Hong Kong's air pollution is really getting terrible. I was just there last month and it reminded me of Shanghai 5 years ago. I'm sure it's coming from mainland. I am a big fan of Malaysia. The air is clean, except during the Indonesian burning season in July/August. The people are nice and don't stare, like China. The food is amazing and English is widely spoken. We live in a neighborhood with a park and the kids can ride their bikes to the park and shops like normal people. Better than living in a compound.

Same boat but worse; teacher, trailer, and 3 kids. Look to S.E. Asia. We also did well in China at British schools. Then these guys took us. So, there you go.

This is totally hearsay but, many IB teachers think that MYP does not prepare students for DP. So, the gap is often filled with IGCSE especially in British schools. I don't know what non British schools do.

Start ups are great. It's like re inventing the wheel. Don't knock it.

Dear Higgsbosomn,

You are correct sir.

But, you could see it another way, having no prying eyes also means you can be as creative and innovative as you always dreamed. You have a blank slate on which to make your mark. I loved my years working in a start up. Kids were keen, I was inventing the wheel and it was very rewarding.


:-)

Hey there Pickwick, I also am doing my PGCEi online. I'm fastracking so should be finished by May.

Anyhow, look into TES, TIC, Anthony Millard, for recruitment. These are predominantly British sites, which matches well with a PGCE. Also, check out the international teaching forum on TES. tes.co.uk. ticrecruitment.com, anthonymillard.co.uk Anthony Millard specializes, it seems, in admin recruitment, but they have teaching vacancies as well.

Anthony Millard is also good for places that are a bit desperate for teachers, which could be bad or an adventure. I interviewed last May for a job with a Pearson (publishing) initiated school in middle of know where China (which I fancied). I didn't even have a teaching cert then, just had experience teaching IGCSE ESL. I didn't go in the end, they weren't really prepared and had no idea how difficult it was going to be.

So, there you go.

We also got a job with a trailer and 3 primary aged children. We have to pay 5% tuition for the kids, which is ok. My husband is a Maths teacher, so a high needs area. However there are other schools like this one that look for couples and families. It can be pretty lonely on this island.
We were in Shanghai before, which was great and I miss it every day, but for the kids, this is much better. We lived in a high rise, downtown, which was an hour from the school. Now, we are in a neighbourhood where the kids can ride their bikes to the park. The air is clean. We're 10 min walk from the school. Sorry, I digressed.
Anyhow, there are places for you out there, just not a lot. We did get a lot of interviews at schools that weren't into schooling 3 kids. Those places are all about the money though. Search carefully.

Please don't lie to the parents. I was part of a start up team for a name brand school catering to local (rich) students and the admin just lied to the parents . The expat staff were really uncomfortable and lost all respect for the higher ups. One reason we left was because it just seemed like they were trying to fleece the locals.
I think it's a great opportunity for kids that are bright but just don't fit into the mainstream Chinese system. We had a few students that kept failing locally but came to us and really developed and now one is at Oxford studying Art, a subject he would never had the same opportunity to explore at his local high school. So, a way to market it would be to offer an alternative educational experience to bring out the best in the child. It's important that the parents have realistic expectations so even though you want to razzle dazzle, keep in mind that you have to live up to your promises.
And don't lie to the prospective teachers. Start ups are really difficult, no matter how famous the name of the school is and that's the truth. However in many ways it was the best experience. We really created something.

We did ok. Maths teacher with I.B. and Further Maths experience with a non teaching spouse and 3 kids. We did come from a top tier school in China and 8 years experience overseas. However, it took sending 18 c.v.'s and 6 interviews where some audibly groaned when they heard about the 3 primary aged kids. So, schools that are all about the money and don't like giving free tuition to two kids won't like you but.....you never know. Some schools actively look for couples and kids to promote stability. In our school, the singles don't often stay past one contract. Try Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia or a new school that's opening.

Ok. Well, we interviewed there. They actually flew us to the school. This was about a year and a half ago so things may have changed. However, at the time, it was a long drive to the school and from the school to the nearest shop. Drive. Apartments nice, but very small. Buildings and classrooms were first class and there was a 1 to 1 iPad policy.
We have kids so, we were very concerned about the student body and their very ESL condition. We have been in Asia a long time and appreciate the second language, but at the time, about 90% of the students were local. The interview consisted of a demo class. We were not the only prospects on that 2 am flight. (Jeju is kind of a pain to get to from some places like HK) There were a bunch of us. After arriving we were taken to a place to rest but they forgot to make up our room, so we weren't able to get any rest before the interview. Anyhow, after all that, on the return flight, not one of the interviewees expressed any interested in working there. Plus, the school never ever followed up. We never heard from them again. Finally, it was overheard from the interviewers that they would not bring prospective candidates to Jeju again. Interviews would be given in London or Skype. Like I said, this was spring 2012, things may have changed.

I also must add, that I had colleagues who had been at the same school for over 8 years, who had grown their family to over two kids who were told that their contracts wouldn't be renewed because they didn't want to make space for them in primary. That is colleagues, plural.

If you look, many schools have a limit on free spaces for teachers' children, and then you have to pay.

May I say my two cents?

Psyguy is not gentle, but he's totally right.

We came across to Shanghai with one kid one Math teaching spouse and one non teacher. We were lucky, my spouse was a newly qualified teacher with a non teaching spouse and a kid, and we got a job. Why? Because we'd lived there before and the head was having difficulty keeping staff in Shanghai. We sold ourselves as old China hands.

Clock forward 8 years and two more kids and experience in IB and teaching at a tier1 school in another city in China with the other spouse getting a job too.

Then we were looking to move back to Shanghai or at least stay in China. After many interviews where we were told outright that with three kids in primary, we were not ideal.

So, I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. China is still a more difficult post than others but schools don't like to give away spaces and still need to make money.

Also, from experience, having smaller kids makes it difficult for working. One kid had to stay home for 3 weeks with an infection and if I hadn't been living in a country with very cheap domestic help, I would have been stuck. With no family around to lean on, you need some kind of backup.

I lived in China for 15 years and visited all of those places even living in a couple and I would side with Psyguy on this. There is a huge gap between tier 1 cities like Sh and BJ and Gz (though GZ has a different vibe being that it's closer to HK) and The others. Chengdu has a lot of back packers. But you can't really make friends with them. In second tier cities, the expats are generally ESL teachers so social life is a little stunted. It's really just a difference in sophistication in your living standard, if that makes any sense. In SH my kids still get stared at, in Dongguan it's amplified.

It's correctly called, the Guiyang City Baiyun District No.2 Middle School.

This is a start up A-level program backed by Pearson (Longman). Anyone know anything?
I've looked on TES forums and googled until I'm blue in the face without much result.

Thanks