Reaching Out to SLT

How has your school dealt with racist comments made by students to a current staff member's child? Also sadly these racist comments are targeted at the mother when the family also goes out into the community. Prefer not to mention ethnicity. Please note I'm also in the ILT/SLT

Oh for crying out loud, please

@PsyGuy and @Heliotrope

Sadly off topic, can we try and stay focused to the original question at hand, cheers

I'm not new to the international scene, but this is the first time HR and Staff from a new school are requesting us to do so many things, 4 months before we actually arrive. Aside from the paperwork things for visas etc, which is standard. We have been requested to join a number of social media groups (WhatsApp/WeChat) for communicating instead of using email, which now people from all over the world are asking questions at their own different timezones (let's not talk about the lack of professional lines these social groups can cause), we are requested to do Powerpoints as a way of introducing ourselves and family to current staff, we are requested to join a number of online sessions with SLT some going a few hours, some staff are even doing interviews for potential new staff joining, we have been requested to do a staff bio including a video introduction of ourselves this is marketing, selling the new staff to of course parents. While I understand all of this, at what point does someone put a line in the sand and say sorry but we haven't started working for you as of yet, and if you need to how would you word it?

Of course, some no doubt will read this and think it shouldn't be an issue and it's the schools just doing their dual diligence before they have staff arriving.

@Philzim please re-read my comment which you haven't answered and have gone off on a complete tangent not asking to compare your past and present IB schools, would like the below questions answered if at all possible.

1. What does the IB IB Framework has over the rest, and why is it so hard for educators to get into an IB school without the experience unless they are open to diving into a less desirable country?

2. Also once in an IB school and you move up into leadership positions how does that improve your chance to move up the ladder in a more desirable country?

3. Also does working in an IB school narrow your job prospect as you haven't been exposed to other curriculums?


Philzim wrote:
> In some ways this demarcation of IB schools vs the rest is a little
> misleading.
>
> I think the question is: "to what extent does IB accreditation make
> the school an "IB" school ?"
> or "are all IB schools similar ?", or "what is 'IB-ness'
> ?".
>
> I've worked in 4 schools that had IB accreditation, and all 4 schools were
> very different to each other.
>
> School 1 was a very big Y7-13 school offering DP alongside an attenuated UK
> national curriculum G6-10. This school was very similar to a UK grammar
> school in culture, language and practices. The DP was very successful, but
> it was merely one element of a range of factors that made this school
> successful. At this school hiring practices were more focussed on getting
> the best teachers from UK, rather than thinking about developing an
> internationally minded faculty, IB experience barely flickered on the
> register.
>
> School 2 was a medium size mixed boarding & day K-12 school offering
> IPC, Common Core (G6-8), iGCSE & DP. All of the students were national
> students (incl. boarders), yet the school had strong international values,
> and felt like a true international sch. When you walked through the door
> this school immediately felt like an IB school, international mindedness
> was not just an element of this sch (like sch 1), but was articulated
> through their many curricula. Leadership & faculty at this school were
> all very IB minded ("part of the cult" as a forum member here
> might say, or "good people who have clear values about the role of
> education" as I would say). Faculty here were about 50% UK and 50%
> rest of the world, and those UK colleagues were very internationally
> minded. At this school we hired people who were a good fit for our approach
> (emphasis on inquiry approach, lots of activities, a propensity to
> out-doorness, etc), this was a far stronger factor than any IB experience.
>
> School 3 was a medium size K-12 IB World School, offering all 4 programmes,
> no other curricula - just IB. Purportedly this school existed for IB (much
> modelled after UWC), and was outwardly drenched in the IB values, mission,
> practices etc etc. The faculty were very international (only 4 Brits in a
> faculty of 75, colleagues came from 20+ countries), and the students were
> about 50:50 national:international. However, the local context, ownership
> issues, and institutional legacy meant that much of the 'IB-ness' of this
> school was surface presentation only. At this school IB experience was
> strongly preferred, but we still hired people without IB experience.
>
> School 4 - a medium sized K-12 school offering self written curricula K-10,
> and DP. Despite the DP being the only IB bit on top of 10 preceding yrs of
> non-IB curriculum this school fairly exemplifies the IB values and
> practices. International mindedness is there in the air..., the school has
> been "born that way". Hiring practices at this school certainly
> like IB experience, but it's not a requirement.
>
> So, it's interesting that all 4 IB schools were very different to each
> other, the school doing the most IB (only IB) was the least IB in practices
> (esp Leadership practices), yet the school offering the widest range of
> curricula was the most IB.
>
> To further demonstrate the point: I worked at 2 government schools in my
> national system that were far more "IB" than schools 1,3 & 4
> above, yet neither of these schools had barely heard of IB. Both schools
> were offering UK national curriculum, but they managed to be very
> "IB" in the school values, ways of working, expectations etc
> without it being labelled as IB. After all, IB was developed from the work
> of Kurt Hahn at Gordonstoun in Scotland, and the Atlantic College in Wales.
> - those values are available to all educators regardless of the curriculum
> stamp on the schemes of work.

Regarding Japan, from personal experience please note the following and if you did get an interview these need to be discussed with the school.

Questions to ask about living in Japan

For your first year -
What are your health insurance payments every month?
What are your pension payments every month?
What are your Ward tax payments every month?
What are your unemployment insurance payments every month?
(On top of your rent each month) and utilities

What are these repayments in your 2nd year?
On top of your income tax payments (they kick in in your second year)
What will be your second-year take-home pay each month, then consider rent, electricity, gas, and water each month

What will your repayments be for all of these in your third year (each year your take-home pay decreases to make up for the income tax you didn’t pay in your first year) Now work out how much you can afford to rent, and ask if your school helps with renting as it’s very difficult to find rentals that accept foreigners

Is a housing allowance offered? This will be taxed so it won’t be the said amount.
Do they offer a travel allowance? Again, this will be taxed so you will be out of pocket.

Education for children is taxed and the higher the fee that means more you have to pay in tax at the end of the year, when they say it's free education, this is only free if you are given a scholarship, education is taxed.

Do you hold a passport to claim your pension back (if you leave before 5 years you might be able to receive your pension back - it’s a good idea to ask)

Finally, what will be your departure tax when you finish in Japan (hint - an entire years tax you will owe)

@popgirl, Not the question as I have said have taught both locally and internationally for over 2 decades now, what I meant is that it seems a lot of educators once they are in and using the IB curriculum tend to stay in the IB curriculum, does this then narrow your opportunity in the future to seek other schools which use a different curriculum.

I have taught for a number of years both locally and internationally, this has opened the doors for me to experience a number of curriculums. I'm just curious about what the IB Framework has over the rest, and why is it so hard for educators to get into an IB school without the experience unless they are open to diving into a less desirable country. Also once in an IB school and you move up into leadership positions how does that improve your chance to move up the ladder in a more desirable country? Also does working in an IB school narrow your job prospect as you haven't been exposed to other curriculums?

With my next role, I get a nice PD allowance, so I have started to research the best place to do my Online Master in Education Leadership, one thing I have noticed is that prices from a variety of Universities and lengths vary.

Can I have a list of universities (links) where people have done this online, please? So can be used for future reference for other people interested in pursuing this.

@Hellotrope,

Thanks, just happened now, on holiday and the HR wanted to do an interview, going through the CV for clarification, then straight into salary expectations. I did mention I've recently received information from Heads etc about salary expectations but felt very uncomfortable answering this before an actual interview took place. I gave them a figure due to the research I have done and the contract I recently received.

Why is it now more common for HR Recruitment Managers working for a school, to do the first phase of interviews? I understand it is to filter out the candidates before interviews with DP Or Heads actually happen, but when they go straight into asking what your expected salary is, I feel very uncomfortable answering this before an actual interview happens. I ask if they have a salary scale and if are they willing to share it but also responded by saying, I think I should be paid according to my skill sets within leadership, years of experience and what I can bring to the school. Now you don't want to shoot for the stars and be too high, but then again don't want to shoot too low. I have asked recruiters and Heads what my current market value is due to the above experiences, so base my answers on that.

What techniques or responses do you give when getting asked this question?

@jschott,

Thanks for your response, if you read the first page of the post the location is also an issue more to do with the family makeup which is vital as there will be fewer foreigners but also a specific ethnicity (which I'm not going to go into detail) but this aspect is essential for my family language development and to learn the correct customs of that culture. Different cities in the same country would provide this. Also, the accommodation is an issue as it's onsite— and on another post. I have been overseas teaching for over 18 years and always put my family first, but this is a great opportunity for career growth and development. Just can my family mentally handle it for a couple of years (million-dollar question)

The only thing it's giving me is an opportunity to work in a curriculum that I haven't really worked in. Also, the Leadership opportunity is in my skill set and passion, nothing I haven't had experience in before. But would be good to get back on the horse. I have applied for a number of leadership roles within my experience.

@ PsyGuy. if the salary was strong, that is something we would have considered, but it's a strong opportunity for career development hence the pickle. So have to make a list of the pro vs the cons. Thanks for your input.

Very true, We are a small family, that likes to keep our working and social life very much separate. Socializing with colleagues is very much something I don't do/ We keep our close friends close and enjoy spending time with them, but to live onsite and potentially dealing with colleagues outside of my work would do our heads in. Also, this would be hard on my partner and child not having the freedom. While I see the positives for some people, we just need that space for our mental well-being. Also, there is no outdoor living option (balcony), the only way to get this is to go downstairs to get outside. Would what would happen if Covid lockdown happened (does one need to be stuck in their apartment and not allowed to go outside??)

While staff have sold it and said....everyone is very private, but if you want to join for social activities you can blah blah, you just don't know how it will be until you are there, and if it doesn't work well you are stuck and that could have issues with family and wellbeing.