Were positive reviews for this school ever posted? Or did the school's initial improvements wither away? To anyone who has had a great experience: Please post a review. I LIKE happy news!

My dear, dear friend E.B.! You KNOW I wish all these comments had been posted long ago! Is [u]anything[/u] improving? Or should I bring my own gun for October?

Although this will be moving ever farther from the thread's original topic (until the questions at the end)...

Congratulations, "gal from small town New Brunswick"! I am pleased that the reviews did not put you off. I worked for that school's umbrella group and never had an issue with them. I think it was heyteach who said he or she had never taught in a top tier US school. Neither have I. I haven't made it into the top tier international schools, either, but I like to think that I am helping improve the schools in which I do work!

I have never lived in Cairo, but I have visited a couple of times. It's an amazing city, both good and bad. You will probably love it.

Can you address the fair a bit more? The early fairs seemed to be focused on teaching couples--very heavily--and on offering few positions. What was your impression now that the fair season is two-thirds or more over?

I think the Hippo may be able to help--scroll down on the Forum 2 page.

Not only did they fail to update their openings, they also failed to state that they were interested in talking to teaching couples almost exclusively. Now I'm sounding bitter, and I'm one of the lucky singles (?) who left Bangkok with a position!

Sounds like a likely place. Have you written a review for it?

We have a very finite pool from which to draw students, so our student population is holding steady overall. I think maybe a postition that had previously been filled with an overseas hire went to a qualified local hire for this fall. Maybe. This is a very interesting question, though. Anyone else's opinion?

Dear shansar, did your family make it back safely? Are you settling back in? Can you offer advice based upon your experience, now that the trip home is somewhat behind you?

What was your motivation for this diatribe? You admit that everything you typed is secondhand. You bemoan anyone trying to teach respect for women and anti-racism. I also do not believe the spelling of the name is correct, but I am willing to admit I may be wrong. I, too, have not had direct contact with this school system.

As you can tell from my frequent postings, I am always willing to give my two cent’s (or less) worth…

I do not have a fraction of the paperwork that I labored under in the States.

In general, my supervisors have been much more supportive and accessible than those in the States.

While teaching in the U.S., I took a relatively inexpensive two-week vacation to Central America. I was still paying for it two years later. In the five years I have been overseas, I have been to twenty different countries on four continents.

I am surrounded by people who are curious about other people and cultures, rather than surrounded by the incurious or fearful…

No Child Left Behind was supposed to guarantee accountability from EVERYONE: teachers, administrators, parents, students. I am still waiting to see how the parents and students are being held accountable. I strongly dislike being lied to, and that is how I feel I was treated by the federal government on NCLB.

I can’t think of what would drag me back to the U.S. other than a massive cash infusion. I have another 120 reasons for not teaching in the U.S., but I would like to hear from others…

Yep. Sorry it's so convoluted. Like usual, I am trying to do ten things at once!

The scariest aspect of this insistence on hiring couples over singles is that I hear from more and more people that even the "best" schools are trying to interview couples exclusively. As the last post notes, this is not best practice if the school truly intends to hire the best teachers, as so many of the schools claim. This is merely lowering their own standards to improve their bottom line. Too bad for their students, and for those of us who are not married, yet who are probably the best choice as a teacher for those students :D .

As I said earlier, it's good to be wanted. Congratulations! It sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Enjoy the experience!

Congratulations! It always feels good to be wanted, especially after rejections. It really does take an extra effort to keep the rejections from feeling personal when it's usually simply a case of a bad fit (like not being a teaching couple!). Best of luck reaching your decision.

I may have posted this here before. The only contact I had with Ecole Mondiale was IB training that EMWS hosted a few years ago. I was there about a week. Most of the teachers I met from that school were Indian, and they were VERY focused on improving their students' education. The teachers with whom I spoke were professionals who would probably not allow standards to slip around them. At least, that was my impression. For what it's worth...

As for the facilities, I believe there is a rooftop swimming pool but I did not see it myself. The buildings are in good repair. They are several stories high and you have to walk up. The restrooms smelled a bit off. The cafeteria was nice, clean. The raft of employees and volunteers who were showing us around were invariably polite. The campus is located within a guarded wall. The guards made sure anyone who entered had a badge, that they were supposed to be there.

Mumbai has the worst air quality of any city I have spent more than a day visiting--including Cairo, Beijing, Delhi. I stood on the beach-ON the beach-and could not smell the ocean. It's very warm--always great in my world!

My overall impression was definitely not negative. I do not know if this helps any at all, but it's about all the information I myself have. Anyone else?