Search found 651 matches

by fine dude
Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:16 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Harvard's CSML
Replies: 14
Views: 19774

Harvard's CSML

Is the 'Certificate in School Management and Leadership' from Harvard of any use in securing a middle/high school principal position at a top-tier school if one already has a master's in ed and some middle management experience? Does anyone on this forum has a first-hand account of success with the said qualification? Thanks in advance.
by fine dude
Tue Dec 14, 2021 4:01 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: US Citizen - Retirement Saving...?
Replies: 12
Views: 20045

Re: US Citizen - Retirement Saving...?

Is this the same Andrew Hallam who recommends giving up junk food and invest those expenses in index funds and murky firms based in Dubai? Good on him.
by fine dude
Fri Dec 10, 2021 10:07 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Hong Kong or Singapore?
Replies: 19
Views: 19155

Re: Hong Kong or Singapore?

A good pension plan for a teacher couple is hard to beat, especially if you get subsidised healthcare after retirement. If the 200K is inclusive of housing, it is an average teacher-couple salary. Post-taxes and rent, and some travel included, one'd bank at least 40 - 50K USD a year.
by fine dude
Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:48 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Hong Kong or Singapore?
Replies: 19
Views: 19155

Re: Hong Kong or Singapore?

A proactive city-state that knows how to take care of its people, transparent government, competitive salaries for international school teachers, low tax rates, world-class healthcare, extremely safe for families, a highly-educated and skilled workforce, excellent infrastructure, and world-renowned universities and airport.

On the other hand, it isn't easy to land a job at a top-tier school here. You need to be at the top of your game (imagine an examiner / workshop leader with a master's and several years of experience under your belt). Having said that, I wouldn't work at a second-tier school in SG, though. Health insurance for the family will cost a bomb and the housing allowance they offer is meagre.
by fine dude
Thu Dec 09, 2021 11:59 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Hong Kong or Singapore?
Replies: 19
Views: 19155

Re: Hong Kong or Singapore?

Singapore on any day. It's the Denmark of Asia.
by fine dude
Fri Dec 03, 2021 10:30 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Qatar
Replies: 0
Views: 80540

Qatar

What's going on in Qatar? Heard that U.S. and Canadian educators can't work as high school/secondary school educators. Does anyone have any first-hand information?
by fine dude
Tue Nov 09, 2021 10:43 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: The only school *I* would consider working in...
Replies: 8
Views: 15296

Re: The only school *I* would consider working in...

If I want a balanced life, I'd consider to work at the oldest school in Toulouse, France. There is something I like about mid-sized schools, call it the tight knit community, small class sizes, not an overly commitment to extracurriculars etc. So, Toulouse it is for me. I also love the culture scene and food is something this town deeply cares about and it's hard to find a bad restaurant.
by fine dude
Wed Nov 03, 2021 1:37 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How are you all doing?
Replies: 1
Views: 6039

How are you all doing?

Hello all,

It has been over 2 months (or one in some cases) since the new school year started. I was wondering how many new initiatives your school has implemented and how it has impacted you, mentally and physically, so far. Without naming schools, how are you handling your new workload and what are you doing to keep your sanity? Apart from trying to avoid negative folks, I run long distances to beat some of this stress.
by fine dude
Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:42 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Moving Home Success Stories?
Replies: 16
Views: 25834

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

A good friend of mine accepted a middle leader position at a charter school in North Carolina last year and the family is quite happy with the decision.
by fine dude
Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:39 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: All is quiet
Replies: 12
Views: 20281

Re: All is quiet

What's your point, TP? Teachers and schools are the most resistant groups to change. In a year or two, they will go back to their old ways. Even administrators are dinosaurs and they don't learn any new skills on the job, but still use the same old bag of tricks and play the same politics. K-12 education isn't tech or the valley, where you either evolve or perish. It's an obsolete model that just gets by using arts and sport as a shimmering screensaver. Academic rigour is an after-thought for most of these folks.
by fine dude
Sat Oct 16, 2021 10:11 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: All is quiet
Replies: 12
Views: 20281

Re: All is quiet

Quiet is a relative term. If you teach AP/IB Math or Physics, there is a ton jobs and you can easily afford the risk of moving to another country. Even if you hate your new job, you can start looking in the following year without having to worry about job security. Not so much for humanities and other subjects. It's just the state of affairs.
by fine dude
Thu Oct 07, 2021 6:49 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: It's raining jobs in SE Asia.
Replies: 8
Views: 17865

Re: It's raining jobs in SE Asia.

Get on Schrole, I'd say. There are vacancies at top-tier schools in Tokyo and Singapore, too. It's gonna be a crazy recruiting season this year.
by fine dude
Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:08 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: It's raining jobs in SE Asia.
Replies: 8
Views: 17865

It's raining jobs in SE Asia.

SE Asia, one of the competitive regions for ITs, has a significant number of teacher vacancies for the next school year. Two sought-after schools in BKK alone have a combined total of 46 faculty opportunities. Wondering how many of these are pandemic-related. How many schools out there are lowering the pay due to weaker enrolment and merging teaching responsibilities to save on costs?
by fine dude
Sun Sep 05, 2021 2:04 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: getting hired at a British school
Replies: 5
Views: 9928

Re: getting hired at a British school

Almost impossible to get hired in the secondary school, particularly at the top tier British schools in SE Asia. You might get lucky at hardship locations, though. Having a British spouse might slightly increase your chances of getting an interview.
by fine dude
Wed Aug 11, 2021 9:30 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Situation in Thailand
Replies: 12
Views: 19839

Re: Situation in Thailand

@desertphantom22

I fully empathise with your situation and my thoughts are with your wife's family. According to an official estimate, there are a million who lost jobs in the Kingdom (and many more in the informal sector). The expats and retirees in Thailand became jaded and they don't have much to do other than constantly voicing negativity. If these folks think their homeland is all sunshine and roses, why did they come to Thailand in the first place? They need to bear the lows if they want to enjoy the highs.

I didn't mean to aim low when I brought up N. Korea. Thailand's economic fundamentals are strong from banking, manufacturing and service sector perspectives and investments will return as it always happened in the past. Yes, we are in a pandemic and there is no precedent for this, but we can't put everything down due to some newspaper headlines or loose talk on an online forum. International schools are here to provide an English education and they definitely offer better infrastructure and learning than the local public schools and they aren't going to go away. It is for the Thai government and the citizens to address their social ills and we don't have to be guilty for no fault of ours. Foreign teachers could make a difference by promoting values and critical thinking in their own classrooms, which is direly needed in Thailand. Who knows, you might be teaching the future prime minister or the governor of Bank of Thailand (BOT). I'm quite optimistic about returning to some form of normalcy. Don't forget that Thailand began manufacturing AstraZeneca vaccines locally and they passed testing both in Europe and the U.S.

P.S. Of all the places, the former head of campus at UWC, Singapore did choose Bangkok for his next posting and he continues to do a wonderful job. There are many world class educators who chose this country for their long-term career. Here is a quote from Admiral James Stockdale that was shared by this former head recently: "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality."