Search found 1167 matches

by Heliotrope
Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:30 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Family Living Locations
Replies: 5
Views: 680

Re: Family Living Locations

applecake wrote:
> Wondered if we were looking for a throwback to the 80s where we had family
> neighborhoods and kids biking in the streets reminicent to Stranger Things
> - which schools / cities would be best to take a closer look at?

This sounds a lot like how other teachers have described the housing compounds for some schools in Saudi Arabia (Aramco, KAUST, AIS Riyadh, AIS Jeddah, probably a few more).
by Heliotrope
Wed Feb 14, 2024 2:21 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Qualification options after PGCE
Replies: 3
Views: 555

Re: Qualification options after PGCE

I think there's an assessment-only pathway to certification. Not sure if this is true for all US states, but it's worth looking into. Then you'd only have to pay the exam-fees. Not sure what the qualifications for this is, but Google and learn.
by Heliotrope
Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:32 pm
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: Fair reports?
Replies: 1
Views: 2034

Re: Fair reports?

Very few people visit this forum.
If I were you I'd post it on the main forum, you'll get more answer there.
by Heliotrope
Wed Jan 10, 2024 6:53 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Search Associates - white people only?
Replies: 18
Views: 13010

Re: Search Associates - white people only?

You seem highly qualified, so it's likely either some negative references or racism.
Not much you can do about it I'm afraid, but it's sad if they chose not to accept you as a candidate for this reason.
I would definitely approach the school through other channels, as otherwise you wouldn't land the job anyway. It's worth a try.

Be aware that it's not all of Search, as the associate assigned to you has the authority to accept or deny you. Another associate might have accepted you if you would have been assigned to them. I did hear other reports of other perfectly qualified teachers being denied by Search for no obvious reason other than the color of their skin, so sadly you're not the first and likely not the last to whom this happens.
Also, I know for a fact that plenty of great schools are perfectly happy hiring a non-White teacher, so this associate is mistaken if they think no school will pick you up.

Hope it all works out for you.
by Heliotrope
Fri Dec 08, 2023 5:10 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How would you answer these interview questions?
Replies: 5
Views: 28838

Re: How would you answer these interview questions?

How I would answer would partly be influenced by which school I'm applying to, in so far that it would determine what I would emphasize and what I might downplay. Know your audience.
Apart from that, I've noticed schools prefer you to use examples from your classroom to illustrate your answers, so don't keep it too abstract/theoretical but be sure to also use anecdotes that show how it played out in real life. Everyone can come up with a right answer, but if you show that you've actually walked the walk it will make more of an impression.
by Heliotrope
Wed Nov 22, 2023 6:44 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Non-Negotiables
Replies: 5
Views: 32094

Re: Non-Negotiables

justme123 wrote:
> @Heliotrope- those are some great points. As someone who takes my health
> for granted, I didn't think about good healthcare facilities.

Yeah, imagine being at one of those mining schools in the jungle and suddenly being in need of an acute appendectomy.

> As for work-life balance, I agree with you. While many IE strive for T1
> schools, maybe having a lower stress job at a T2 or even T3 may be a smart
> move.

There are T1 schools where you can have a healthy work-life balance. I find that most of my colleagues at my tier 1 school who work till 5:30pm almost every day put pressure on themselves, and it's not admin who makes them work those long hours. My admin just care that you get the job done, and what they expect to be done isn't unreasonable at all. Those teachers feel they need to work many hours to be a good teacher. If you're efficient, you can get your work done and go home on time - working longer doesn't always equate to working better.

> My question is, when vetting a potential school, how do you go about
> finding out the school's work-life balance? Do you ask current faculty
> members?

Yes, and also teachers who left recently (last two years or so, sometimes longer if there haven't been major changes in admin).
And one opinion is not very useful, get a few. I used to find them using Facebook or LinkedIn, but nowadays I have a rather large network of former colleagues who have spread out over the world and now work at good to great schools, so I usually know someone at the schools I'm considering, or someone I know will know someone there.
by Heliotrope
Wed Nov 22, 2023 3:35 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Resignation and reapplying help
Replies: 15
Views: 165363

Re: Resignation and reapplying help

> I am keeping my options open at the minute, applying everywhere. Signed up to Search
> (lovely people!) and will attend job fairs. Schrole s is pending, haven't heard of
> ISS, will search that now!

You could also try GRC and TES.
by Heliotrope
Tue Nov 21, 2023 8:30 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Non-Negotiables
Replies: 5
Views: 32094

Re: Non-Negotiables

a) Safe location - Agree
It's hard to know which countries to include in the safe-list though, as there's crime in every country. Singapore is undoubtedly safer than Venezuela, and there are a lot of countries that are obviously considered 'safe' or 'unsafe' by most, but there are also a lot of countries that will feel safe enough for some, and unsafe for others, depending on their tolerance and on how informed they are. Some countries are safe in you stay in a certain bubble, but is that acceptable? For me it would also depend on other factors. For example, I might tolerate a certain risk of being pickpocketed (or other non-violent crimes) if the school, savings potential and air quality are all great, it's a good location for travel, and certain areas of the cities are safe.

b) Good air quality - Agree
But again, what's 'good'? And the same as with #1, other factors will tolerate what I will be willing to accept, assuming I can buy good air filters. There is a certain amount I will not tolerate, regardless of how great the school and other factors are, but it's hard to know now what that would be.

c) Non- or not-for-profit - Agree
I mean, if there's a great for-profit school where I wouldn't notice that it's for-profit, that would be ok, but I haven't read about one of those yet.

d) No cell phones allowed during the school day - Partly agree
It would be my preference, but it's not a non-negotiable. I would want to have the option to ban them in my classroom of course.

I would add:

e) Good healthcare facilities
I'm fine with travelling to another country for major surgery, but I want a decent level of care for anything that can't be scheduled.

f) Savings potential needs to meet my threshold
I don't want to teach past age 60, so I need to be able to save a certain amount per year. After that amount is met, I don't really let savings potential sway me too much.

g) No unjust pressure from parents/admin to adjust grades
How rich or influential a student's parents are should never affect my grading.

h) Work-life balance needs to be reasonable
I don't mind working hard, but coming home at 5pm every day of the week, being required to work on Saturdays or Sundays more than a few times, or having significantly more contract days than the average international school are all unacceptable. I work to live, I don't live to work.
by Heliotrope
Sat Nov 18, 2023 6:55 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Resignation and reapplying help
Replies: 15
Views: 165363

Re: Resignation and reapplying help

You made the right decision not ghosting the school.
They're *ssholes for making you leave mid-year, as not many vacancies will have a January start. Giving you excellent references is the very least they can do, especially since you simply deserve those.
Maybe you can look at schools where those two SLT members worked at before they moved to your current school, since their recommendation might go further at those schools?

You might want to try international schools that follow the Southern hemisphere school calendar, but not many of those around (South America has a few decent options). The downside is that it's hard to transition back. Maternity cover roles or replacing teachers that pulled a runner at schools that follow the 'normal' calendar could work. With a child in need of education that would be better than waiting until after the Summer to begin a new job then.

Have you signed up for Search, ISS and/or Schrole yet?
by Heliotrope
Sat Nov 18, 2023 1:05 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Resignation and reapplying help
Replies: 15
Views: 165363

Re: Resignation and reapplying help

Ghosting is always a gamble, and one that I wouldn't advice you to do.
They will contact your previous school -since your CV lists them as your most recent employer-, after which they might know that you moved to your current school, and finding out you've be untruthful will make almost any school drop you automatically.

I know of a few teachers who've lost out on jobs by trying to ghost their previous school, and I also know a few teachers that have just been honest about why they had to leave their terrible school and they got hired. The fact that your current school will not badmouth you makes it a lot easier to land a job.

Have they stopped paying your salary yet? And is you child still attending the school?
Perhaps you can negotiate that they will keep paying you and let you child attend the school until you've found a new school. It would make them more likely to help you as much as they can (although probably the extent of their help will be to give you a good reference). Ask them to explain to any school contacting them that it was not your fault that you've had to find a new job.
by Heliotrope
Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:28 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Reposted from other resource: What do Admin in Good-to-Great schools look for when hiring?
Replies: 2
Views: 16304

Reposted from other resource: What do Admin in Good-to-Great schools look for when hiring?

Since it might be helpful for a lot of teachers here, just copy-pasting this from elsewhere (so NOT written by me):

The document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J7i ... sp=sharing

"As promised, here are the generic thoughts of a small collective of former and current administrators (5 of us, with admin experience in Asia, Africa, and South America) in what would be considered Good-to-Great schools.

What started as a well-intentioned post idea has morphed into a ‘novella’ of sorts; 20-plus pages of advice to consider. For those who get to the end of the multiple entries, and can extract something from its entirety, well done! Note that we won't be referring to Tier rankings; the subjectivity involved in such is, in our opinion, a pointless exercise. What one applicant sees as viable criteria to score a school as Tier 1 can be completely different from another applicant who possesses a distinctly different set of needs. So we use the terminology of Good-to-Great to define schools that would be towards the top of most subjective lists (For those of you wedded to the Tier status, then think T1 - top T2).

We note that your mileage may vary.

We accept that this information will not necessarily mirror the experiences of others. Other admin in this Reddit group may dismiss the information contained herein as a rant akin to ‘old men and one lady shouting at clouds’, and that is their right to do so. Other group members who have experienced the hiring cycle on multiple occasions may disagree as well. Again, that is their right to do so.

It was not our (the collective) intention to create disharmony, but rather to lay out our combined thoughts (from a combined 40-plus years as administrators) on a process that is complex, competitive, time-consuming, and at times dehumanising.

We are hopeful that the look from the other side of the table is valuable to some. Make of it what you will."
by Heliotrope
Tue Oct 10, 2023 5:38 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How many applications do you receive for a position?
Replies: 5
Views: 21457

Re: How many applications do you receive for a position?

Let me copy-paste what I saw posted about this by a former admin, representing "five former and current administrators with admin experience in Asia, Africa, and South America in what would be considered Good-to-Great schools" (think tier 1, top tier 2):

"IBDP maths applicants - direct and through agencies would have been 200 plus. IB Lan/Lit 300 plus (double that for the most highly regarded schools).

Hardest to fill? Each year was different; certified and experienced special education teachers can be hard to find. Experienced program coordinators can be difficult- you get lots of applicants but the timing has to be right to get the very best ones. Often they are snapped up through connections, which makes it hard when 3-4 schools are targeting the same type of person.

The talk that science positions are hard to fill is often a myth. One of our collective has had over 80 applicants for a chemistry job posted last week- of those at least 20 would get through the first pass re qualifications, experience and results."
by Heliotrope
Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:54 pm
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: International Debate Competition for Schools
Replies: 6
Views: 37894

Re: International Debate Competition for Schools

Thames Pirate wrote:
> Also, discussion of controversial issues should not be avoided.

I very much agree.
by Heliotrope
Sat Sep 09, 2023 12:06 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Staff Representative / Communications
Replies: 11
Views: 61604

Re: Staff Representative / Communications

buffalofan wrote:
> Ah yes. Faculty voices will be heard and considered, unless it involves money.

Yep!

The most pressing issues at the time were ones that didn't cost much (or anything) though.
Things like scheduling that didn't make sense (resulting in fewer preps), teachers having to stay on campus until 4:30 without any need for it, the option to book our own flights with the same budget, some classroom reshuffling, firing the lady in charge of purchasing because she was corrupt (which saved the school money because they were overpaying), doing away with certain unnecessary meetings (50% of all meetings)), some restructuring of lower leadership and pastoral roles. Those were all fixed/addressed at the request of the teacher representatives.
Also some requests that did cost extra money were honored, like changing to a better healthcare insurance provider.
The whole 'team player' argument was never used - they would just tell us that the budget wouldn't allow it.

And to be fair, there are some admins that will not even consider anything teachers ask for -even if it doesn't cost anything-, because they somehow feel that if a teacher brings up a suggestion to change anything it is meant as criticism, and if they grant it that means admitting they didn't do a good job themselves. Or they do grant it but present it as their own idea.
The best admins are the ones that realize they're not perfect, welcome suggestions, give credit to others, and admit mistakes.