Search found 348 matches

by vandsmith
Sun Mar 03, 2019 12:41 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: What are 'hardship' cities with good international schools?
Replies: 36
Views: 34596

Re: What are 'hardship' cities with good international schoo

fine dude wrote:
> Baku, Riyadh, Kiev, Lagos, New Delhi, and Phnom Penh

i can't speak to any of the others but i wouldn't consider kyiv a hardship location at all.

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:33 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Bangkok Pollution
Replies: 111
Views: 701026

Re: Bangkok Pollution

teacher tan wrote:
> @vsmith
> It's 93, moderate. Source: US embassy
> What's yours?

i used https://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/

well, it's now at 82. when i posted earlier it was 114, maybe it was morning where i am, maybe several hours behind bangkok. i guess perhaps it's night there now.

in any case, i only meant to get the original question back on track.

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Feb 15, 2019 3:53 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Moving from China to Europe - advice???
Replies: 51
Views: 48932

Re: Reply

PsyGuy wrote:
>
> @vandsmith
>
> We disagree, the only ones saving anything and paying bills are those with
> 2 incomes

yes, that is correct. we are a teaching couple with a kid, so we have two incomes, like the OP.

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Feb 15, 2019 3:34 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Bangkok Pollution
Replies: 111
Views: 701026

Re: Bangkok Pollution

soooo..............

about that bangkok pollution...see that the aqi is at 114 today...

v.
by vandsmith
Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:53 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Moving from China to Europe - advice???
Replies: 51
Views: 48932

Re: Moving from China to Europe - advice???

speaking only from our experience, we live in northern europe, and you can find childcare for very young kids - it's about 500-600 USD per month. our school subsidizes staff kids a lot so that figure above will be cut by about 400 USD for early years/pre-school.
savings, as some will explain, is tied up differently but for us (we have a 4 year old now) we still save about 1000 USD per month, after sending about the same home each month. our rent is by and far the biggest expenditure but if you can swing a decent deposit then you can cut that by nearly half. after rent, it's our car lease. then food.

if you are coming with some savings from china already, the first year you probably will need to tap into that a little, but should be able to top it back up after the first year.

again, my advice is based solely my current country, in northern europe.

don't have any advice re: china - probably you will need a police clearance from there, and not a bad idea for birth certificate translated into english and notarized, and get on your original transcripts and all that jazz.

best of luck!

v.
by vandsmith
Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:24 pm
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: Ichiro examples
Replies: 19
Views: 37812

Re: Ichiro examples

does anyone have an example of an "ichiro" they could upload and attach? it doesn't have to be your own but just struggling with the visual right now.

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Jan 25, 2019 1:30 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Looking for some advice
Replies: 17
Views: 19979

Re: Looking for some advice

expatscot wrote:
> Sometimes it's a school requiring two years, sometimes it's visas - I think
> China and UAE both require 2 years' experience minimum, so you probably
> need to exclude these. If you can stick out two years in, say, Thailand or
> Malaysia at a bottom tier school, then you might be able to move up, but I
> really think it's better doing them in your own country before moving
> abroad unless there's good reason not to stay.

maybe that's true but my first gig was at a decent school in the UAE with no prior international teaching experience (i had a few years pre-cert esl stuff, but that was it).

point being: don't get your hopes up, but don't exclude anything either based on an assumption. you never know...

good luck!

v.
by vandsmith
Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:44 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Bait and Switch
Replies: 11
Views: 11292

Re: Bait and Switch

oh for p.e.?
not that crazy. lots of teachers, both domestic and int'l, teach pe.

if it was something consistent i'd be worried. usually it's a temporary thing.

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:19 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Progressive Education Meaning
Replies: 10
Views: 11892

Re: Progressive Education Meaning

i am a bit surprised at you PG, since you have said many times you like the IB kool aid, that you wouldn't see the importance of CT in all levels of education, especially in primary, since the lack of critical perspective, argument, context and history seem to plague students as they move into MS, HS, and tertiary phases. i agree that there are a set of fundamental skills that students need to learn, that will never change (perhaps the specifics will), but in no way does emphasizing critical theory detract from fundamentals - in fact, it allows students to use fundamentals more effectively.

CT isn't all about feelings and "snowflakey" behaviour (a tired word of late) - among other things, it's about perspective, learning to reflect and think in different ways about topics and not simply in a factual, black and white way. do students still have to organize thoughts, plan writing, and write a cogent thesis/essay? of course. i think so-called progressive education tries to strike this balance. why shouldn't students learn the context and history behind coffee production? or waste and consumption?

i suppose i am of the mindset that inquiry, perspective, and context should be emphasized in any curriculum - to me that is progressive education, and in my opinion, is how CT looks in the primary grades. an education without critical thought, reflection, and understanding of context simply gives rise to technocrats and empty bureaucrats and, yes...those guys.

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:33 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Progressive Education Meaning
Replies: 10
Views: 11892

Re: Progressive Education Meaning

reisgio wrote:
> Critical Theory Has DESTROYED Primary & Secondary Education. This is
> what "they" call progressive.

lol, care to elaborate? what about tertiary ed.? i see it as quite important, actually.

v.
by vandsmith
Thu Jan 03, 2019 11:46 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: 2018-2019 Job Fair Diaries
Replies: 1
Views: 3392

2018-2019 Job Fair Diaries

In the past, I have enjoyed reading about others' experiences at the various job fairs - there are a couple big ones coming up - and I while I haven't thought that they were ALWAYS super helpful, they were fun to read.

So here's this year's version. Let's hear about them!

v.
by vandsmith
Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:02 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Visible tattoos
Replies: 6
Views: 8840

Re: Visible tattoos

it generally isn't an issue unless you're up to your chin in tats, or went tyson one day. if they are generally inappropriate you might have an issue with them being visible.

good luck!

v.
by vandsmith
Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:03 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Masters in Educational and Leadership
Replies: 7
Views: 8158

Re: Response

PsyGuy wrote:
> Best would be to go to a global ivy (Harvard Oxbridge, etc.) otherwise
> assuming its accredited a Masters is a Masters is a Masters.
>
> Cheapest youre looking at programs such as the Uni. Portsmouth (UK) which
> has an M.Res in Edu you can do online in one or two years for £4600, they
> have a M.Sc in Ed.Ld over two years thats £7K. UoPe has an M.Ed in Teaching
> thats $2600, that is IB centrist and meets all IB PD, but there
> accreditation is weak. All the programs are 100% online.

do we know that the UoPe is weak yet? or is that based on it being online? for an ib school, it would seem to fit the requirements for a MA with no reservations.

perhaps out of ib - maybe - it wouldn't be recognized... but i guess i'm asking if an ib school could not recognize it? would they have to?

v.
by vandsmith
Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:13 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Thoughts please
Replies: 7
Views: 8268

Re: Thoughts please

the moscow school is better in all areas except for perhaps the long hours you don't want.
weather in abu dhabi from nov. to march is great. in moscow, the winters are long and dark.

as for the US-RUS relationship, it seems like it has never been better?!! anyone? anyone? mueller? mueller - i mean bueller? my condolences.

what is written on the paid side is pretty accurate, not sure if you're the one who posted it or not...

best of luck!

v.