Hi Teachermom,

I really can't answer that one in an unbiased way. I can tell you that for MY daughter, I would feel comfortable sending her to ISB and Patana in Bangkok. There are many other wonderful schools for certain types of students, and I'm sure that ISB and Patana have their issues as well, but it just seems I haven't heard as much about student issues at those two schools. Maybe I'm just out of the loop, though. If you daughter is a high academic achiever, send her to Shrewsbury; if an athlete, maybe try NIST; if a bit shy, try a smaller school like Regents; if you want the boarding experience, go Harrow. In all cases, it really depends on your daughter and what she will need in a school.

Here in Beijing, we've found what we wanted in a school for our older daughter, so we're willing to live in a city that doesn't quite suit us - the adults - yet.

If you have more specific questions, just e-mail and I'll try to answer.

Hi mathteacher,

sadly, at my last place, there WAS an issue that surfaced. A teacher had a past, but it was 20 years in the past. He had been teaching overseas since the incident (which occurred in the States), and had never been found out (through 2 or 3 jobs). He finally decided to return to the States to face the charges, but this case highlights how easy it is to hide things if a school does not do its due diligence in the hiring process. Of course, this teacher was completely above-board in terms of behaviour and teaching practice - many parents did not believe that he had done anything and that the charges were unfounded - and I don't have information either way, but he was a good teacher in the classroom (from what I saw) and the students loved him as a teacher.

I would question any school whose application is not comprehensive. Our school went from a cursory "who are you as a teacher" application to an 18-page application with various background checks and information requests. Overboard, yes. A guarantee of safety, of course not. I think overseas, it is difficult to be sure of anything.

AND, I've been watching old episodes of [/i]Alias[i], so EVERYTHING is supsect at the moment!
[/i]

Hi Teachermom,

I also worked for a second tier school in Taipei (for 9 years) and enjoyed the life for both myself and my family. The school itself was hard work, but worth it at the time.

I moved from there to Bangkok and loved everything about it - except the schooling for my oldest daughter - and would respond to any questions you have about that school at Grodly@hotmail.com.

I now live in Beijing an teach at a very good school that is great for my daughters, BUT, I don't love Beijing as a city.

I would say Bangkok is a great place to live, and if you find the right school, a place where I would even consider settling down. If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail.

It must be the holidays! Everyone is being so nice to PsyGuy!

I agree with just about everyone in that PsyGuy has given some good advice and some not so good...but as long as the reader keeps an open mind and tries to sift through all the answers from all the posters, makes an informed decision and then goes from there, the forum continues to be an invaluable source of information for all of us.

Happy Holidays!

Hi Sangster,

Dulwich in Beijing is great. I have no idea with the other schools at the moment, as I haven't been yet. I'm doing a Festival in Shanghai in about 2 weeks, so I'll at least get to see that campus. I don't know much about Zhuhai, either.

I DO know Beijing is as polluted as people say, though there have been a few good days as well. We don't have day boarding and the accommodations provided are hit and miss; we "missed" in a way, but have finally sorted things out and are now very comfortable where we are and about a 2 minute walk to campus.

I've been off the site for a while trying to get my head around Beijing and Dulwich in Beijing, but as I was reading through again tonight, I thought to myself: Whatever happened to Ichiro???

Dulwich is great in almost all ways - students, management, staff and package - but not so sure about Beijing yet...

Hi Higgsboson,
do I take it, then, that you work in an American school? I'm in a British school (and was in a "European" school before that), and all grades in years 7-11 are "A-E". Results on in-school tests are percentages, so I guess I could apply a boost to those, but reported grades are all A-E. Does that mean a boost could move a student from a B to an A, or a 6 to a 7 (for IBDP)? That's crazy, if it does mean that...a student who gets a 6 on an IB exam (internal) should get a 6, surely?

Pardon the ignorance, but I'm headed to an IB school after 4 years away from the program...what's a "boost"?

We won't be paying any tuition for our 2 daughters (only I am working, though my wife will be doing cover) and we get an annual flight allowance, but as Americans in a British school, we're assuming we will have to pay a bit as we come from the East Coast and the allowance is based on UK flight prices. The school is in Beijing.

Even I'M enjoying this thread for the entertainment value! Both of you are hilarious on this one...though, the comedy comes mostly from WeDoDude, who stated (about 8 posts ago) that he would 'leave this conversation' with a link...and then he proceeded to continuing arguing with PsyGuy. At least we KNOW PsyGuy is a bit confrontational, but WeDoDude, let it go! You've basically won the debate (of COURSE people with licenses will get looked at first; PsyGuy is just sayin' that they MIGHT get looked at without one, and he's right, because MIGHT means 'possibly' which is (basically) always right.

Discerning readers on here will agree with you on all things EXCEPT that PsyGuy is 'wrong' to say the MIGHT be looked at. Sadly, he's right...it's just that most people don't care about his 0.1% (no, PsyGuy, I have no proof of that number), they will care about your 99.9% WITH licenses (no, I don't have any proof of THAT number, either).

I'm gonna go read about the letter to the Admin now!

Hi Mathman,

just for information, I don't believe the school where I am currently is a "crap" school....though there are a lot of Thai nationals, it's still a highly-regarded school in Bangkok - right up there with ISB, Patana and NIST (at least I believe it is, in terms of examination grades and general British schooling).

BUT, again, I agree with you that in MOST cases, one teacher, three dependants, is detrimental.

for jboeh, we may even have a job available if you hurry...

Hi,

as a single teacher with trailing spouse and 2 children, it's not quite an "asset", but it definitely helped with getting my current position (in Thailand).
It was actually mentioned at interview that they were looking for families (more stable), and especially with school-age children as it is a highly-Thai national student body.
BUT, I agree that it can easily be a detriment and something they might use against you if there are two like candidates.

Finally, it's late in the hiring season, so getting a job might be easier now than earlier in the season. Any thoughts on that from other posters?

Sorry PsyGuy, but can I contradict you? I know of a fellow teacher in Brunei who actually has been back in her home country fighting cancer since January and doing chemo; she will be returning to work in September. Perhaps this is an exception to the rule, but it's true nonetheless. BUT, I agree that it probably isn't the norm.

Hey TDaley...ended up at Dulwich Beijing...should be a blast!

Hi PsyGuy,

I'm sure you'll take some abuse about the "upfront airfare" comment, but I'm just asking here...

At my next place of employment (in Beijing), they have asked me to pay for the tickets and they will reimburse me "when I arrive in Beijing". Do you consider this a warning sign? OR, are you saying that schools that reimburse "at the END of a contract" are the ones that are trouble?

For background information, this school does promise "annual flights", but the amount they've quoted me won't be quite enough for a roundtrip ticket from NYC to Beijing. I'm planning on buying a one-way ticket from NYC to Beijing and then hoping that the school will have deals for r/t tickets that fit into their allowance.

(for those of you who are going to call me stupid for asking PsyGuy anything, I'm really asking anyone's opinion here. I take all of what you all have to say with a grain of salt, and am just canvassing opinions.)

The reason I ask is that I haven't heard a bad word about this place yet and the fact that they aren't "providing me with a first ticket" has actually surprised me. The place I'm at now flew me in initially, sending me e-tickets that they paid for up front.

Thanks for input from anyone, especially if you happen to be in Beijing and know the scoop about what most schools there do about initial flights.