If you work at one of the top schools with clean air at school and support for air purifiers at home it can be worth it. The days when the air is clean doesn't make it into the news. And there are grocery stores that cater to Westerners.

It's a drag when you have days when the pollution is bad, but where I work in China (one of Those Big Schools) is truly amazing and when the air is good it's a great place to be.

If I was offered a job at a school that didn't take pollution seriously I'd never take the job.

Experience is a great resource. Which, in this case, you don't have.

Come back and talk to me when you've been an administrator at a US accredited school that has lost teaching days.

This post has been removed by the forum moderator. Please refrain from name calling and belittling remarks that serve no purpose except to attack another user.

Mamava has lots of good advice. A good college counselor at an international school will be familiar with US schools that are generous with financial aid. You might want to have an early discussion at your current location with the college counselor to see what they may know and be able to help you with. It's not guaranteed, but not all kids who attend international schools (even really expensive ones) can pay their way to the US. I

Per usual PsyCho is more interested in the number of posts he makes than being factual.

US accredited schools must have a certain number of contact days. IB schools must meet a certain number of instructional hours. The majority of international schools will find some way to make up for a lost day due to closure. I have never worked at one that didn't, ranging from a real bottom of the barrel scraper to a few of the hardest to get hired by.

I suppose if it's a proprietary school that only does Cambridge exams you might get away with it, but you're asking for trouble otherwise.

Stick to the agreement you made. It's that simple. If you have second thoughts, learn from it and do well at the school you agreed to work at.

Sorry Senator but you're dead wrong. Most of the counselors I've worked with have a lot of job and are very busy. Especially true in non Western countries where social support services are in a different language or don't exist. I've seen them with some pretty hairy situations with kids that I wouldn't want to get near.

That you don't know any good counselors says more about you than the counselors, but I'm sure you're still special to them. I bet they could find a good home for your behavior somewhere in the DSM.

Two possibilities here:

1. Psyguy is a friend of the ISR owners, which is why he is allowed to hijack the forum, the purpose of which is to stink up the place and thus drive people over to the paid side of the forum (unless he's also posting like mad there).

2. The ISR owners have no sympathy for mental illness.

These possibilities are inspired by PG's legal theories of the Bantleman case, but I believe are more plausible.

I guess your word means nothing, Dave.

Hook, line, sinker.

Well of course you would say that because as far as I can tell you regard everyone who teaches internationally to be a bunch of sissies with no spine and even less judgment.

I have lived in Beijing for nine years now and my health is great. I know people who have lived here more than twice as long as me and they're in excellent health. It's true that I work at one of the big schools with state of the art air filtration and I have air filters at home. If you're the type who needs regular access to wide open green spaces and outdoor activities this isn't the place for you. If you're an urban dweller it can be great.

My guess is that in the last few years more people have died in the US from contaminated produce like bagged spinach and melons than have died in China. It's a developing country and so you need to shop with discretion. But you can be fine.

If you like working at Type A schools and like cities you can do very well here. If having to run air filters at home is unacceptable don't come. But a lot of people stay here a long time with no health issues over decades. Just saying.

How nice, PsyCo, that you've reneged on your promise not to post in this forum any longer.

Not.

Just stop it with telling people that lying can be a worthwhile way to get a job. It's not just unscrupulous recruiters who can give international hiring and teaching a bad name. It's educators like you.

What astounds me is that you have no shame.

I"m so glad that you don't work at my school. I doubt you'd last long.

I don't know anything about the school but I am not being flippant when I say that the name alone is enough to set off alarm bells.

Looking at their website they are clearly proprietary, have the most minimal amount of accreditation or authorization possible and I wouldn't dream of working there.

Facilities are often nice but are they built for learning or for show? Are they built to last or get something up as fast as possible?

One of my basic tests of an international school is if I'd consider working at it if it were in my home country. Let's see. For-profit, minimal oversight, weird name, bad English on their website. I'd pass at home or abroad.