Another couple:

University of Dundee does an online Masters which is linked to the IB, so useful if you're in an IB school.
University of Buckingham also does online Masters and also an online MA Education.

Heliotrope wrote:

> That's why I assumed the location of the school that offered you the contract is ok,
> otherwise why even interview with them if the location isn't acceptable? (that's why
> I said: "I assume you wouldn't have considered the school in the first place if
> that was the case.")

The location might have been fine at the time of the interview, but much less appealing now. I reckon there are many teachers, for example, who accepted jobs in China at the start of last year who now regret it, and there will be some who might have accepted a few weeks ago who are now having second thoughts.

Generally, though, I take your approach - if you accept, you stick with it regardless. However there has to be flexibility to allow for an allegedly Keynsian approach if the facts change.

Just go ahead and start applying. Schools know that not everyone has all the documents they need (and China can change these on a whim and also depending where you are in the country) so they realise that it will take a while after appointment.

Don't restrict yourself to "non-Tier 1" schools. You're a maths teacher, so in demand. Also, don't restrict yourself to MS either - there is an opportunity here for you to dip your toe into IBDP or A Level as well - they're not too bothered about the level you are qualified in, just that you are qualified.

FWIW, the better schools still tend to be in the Chinese Tier 1 cities.

Apparently as the retirement age has now moved from 60 to 65, it's becoming easier for older staff to get jobs in China.

30 hours seems pretty high, even for a British school though - assuming a 6 period day of about 55 minutes each, that means you'd be teaching every single lesson! However if you're looking at 30 45-minute lessons, that would equate to 22.5 hours teaching which is frankly much more acceptable. You might want to check with the school about the lesson timing.

If it is a British school, you're not going to be able to reduce the number of 'preps' you have. The expectation in British schools is that you are willing and able to teach at all levels from Y7 to Y13 (6th to 12th grade in the US) and teachers who are unable / unwilling to do this can find this difficult to adjust to - to be absolutely honest, you won't get much sympathy from your colleagues if you complain about it. On a personal level, I actually enjoy the variation of teaching energetic Y7s and then near-adult Y13s, and the variety in content, rather than teaching the same thing repeatedly through the week (I get bored quite easily.)

In short - check the lesson lengths first. Then, if they are asking you to teach right through the school, think more about whether the school would actually be right for you - if like me you enjoy the challenge, then go for it, but if you prefer to be a 'master in depth' of one or two particular courses then think about whether you could bear this for a couple of years. Once you've worked that out, then you're in a better place to figure out what you want.

I think it very much depends on the school and your relationship with the SLT.

I told my first school at the end of my first year that I wouldn't be renewing at the end of my contract. I knew I could do this because I got on well personally with the head, and he'd been supportive through the year when something happened that other teachers could have run from, but I stuck out.

I told my current school at the start of this year, before the formal requests went out. I'd made up my mind over the summer, I've been here quite a while, so it probably wasn't a surprise.

Personally, I'd always try to give as much notice as I could. That's for my own peace of mind - yes, the school might not 'invest' in you in terms of allocting jobs or PD, but then that in turn gives you more time to look for a job. I also think that if you play fair, then it's much more difficult (though not for really psycho leaders, obvs) for leadership to mess you around. And if they did, I'd prefer to leave with my own head held high than drop to their level.

The job wasn't listed on Search, so they played no part in your hire, therefore shouldn't be able to claim anything from the school.

I know of schools which will list some jobs on Search and some on other sites, depending on what they are looking for.

Another thought - is the school info on Search up to date? If not, then it's likely what's happened is the school has decided to stop using SA but SA just haven't removed it from their database. There seemed to be a few like that when I was applying earlier in the year.

Another suggestion which works specifically for Canadian students.

Finish your degree, then complete the PGDE at one of the Scottish universities. This then gives you provisional registration in Scotland, but also potential registration in Ontario. You can then either try to complete a probation year in Scotland (difficult to get places) or return to Canada and teach for a year, and get your full registration. This is the equivalent of QTS and is recognised as such by schools internationally (and if they don't, it's dead easy to convert - literally just takes an email.)

Here's some info from the University of Edinburgh:
https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/imports/file ... Canada.pdf

and some from the University of Strathclyde:
https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/su ... hing/pgde/

I can only speak from my own experience, although I know others have found the same thing.

Essentially, when your kids apply, there are two stages to the assessment of residency. The first is done by the university, and assesses what level of fees they will charge - this can mean that the same student can be assessed as international at one university and UK at another. The second is then done at the stage of assessment for a student loan - in theory it's possible that they might decide that a student who a uni has decided is UK resident is actually international.

With our child, basically we gave them as much information to support the case as we could. Firstly, as our contracts are renewed every two years, they were not considered as "permanent employment" and so our stay overseas was temporary. Our child was considered to have moved because of our work. Secondly, we still have a house in the UK, although it is rented out, so this is seen as intention to return (although we have none.) As a result of it being rented, we are still technically liable for tax on it (we chose this route deliberately rather than become completely non-dom for this exact reason.) Finally, we also still have bank accounts and pensions in the UK; we also set up an account for our child in the UK and paid money into it on a monthly basis.

They also looked at the number of years spent in education in the UK - in my child's case, they had spend all their primary education and the first two years of secondary education there before we moved. We also still have lots of family (both sets of grandparents) around too.

As a result of all this, my child was offered UK fees at all the universities she applied to (including one in Scotland, where she was offered Scottish fees because of previous residence - had she accepted this, there would have been no fees at all!) We did look at NL intially, but although the fees were OK the likelihood of loans / financial assistance was low and there was also Brexit to contend with.

buffalofan wrote:
> I filled their application form once. So painful it probably shaved a few
> months off my lifespan. Submitted it and was never contacted.
>
> I think other posters have reported here that they tend to avoid teachers
> who are above the age of 35.
I remember doing the same. I'd also heard about the age thing (but quite how you can teach equality when you clearly have a discriminatory recruitment policy beats me.)

I don't mind working hard, but all I've heard about UWCSEA makes it seem less and less appealing.

Depends on what you mean by "requiring." For example, some require it before you get a visa; some leave it up to the school; some don't require it for the visa but insist that all teachers have to be vaccinated before they get in front of the class.

There's no consistency so you just have to check each country individually. In general though, I'd be very surprised if any are going for an 'open door' approach for those not vaccinated, especially in teaching (except for the UK where as long as it's a 'work event' anything goes.)

Unlikely. He'll be hired on the basis of being a single person, so with a smaller housing allowance, healthcare package and flight allowance than even a teaching couple with a non-working spouse. What I would be looking to do is make sure that his overall salary will allow for this and try to pursue it that way.

In general, I don't accept (if they find me - my social media settings were in place when you could effectively make yourself unfindable, before Zuckerberg realied he could make more money if you couldn't do that) but as a rule it would be not in the same country, and at least 3 years after graduation.

Setting aside the rights and wrongs of the overall principle - and I think that any vaccine is better than none, having known a few people who've had COVID - I think it's going to become increasingly difficult, if not downright impossible, to be a teacher without the vaccine. While many countries don't have a technical block on visas to people who haven't got vaccines, there is a de facto one in that many are requiring teachers to be vaccinated before entering the classroom - so if you effectively refuse to be vaccinated, there goes your job. We're not there yet in China, but I think that as China starts to open up later this year then it's more than likely this will be a requirement. I would say that rather than having the vaccine making you more marketable, not having it will more likely make you nearly unemployable.

As for next summer, I don't see things changing at all here. If you have the Sinovac (or the Sinopharm) vaccine, then it will more likely be easier for you to re-enter China. The process remains the same as before, but you need to get the visas reissued and to do this need proof of an acceptable vaccine. It also wouldn't surprise me if airlines start insisting on it, or if China decides to require it before people can leave.

All in all, to me it makes more sense just to get it. I've had the Sinopharm one - the two initial shots, and the booster - and had no side effects.

PsyGuy wrote:
> First, job fairs will remain as long as recruiters and leaders want them
> too. The position and feelings of ITs dont matter. ITs are the commodity,
> no body cares what the cow thinks. Fairs benefit recruiters by creating an
> artificial range restriction and benefiting from the not wanting to leave
> with nothing, even if the offers available are less than the ITs
> marketability. Second, SA associates benefit highly from fairs, they get
> more appointments during that short window of time then they do just
> waiting through the recruiting cycle, and those increased contracts
> generate increased placement fees.

That only stands though if teachers still see the fairs as being important. If they don't, and so don't register, then inevitably the schools will walk away.

Unless, of course, Search are happy to recruit inexperienced teachers to schools which are not the best. And if it's ultimately about the money, then they will.