Sorry, I don't mean to use those exact term of course. I should have clarified that. I just mean show that you're capable of doing the job even if it's different from your previous one. And to be fair, teaching at a different school setting and being a pilot are quite different careers. Had she said she was a pilot or doctor, etc. Then I would be giving different advice. As a teacher, you're sort of expected to be capable of teaching different students with different difficulties/strengths in different settings.

And you're right, not all recruiters or heads are created equal/the same. I just don't see much use in completely spinning one's experience.

Honestly, I think that they're going to go with whoever works best in the school. I know that's sounding naive and starry eyed, but I can't be sure unless I actually know the recruiter or school.

I know that my advice isn't perfect. The OP can take some of it that would be helpful and discard the stuff that they think wouldn't.

I think it depends on the recruiter and where you'll be living, but overall I don't think you have that much to worry about in terms of spinning.

You should talk more about your skills as a teacher and your education philosophy. Focus on what you can bring to to the table; you have good classroom management skills and you're capable of adapting any unexpected situations. I also imagine that you must've had students with English language difficulties; an easily transferable skill if the international school has a higher level of ESL students.

If they ask about your school, I don't think there's any problem with being honest with them as long as you make it clear that you know that teaching in an International school is different.

I wish you the best of luck!

I'm excited to read the riveting and epic conclusion to all this personally. ;)

Location probably wins for me by just a nose, but even then it honestly depends on how bad the school is. If the school is average/somewhere inbetween, then I'd certainly choose location, but if the school is absolutely appalling, then I'd choose school over location.

In short... can I choose a little from column A and a little from column B? :P

[quote="PsyGuy"]Theres an international school of moshi? Like the rice gummie candy things from Japan?[/quote]

Isn't that Mochi?

My choices (in no real order)

Hong Kong
China
Korea
Japan
Brunei
Singapore
Malaysia
Kenya
Lesotho
Ireland
Scotland
Finland
Luxembourg

Hopefully when studying is done, I'll get a chance to work at 2 or 3 of these places. If not, then I'd love to visit them!

Sounds to me that the kid is just having study skill problems when it comes tests. I personally have that issue myself (I'm still in uni studying for my BEd).

From what I can tell from posts here and on the review forums, it honestly depends on the school and the kids, just like back home. Some will be super motivated and parents will be very supportive whilst others just want to see a good grade.

You make it sound like Busan is this barren wasteland of nothing to do. It's not as big as Seoul, but there's still fun to have. I personally would probably choose it over Seoul, but that's just personal preference of wanting to be in a slightly smaller city.

The one school there that does seem to be decent is the Busan International Foreign School. From what I can tell, the only complaints mainly came from people not liking the city, rather than the school itself. So it's really about whether you enjoy the atmosphere of Korea.

http://www.bifskorea.org/

Songdo has a new school there and it's not like it's that far from Seoul. I lived in Incheon as an exchange student and it was a 40-50 train ride from my stop. There are no reviews of it though, so I have no idea how it good it is run. Like anywhere though, you'll probably have more local kids than overseas ones.

http://www.chadwickinternational.org/

I visited there when I was an exchange student a few years ago. I can't say I received many stares (I also have darker skin), but then again, I was largely at tourist spots. It's a really nice island and I love their tangerines.

The weather is quite nice during the winter, but it does go down quite a bit. Enough to not to go swimming. Either way, I'd certainly go back as well. Lots of fun things to see.

[quote="PsyGuy"]Why would you want to work there? Cant say anything about the school but having been to the region, well you have to be nuts or have images of wildlife safaris in your mind...

Generally a review on ISR is almost always "bad", so no review is about as close to a "good" review as you will get.

I'd be more worried if life would be decent for YOU, you will likely not be able to bring your pets with you, and even if they do, you will almost certainly NOT be able to return with them from Ghana.[/quote]

My mother used to work in Nigeria and spent some time in Ghana back in the day. She fell in love with the country and always wanted to go back for travel. She actually has some friends still working/living there. I've also had a friend do an animation workshop and despite getting sick, had fond memories of the place. It's certainly not not a place for everyone, can be dangerous and lacks certain things but, I wouldn't say a person wanting to move there is 'nuts'. More stable than some of the other African countries. ;)

That being said, I agree with you about the pets. That seems like no easy task, in or out.

I agree with JIS. :) As a student, though I was the other way around. I had move to study, leaving my educator mom back in my hometown. As long as you keep in contact with him, he'll be fine.

If you can live fine off of the first school's salary and it has positive feedback, then I would choose it. You're single and don't seem to have any big debts.

My assumption is that is that any school that hires you offer have their own pay scale they would base your salary on rather than that of your previous employer. (I could be wrong though)

Has she considered working at some type of alternative school (either at home or abroad)?

That's really a shame that you don't have more support from your family! If anything, you'd think they'd be excited that they could visit you in a country that they may have not otherwise gone. I know that's how my family feels when I talk about wanting to teach overseas when I graduate. Though I do have a few friends who think I'm a bit crazy. I know when I did a student exchange in South Korea, some thought I was making the biggest mistake in my life. Of course, I returned safe and sound after and were all happy once they saw my photos and such things.

I think your family will come around once they realize that you're not going to get kidnapped by pirates or get your kidney's stolen that you'll be fine.

Thanks for the encouragement ichiro! I've been pretty lucky that my Ed Theory courses have been fairly engaging, with the exception of a few here and there. ;)


Ha-ha, I certainly don't expect a Garden of Eden. Just a garden where I only have to deal with the usual weeds and thorns, rather than being stuck in a giant patch of poison ivy. Though to be fair, you can get those back home as well.

Thanks again for the information! Good to know that my exchange in Korea will be to my advantage!