Muguet. Awesome name.

unsure wrote:
> How does he know so much about Vatican library practices ?
You should see how much he claims to know about the care and upkeep of horses.

Ahh, the Olympian. A mythical thread, to be sure.

Card catalogues still exist?
Umm… technically true. Many old ones now still exist as repurposed accent items in home decor.
My school doesn’t have one, need one or want one. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw one in use.

I've already spent two summers in my current location (not China) and who know if there will be a third. I haven't left this country since January 2020. No stipends in sight, and I don't expect any. Our school has shown appreciation in other ways. Rather surprised at the notion, tbh, especially in a country as big as China with so many options for internal travel. Being unable to leave Kuwait for years on end, for example, would be a far greater hardship, though nothing can make up for not being able to see family. Then again, since nothing can make up for not seeing family, is there a point in trying?

That’s a new one for me. I’m more used to the “too good to be true” type, with triple a normal salary, 27 weeks annual vacation, 5hour work days plus all moving costs and a signing bonus if I’ll just pay the minimal visa fee. Te he he. As if.
What would justify taking 30% of my salary? Will they be doing 30% of my work?

I’m wondering if you should reframe the question. Is it really about whether you can save $50,000 annually, or about whether you could save far more than you are currently, while having an amazing experience for you and your boys? The answer to that second question is a resounding yes.
Having two dependents will make it harder to get some jobs, true. And the PhD is a draw- a boon for some schools, a waste for others. Not attending a fair is not really an issue- there might not even be any in-person fairs this year anyway, and tons of interviews are done over Zoom these days. There are jobs out there that will give you a nice life and good savings. Go for it, cast your net widely, and look at any offers carefully to see what they would mean for you.

I'm glad you made it. Hope you asked for an extra day to settle in before teaching again after flying - I would definitely have granted it if your journey was more than a few hours.
I'm an optimist and a believer in the inherent goodness of people, so I tend to think that while the situation is tough, good people will help get through it. No school leader can prevent or circumvent a lockdown, that's outside our control, so I can't ding the school for it. But good leaders will empathise and do what they can to mitigate the effects. Remembering we're all on the same side and all want the same things, goes a long way in my book.

Very true. Countries are quite unique. Where I am now, I can hire/get a visa for anyone with either an actual degree (BA, MA, Phd, it matters not) in any field related to education, OR a license from a national government (mostly US and UK). This works great, as it covers a) almost everyone who is serious about being a teacher, and b) the two most typical pathways that people have to follow to be allowed to teach in their home country. The only applicants I can't look at are those with neither of the above. So TEFL courses, IB workshops and such are simply non-starters. It's great if someone has them, but I can't hire them on that basis. No loopholes here. I cannot legally give anyone work as a teacher unless they meet those criteria, regardless of anything. No such thing as "get into the country with your spouse and we'll make it work". It won't. Which could explain why we have a couple couples here with one spouse working and the other completing a teaching degree.

You might find that you need to also get a police clearance from China. Instructions on applying from abroad can be found here - looks tricky : https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... epublic-of

Ask your new school whether this will be necessary.

For anyone else out there, here is a case in point why you should always obtain a police clearance as you are leaving a country. They are often much harder to get once you have left. And schools are increasingly insisting on having them.

Be honest and thorough. If your police check reveals any inconsistencies or concerns, including missing or misleading information, your new school can cancel your contract.

Sometimes. Rarely. Don’t count on it.
As a recruiter, one of my first moves is to look at whether I can actually hire someone. If I can’t, I politely let the applicant down and move on. I don’t explore further since there are multiple other candidates I could hire without any issue. So those candidates never get a chance to convince a recruiter to look for loopholes. (And we never want to use loopholes anyway if we can possibly avoid it. Always best to take the straight route. Would you really want a job offer with an asterisk: I’m going to try to get you a visa, but it’s not clear whether I will succeed?)
But again, don’t worry too much. There are plenty of places where you can be easily hired.

Don’t worry too much.
Some countries or schools will have narrow definitions of “qualified”, and he might be excluded for the reasons you mentioned. Others take a broader view and realize that a Masters is better than a Bachelors, and also that many countries don’t even offer teaching licenses, so we can’t expect everyone to have one.
You would be fine moving to 5 of the 6 countries I’ve lived in so far.

How is it the assumption made that VIS is automatically a better school than anything in Asia? This doesn’t strike me as enlightened thinking.

Do they have time for you? Time to answer questions, explain decisions, discuss ideas? Do they offer opportunities to be part of the big picture and develop your skills/knowledge? Like being part of policy and curriculum development? Like providing a partner or mentor for peer support and mutual development? Are they brave enough to disagree with you, not give you what you want even though you know they like you, and tell you when you’re wrong so you can grow?