As is always the case, it's the way you present yourself when asking such questions that will count. You want to come across as an interested parent and not a hyper-anxious helicopter parent. You want to be looking for alternatives, not demanding special treatment. You want to be saying "My son is really keen on the cello." Not "My son is going to be the next Yo-yo Ma." If you ask in the right way, no school worth its salt would take exception to such queries, and nor would any teachers. Write your questions to the person who interviewed you and see if (s)he can find out for you. We answer all kinds of questions for new hires, and no one turns a hair.
Depending on where you're going (not in Europe!), you can often find really high quality private tuition at very affordable rates!

@psyguy “Why should anyone care what the admin on this forum preach, their admin, its not like they know anything. Those that cant do teach, and those that cant teach administrate. You can pack all the leadership of an IS on a bus and drive it off a cliff and no one will even notice for weeks, and as soon as the faculty figure out how to get paid, then no one will even miss them.”
Dave, if you didn’t exist we’d have to invent you. How many more times shall we see this hoary old cliché about doing and teaching? And then you add the original and witty bit about administrating. Hahahaha. (The actual line is from a play by GBS “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” And GBS was a sparkling illustration of how people can be clever but not wise.)
I appreciate that you feel unloved and unwanted because you never made it up the ranks to become an administrator yourself, and that this site is like “Second Life” for you where you can reinvent yourself with stories about teaching in Cape Town, which you never have, or working at DODEA, which you never have, or having a doctorate, which you don’t possess, but you’re of an age now where you need to grow up and confront the world as an adult.
In one thing though, you’re right. Teaching can be a job or a career. For you, it’s a job. Or rather, a string of jobs at a series of bottom-feeder schools, where you stay for a few months or even a year until you get found out and then move on or, more likely, get moved on. You follow your own advice by stitching together a plausible but wholly imaginary resume and trust that there will be schools gullible enough to believe what you’ve written. Hence, all your talk about “ghosting” and “padding” and “inventing references”, which really amounts to lying, deceiving and falsifying.
If that’s the life you want, it can work. About 18 months ago, I posted a warning about doing this kind of stuff. The head of a school on an island in East Asia sent round a warning about a teacher he’d hired – a last minute fill in for an unexpected vacancy. He appointed someone from the States, through Skype, who seemed to have all the right attributes – at least on paper. He tried to contact the referees but it was the end of July and the phones just rang and rang.
As soon as the head met the teacher off the plane, he knew he’d made a mistake. The vibe that came off was just wrong. To cut a long story short, he ended up firing the guy within three months – he didn’t show up to work, didn’t provide sick notes, didn’t stay in to see a doctor the school sent to his apartment (because he was out playing cards, though he’d been too sick to go to work), when he did go to school he was abusive to colleagues, and he didn’t/couldn’t teach the curriculum.
When he’d finally gone, other teachers did some research on the guy. Many of the claims on his resume were fabrications: the advanced degree, the certifications, the experience – and it didn’t mention that he had a long running legal dispute with South San Antonio school district where he’d taken a job, just not shown up for work (ever) and was claiming leave pay. As for the referees, one of the organizations simply didn’t exist, one of the referees refused to speak and the other said that although this guy had worked there, they had parted on bad terms and she certainly could not make a recommendation.
You’d have thought that after the head sent around this information on the usual list serves – complete with the name and social security number of the teacher – this guy would never get a job again, but he surfaced a few months later on an archipelago in East Asia. Presumably with a different resume and referees.
All of which goes to show that Dave is right. If you treat international education as a great place to scam a living, don't care a hoot about the children you're harming and rely on the fact that bottom-feeder schools will have bottom-feeder administrators who only care about having warm bodies in situ, then you can find jobs. My presumption was that the OP wanted a career. If that is true, then my advice still holds. Don’t listen to losers.

Hahaha, the sound of heavy splashing as Dave rows back furiously...I find it quite bizarre that you and Joe 90 would have the temerity to contribute to a thread entitled "Advice on Growing as a Professional".
@santacruzin 1 Like many international teachers, I served my time in the state sector in my own country and then went abroad. My first school was pretty dire - like yours seems to be - but in my time there, I continued to learn the craft of teaching. Even back then, handing out worksheets and readings would have been seen as pretty shameful conduct for a teacher. I also spent time getting to know the students - time I'd never really had back in the state sector - and I suppose the pay-off is that half a dozen of those kids are still in touch with me thirty years later. Dave's idea that, because these kids are in a crap school, you have the right as a so-called professional to serve them crap is, frankly, revolting. The kids you are working with are worth just as much as the kids in the highest tier schools anywhere in the world.
And don't think that because your school is poorly run, you can't learn anything from the administration. Learning what not to do is just as important as learning what to do. My advice is that you do your absolute best for the kids in your care, keep your head down, leave when it suits you and with a reputation for being a good professional. Get the recommendations you've earned (one of these should come from a parent whose child you've helped) and move up the ladder to a better school.
I'm sure that Dave and his small tribe of ne'er-do-wells will scoff at that advice and say it's self-serving admin talking, but if you want to make a worthwhile career in international schools you're better off ignoring the losers in our profession.

I love this one, Dave. Your scriptwriters just get better.

In response to "Advice on Growing as a Professional":

"My advice is to pull a runner assuming you can get a new appointment at a better IS. You already have an excuse for doing nothing this year, and you can ghost a year doing anything without any loss of utility to your resume.
"If you didnt do that @joe30s position wouldnt be horrible. Everything that matters is going to be how you spin the experience and you might as well use that time saved handing out worksheets and text readings composing the pitch."

Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I thought professional educators actually cared about children...

HM gave her accent to the bills to withdraw from the EU...
Ah Dave...you do start my day well. Did she do this in a foreign accent?

Postby PsyGuy » Sun Mar 12, 2017 2:02 am

"I let this discussion run a while to see what came up, since my position is deeper than the others."

Priceless, Dave!

Oh my, I’ve aroused the ire of Senator Ted as well as Dave. There is a bit of a bromance going on there, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
As for the OP’s question, I still think you’re wasting time and breath asking for a separate seat for an infant. I certainly wouldn’t give it you, and I’m notoriously generous. I think you can construct a strong argument for at least a healthy proportion of a coordinator’s stipend, but I wouldn’t do this in the guise of a “Grievance” that went to the Board. Knowing how (some) Board Members think, this would almost certainly be a mistake. Writing a reasoned letter of appeal to your administrators' sense of fairness is more likely to pay off than an accusation or a threat. The fact is that you are partly to blame in all this. You should have established the terms and conditions of your service before you took on the role. Because there is nothing in writing, you are appealing to the school's sense of obligation, rather than requiring adherence to the wording of a contract. You won’t make this mistake again.
Ted and Dave, stay calm, my sweets. If you’re good, I’ll quote some more poetry.

@Dave I'm so sorry but I've traduced you. You have 6400 posts out of 41,000. Jolly well done!

“Leadership fear-mongering and smoke and mirrors…” Ah Dave you’re so unoriginal. How many times have you used that expression in your 5600 posts? Incidentally, 5,600 posts out of 41,000 total is a pretty generous helping of your wisdom. I'm very grateful.
And then we have Reisgio and his call to end the slave mindset of forum contributors. Reminded me of Shelley. I love Shelley. Do you remember his call to the English working poor to overthrow their oppressors:
Rise, like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many—they are few!"

If I don’t look at ISR for a few weeks, I always get such a lift when I come back.

As for the original question, I can only say that, as an administrator traveling to my new post with a baby, I didn’t get an extra seat. Nor would I have wanted one. My wife and I got bulkhead seats with a bassinet for the infant. Most of the time my little girl slept; when she didn’t, she fed or cried. In which case we held her. What would I have done with an extra seat? Propped her up so she could watch the movie? Looking at the miles you are flying, I guess you are in Asia. In which case make sure you fly with an Asian airline rather than Delta or American or United (Dave is VERY fond of United). I’m pretty sure you’ll be well treated if you do.

Schools have different rules for accompanying spouse travel. We would pay for the flight back (and grant full medical benefits) for a spouse who was added to the contract while in country. Other schools wouldn't. That’s their choice. Don’t believe this is a problem that only pertains to the world of international education. Every type of international institution does these things differently. Some of the expats in international business have appalling contracts in terms of health insurance or visas for dependents or arrangements for home travel or what happens to schooling in the event of the death of the employee. Some Embassies pay 100% tuition costs of dependent children; some pay 10%. Why would you think for a moment that all schools should handle all these things in the same way? So here’s a rule for everyone: RTFC. Three of the words are “Read” “The” “Contract”. If you end up getting more benefits than were outlined in the contract, you’ve been very lucky.

I can also understand why different schools look differently on the role of – say – an IB Coordinator who is setting up a program but has no students in her care versus an IB Coordinator who is looking after the learning of 200 students in Grades 11 and 12. What isn’t fair or responsible on the part of the school is that any supposed stipend or supplementary benefit wasn’t sorted out before the contract was issued.

So my advice to the poster is ask by all means, but my guess is that you’re better off constructing a request for special consideration about the stipend rather than making any kind of demand for a fully paid seat for a baby.

@VA75 Recruiters expect that you will attach a photo to your resume. It doesn't have to be passport in style, but err on the side of formality - rather than a selfie taken just as you emerge from the pub. Every year, as I look at documents, there is always one candidate whose photo makes me wonder "What was (s)he thinking?"

@Dave "When an IS requests a CV they really mean a resume. A resume is tailored to a specific field, and current snapshot of your CV, its a piece of your CV. ISs dont want your CV. The standard practice is to include a photo in your application packet, but not on the resume."
I don't know any school heads who (can) distinguish between a resume and a cv. Brits usually use the term cv; North Americans usually use resume. There is no such thing as "standard practice" when it comes to where you place your photo. You have never been a recruiter; please stop pontificating.

@Dave "LON isnt the biggest BOS is the largest its the flagship fair." Dave, I can't believe you wrote such tosh. SEARCH London has between 600 and 650 candidates and is the largest of the SEARCH fairs. SEARCH Bangkok is between 500 and 550. SEARCH Cambridge has between 450 and 480 candidates. It is the third largest fair.

@Dave "At IE camp we learned that no one gets into Spain directly after field experience." You refer to IE camp periodically. Can you explain what you mean by this. AISH Summer Seminar? ECIS Spring Heads Conference? EARCOS Spring Heads Conference? Whichever of these three you're talking about, I know that you have never attended. As for getting into schools in Spain, there is no such rule. There are 185 so-called international schools in Madrid alone. While the top tier schools may be able to pick and choose, many of the others don't.

@Dave "I disagree with @Thames Pirate, you are more likely to get a position in the EU with ISS than with SA." This is even more foolish than your other comments. SEARCH London is full of European schools looking for new hires. ISS Bangkok had none and precious few at ISS SF.

I understand your antipathy toward SEARCH but please don't make stupid statements to "get your own back".

The value of Dave’s “advise” (sic) to a similar question:

by Nomad68 » Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:54 pm

I was made an offer by a school subject to references and the usual checks. That was a month ago. Since then I have heard nothing, even after sending on some supplementary documents. (My references don't worry me - but there is one former principal I don't list who is known to try to scupper/spike references for former colleagues as he has an axe to grind after he was fired and returned to classroom teaching). So, how long more should I wait to hear before I chase it up with the school?

Response

by PsyGuy » Sun Dec 04, 2016 5:22 am

They dont want you. The rule is when an IS wants you they act like they want you. If you have a contract I would follow up immediately. Absent that, its likely your past principal poisoned your candidacy. Regardless I would move on and continue your vacancy search in the mean time.
Repy

by PsyGuy » Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:39 pm

@Nomad68

If the offer letter was as binding and informed as a contract it would be called a contract. Only contracts matter.
Re: Job offer made and then...silence!

by Nomad68 » Sun Dec 25, 2016 12:42 am

Its a new school and contracts are still being written. Having worked in that country before I know its not unusual to see the contract on arrival. I have another week to wait until they return from vacation.
Reply

by PsyGuy » Tue Dec 27, 2016 7:59 am

@Nomad68

Its been 2 months now, how long do you think it takes to write a contract. A law office can customize a template and have it done in a few days.
Re: Job offer made and then...silence!

by Nomad68 » Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:58 am

Happy to report that the offer and position have been confirmed. As it is a new school in its start up year things were slow to get out but it looks hopeful.

@Dave You are not a recruiter and you have never been a recruiter. I am and I can tell you categorically that there are proportionally more lower tier schools at ISS than at SEARCH. There is approximately a third of the number of candidates who attend ISS over SEARCH. All of the top tier schools who need to / want to attend fairs choose SEARCH. A much smaller number will attend ISS as well as, but never instead of, SEARCH. It is simply a lie to suggest otherwise.

There is no relationship between CIS and ISS.

@Dave, you're like King Canute trying to beat back the tides. You keep inventing fresh "facts" to support an opinion that is simply untenable. Years ago, pre-SEARCH, CIS and ISS both hosted fairs that were in the region of 600 - 700 candidates. When SEARCH came along, they simply battened onto the front end of the CIS and ISS fairs and hoped to drag away away as many candidates as they could. ISS thought that by trying a new venue in the Far East they could steal a march on SEARCH and regain lost ground. The very next year, SEARCH put a fair in front of ISS Bangkok. For ten years now, SEARCH Fairs have grown and ISS and CIS fairs have shrunk. The fewer the candidates who show to these fairs, the fewer the recruiters who bother to turn up, and then even fewer candidates show the next time round. CIS and ISS would kill to have more candidates and more schools, but SEARCH have cornered the market. All of the top schools who use fairs to recruit go to SEARCH. They may also go to ISS and CIS but in ever declining numbers. And for the record, despite your claim, ISS and CIS have no recruiter relationship. That was dissolved several years ago. ISS now have a partnership with TeachAway. I understand why you have a down on SEARCH, but don't misinform people just because...
@yoplay ISS has always moved their US Fairs around. They do this in conjunction with AAIE. For many years they had a cycle that went Boston/San Francisco/New York/DC. New York and DC priced themselves out of the market and they were left with two venues. Last year, for the first time, they tried Atlanta. Next year, my guess is they will be back in Boston.

Congratulations - a new record for presumptuousness. You don't know the family situation of other posters, so what gives you the right to make such generalisations? As for your foolish comments about school heads, I can tell you that there are plenty of teachers with children in the school where I work. Some brought their children with them, others had their children while employed there. Some are single parents. Some are adoptive parents.

Of course I need to manage the numbers of dependent children in the school. Although schools aren’t businesses, they have to be run a business-like fashion - and essentially that means paying bills through tuition revenue. Too many free places mean revenue shortfall - and the first impact of that is declining wages and redundancies.

First and foremost, though, I base my hiring decisions on getting the best teachers in the classroom. The quality of education a school provides also has a direct link to tuition revenue. I also know that to have teachers with children in the school often means less turnover, and stability is good for learning.

To be honest, it isn’t your immense ego that irritates - I find that quite amusing. It’s the way that you cynically undermine an entire segment of the teaching profession ("poltroons and nebbishes" is a particularly tasteful description of your peers from an earlier post), presumably so that you can enjoy some odd sense of superiority.