Snort! You owe me a keyboard.

Moshi! Another interesting place for the list. Thanks! And congratulations...it'll be interesting to hear more when you have African dust on your boots Dunany.

Interteach,
When you say "get certified" in the last line of your post, do you mean the whole MA/state certification or the "mini certification" in CA (either UC SanDiego/or UCLA)? I know full-blown counseling certification would be helpful, but it would take two years (and that's two years of being stateside).....are there alternatives out there that would 1)get me the credential I need and 2) teach/expose me to enough of psychological counseling to be more helpful to students?
Thanks for your thoughts.

Sheesh, I should have checked for existing threads first....here's a dandy and it's just a few months old.

http://internationalschoolsreview.com/v ... ght=#11534

Please continue to add more if the inspiration strikes...especially what's happening at individual schools.

PS, the UC San Diego extension certificate is what I was investigating.....sounds like a reasonable scope and about $1500. I read the above post and can certainly see that a mental health background would be useful. I just can't dedicate the time/energy/money that a whole new master's would cost.

The OACAC conference sounds perfect....too bad it's full. I thought maybe I could go and hangout to see when/if someone doesn't show, but they have a waiting list and it's already full too. Drats.

I'm looking into getting certified, but the certification in my state requires a master's degree in psychological counseling in order to take the certification exam. I already have multiple graduate degrees and I'm really interested in just the college counseling. I've seen a couple of certificate programs in California (no master's degree, just college counseling) that might work, but I don't know how they'd be perceived by international schools.

What are the credentials of the college counselors at your school? Have you heard of anyone without a Master's/official state counseling getting a job college counseling?

I'm currently teaching at a very small international school, and am listed as the college counselor, but it's a small part of my duties. Ideally, I'd like to be at a small (but not THIS small) of a school and combine some teaching with some college admissions counseling.

Advice please!

Seinfeld, Prem looks interesting. Did you teach there? I'd like to hear more. Where do they recruit?

I'm really pleased to learn of new schools (to me!) on this thread--I didn't know these existed. And if you are reading this and holding back, please post a school, even if you don't think it's quite remote or quite rural.

Heyteach, it sounds like you've had an interesting career.....I wish we could go for coffee and chat! I have been working with the assumption that now (I'm in my mid-40s) is the time to get out and explore, and that later I would go back to finish my career in the US, but I wonder what you think about an older teacher managing on a reservation. If it matters, all of my US experience (8 yrs) was in high-poverty schools, and I've had some experience with indigenous cultures. I've also read (and met) educators finishing their careers abroad, but they seem to have retirement funding well in hand. I have some retirement savings, but it's not enough at this point (if I do nothing, I could retire at 73 with a $24,000/yr salary, but mind you what will $24K be worth in the year 2035?).

Those are some great ideas. I am currently in Asia, and like where I am but I am starting to daydream about new horizons (which might also be in Asia). I do need to put away retirement money, so for the next decade or so I need to be able to save. If I'm at a US embassy-connected school, I will be able to buy back those years of service towards my state retirement (but I doubt that there are schools that are both rural and state-department funded). I appreciate all the responses, so even if they don't pay much keep those ideas flowing! It's all a balancing act, right? Definitely current quality of life is important, but I also don't want to end up destitute.

eion, I'll look into the Canadian schools too....I'm American, and I spent many hours looking at the Alaska bush schools, but decided I wanted to learn another language and be overseas first. It would be interesting to see if Canada might be another option for me.


Being on the outskirts of a big city is a compromise I might have to make....any thoughts about those schools?

Thanks for your thoughts....I'll look into QSI. Do you know of any agencies that place teachers into "off the beaten path" schools?

Regarding boarding schools, I imagine one of the big challenges is maintaining boundaries between school and home life. Has anyone taught at a boarding school, done well, and enjoyed it?

And heyteach, you are a mindreader. My plan is to teach abroad for 5-10 years and return to the states to finish my career on an Indian Reservation. I have a strong affinity for those landscapes and people.

Please keep the ideas rollin'

I am really flexible about which country I go to, but I would like to work away from big cities. This narrows my search considerably, so I'm turning to you all to help me in my search. In my online searches, I've come across a couple of Indian boarding schools (-, Woodstock) but haven't found much else. I'm also willing to go to a remote place (somewhere I saw a mining-based community accesible only by helicopter that had a school).

My main aims are to be relatively free from pollution, have access to open spaces (ag and/or wildlands) and to know a smaller community. I'm certified in several areas, have graduate degrees, have 9 years middle school and high school experience, and have lived (and sometimes taught) in challenging locations.

Any ideas out there? Has anyone taught in a boarding school?