definitely plan in advance with the principal. i doubt any international school (or any school for that matter) would let you show up, walk in and observe.

v.

not to sound too cold, but i think it's par for the course, especially if you're talking pure economics. a teacher with a trailing spouse with little or no option of working at the school - or a single with a child - is risky. and i think that's true in terms of your health and your quality of life, e.g. one salary, nannies, housing, etc...

sure, good schools will look past it and actually look at your credentials, but (and i know somewhere PsyGuy is nodding) for the most part, they can get just as good teachers with less "negative" points attached.

it sucks hard but it seems to be just the way it is. i never really understood why teachers with trailing spouses go to BKK in the first place, or LDN for that matter. wait for the other NA fairs if it's cheaper for you, or try to arrange skype interviews with schools outside of the fairs. going to BKK seems like a great way to become disillusioned!

i wish you the best of luck!!!

v.

you kind of already understand it correctly.
i was taught to teach essentially what the IB does but without all the fancy jargon. current best practices of schools in north america at least already do what the IB requires, it's just different terminology.

whereas in north america you might teach thematic units, in the IB you would teach more conceptual units. there are videos if you search for them.

having taught in both systems, i can't say that IB does it better....it's generally just more expensive for parents, maybe more planning for teachers, more rigorous for students (depending on your students and how well they can receive the delivery of curriculum). others might have other ideas, but someone said it was cult-like and it sort of is. i'm not knocking it, i actually like it, but is it a completely different world? not really, especially for teachers who are relatively new to teaching and who keep up on the theory.

but having the experience will certainly help you in the international sphere.

v.

you know, when i interviewed with QSI a few years back, the recruiter and the whole school system struck me kind of weird. i don't know how to explain it - like preachy, superior, almost overtly christian-like. he also asked me and my wife like 12 times if we smoked or not.

anyways, always thought that QSI was a little strange.

good luck!

v.

i did TIE online, and then Search.

i got more hits with TIE, and my experience with Search has been for the database only. the good schools, one of which i ended up signing with, all had internal applications to fill out separately from Search.

that's the annoying thing. asking your references to fill out 'another' confidential reference for you. in the end it worked for me, but as far as Search goes the database is the only thing going for it (and the updates). if schools just listed this stuff on their websites, we could do away with Search altogether!

so, too late? no. and it might land you a job, even after these two big fairs.

i would apply to south america and europe, you have nothing to lose.

v.

from what i've seen (my wife and i work at a school in abu dhabi) most schools will cover one dependent per teacher. some only do 50%.

as for a job for you, i haven't heard of too many trailing spouses getting jobs. some do substitute teaching - is that something you would be interested in doing? you might be able to get into an admin-type job at a school or something - speaking arabic will help you immensely in finding a position over here.

v.

i heard a few months back (quite possibly even longer than that) that all the "international" schools had to drop the "international" moniker for some reason. i'd be interested to see what happens over the next couple of weeks though...

v.

thanks for the replies. anyone else have an opinion?

the economic situation in russia is certainly troubling, especially the fear about potential asset freezing/liquidation a la cyprus. it's a hard decision for us. both packages are good, and we really like both of the schools. we would get paid more in singapore but the savings vs. salary is better in russia.

thanks again everyone.

v.

my wife and i have narrowed it down to 2 schools we really like - one in singapore the other in moscow (CIS vs. AAS)

looking for advice...can you name some pros and cons for each? thanks in advance.

v.

lots of people are critisizing ISIS. the gulf countries are firmly against them, for understandable reasons. i understand what you are saying, but it isn't really like that here. and as for having it serve as a guiding principle, again, it's not really like that here in the UAE.

in saudi? yeah, i could see it being worse there and more dangerous. UAE? QATAR? Oman? Kuwait? No, not really dangerous for foreigners right now.

the argument for backwards thinking/enlightenment idea happens with a lot of frustrated, identity in crisis immigrants, not just muslims.

again, i do sympathize and get where you're coming from, but the reality is much different here in the UAE than you're making it out to be.

i work at a school in abu dhabi. the school provided housing is a bit better now, but it took the school a long time to move. the apartments they had before were mould-filled, pipes were leaking and flooding, electrical was giving me shocks whenever i touched the stove - it was in the downtown area so location was good it was just old. one teacher even contracted some sickness due to the mould. locals rolling up choking the streets honking at the lebanese food places - pretty ridiculous actually. one of the main reasons the school left was because it was to be torn down next year! it's hard to find good places for teachers on island, but at the same time they are a little chincey with the allowance amount. UASD is our sister school and the two schools couldn't be further apart in terms of...well, everything.

and the housing came with a roommate your first year unless you were a couple. silly in my opinion, making grown people live with a room mate. a lot of teachers didn't like that aspect but they were warned at interview. after the first year, you could move to a new place if you chose to take the housing allowance to find your own place, but not much decent stuff available in the city for the amount they give. i've had more luck finding a great place with my housing but i'm married so we get double.

i have friends (also married) at ACS and they have a pretty sweet house. i know they they get a good amount for housing. ADEC teachers get the most in abu dhabi i think, so their houses are alright.

don't know about dubai.

thanks all. i understand now.

v.

yeah i thought the same thing about the salary.
too low to be yearly, but really high for a monthly.
i'm hesitant to contact the school and clarify - i don't want to look like it's all about the money.
the search associates field says 'salary expectations'.

another one i saw is shen wai, and it's similar - 45000 RMB salary. i've heard people say good things about that school, decent package etc... but that is what they have on search.

confused.

v.

hey all

i've been contacted by some schools in china that pay in RMB. they list a starting salary in the range of 50000 RMB which, when converted, is about 9-10000 USD. is this the norm for teachers in that region? the savings vs. salary is good but saving 75% of a 10000USD salary/year seems a bit crappy. are most of these schools on the lookout for fresh teachers?

those thoughts are a bit jumbled but hopefully you see what i'm getting at. thanks in advance.

v.