Hello, always want to thank everyone for the great support and helpful answers I've benefited from in the past, haven't asked anything in awhile and my first question was about 6 years ago.

Quick question now about recommended state to change a teaching certification to for a US teacher. I'm currently renewing my Florida certification. I meet the requirements because I recently earned a Masters in Ed. I remember seeing a post on this forum awhile ago recommending a state to change one's teaching license to for renewal purposes. Unfortunately I cannot find it by searching because the words used are too common. I plan to continue international school teaching for the foreseeable future. If anyone is aware of a state worth going through this process for, please let me know.

Thank you.

Hello, want to say thanks again as always for the advice I've gotten in the past. This is my fourth question. I find the feedback and answers invaluable.

There is currently a very convenient Masters in Educational Leadership program available for me to attend. It will probably never be this convenient, and the entire duration of the program is about 1.5 years, from an accredited university in the U.S. Previously I was given the advice that besides getting a masters degree in general, this is the specific kind program I should be looking at ideally if I'm interested in getting into leadership.

I've asked a few senior people in my school as well, and have gotten one piece of advice that really struck me, that I should pursue this kind of program when I'm already in some level of leadership so that there is something to apply what I'm learning to. I took this thought a bit further and noted that the coworkers in the next level up from me do not have masters degrees, so it's also clear that having a degree like that is not a requirement. Additionally, at the moment I am just an ordinary IT, and from talking to some of the leadership I think it is likely that I won't be offered any more responsibility than I currently have for next year.

So, is it a good idea to pursue a degree that I 1.) likely won't need for a position anytime soon, and 2.) won't be able to put into practice for probably at least a year and a half from now.


Thanks again for the advice on my most recent post, I've talked to some others and have gotten similar feedback, as well as just over time getting a better understanding of how international schools work. I'm much more interested in moving up the pastoral side of things and not over-qualifying myself to teach math or be the HOD in math, as that seems to be a more clear path into eventual leadership.

Thanks all for the quick replies. It's good to have this answer about pursuing further education, because I really don't want to invest the money if it's not worthwhile, but it sounds like it can be in the future, and I do believe I have some educational leadership courses available. I am happy to hear that my tier 2 IS will offer good opportunity to advance through turnover, this makes a lot of sense. Other roles within IB that can be good such as examiner and leading workshops are some good ideas that I've considered but haven't yet done myself.

The idea of dropping back down to a tier 3 IS, which is what I came from is something to think about. I didn't have direct opportunities to advance at that school for the two years that I was there, and I guess it was possible that something would open up, the turnover for people in those positions really wasn't very high, the math department head has no sign of leaving, and even if he did, the most qualified person under him also had no intent of leaving. The school had Chinese government affiliation which also meant that most leadership positions were held by Chinese teachers (perhaps former teachers in some cases). All in all, I think the school I'm going to may offer a good combination of a school worth staying at for many years that also values its teachers with ambition to have leadership positions and provides the opportunity for them to do so. From talking to former teachers and leadership it seems like something they try to do and are somewhat able to do due to turnover.

In any case, you all have given me a lot to think about in the upcoming years, I'll probably be able to use this advice for the next 2-3 years building myself into the best possible candidate. Thank you again.

Hi, this is my third question on here, and so I want to start with a thanks for the previous guidance I've received, as it has been invaluable. After the last piece of advice over two years ago, I spent two years at an IB MYP and DP certified school teaching mathematical studies and a few other classes. Two years of students graduated under my instruction, and while their mathematical ability was in question prior to my instruction, they ended up doing pretty well, particularly in the school year that recently ended. I then attended one of the recommended Search Associates fairs this year and got a new job at what would be considered a high tier 2 school. I feel I've more or less followed every piece of advice I've been given exactly, and I've been very fortunate to have gotten the opportunities that I have. Again, thank you to those of you who advised me. Without this advice I would not have known what to pursue for my teaching certification, what job fairs to attend, or what experience is most valuable for my career.

My question now is what to do next to best set myself up for the future. My current plan is to try to teach more advanced levels of mathematics (DP SL and HL) to expand my experience and help me to be more easily employable in the future. Then I would like to attain some leadership position, most likely starting with head of a mathematics department, and later move on and up. To give a little more background on myself, my teaching certification is in mathematics, my undergraduate degree is not, and I don't have a masters degree. I plan to take an active role outside of the classroom as well coaching sports, leading extracurricular activities, etc., anything that will show my desire and ability to succeed and lead.

So, what steps should I take in order to best set myself up for leadership positions? Should I pursue additional education? If so, what should I pursue additional education in? Lastly, I know this is probably very school-specific, but could anyone recommend what activities I should involve myself with? Any other advice is greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks everyone for the clear responses. My gut instinct is telling me to go for the IB school.

I am looking to eventually progress to higher-tiered international schools, and thus I think gaining IB experience now will be conducive to this.

Thank you.

Hi, I last asked a question a little less than a year ago. Since then, I've become certified in K-12 math through the Teacher Ready program and taught math at an international school in a Tier-2 city in China. To give more background on myself, I have a B.A. in Psychology, and completed 2 years of a joint PhD/Master's program, during which I served as a TA, thus gaining teaching experience and receiving my post-graduate education for free. Following this, I took some time doing other things including substitute teaching. After a few years I headed for China with the idea of beginning a teaching career and learning Chinese.

In my second placement in China I was asked to tutor math (in English) to the school owner's daughter, then subsequently assigned Math Language classes in that school. I used that to acquire my current position prior to certification: teaching middle school math at an international school, with the plan to acquire a math teaching certification, which I did. I chose math because it is an in-demand subject, and although I have never majored in it, I have always been exceptionally good at the subject when learning or being tested on it in the past.

My goal is to attain a better position and gain experience each year, and so for next year I've been looking for IB and/or high school teaching positions for math, and have found both. I've been offered a few different positions thus far, including a freshly accredited (2015) IB school, which I would join the math department of. They are a K-12 school, and I would teach one middle school math class and 2-3 high school math classes. The pay is less than I would have hoped for, and the same that I'm being paid currently. However, so far this is the only IB school who has offered me a position, and thus I'm looking at this as an opportunity to add IB experience to my resume. Thinking realistically, I must acknowledge that as my degree is not in Math I need to accumulate a few years of successful experience teaching math to prove my ability of teaching it effectively.

I've been offered some other opportunities next year, such as a Chinese school with an international department in which I would be teaching Pre-calc/Calculus, and paid quite a bit more than the IB school. I should clarify that the original position I was offered at this school was Grade 10 Math Language. The intent is for these students to study in Australia, but I think that when they are admitted to the program their English level may be insufficient. The plan is for them to be taught Math in English exclusively after their first year.

I've visited both schools, and although the Chinese school seems well-equipped, the IB international school seems to have better facilities and resources. That said, the foreign teachers at the Chinese school are all from English-speaking countries, while the foreign teachers of the math department at the international school are from Pakistan and Slovenia.

One question I asked the schools is how many of the students are admitted to English-speaking countries' universities following graduation. I have a small impression that regardless of the capability of the individual, students that can afford to attend an international school versus just an international department are in a better position. I wonder whether it may be easier to teach the students at the international department, as I think they are likely better students, but I think that it will probably look better on my resume to teach the students at the international school, and a majority of them will be admitted to schools at a variety of Universities in English-speaking countries.


With this information in mind, what do you think of my career plans? What do you think of these two school offers in particular, and which would be more valuable for my credentials and future?

I appreciate any and all feedback I receive. Thank you.

I understand, thanks. I think I'm thinking too much into this. I've heard several times that only post-certificate experience really matters or is relevant, so choosing between these international departments or the low tier international school(s) I can get into is probably going to look about the same. and I have a long way to go towards legitimacy.

Thanks for the quick reply and the honesty. I'd rather know as much as I can now than find out later I've been wasting my time doing x. And thanks again for your other posts. I was going to ask a second question here about the alternative certification programs Teacher Ready, Teach-Now, and PGCEi, but I think I know enough, about them to make a decision, a good part from the information you've posted about them.

I do have one followup question do you think it's going to be valuable teaching this "ESL-math" over just teaching ESL perhaps in a better location? I can find these math jobs in certain Tier 2 cities at the moment, while if I just taught ESL English, I would be able to work literally anywhere in China, such as a bigger Tier 2 city or a Tier 1 city. Although I feel a little stupid typing this, as teaching math will be useful to me experience-wise if not on paper, and I'll feel better about myself not being 'just another English teacher' in China, and thus I'm not likely willing to give up these advantages even though there are cities I would probably rather live in (Chengdu, Shenzhen, maybe Beijing/Shanghai).

Hi ISR. I'm new, first post. I've been lurking awhile and have learned a lot, and although I can see you've heard it a lot by now, thank you, I've been very impressed by how clear and informative responses to questions generally are.

I live in China. I don't know much about international schools and/or international departments outside of China. That said, in China there are some high schools with international departments. Some of these schools have very good reputations within China according to the Chinese college entrance exam and where the students later study abroad: http://gaokao.haedu.gov.cn/2015/04/30/1 ... 10298.html. I've been offered work in the international department of two of these schools within the top 25, in math and computers/IT. Background on myself: unrelated degree, no certification yet, ESL teaching exp, .5 years teaching math, so these schools and other offers (from international schools) I've procured are probably pretty near the top of what I should expect.

A specific example of this kind of school is a public school that is perhaps the number 1 public high school in a provincial capital, but also has an international department. While it seems clear these schools are very well-regarded as far as the Chinese college entrance examination is concerned, and as far as their main (Chinese) schooling goes, I'm not sure if this in general carries over to the international department at all. Does it make sense to consider schools like this with an international department versus pure international schools in general?