Search found 49 matches

by s0830887
Tue Jan 14, 2020 12:07 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How does 3 years at one school look?
Replies: 34
Views: 43671

Re: How does 3 years at one school look?

I know of several top tier schools in different parts of the world that have recently begun to shift ITs onto local salaries after 3-5 years on staff. In one case, several of my friends got totally shafted and are leaving after 3 years because of it. All new hires sign this new contract, which means the schools are incentivizing them to leave after just a few years—this was a money saving measure. I’m not totally sure I understand why it saves money, but it’s happening. I’m not sure a generalization can be made that the top schools value tenures of longer than 3 years...I’m sure some schools do but they’re by far the small minority.
by s0830887
Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:02 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal
Replies: 16
Views: 25783

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

I’m American with the Teach Now/DC Credential and I was denied QTS for doing my fieldwork outside of the US. :-(
by s0830887
Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:03 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Questions Regarding Teacher Ready Program
Replies: 28
Views: 30689

Re: Questions Regarding Teacher Ready Program

Interesting. Maybe some day I can transfer my license to another state and try again for QTS. My partner is Scottish and if we ever decide to relocate there permanently, my certification not transferring will be an issue so glad to hear there may be a way around it.

It was especially interesting that the email specified requirements not for D.C. licenses, but for the Teach Now program. My money is on an internal memo.
by s0830887
Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:56 am
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
Replies: 27
Views: 69982

Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?

I did Teach Now and I highly recommend it. I seriously considered provisional licensing options like UT and MA, but in the end decided that paying extra to get a full 4-year renewable license was worth it, and it was. I also got a surprisingly rigorous education for an online program, and had a great mentor during student teaching. Absolutely worth the time and money in terms of education and future options (I've had three job offers abroad), especially if you are someone like me who needs external structure when studying (vs. the self-paced Teacher Ready). Also their payment plan is excellent and doesn't include any interest.
by s0830887
Mon Apr 01, 2019 9:42 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Questions Regarding Teacher Ready Program
Replies: 28
Views: 30689

Re: Questions Regarding Teacher Ready Program

I did Teach Now, as I said in my previous comment. This is not atypical; as per the email text that I copied and pasted below, it is the current standard. My guess it that it is a new criteria as before I enrolled I read about folks from Teach Now getting QTS without issue. I know in the U.S. many states are grappling with reciprocity standards for alternative pathways and passing all sorts of new laws.

"To make your application complete, please provide us with the following additional document/s:

· Evidence of completing your Teach Now program in the United States.

This evidence could be a letter from the school where you did your practicum.

Please note that Teach Now programs undertaken in other countries are not eligible for QTS.

This is because the legislation from which we award QTS to Overseas Trained Teachers requires you to have undertaken teacher training in the United States.

Please note the letter must be dated within the last 3 months."
by s0830887
Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:43 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Questions Regarding Teacher Ready Program
Replies: 28
Views: 30689

Re: Questions Regarding Teacher Ready Program

"2) Yes, once you receive the professional credential you will be eligible for full QTS." Don't know how to quote sorry...

The above is not necessarily true. I did Teach Now last year, am now fully qualified in D.C., applied for QTS, and got an email stating that I am not eligible for QTS if I could not prove that I did my student teaching at a school within the US by providing a letter from that school. So, if you do Teacher Ready and you did your student teaching outside the US, you will not be eligible for QTS. Really really sucked to find that out.
by s0830887
Mon Mar 04, 2019 7:51 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: IE perception of Swedish curriculum?
Replies: 8
Views: 7209

Re: IE perception of Swedish curriculum?

Interesting, thanks to you both for taking the time to respond. We would be in the Stockholm area though preferably well in the suburbs. The school did mention that they have an economist that would help us find accommodation, but I don't know any details. I'm supposed to speak with the HOD this week, and I've got a list of new questions to ask thanks to you two.

The money/housing issues do sound daunting, but it feels like a better career move than a 3rd tier school in SEA with probationary accreditation and a poor academic reputation. Although the salary offered by said 3rd tier school is tempting. As PsyGuy said, we are not looking to retire now, we are angling to build up our earning potential in the long term. Then retire on a beach somewhere, of course, 'cause we're basic.
by s0830887
Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:40 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: IE perception of Swedish curriculum?
Replies: 8
Views: 7209

Re: IE perception of Swedish curriculum?

Thanks for taking the time to reply! You're right to question all of that. The school is a large bilingual chain with an NQT program (IES), there is tons of info online. Parents say they like them because they're a bit more rigorous than regular Swedish schools (but still Swedish), but it seems they like to hire from abroad because they pay less than the average Swedish teacher salary. Teachers hate the pay and the for-profit, but that's the worst I've read. We're already jaded, we would have two incomes, we hate driving, and both of us are in need of some good healthcare, so all of that doesn't completely scare us off. Especially compared to our other options.

We've been interviewed and rejected by three decent ISs, turned down a crappy one, have another crappy one on the table, etc. My partner has been teaching seven years, just four years international. He's actually in a leadership position at his current (pretty good not amazing) school and his admins love him, though yes he's young for it. He is ready to move on, however, so the goal is to get me classroom experience (can't do that here) and not tank his career at the same time.

So yeah. Good instincts, we've had all the same thoughts. I THINK we are well-informed, but feel free to tell me if you think it's a bad move. The most important consideration is if we'd be hirable by a not-horrible IS at the end of our time there.
by s0830887
Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:56 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: IE perception of Swedish curriculum?
Replies: 8
Views: 7209

IE perception of Swedish curriculum?

Hi all, I'm an NQT and have been tentatively offered a position teaching year 7 maths at a Swedish curriculum school in Sweden. My partner is a U.K.-qualified teacher/subject coordinator (English/Phil) with 4 years experience in IE, and they're currently considering him for a couple teaching and/or leadership roles at the corresponding high school, which offers IB, so he would be able to gain IB experience which is very positive.

So, this is a career change for me and while I do have a background in academia, there's no substitute for that oh-so-important experience and I want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot by gaining that experience within the Swedish curriculum. AFAIK Sweden is generally well-regarded in terms of education, but now that I've looked into it I can see they're having some issues.

So. Good move? Bad move? What does the IE world think of Swedish curriculum?
by s0830887
Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:50 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Partner interested in becoming qualified to teach
Replies: 4
Views: 6684

Re: Partner interested in becoming qualified to teach

@shadowjack: Hi, thanks for replying. I'm the partner in question; I've borrowed the computer so I can talk about myself ;-).

My professional experience is a bit scattered, so bear with me. I was pre-med in college (I'm American), worked for six years during and after as a clinical assistant and scribe for an OB/GYN. I studied (and mostly aced) up through multivariate calculus and organic chemistry.

Didn't go to med school (obv), started freelance research/writing and tutoring mostly. Included in that is three years of tutoring math and science to three kids ages 8-15 with learning disabilities, a couple semesters tutoring college statistics, three years of ESL tutoring and classroom teaching, plus the light statistical modeling involved in the writing projects I do.

So, in terms of subject knowledge, no Masters degrees here but I am very comfortable up through grade 12, particularly for math. I wholly lack curriculum experience, which is arguably the most important part.

As an aside, I've been told it may be more feasible for me to get a primary job and move up to a math position as one opens up; I'm very willing to take that route.

I'm a little worried about doing Teach Now if sponsored by my partner's school. They're not exactly supportive, and would probably be less so if they knew the end goal was for us to leave the country ASAP after I get qualified. There are other options to look into for sponsorship, but barring those, how much more of a credibility issue would I have with the MA provisional license vs. the full D.C. license through Teach Now? Given my lack of classroom experience, would it even matter?

If MA, I would spend a semester studying/taking the exams then try and get hired on at a shitty fourth-rate IS in our current city (plenty of those, they hire unlicensed gringos). I'd have time to squeeze in a year of teaching while we look for jobs and get ready to leave. If Teach Now, because of the cohort model I would end up applying for jobs with only the 200 hour practicum under my belt. So, experience or credibility?

Thanks again for your reply. I feel like we're swimming in options, so your help is greatly appreciated!
by s0830887
Mon Nov 27, 2017 11:00 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Partner interested in becoming qualified to teach
Replies: 4
Views: 6684

Partner interested in becoming qualified to teach

Hi gang - hope we're all feeling good about the upcoming break!

I wanted to post about our situation to see if anyone had any ideas or comments on it. I know there are already a million posts like this, all slight variations on the previous ones. I promise we have read through as many of those as we could find.


The Situation:


- Me: qualified teacher, 4 years experience, teaching in a good school in LCSA. Experience of A-Level English, Thinking Skills, Philosophy. Philosophy Co-ordinator.
- Her: no teaching qualifications. Political writer for reputable online companies. High-level writing experience, but no in-classroom curriculum experience. ESL experience spread over 3 years, some in hagwons, lots of privates. She is not currently teaching in a school.


The Plan:


My partner is interested in becoming a qualified joint Math and Chemistry teacher. We are looking at all online options. We have explored the usual options - Teacher Ready, TeachNow, PGCEi, and MTEL Provisional License.

The *perfect* plan for us (assuming perfect is impossible, but using it as a baseline here) is for her to start a degree in Jan and complete the theoretical stuff as soon as possible - a 6-9 month timeline. Try to organise a teaching practice with a school near us; see if anyone will take on a 'free gringo', so to speak. Ideally, she is then fully qualified (no QTS) for us to consider moving to a new school together (being hired as a a teaching couple). By that time, I would have 5-6 years experience, 5 of which would be international. She would have no teaching experience bar the practical part of her degree, but would be qualified in an in-demand subject (right?)


The Questions:


1) Which is the best path for her? We'd like to avoid her having to go back to the US to do the practical part of her course if possible; same for the exam. But if we HAVE to, then we have to. Which of these courses (or any others) are the best mix of time, cost, and marketability?

2) What are the chances that we can get hired together at a good school in SE Asia? My subject (Philosophy) isn't super in-demand, but I would have decent English A-Level experience behind me by that time, and maybe schools like the flexibility of subjects I could offer (then again, maybe not - what do you think?) Does our joint potential possibly overcome her having to do the usual 'new teacher working through bad schools to get experience before moving up to better schools', or is that unlikely?

3) Is it feasible to organise the teacher practicum/in-class experience with an international school here? Do ISs do that? Are they happy with it? Or will it be more what I suspect, that a school MIGHT do it if we get right place/right time kinda luck, but generally the answer is 'it's too much effort'?

4) Any other comments or thoughts generally?

We both know this isn't a perfect scenario; our situation is a wee bit awkward. But she's ready and willing to bust her ass doing what she needs to do. We're not trying to half-arse this; we're trying to proactively plan for our long-term future and we are trying to figure out the best way to do that (before people start commenting the usual judgemental stuff about how newly qualified teachers can't teach anything anyway so we're doing students a disservice etc). Our situation forces us to be flexible with our route, and to do the best we can with what we can access.

NB: I'd also be super interested in talking to someone knowledgeable over Skype. I/we/she would also be happy to pay for your time!


Thanks to all of you in advance! I appreciate you taking the time to read this thread, even if you didn't feel able to/didn't have the time to comment on it.
by s0830887
Wed Sep 27, 2017 1:36 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Help! Need urgent advice
Replies: 33
Views: 67759

Re: Help! Need urgent advice

@OP:

Please please please name and shame. I know no-one likes to draw a spotlight onto themselves, but this is exactly the kind of information people need to know before accepting positions at this school. Please make sure your horrible experiences aren't worthless, and at least allow someone else to make a better decision in the future!

Are you in the ME/NA region perchance?
by s0830887
Thu Oct 20, 2016 11:20 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Middle East/Asia options
Replies: 17
Views: 30299

Re: Middle East/Asia options

Asv,

My opinion is much the same as the current ideas posted in here, which I feel isn´t the advice you were hoping for.

Can you get a job in China without a teaching certification? Yes. Will you be in a good school? No. Will you be paid well? Almost certainly not. Will you have medical insurance, flights back home, and other benefits? Unlikely. The less qualified you are, the lower quality job you will have, and, honestly, some of these jobs are absolute shit.

What is likely to happen is that you finally manage to make contact with a school that seems interested and offers you a job and initially you are elated. Then you arrive at the school and find it is hardly an international school, but more of a bilingual school where you have essentially been hired to teach ESL through the medium of history. The subject takes a backseat to the language. You will probably find your admin gives a shit about no-one other than their board of directors, and you will almost certainly be in a toxic work environment with a bunch of expats who are working there because they can´t handle working a job back at home or at a highly-achieving school elsewhere.

Of course, you might find a good job in a good school. It does happen. But it´s very, very rare.

I also agree with other posters that teaching is not the same thing as having expert subject knowledge. In my NQT year (Scottish version of QTS year) there were about 35 of us trying to complete our first year. All of us had completed a PGDE. I think 8 or 9 dropped out halfway through the year because they found teaching too demanding. The following year, we had a guy on placement who had a BA and MA history. He failed his placement because he had no classroom management, couldn´t structure a lesson, and couldn´t understand the difference between being a subject expert and being a teaching expert.

I am NOT a subject expert, but I am a decent teacher. I am good at getting students to understand the content at their level, and I have reasonable classroom control. I can connect with students and have a good relationship with almost all of them. I know when to pick a fight and when to let it go. My classroom is generally productive. However, if you ask me about my subject at a level higher than high-school and general knowledge picked up through reading and news, I cannot compete. I couldn´t be a university lecturer, for example. Luckily for me, that´s not important for what I have been hired to do. My point is that you are clearly super well educated, and you could explain high school history courses with ease - but teaching is so much more than explaining. I see it almost as a mix of acting and policing.

You really need to get some significant teaching practice before taking on a job like this. You need to have a mentor teacher who can show you the ropes, and who you can observe and understand what they do well and where they fall. You need to have your confidence shattered repeatedly by a bunch of savage adolescents, and you need to create lessons that fail, and try over and over again to get those lessons right. Lots of teachers find teaching reasonably straightforward most of the time, but that comes through experience. The majority of us find it difficult every single day, even after years of failing and improving and watching and trying again. Please do not take this lightly - you may well be very unhappy, and, honestly, your students deserve better.

Quickest way to do this - the University of Sunderland has an online iPGCE you can do, but my understanding of that is that it´s bare bones, and obviously doesn´t include any in-classroom experience, which is the absolute most important part of this. Most people recommend doing a teaching qual in your home country and two years of domestic teaching before looking abroad.
by s0830887
Tue Aug 30, 2016 1:24 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: European Pensions
Replies: 56
Views: 59713

Re: European Pensions

For the love of God, please stop the bickering. It's unbelievably petty from all sides and does absolutely nothing to advance the conversation. Can we please try to act like teachers, not high schoolers?
by s0830887
Tue Aug 30, 2016 12:48 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: A good Masters
Replies: 21
Views: 27454

Re: A good Masters

Yep, that's definitely the smart choice. I'm only 4 years into teaching though and I'm not sure I see myself as a 'career teacher' - not sure I'll hit 10 years honestly