I wasnt trying to be funny, it might come off as that, but its really pretty accurate.

Depends a lot on the school and region. I never worked harder as a teacher then when I was in Kyoto/Japan. China was work, but off time was off time, and there was more of it. Thailand was pretty easy but the social life was a lot more taxing, and it had its own vices. Italy wasnt as easy as Denmark, but only by a little. Even within a particular country workloads vary drastically between 2nd tier and the elite schools. Ichiro works much harder then I did when I was in Thailand, but he teaches at ISb ("THE" elite school).

As for myself now, I'm an admin, and I've posted this breakdown before, so the rest is a repost...
I've never been an administrator in the USA, I havent been in an american classroom in half a decade.

First, I'm a junior admin, I'm not a principal or head. I dont have supervisory authority over staff (I cant hire, fire, or discipline staff. I cant write a staff member up and I cant reprimand them). My formal title is "IB Coordinator" though officially its "Academic Coordinator". I teach at the international school in a municipal district which is about as close to a public school as you can get here. In practicality I'm the Academic Vice Principal. Our school has three principals: 1 each for PYP, MYP, and DIP. Above them at central office there is a Director of Education, and above them a commissioner of Children's Services. We have three VP's (Academic, Students, Support Services), and below them we have a counselor, librarian (IT coordinator), and a administrative representative (admin assistant/receptionist/clerk).

We dont have nearly the number of disciplinary problems you could imagine, we have maybe 1 or 2 a week. Most of them are very minor infractions, like dress code violations. We have maybe 2 altercations (fights) a year. I do see students and can impose disciplinary measures, but my scope is limited to those infractions of an academic nature. we have a VP of Students who does the rest. Most of our behavior infractions honestly involve special ed (learning support) students who have been integrated into the general classroom. The discipline problems we do have are typically the cutting up, goofing off, attention seeking types of infractions, I dont see those kids (I only mention the dress code above, because dress code violations fall under the academic honor code, not the student handbook. I dont know why.)

We have staff meetings almost never. Once a month and people tend to have reasons for not attending. The admin team meets more often and more regularly. The reason we dont have a lot of staff meetings, is because nothing gets accomplished. They are very big on "buy-in" and consensus here. The beginning of the year and end of the year meeting (or PD) can encompass a single issue, such as last years lunch room rules. which took the staff 5 days over the course of a month to adapt, and only got approved at the beginning of the year by student council.

We dont have state testing we do IB testing in 11/12 grade and thats a whole other animal. We dont have state mandated testing at lower grade levels. The whole high stakes testing as you have under NCLB in the USA just doesnt exist here. That said secondary education break off at the end of 9th grade with the majority of students entering "Gymnasium", they sit for the STX admission exams upon completing the 9th year. Upon graduation they sit for the Studentereksamen which is an exit level test. The Gymnasium, system is a lot like the IB system accept it lasts 3 years. Students choose a path (many are available, though typically each school offers a natural science, a social science, and a liberal/fine arts path), in the system and designate subjects of A, B, C. A subjects are studied for all three years B subjects 2, and C subjects 1 year. I dont deal with any of that though, because were the international school, and our curriculum is all IBO.

There is no annual formal teacher evaluation. Unless a teacher has issues, in which case that is overseen my the principal. I do walk throughs on occasion, which involve walking down the hall and observing from the hall (all of our classrooms (except for the music studio) are class facing the hallway. There is no prescribed form, but I do have an "Observation" note form if I see something to cause concern (filling one of these out is a big deal here).

We have designated PD days. Five days before the start of the year, 5 days at the end of the year, and 1 day between terms (we have a tri-mester system, with each quarter 3 months long not counting holidays, and summer) with the last week of the trimester being designated exam period. Our school policy requires each course to conclude with a formative and summative examination (though the examination need not be a test, it can be a final project or paper). PD at our school involves a lot of "IB" curriculum alignment. We dont really do new methods seminars, or pedagogy type of workshops. In my experience I havent had much of those types of PD anywhere outside the USA.

My day is way, way, way more relaxed. In fact the reason im able to post a lot on this forum is I have little to do. Most of my day involves meeting with parents, and other professionals. Our school runs very smoothly because we do a lot of preemptive intervention. Its really stealth social engineering. I spend a lot of my day reviewing grades and student progress, looking for abnormalities that signify a problem. I then consult with other professionals and admins to address the issue before its even a problem. One example: the students in the early years art class had a high percentage of side talk during project time. As a result, we moved the large round easel tables out and replaced them with long tables so that students only had 2 neighbors instead of 4. Once this was approved it happened in a day, over night. The approval process took an afternoon. I had an american student MYP 1 student who was having a difficult time grasping fractions. Once I received the report, talked to the counselor, and student services VP, we invited the student to earn community service hours (a requirement) to tutor 5th graders in math in our after school program. By working with these younger students as a tutor, under direction and instruction of teachers his math grades have significantly improved.

My typical day: Humm.

8:00am arrive at school. Have tea and danish in faculty lounge. Read newspaper on iPad.

8:20 Go to office. Logon to computer.

8:30 Classes start. Curse at computer, because I dont read Danish. Logon to Ipad to check email.

8:45 Go to mail room, compliment receptionist on outfit.

9:00 Throw mail away (its all in danish). Email departments where mail notices came from and request update (writing email in english).

9:30 Go to bathroom.

9:35 Get hot coco from teachers lounge.

9:45 Drop by PYP principal's office.

10:00 Drop By MYP principals office

10:15 Drop by DIP principals office.

10:30 Start Lunch Rounds

10:45 Log onto OCC, start presentation that will never be used.

10:59 Look at appointments. Teacher coming into ask for money at 11am

11:05 Teacher meeting. No you cant have money for glitter paint, have you checked our HUGELY equipped supply closet or talked to the art teacher. I'll send her an email on your behalf.

11:31 Teacher has glitter paint.

12:00 Check appointments for parent conferences. 1 meeting at 1:30pm

12:02 Check Email.

12:06 Go to teacher lounge for hot tea.

12:10 visit with Counselor

12:30 Eat lunch with PYP 5 students. Discuss Justin Bieber and why Selena Gomez broke up with him.

1:00 Thank cafeteria staff for doing such a great job.

1:02 Listen to Cafeteria monitors/aids report. Take notes.

1:05 send email to VP of Students on lunch issues (none).

1:10 Go to bathroom.

1:25 Go to office, grab folder, and notepad. Wait for parent to arrive at front of school.

1:40 Parent arrives, go to conference room 1. offer parent some water, fruit and pastry. Parent accepts.

2:20 Parent leaves.

2:25 Go to office, check email.

2:30 School is over. Monitor PYP playground and pickup gate. Smile and greet parents.

2:45 Go to cafeteria for after school program. Check in with teachers.

2:50 Go to office Check Email. Write up parent conference notes.

3:00 Go to bar, have beer. Look at appointment calendar for tomorrow.

4:30 Grab supper, Pizza Margarita. Read Book.

6:30 Go home.

My old school in Italy isn't giving an increase, over the current experience steps already in place (no big surprise there).

My school here in Denmark hasn't released any info yet, but there hasn't been a raise for a couple of years, and no ones expecting one this year.

@ichiro

Yes really, but dont worry about it, im not interested in taking a step backword. Its been weeks since I got the email, and im sure they moved down the stack.

Thank you for the clarification. I didn't mean to over simplify the process, and I do apologize. I am familiar with the process, your right you can't just walk into a classroom with a B.Ed. My intention was to indicate that after your B.Ed, outside of applying and receiving approval, there isn't further certification training to undergo that results in an additional formal certificate or license (such as a PGCE).

I get the feeling the review on ISR was written by an admin of the school. They are very, very new and ambitious, to say the least. Kind of like a very preppy experience for primary school students. They dont have their IB authorization (they are a candidate school), they provide primary, starting next year secondary. They will be a feeder school for Langkaer Gymnasium, which started their Dip program this year. Its a nice little collaboration.

They are a VERY for profit school, and have that mentality. They are heavily into recruiting, and from what I have heard from several of our teachers they seem pretty aggressive. A few notes though they only hire those who have permission already to work in Denmark (that what your CPR number is for) so they arent hiring people who dont already have Danish Work Permits /Visas (which is why they are so aggressively recruiting our foreign staff). They also dont provide an expat package for relocation, so no airfare, housing, etc (yet another reason they are so aggressive at hiring locals). They do have a nice salary, but their compensation is basically a "local hire" package: salary + benefits (insurance, retirement). Some of our teachers have been offered signing incentives/bonuses, that when would mean the same thing, because really at the end of the day, whatever an employer calls it, its all just money in one form or another. A typical teachers salary in Denmark is about 25K Crowns/month. From what I've heard (and this is second hand) they have been offering salaries around 27K/29K. Then again they appear to be able to afford it.

The school building and facilities are pretty modern, though overall "small" (but everything has that "new" feeling to it). The leadership seems supportive and friendly enough, though theirs a certain business and abstract academic approach to management. They aren't micro managers though was the impression i got.

The big issue though is this isnt Copenhagen by ANY stretch of the imagination. Its a very small suburban business/college town. There's nothing there to really do. The main center of the area is the port harbor (AKA the business center), theres a business college/university and a small university commons but seriously, its a sleepy town of middle aged business owners. Great place to raise some kids, and settle down for the long quite (and COLD) winter with your spouse (Hallmark probably uses this place as inspiration for Christmas cards). I know they have a beach, but when I was in Helsingere in northern Denmark in August, the water was about 10 degrees C (50 degrees F) so not a whole lot happening there.

I wouldnt work there but Im a single guy in my 30's, so its not really the place for me. That aside, no one really knows whats going to happen or what there management style is going to become. Right now its sale time early and the rainbows and sunshine required for all levels of students/staff/parents, etc. If you could get in on the ground floor it might be an opportunity to be a founding part of a school that may have a long and prestigious history sometime in the future. My opinion is that this schools a "corporate" school, and at some point business is going to run up against the classroom, and business is going to win.

**DISCLAIMER**, we had a very brief conversation, about myself coming over as a teacher, but there wasnt an admin opportunity they were offering so the conversation ended pretty quick. I dont think im bias, but nobody ever thinks they are.

@Hallier
That's before taxes. You start retirement your first year.


@Daisy
Could be, its one of the areas they are recruiting for. It doesnt really matter though. We wouldnt be a good fit, Id work too much, and get tired, and resentful. They would think I was lazy an uninterested in contributing to the school community/family. I'd either end of quitting or getting fired before the end of my contract. The money with that cost of living is very attractive though, but i became a teacher for the time off. If i wanted to work 50 hours a week id have stayed in the corporate sector.

(This is where you reply with some personal attack.)

Yeah, I'd agree with you on that at a simplistic level, this forum gives me a very different opportunity to interact with my audience that I couldnt do so in person for professional reasons. The anonymity allows me to up the level of my message that could have repercussions for me personally/professionally. I think thats primarily true of a lot of forums though. Its not a different me, just getting to express the more polar ends of my own personality that are typically suppressed as part of my "idealized self image".

It didnt say specifically, I usually dont get interviewed for a particular position when I get an invite, since I have almost 30 teaching certifications usually schools are interested in me as a wild card sort of like "spackle" since I can fill just about any hole they have in a schedule. So usually I end up teaching a mix of MYP/DIP subjects in very specialized electives, where a school for instance will have 1 class each in say design technology, env. systems, statistics, psychology at the DIP level, and then the rest in say MYP general science, etc, and maybe an obscure language class.

It was a very general email, and read like a form email, as it wasnt specially addressed to me (the old "Dear Sir or Madam"). I havent responded yet and doubt I will.

Glad it wasnt something serious, good luck at the fair.

When your considering a region, especially in europe do the math on the costs of living. Many european countries (especially after taxes), wont say it directly, but would loose interest in a candidate if their compensation package wouldnt support your family. In their eyes you have 3 very young children, and despite being a teaching couple, one of you is going to need to stay home with the kids. It wouldnt be possible to support a family of 5 on one salary in many parts of europe and a school would be irresponsible to attempt to do so. Even on two salaries after factoring in an au pair or child care it would be very, very difficult.

Oh yeah, so not the place for me, though that kind of money is pretty attractive and a little compelling. I got an email a couple weeks ago was it, to interview with them at the BK fair this year.

Mac's are AWESOME, best computers ever (well Sonys would be tied if the didnt run windows). I placed flowers at the apple store, on the day Steve Jobs died.

Its a combination of reasons:

1) They are expanding (or they want to represent that they are expanding).

2) They have seperate facilities and campuses, and the logistics of moving teachers physically across building is prohibitive, even if they have to build redundancy.

3) They are a transition school. Teachers come in to do their 2 years, build their IB experience and then move when they are around 5 years, to where they really want to go. Usually a teacher starts out in a second tier school somewhere in asia, then moves on to a first tier school and then moves on to Japan/Europe.

4) Its not a bad school, its just an expensive city to live in ever since the financial focus in the region has shifted from Hong Kong to Shanghai, and its still very chinese, its not the westernization you see in HK. In some ways Shanghai resembles Singapore a lot, there isnt a whole lot to do outside shopping, eating, and drinking.

First, many admin positions (mine included) were filled externally, the demand has increased to the point that Search now has an admin/leadership fair for them specifically.

You must be from the states, because almost all international schools are private and dont have superintendent. The term is usually headmaster or headmistress (dont giggle) to describe a schools CEO (usually referred to as the "head"), who may be the schools owner or reports to a board. Below that you have principals. Usually 1 for primary and 1 for secondary. If an IB school they may have three (PYP, MYP, DIP), sometimes these principals are called directors or coordinators. Below those you have Assistant (Vice) Principals, who may also be called Coordinators, or Assistant Coordinators, or Assistant Directors, or Deputy Directors.

Sorry for the lecture. I was trying to figure out how to write this, but I think any recruiter for a school would find in strange and probably worrisome that youd be "stepping back" from being an admin to a teacher. Along that line, your time as an admin has effectively removed you from the classroom for some length of time, which means your not "currently" a teacher, and a recruiter might be concerned how "dated" your skills are.

In all honesty, we (I) just dont know enough about you or your resume to really comment on how any particular recruiter would perceive you. Though I believe your comment of "missing the classroom" is an understandable one.