With some notable exceptions like the American International School of Lagos or Bombay, American Schools don't seem to pay as well as their British or even International counterparts.

I don't think your point about international schools attracting Australian, New Zealand and South African teachers because they will accept lower salaries holds much water. The US dollar has become so devalued that it's almost reached parity with the Aussie dollar, so where's the benefit?

Senator I'm not quite sure you've got it quite right by saying "MOST international school teachers have not had many positive experiences at their schools".

I don't think we hear from the top tier international schools because they really have very little to complain about. Anyone here from Jakarta IS, or Vienna IS, or Southbank in London or the American School in London, or Anglo-American in Moscow?

I haven't worked in any top-tier schools but I've had some fantastic experiences. The positives far outweigh the negatives in my experience. In fact, I'm at a school that is part of an organisation that has had some terrible reviews on ISR but I'm feeling more fulfilled in my classroom at the moment than I have for years.

Many teachers that I know are not crusaders out to put the world of international education right. They're happy doing what they do best, teaching. Only they're in an international context rather than at home.

I also have to agree with Overhere, and not just about the US. Many teachers have left their national education system because amongst other things they are overly bureacratic, there is way too much red tape, and class sizes are far larger than on the international circuit.

I'd also say that your categorisation of teachers as either being super teachers or incompetents is way too simplistic. I don't have the time or inclination to list them but there are probably at least 50 variables that affect teachers and their practice.

Mmmmm... I wonder why?

Let see, it can't be because they're having difficulty keeping staff. We all know there are no poorly run international schools, well, at least that's what we pretend. After all we're not supposed to talk about them because teachers who complain are just whingers.

Maybe the 'don't talk about the problems' brigade would like to explain why?

Hey, what about one of those super slick administrators that have difficulty retaining staff telling us why.

Scott if your views reflect your experience in the international schools circuit you're very inexperienced. What exactly do excellent school facilities tell you about a school? Precious little. Your dismissive summary of the teacher who was unreliable and ended up with a nervous breakdown tells me more about you than the other teacher. You can't see the wood for the trees.

In my experience I would say that it's unlikely that most of the teachers who've broken contract feel happy doing it. Its not like they set out to work overseas with the intent of breaking contract. They're well aware of the implications of this action. It would be very interesting to know how many of them work overseas again and if they ever break contract again. The only people you should direct your bile at are those repeatedly break contract.

You may find it despicable that people break contract but there again I doubt you've ever been in their position. It sounds to me that like the rest of the little clique on this BB that don't like the bad news you're shooting the messenger rather than acknowledging the problem.

It seems to me that there are largely 2 or 3 major problem areas in international education and most of the posts on this BB relate to those problem areas.

1] Many private/bilingual schools owned by a rich/powerful local who has decided that a private school employing English speaking teachers from the first world seems to be one of the biggest problem areas. A number of schools from Kuwait and the Mid. East seem to appear regularly on ISR, Mexico and S. America also get a hearing and Thailand and the Far East are also in the news. The problems here often arise out of intercultural misunderstandings. The owners often don't understand what they're getting when they employ foreigners and the foreign teachers find out that a school that claims to follow the English National Curriculum isn't an English school at all. Although the intercultural area is a minefield, there are many teachers who love this environment and learn effective survival strategies to cope with the uncertainties of life in 'interesting places'.

2] Then there are the school owners and managers, who are either downright dishonest or have no interest in education, they're in it just for the money. Often people wanting to move into international education end up at schools in the above two groups. The reason they do so is because the upper echelon international schools require two or more years international teaching experience, unless you're an IT network specialist or you teach High School Maths or Chemistry. So the newbies who accept jobs at these schools don't realise what they're letting themselves in for. A recipe for disaster.

3] And finally, school heads or managers who are incompetent, inexperienced, vindictive or are just promoted above their ability level. Many of these nightmares seem to recycle from one school to another going from one continent to another leaving a trail of burned, unhappy teachers behind them.

There are lots and lots of really good international schools out there, well managed, who look after their staff, have good benefits, pay well, etc. etc. However they are difficult to get into, precisely because they are good. Staff turnover at these schools is often very low, with long queues at job fairs for a handful of openings. Their administrators are often on the ball, have good management and leadership skills and the staff are generally very happy.

If all international schools and their administrators were like this ISR wouldn't exist. But they aren't and it does.

There is a thread on ENS on the other forum. No shortage of comment there.

"Besides, if you scratch off every developing, oppressive country on your list, you are left with mostly Western Europe."

Its not as simple as this, although you're probably aware of that. There are many developing countries where corruption is rife and things don't work so well, but Burma stands apart as a feudal dictatorship.

"Its only the ruling general thats a jerk, but a nice jerk.... he is keeping alive the opposition."

Again, you seem to be a little 'coy' with the truth here. The Generals' response to opposition rallies is anything but 'nice'.

What are the little quotes etc at the end of your posts are all about?

I guess not at UK curriculum schools, I'm not sure about European schools. Given Suquita's US credentials I assumed s/he would be applying to a US school.

There is a network of US schools across Europe and in Eastern Europe, I'm not sure there are as many UK or European International Schools.

Suquita, a non-teaching spouse limits your options. For example:
- some schools won't hire you because you're more expensive (2 airfares, larger accommodation etc),
- you won't be able to afford to live in some countries if you need to save. Some European schools don't pay for accommodation or airfares and you have to pay tax after 2 years.

Having said that, having a non-teaching spouse doesn't mean you can't work internationally. You just need to be aware that not all doors are open to you. I have a non-teaching spouse and have taught in 5 countries on 4 continents for the past 14 years. It sounds like you're a US citizen so that already move you forward in the queue.

From my experience and discussions with others, the trend used to be that schools could afford to be more 'picky' at early fairs and only the 'perfect fit' applicants were offered positions. At one job fair, although I had 3 interviews with a Director and it all looked really good he said he couldn't offer me a position because he had 5 other fairs he had to attend????? About 7 weeks later I received a mail from him asking if I was still interested in the position I'd interviewed for.

The closer to June it gets the less 'picky' schools seem to become. They have positions to fill and there are fewer and fewer applicants still looking. The downside to this is that the 'best' schools/positions get filled earlier rather than later.

I understand that over the last two years the situation has started to change and that schools are finding it harder to find the applicants they're looking for.

Schools that have difficulty recruiting are less picky and are more inclinded to offer positions at the early job fairs or to early applicants.

Specialed, if it took you 2 years to realise you needed to move on then that's the time it took you to get over it. I don't think Michael is ready to move on. I hope that by the end of next year I'll be able to view the use of the terms 'collaborative', 'team' and 'essential agreements' without feeling intensly cynical.

I didn't stick around and fight because there was no point and it would have been detrimental to the school, certainly not because I was ready to move on. However it seems that six months after leaving the school it's imploded, so I'm happy I made the move.

I agree with Nexttrip and have no problem with what Michael Infante is doing. In fact I admire him for taking this course of action. As Nexttrip says - schools like this aren't accountable to anyone. The fact that they foul the waters of international education concerns me, as a professional. The fact that recruitment agencies like the COIS, SEARCH, ISS and TIE recruit for these schools concerns me even more.

However, what is going to become a problem for Michael, and I guess you're right to point this out to him, if he intends to stay teaching in the international circuit he's rocking the boat and administrators don't like 'boat rockers'. Its a cosy little club and everyone knows everyone else.

Ellen & Seacat

I taught at CCB in Cali, Colombia. The top 2 schools in Cali, Bolivar (US) and CCB (UK) aren't on the AASSA Member Schools list, although I see that Bolivar is an 'Invitational Member' what ever that means. They also seem to be missing quite a few of the Bogota schools.

There are a number of UK curriculum schools throughout SA, as well as IB schools. Depending on location and timing, nationality isn't an issue. The UK schools seem to prefer UK trained teachers but will take US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and South African teachers. Most US schools seem to prefer US teachers but will take any nationality if they can't get US citizens.

Colombia seems more secure under Uribe than before but even if it isn't if you're sensible you should be fine.

CCB had a high foreign staff turnover rate, largely because of cross-cultural issues.

specialed, while you obviously intend well, and its true that the best way to get over the anger and frustration of being burned by a school is to move on, somehow you manage to sound glib and patronising when you do it. Your little 'move on' posts seem to indicate that you've never been burned by a school, in which case you really aren't the right person to be giving this advice. Stick to what you do best - ie giving advice based on your experience.

I don't know the school but I had a friend working in the city. Apparently the climate leaves a lot to be desired, very humid, overcast and cloudy for much of the year. Ask about the climate and pollution before you make a decision.

I'm at a school in Southern China, the salary is about 36000, with no airfare or medical cover for spouse. We're saving more than my whole salary in a couple of other places (I have a non-teaching spouse). They do offer a gratuity at the end of every 2 year contract, 11% and then 20%.

Many Far Eastern cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Singapore are prohibitively expensive, so I would have to earn double my salary here to save what I'm saving now. I can't speak for Jakarta, Bangkok or KL, although I believe those places aren't too expensive. However the range of salaries in each of the cities you mention will also differ significantly. You need to compare ISM with other schools in Manilla and the Philippines rather than schools in other countries.

Do you have salary info on Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, or Vientiane?