Helen Back wrote:
> What's my criteria? Family oriented, in and out of school, able to live
> comfortably (4 bed house with garden), go away on a few weekends / holidays
> and stay in four star-ish places plus save US$30,000+ a year (we're a
> teaching couple). Also decent international healthcare and free flights and
> schooling for the kids.
>
> What schools could I add?

We have a house, semi detached, a garden and a dog and car. We live in a regular neighborhood, not a compound. Kids bike around the neighborhood and down to the shops/restaurants. There're two parks nearby, one bigger with a basketball half court, play equip and a small football pitch. We live a very normal kind of life. Salary isn't great but with two working it's ok. grdwdgrrrl@yahoo.com for more info.

I am and have been for awhile. For me I was looking at positions as International Student advisor and the like. I have a background in Intercultural Communications. I'm a teacher now but still have my eye open for something in the future. I have no idea about a k-12 subgroup. I find it's mostly for college age students however I know many private schools have numbers of international students. What job are you looking for?

In my experience, there are often, and in the case of a school I know, every year, a January opening for a Math teacher.

Amusing User Name wrote:
> What does ASA mean in the context of education? Thanks

ASA, CCA, ECA all mean outside curriculum activity. It's usually after school when the teachers run an extra activity; sometimes sports, sometimes creative, sometimes boring, sometimes filling a hole. At my school it can happen at lunch time or before school.

Not just China.....
'Filthy air' prompts 'very high' pollution alert for London
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38716498

TeacherIan wrote:
> I unserstand that, but it's also not that easy. The universities and
> colleges of the Canadian province where I came from (BC) churn out over
> 1100 new teachers every year. The number of Canadian teachers transferring
> into our province totals on average around 700 teachers a year. The average
> number of teaching vacancies each year.... approximately 800-900. You do
> the math. And yes, I know that not all graduates will actually enter the
> profession and others will leave the country while others are hit by
> busses. All I'm saying is that BC is an incredibley competitive market.
> Added to that, it is one of the most expensive places to live in Canada.
> Even if you are fortunate enough to procure a position after being on the
> sub list for years, the salary is barely enough to support a family. Yes, I
> could move my family up to the northern territories in order to do time and
> get seniority in the system, but isn't that settling anyway? How many
> teachers in their home country have their dream job?
> I'm not complaining about my current situation. I understand how I got here
> and that it was my choice. All I'm saying is that there are times in one's
> life where settling might be the best option. Especially if it places you
> in a little bit better of a situation than the one you are in.

I completely understand and relate. Sometimes, even with a lot of experience in a hard to fill subject (IB++many years), a family must do what they must do. No need to defend yourself or feel badly about it. Some people have no empathy, don't listen to them. I support you and know you are doing your best for your family!

I did this about 15 yrs ago. As a foreign teacher, I was the English conversation etc. teacher. I was mostly not used as an effective teacher but trotted out and shown off. I was referred to as "our foreign teacher" with pride. I met others like me around that time. I don't know if regular public schools have the same attitude toward their foreign teachers these days, I sure hope not. However, Ithey still have them and want them. The pay is probably much better now. I'd check out daveseslcafe.com for those kinds of jobs. Foreign teachers only teach English stuff. The previous poster is referring to a public school with an international program, that is different, that requires subject specialties.

Nanchang is not on any backpacker route. I have had friends that lived their. The working spouse was a project manager for a foreign company. They moved from Shanghai and for the same money found a three story house with a garden. She brought her ayi from Shanghai to help with the transition. As soon as she hired a local ayi, things went down hill. The ayi spit on the floor. Used the toilet water to mop the floor etc, etc. We visited a couple times. It is a third tier Chinese city. It is a #%it hole comparatively speaking. There is a small expat community. The school is relatively new. Very small and cozy. Their daughter went as soon as it opened. Before that they were at a local "international" kindergarten where their daughter drew crowds of curious parents. Foreigners are a curiosity. You may or may not last two years. However, your Chinese will improve.

Good Luck.

Also interested in info about living and working their. I travelled there 20 years ago as a backpacker. I can't say that experience is enough to inform a move their.

Interesting. So, it seems that more than one international school in Malaysia has teachers that are past it and maintaining the status quo. I guess that's what happens in a country known for it's retirement communities. Malaysia My Second Home anyone? There are pensioners on the beach and in the classrooms.

We have similar feelings about being abroad with our kids. We were very long term in China and two of my children were born there. Because of the transient nature of Int'l schools we chose to put our kids in a nearby local kindy and primary school to counteract that transient ness. So, they had neighborhood friends and though they were the one foreign kid in school, the curiosity factor faded quickly. Besides, their language skills are amazing. Now, we are in a different country, and the kids are at our international school. Classmates come and go, and their Chinese has plateaued but, they are happy. So, being happy is important and so far we've succeeded with them. However, even though we'd really like to move on, we have decided to stay another contract in order to maintain some stability. We don't want to move every two years, it's such a pain and disruptive.

We had three kids in local kindy and primary school, they all responded well except our oldest who has always had issues with authority. No way in middle school. It becomes entirely exam focussed after primary.

twimih wrote:
> Here's my perspective. I've been relatively wealthy in the Middle East,
> middle class in the US, and poor in Europe. The happiest time was the poor
> in Europe time. I was young, and that's the best time to do it.
>
> As you get older you need more savings for things like kids, retirement,
> and other big, expensive, unexpected events. When you have decades ahead of
> you, you can afford a few lean years. Not so when you're older. I disagree
> with the idea of saving first and then live somewhere expensive. The older
> I get, the more important those savings become, and they're not for
> frivolous things.
>
> My advice is to take the job in Europe, know you probably won't save
> anything, enjoy life there, and get that PYP experience. After a few years
> you can move on to a better school, a better income and savings potential,
> and other, different experiences.

That is THE best advice. This is coming from someone who was a frivolous traveller in my youth and then the responsibility of family slammed into me and now it's all about savings and taking care of them. I would do it again and recommend it to everyone. So, have fun and enjoy life and living while you're young. Get your experience and then there you go.

I know nothing bout the school. However, it is probably one of the many many schools opening up for Chinese nationals. Depends a great deal on how profit making they are keen to be. Working with a Chinese management team is a challenge, be well informed. However, in my experience, Chinese students are very respectful and hard working. Of course there will be an ESL challenge and the difference in teaching pedagogy that will need to be addressed.

As for Shenyang, the food I liked and the accent is very pure. It's a great place to learn and be exposed to Mandarin. There's a bit of colonial Russian architecture around the center of the city. 3rd tier city maybe 2nd tier. Yes, cold in winter, but a nice dry cold and they have central heating everywhere because it's north of the Yangtze River.

One of the furnaces of China but it's not 50, more like 35+ but, sometimes it's the type of heat, it was miserable and still hot at night. However, I now live in a place where it's 35+ during the day 365 days a year, sometimes humid sometimes not but it's nice at night. Anyhow, it's all relative.