Search found 651 matches

by fine dude
Tue Mar 11, 2014 6:03 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Best fair for top European Schools?
Replies: 5
Views: 7806

Re: Best fair for top European Schools?

Vienna, Luxembourg, Budapest, and Moscow are not really top tier any longer.
by fine dude
Sun Mar 09, 2014 5:44 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Best salary/package in the world?
Replies: 40
Views: 69980

Re: Best salary/package in the world?

@ indogal

A first year teacher would make at least a net salary of 5500- USD (including housing) at ASIJ. They do have 21 steps. I know the pay took a hit post-2009 recession, but it's still a pretty good deal.

http://community.asij.ac.jp/salary

Anyone with a reasonable lifestyle should be able to save at least 30K a year.
by fine dude
Sun Mar 09, 2014 5:15 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Is it just me .......
Replies: 22
Views: 26916

Re: Is it just me .......

Well, there weren't many positions at the so called Tier 1 schools and all teachers were aiming at the same jobs. Also, increased competition from laid off teachers from North America and the UK added to the woes.

Staying put doesn't hurt sometimes.
by fine dude
Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:20 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Best salary/package in the world?
Replies: 40
Views: 69980

Re: Best salary/package in the world?

@Anabel
"Not every school / city might provide answers to all those questions" - this is what I meant.
BKK air quality is not as bad as shanghai, beijing, or hong kong.
by fine dude
Sat Mar 08, 2014 9:22 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Best salary/package in the world?
Replies: 40
Views: 69980

Re: Best salary/package in the world?

It's all relative to the local cost of living and current inflation. Luanda has consistently topped the list of expensive cities in the world. According to Mercer, the prices are 13% more than London. They import almost everything, thanks to years of civil war.

The questions one need to ask are:
Where can I save at least 50% of my salary and still enjoy the local culture?
Where can I breathe fairly clean air, have good access to travel, and excellent healthcare?
Which country provides a safe environment for my children to grow up?

Not every school / city might provide answers to all those questions, but here are some:
ASIJ in Tokyo
YIS, Japan
IS BKK
NIST, BKK
AS Warsaw
Zurich IS

Having said that, you also need to have the best credentials and work experience to break into these schools.
by fine dude
Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:42 am
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: Schools in Europe
Replies: 1
Views: 7200

Re: Schools in Europe

American School of Warsaw
The Anglo-American School of Sofia
Zurich IS
IS Geneva
IS Lausanne
IS Brussels
American School of the Hague
by fine dude
Tue Feb 25, 2014 8:16 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: The concept of Tiered Schools
Replies: 24
Views: 27160

Re: The concept of Tiered Schools

Having worked at a few Tier 1/elite schools, here is my take:
Tier 1 schools have a strong focus on learning. Everything they do is driven by their school mission and vision. The teachers at these schools follow the best practices, be it curriculum, instruction or assessment. They integrate technology wisely to engage students both inside and outside the classroom. They have a strong culture of collaboration, professional development, and educational leadership.

A vast majority of students not only get top grades, but also have solid interpersonal and communication skills. Their graduates major in a wide range of disciplines at colleges of world repute and their alumni have strong links to their alma mater.
These schools use feedback from their past graduates to enhance their current pedagogical practices. These schools also offer an equally rigorous challenge outside the classroom.

Of course, they do take good care of their teachers and staff and exercise greater transparency and consistency in their day to day professional life.
by fine dude
Sun Feb 23, 2014 4:29 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Great European Schools
Replies: 2
Views: 4720

Re: Great European Schools

American School of Warsaw
The Anglo-American School of Sofia
Zurich IS
IS Geneva
IS Lausanne
IS Brussels
American School of the Hague
by fine dude
Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:52 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Provisional License
Replies: 3
Views: 4591

Re: Provisional License

Thanks for asking, shadowjack. Accepted a solid job offer from an established school last November.
by fine dude
Sat Feb 22, 2014 5:22 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Provisional License
Replies: 3
Views: 4591

Re: Provisional License

Depends where you want to work at; in some countries (Singapore and some Western European ones), the schools and the respective ministries of education can have firm regulations and require teachers with a full five-year professional licenses. Others could be more accommodating.

It also depends on what subject area you teach. Better check with the HR departments at the schools that you are aiming at.
Tier 2 schools in south-east and east asia are worth looking at.
by fine dude
Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:24 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Retirement Postings
Replies: 4
Views: 6294

Retirement Postings

Which schools in asia or europe can be considered as retirement postings? If you are in your early 40s and if you wish to work at a single school for a couple of decades to save a decent cash pile for retirement, what schools would come to your mind?

Assuming these schools are established with great pay, health insurance, and in sound financial health.

Thank you.
by fine dude
Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:37 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: ISR Chat P-arty
Replies: 2
Views: 4452

ISR Chat P-arty

Hello all,

I was just wondering about the power of an international school teachers' chat p-arty sometime during the summer. This is just an idea at this stage and the get-together could be very informal.

If we are visiting one of these popular tourist destinations, say Bangkok, Phuket, Bali, Hong Kong, or Singapore, we all just meet up in a bar/pub or restaurant on a pleasant evening in one of these cities / towns and share pros / cons of each other's schools, whine, or even exchange business cards (if you are willing) or email addresses. Of course, you don't have to reveal your ISR nicknames.

We can just create a thread here or a blog and then see how it goes.
What do you all think? Am I being overtly silly?
by fine dude
Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:35 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Lingo
Replies: 4
Views: 5789

Scaffolding is when a teacher or a competent peer supports a learner to help complete a task, which he/she couldn't complete independently in the first place. Once the learner becomes more confident about the task or skill, you withdraw that support naturally shifting the responsibility to the learner, which again in the lingo is called independent, self-regulatory learning.