shadylane wrote:
> Lastname_Z wrote:
> > I feel like at my school it doesn't happen enough and the consequence is that
> bad
> > teachers can keep on being bad teachers
>
> The issue I have with that, is how many of us are actually in a position or qualified
> to pass judgement on other teachers purely professionally? All you're likely to get
> for the most part is who likes who, and who has a similar philosophy to who.
>
> The question is divisive.

Incredibly devisive. I can just see cliques of teachers colluding on this to support each other and throw others underneath the bus. Evaluation by popularity contest is not a great way to kick things off. If I was the OP I would work on updating my Search profile over the summer for sure.

SJ has the right of it. Nothing to really do there except shop and eat. Plus, the Kuwaitis have a (often well deserved) reputation of being arrogant and at times outright cruel. Google "Philippines workers Kuwait" to get an idea of how well they treat certain segments of their society. This sort of thing is not new. When I lived there 10 years ago there was a literal refugee camp inside the Philippines embassy of people trying to escape.

Western expats fare better, but still Kuwait is a place I'm in no hurry to return.

I've known some folks to actually enjoy their time in Saudi while saving tons of cash (they worked at ARAMCO). Definitely not for everyone, but you can say that about most places. I would never go back to Kuwait unless truly desperate, but Saudi would be a possibility for me.

expatscot wrote:
> Psychometrica - do you mean British Schools in the international sense, or
> schools in the UK? If it's the former, then probably quite easy -
> especially if you have experience teaching IB. If it's the latter, then
> it's probably fairly straightforward in England and Wales, but less so in
> Scotland because of the different qualification process (though not
> completely impossible.)

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I meant at British international schools. My uneducated guess is that upper level maths might be a bit more portable than other subjects (relative shortages and fewer differences in curriculum), but am really not sure.

shadowjack wrote:
> brillo, crazy on the IGCSE. What was it about the GCSE's your school didn't
> like? As to not doing IB - IB will open more doors in the future, so if you
> can teach British system AND IB DP, you are more marketable when you want
> to go places...

Semi-Related Question - How difficult is it to get a job at a British school as an American with no prior experience with IGCSE? I teach High School math, and have experience with US curriculum and AP/IB, but was wondering if it would be worth applying to British Schools.

shadowjack wrote:
> Psychometrika
>
> fairs are still worth it if nothing else is happening. You can always
> cancel the fair, but if you realize late you need to go to Bangkok, London
> or Boston and you didn't ask for the invite early, there is no guarantee
> that you will get one at the last minute.
>
> Every year I have colleagues who get nothing until the fair(s) or shortly
> after.So yes, worth it.
>
> As to signing up with both Search AND Schrole, sign up with Search. Why
> jump through two sets of hoops? Search's database blows Schrole's away, and
> when you apply to a school that says use Schrole, put in your email that
> you are with Search already, which is where you saw the positions
> advertised.
>
> Only use Schrole if you aren't going to use Search, because to be active on
> Search you need to update all your references, etc anyways.
>
> I would also recommend TIEonline, which is a clearing house for jobs, many
> of which won't be posted on Search, but with an overlap, or Search schools
> looking at the last moment. It is good because you can search for jobs
> posted within the last 7 days, jobs needing to be filled NOW, by region, by
> level, etc.

Thanks Shadowjack. The only fair I’ve been to was UNI a decade ago so I wasn’t sure. I think I will work on renewing my Search account once I am ready to enter the market again. Still on the fence on fairs, as even though I got a job at UNI I thought it was a high pressure meat market, but I can cross that stream once I get to it.

shadowjack wrote:
> Saw someone had posted a link to my old thread on the paid side. So bump -
> :-)
>
> Update - have moved on from my lovely school, but didn't go to a fair for
> Mrs. Shadowjack and I to get jobs.

Are fairs still worth it? My SA associate mentioned a couple of years ago that 60% of those hired through Search were picked up directly out of the database, and outside of the fairs. Is signing up for Search and Schrole, and focusing on Skype interviews a viable strategy? Or do the fairs still offer some sort of advantage?

Generally, certification is basically just a checkbox, and as long as you have it for the relevant position for which you are applying you are good. The quality of your experience is what they really take a closer look at.

In certain ways semi-dysfunctional schools can offer more growth opportunities than well established schools. For example, they often experience more churn or have difficulties attracting qualified folks. For a relatively new teacher like yourself you can turn this to your advantage by sliding into roles (AP/IB instruction, coordinator positions, etc) that at a more established school you would not receive.

At the very least you can focus on developing your skills in the classroom. Another relative advantage of poorly organized schools is that you often have free reign in the classroom to explore different pedagogy and be more experimental in your approach. Sure, you could get away with just handing out worksheets, but that benefits no one, and particularly yourself.

cattalus wrote:
> We had a shipping allowance to a posting, but found it was more economical
> to buy rubber totes, ziptie them, and bring them on the plane as excess
> baggage. The airline we went through charged us $150 per extra item. We
> ended up shipping 10+ totes on the plane and had no issues (except trying
> to get them all through customs in smooth fashion) and the allowance
> covered the cost. We didn't have any furniture so it worked for us as the
> shipping company route was very complicated, very expensive with a very
> long wait until we got our stuff

I was considering doing this as well. Do you mind sharing which tote you used?

As someone who lives in NH (no state income or general sales tax) and has lived in TX, trust me when I say there is no such thing as a free lunch. These states still need to balance the budget and the revenues still need to come from somewhere. In fact, since income taxes are generally designed to be progressive, lower income folks (you know, like some teachers) tend to be worse off in these places as whatever replaces the income tax tends to be relatively regressive. As such, you can't really ignore state taxes when calculating net income.

I would contact the school after a couple of weeks to ask how the contract will be handled. If the school has a good reputation I would not worry about it too much.

Whether or not a LOI is legally binding is fuzzy and a moot point anyways. The school is not going to take you court. That said, they might try to blackball you if they perceive (legally or not) that you are not keeping your end of the deal. Your professional reputation is the more of the issue here than legal matters.

One man's hardship is another's romantic allure. Given the right set of circumstances I would consider sub-Saharan Africa. But then again, I am a former Peace Corps volunteer and I highly value the cultural aspects of travel. I can see how it would not be for everyone though.

One application, zero interviews, and one offer.

I worked for them before and left on good terms to explore some options in US several years ago. I kept in touch with some of the people in admin so when I said I was returning to IS teaching we were happy to take each other back.