools would be best. Ideally most of the work would be online so I can do it from my current location. Would appreciate any guidance or suggestions. Thanks in advance.

I really dislike tutoring, so I charge $100 an hour (high school subjects). I avoid it as much as possible, but some parents are willing to pay that steep price, and so I let them twist my arm.

BTW, as a parent I pay about $25 per hour for my daughter's tutoring, but this is for middle school math.

I agree with you, Shadowjack; I would love to know what's out there. We are happy at our current school but would make a move next year if the right opportunity came up. We have archived Search accounts, but I don't know if I'm willing to let my current admin know that I'm interested in looking next year. I would need a recommendation from a current supervisor, wouldn't I, to activate our files again?

The Bangkok fairs start this week. Would love to read "fair diaries" if anyone is so inclined. I don't think we're leaving our present school anytime soon, but we love the excitement of "the hunt." A vicarious thrill.

Good luck to everyone job seeking. Stay cool and calm; you'll find something great.

Thanks, Eion. We are familiar with this guy. In fact, we moved our money out of schemes set up with the approval of schools and into ETFs. And the funds are doing well. Just wondering if we should diversify even more by buying a property too. Lots to think about.

We're a teaching couple with 20 years experience. We've done about 10 overseas and will probably do another 8-10 before retirement. We were kind of late to the game, but in the last few years we've been investing in ETFs (exchange traded funds) in the U.S.

We don't know where we'll wind up after retirement. Maybe back in the U.S. but very likely somewhere less expensive. But our kids will probably go to university in the U.S., so we've been thinking about buying a piece of property as an investment. With the place we have in mind we could probably collect rent that would be just a bit more than the mortgage. We're also hoping this will earn us in-state tuition for the kids (although I've heard that owning property alone might not be enough). And then in some time we'd sell it for what we hope would be a profit or live in it without a mortgage.

Does this make sense or is it better to just keep investing in our diversified market funds? We've been enjoying a relatively modest lifestyle overseas, but we're starting to get worried without any pension and not much in social security earnings. Any advice appreciated.

Well, PsychGuy, if the IB students actually want an IB diploma, they have to take six exams. Otherwise they would be considered "courses" students and just earn certificates in the subjects they test in. The diploma, although not for everyone, is the brass ring, so most students at least attempt the exams in all 6 of their subjects. The IB diploma can still be quite accessible, however, with the right mix of courses at the right levels (higher level and standard level).

This doesn't really answer the OP's question, but attempts to clarify the above poster's reply which, I think, could be misconstrued by someone who doesn't know the IB Diploma program very well.

Overhere, were you able to use the house you bought to establish residency for in-state tuition purposes? Our kids have a few more years in our international school, but we're thinking about buying something for just that purpose. However, I hear it might not be that easy. Because they will have graduated overseas, they might not be considered in-state residents in the state where we own a house. Do you have any idea if that's true?

There are different ways of looking at teaching load. I'm North American, but from my understanding, British teachers are used to teaching 5,6, 7 preps and find our "complaining" about that work load puzzling. I can never understand that myself. If you have a certain number of hours to plan, even if that number is very generous, you still have to split that time between 2 different courses or 5 different courses, for example. It seems like the lighter prep load will always have better planned classes.

I think it's the latter, PsyGuy. There's some fundamental issue with the way the schedule is set up. Different sections of the same class (three sections of Economics, for example) run at the same time. Therefore, 3 different teachers are teaching it. That's nice for collaboration, but it means that each of us is taking on several different classes. This past year I was "collaborating" with 5 other people. So in one 40 minute session a week we were trying to plan units with common assessments, share teaching practices and resources, and standardize marking. Needless to say, it didn't get done.

We can only hope that someone looks seriously at the scheduling in the high school and things change in the following years. Either that or a good lot of experienced and highly competent teachers will move on to someplace with a more reasonable work load so that we can ply our craft more effectively.

Here's what I'm fighting for next year:

1 TOK Class
Grade 12 Econ
Grade 12 History
Grade 11 Econ
Grade 11 History
Grade 10 MYP Humanities

Class sizes are reasonable- between 10 and 23 students, but this seems like a lot of different preps for a medium sized school (1100 students K-12).

My principal thinks I'm soft or something because even with 6 different preps it's only 26 out of 40 periods of teaching, so he's not inclined to look for a solution. A few other teachers have similar schedules but most are dealing with 3-4 preps over 5 classes.

I'm curious what other people think.

Nicely said, Thames Pirate. I was going to respond, but you've said it all.

I've taught both for several years (not at the same time).

Although it's true that IB planning and paperwork is more time consuming, there are more significant differences too. In the tests I'm familiar with, the IB exam papers (and therefore the course) require much more depth of understanding, critical thinking, and the ability to synthesize information. The AP test requires more content knowledge and in some instances this means more memorization of facts, terms, etc.

Because the IB program requires many more assessments per course, students are also tested on a greater variety of applications for their knowledge. For example, the AP literature exam is composed of a bunch of multiple choices questions about readings and terminology and 3 pretty straightforward literary essays. The IB Literature requires an oral presentation, an oral exam (close reading skills and response), a 1500 word essay produced in school and in untimed conditions, an exam essay on an unseen text, and an exam essay responding to a question that pertains to at least 2 texts read during the course.

And because the IB diploma requires the core (Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay, and Action/Service), it's a more comprehensive program although the College Board is attempting something similar with the Capstone Project.

Hope that helps.

Schutz American School in Alexandria, Egypt.

I have to concur. The beaches in Oman are beautiful. Lovely white sand, not very rocky, and most are in coves so surrounded by fascinating rock outcroppings.