What could go wrong?

Not sure what kind of school you are at but what you describe is unacceptable. Even at our small, relatively Mickey Mouse school in Egypt, there was someone associated with the school to show you some available apts. and deal with the landlords. Sure, it was probably because they had some nefarious deal and made some extra coin out of it but we were happy with the situation being brand new to city and country.

Reach out to your admin. and appeal for some help and guidance. It should be common sense that you can’t focus on your job if you are worried about where you will be sleeping that night, but maybe you could politely point that out to them. Good luck and hang in there.

nathan61 wrote:
> When talking about something as broad as American culture you have to make generalizations.
> That doesn't mean it isn't worth talking about. The US ranks shockingly low in
> terms of workers rights.
>
> https://www.ituc-csi.org/new-ituc-globa ... -index-the
>
> Calling it a political problem ignores the reality that slavery, strike breaking,
> the glory of the corporation as an individual, the idea of the US being very meritocratic,
> are all part of the cultural heritage. Us is a democracy, so on some level this
> is happening because Americans are OK with it. This is part of American culture,
> just like it is part of French culture to celebrate workers rights. France is on
> a nationwide strike over some changed retirement laws. Can you imagine a nationwide
> strike in the US? I can't. Cultural differences matter.
>
> The president elect is a symptom, and a very relevant data point. I am skeptical
> of that Gallup pole because it merely shows a recent uptick in pro worker sentiment
> as reported in a poll, and nothing more profound When it comes down to it, it is
> easy for American companies to hire and fire people. So Americans are conditioned
> to people being hire and fired, so are more amenable to it.
>
> This is just my opinion and oversimplification, and I will change my views as soon
> as Americans rally around livable wages, taking care of workers etc.
===============
So, in other words, no data and no walk back of your now clearly erroneous pronouncement about how "Most Americans view European style labor rights with disdain and consider this 'socialist'".

We already have one poster who makes confident pronouncements/over-generalizations without providing data. It's kind of his thing and you really shouldn't steal it.

To be fair, you did at least attempt to provide some data. It just did not address/support your very confidently stated pronouncement. You are certainly welcome to your opinions and welcome to state them. You should refrain though from stating what other peoples' opinions are without evidence to back it up. I'm out.

nathan61 wrote:
> wrldtrvlr123 wrote:
> > nathan61 wrote:
> > > Should I try to base my opinions of American labor norms on who I hang out with,
> > > or the data?
> > ==================
> > Sure. Show me the data that demonstrates that most Americans consider strong labor
> > rights to be 'socialist'.
> >
> > Here is some data for you, since you seem to be an expert on how most Americans
> feel
> > about things:
> > https://news.gallup.com/poll/241679/lab ... -high.aspx
>
> Wow, snarky. Calm down with the sarcastic remarks about me, and talk about the issues.
>
>
> I'll stand corrected if the USA is actually a bastion of workers rights among developed
> nations. Teaching may be one of the most unionized professions, but that little
> corner doesn't necessarily drive broad sentiment about workers rights among Americans.
> Lots of at will employees in the USA, who can be terminated without reason. In
> Europe you are going to need a reason to terminate an employee. This is pertinent
> because Americans take it for granted that they can hire and fire fairly easily,
> while Europeans take it for granted that it is very difficult to terminate an employee.
> This obviously drives what people consider normal behavior as a school director.
>
> As for unions, over the last 5 years there has been a lot of publicity around the
> decline of unions and workers rights. And look at the democratically elected president
> is the USA. Famous for saying "your fired!" on the apprentice.
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ty-problem
>
> https://qz.com/1542019/union-membership ... here-else/
====================
Well, when you make very sweeping generalizations about other people(s) and then feel the need to throw in 'Merican, you are making it about more then just the issues.

So, are you going to offer any actual data about your original statement (Most Americans view European style labor rights with disdain and consider this 'socialist') or will you have the courtesy to walk it back (or at least claim you were misquoted, taken out of context)?

Actual membership in unions, one political .'s anti-union agenda, our idiot president being elected by a minority of Americans, etc. are not data points that support your statement.

nathan61 wrote:
> Should I try to base my opinions of American labor norms on who I hang out with,
> or the data?
==================
Sure. Show me the data that demonstrates that most Americans consider strong labor rights to be 'socialist'.

Here is some data for you, since you seem to be an expert on how most Americans feel about things:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/241679/lab ... -high.aspx

nathan61 wrote:
> Most Americans view European style labor rights with disdain and consider this 'socialist.'
> "It is nearly impossible to fire people in Europe, that is why business and innovation
> thrives in the US, not in Europe." This is the idea many 'Mericans.
==================================
LOL. You must not be talking about American teachers. We love the concept of tenure, which makes it difficult to fire/non-renew us. Many of us are also fond of unions.

You should hang out with a better, more enlightened class of 'Mericans.

tangchao wrote:
Interesting that no one can see the link I identified.
=====================
You proposing a correlation based on your limited experience. It's fine but no more valid than anyone else coming to a conclusion based on their own anecdotal experience: Every time I mix beer and wine I throw up, so beer and wine makes everyone throw up. Actually, that one might be valid.

From my own experience and reviews/forums I've read, American leadership do not appear to be any more or less likely to purge staff than other nationalities. I read TES forums and it would appear that a significant number of UK leadership types seem quite fine with using bullying, capability procedures etc. to clean house, save money by getting rid of more experienced teachers, etc. (although they obviously can't fire with the same vigor and relish as many int'l school heads and owners).

In any case, I do agree with what was posted about new leadership often taking their cue from ownership/board.When I was first promoted to overnight supv. at an residential facility my boss told me job one was fixing the schedule, which apparently had been allowed to end up with all full time staff having 3 day weekends (and the organization having to paying an extra chunk of money for part time staff to work every weekend). My staff didn't exactly thank me for having to decide who suddenly had to work weekends after having Fri-Sun off every week for a year or two (which of course confirms my personal bias).

sid wrote:

> Anyway, PG will probably be around sooner or later on one of her "respond to every
> post" cycles, and give you a loooooong answer laying out the various options and
> details.
====================
Pretty sure that PG is a guy (at least I've always assumed that), unless they've gone all gender fluid on us (not that there is anything wrong with that).

IE_sciteacher wrote:
> Lets play the game!
>
> Teaching couple each with 6 years of IB experience in medium-high demand positions.
>
> Location: Southern China at a Strong Not-for-profit T2 International School
>
> Salary Each: $46000USD, plus 25% in RMB for living expenses, plus 10% for retirement
> (all taxes paid by school)
> Insurance: Full International and premiums paid by school, minus USA with the option
> to add at an additional cost
> Flights: $2200 each
> Housing: 15500 RMB a month (combined)
> PD: $1250 USD (each)
> Settling In and Shipping: $3000 and $1500 (each)
> Visas Costs are covered by the school
> Life and Longterm disability coverage
================
We lived/taught in Beijing previously. My frame of reference is a bit past it's sell by date, but I would say the additional 25% and the salary being net puts it a little beyond decent and into good. The fact that you are a teaching couple and the housing allowance is fairly reasonable means that you would likely be able to bank most (or even all) of one person's salary, and that's not even taking into account the 10% for retirement.

If the school seems decent to good and you are happy with the idea of the location then you certainly could do much worse for a few years.

It's not very helpful, but the answer is it varies wildly, from hours to never. It's impossible to know what stage of recruitment the school is at, whether the position is definitely open, whether they have someone in mind already, whether they actually do respond to all candidates, etc.

When in doubt, feel free to follow up with the school (but that may or may not get a useful response. The sad truth is that many schools and admin types are not the best at communication, follow through etc., unless they really want you.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @WT123
>
> Absolutely I agree, you want the attention and focus to be on the IS and how they
> treat (or trick) in IS holidays not the parents, th community etc. but that wouldnt
> be difficult to do, and the Reisgio effect has done so to date.
==============
Well, all of those schools (and more) I mentioned do have Halloween parades or similar events, at/during school, etc. They just don't necessarily make a big deal about it on their main school website.

Possibly, but only if you confine it to prominence on the school's formal website (as opposed to entries on a Facebook page, community events, local news, etc.). A simple web search would show that many good to great schools celebrate/allow students to celebrate Halloween to a greater or lesser degree (e.g. ASIJ, WABeijing, Singapore American School, HKIS, ASLondon, etc.).

If you're happy with a predictive tool that would allow you to miss out on those schools (and similar) because they have the odd Halloween activity/parade then I guess that's your prerogative.

Hi:

I don't have much useful advice for you. I understand your preferences/limitations but the fact is that states generally have their certification systems/requirements in place for people who will/might actually teach there. I thought I recalled reading that one of the alternative cert programs was open to non-US citizens but generally don't track all of the details/posts. Hopefully the resident expert will post and give you your options (such as they might be).

I do kind of disagree that most states do not offer licensure for your subject. FL and NY have Computer Science which would generally cover/equate with ICT, at least as far as many/most schools are concerned.

Good luck!

Not to seem sarcastic, but write as much as you need to effectively answer the question.

If you were verbally asked the question you wouldn't feel the need to put on a half day workshop on the subject, so don't feel the need to write an essay. Answer as you would if asked in an interview. Then, revise/extend to make sure you have crafted a concise but effective answer that puts your knowledge and experience in the best possible light.

Long story short: A paragraph, maybe two would be my best answer. Other opinions/experiences may vary.

Agreed. There are separate issues. The student left class and never returned. That should be dealt with according to whatever the school's policy is.

If there are are legitimate concerns or issues about the class, your teaching etc. then the principal should be working with you on that. Legitimate does not mean one student does not like you, misses the other teacher etc.

And yes, the letter should start with an apology for ditching your class. Sadly, the student probably went to complain to the principal instead of sitting in your class. Good luck and hang in there!