There is no life outside of Almaty and Astana. Now if thats the kind of adventure you want, and you want to see what it was like living during the cold war, well OK. There is nothing to do, nothing to see, few western convenience (internet), or access to imports. Very little english, and kind of desolate. You and your fellow teachers will probably become very close. You could save some good money, because there wont be much to spend it on.

If you want to live in the CIS, go to Moscow or St. Petersburg.

That is BS. Its a private school charging tuition, the one child rule ahs nothing to do with it. Its not typically standard at all. Just about every school gives tuition waivers AT LEAST at a ratio of 1:1 (one employee, one tuition waiver), are BOTH of you working at the school? many schools will go 1:2, 1:3 is pushing it, but if your spouse is working as well, they should give waivers for all three. At the very worst, i could see you paying for 1 childs tuition but thats it.

Why only a 1 year contract? Basically, they are just being cheap.

Push in is easier and cheaper from an admin perspective (one less classroom). You cant really move to the library or computer labs and take over those rooms, without pissing some people off.

Whats the location? If the climate is nice, if it was me, id go outside. The nook idea could work, if the classroom is big enough (but from my experience it probabley isnt).

Maybe ACS, but for actual americans GEMS isnt "that" full, anyway. You say they dont care for a British curriculum, what about other curriculums, or does it have to be "american"?

We need more info, why were they unsuccessful?
GEMS isnt exactly an elite prep school, they have fairly lax admission standards, especially if you can pay.
ACS isnt all that hard to get into either.

So I guess the question is what arent you telling us?

Depends where you are, and the school. In europe we arent allowed to accept any gift that might appear to solicit a bias or favoritism. Typically small food gifts and inexpensive trinket gifts are fine. Of course nothing like cash could be excepted, or anything actually valuable.

In many parts of asia, you have to be careful as there is some form of "favor" system usually. Its not uncommon for students in china to give teachers gifts of jade, or other gifts which can be quit expensive, and valuable, with the understanding that at some later time the "favor" will be returned (Guanxi). Typically there are of course policies, which more often are unofficial, and are passed on to new western teachers by a mentoring teacher, or other member of the staff.

Ive worked with some teachers who were happy to accept such bribes. The reasoning being that at some point, the parent/teacher was going to get their way eventually, might as well get something out of it. Its more common at the tertiary/university level then at the primary or secondary level, where more emphasis are on high stakes exams, where a teacher has little access to influence the outcome. Buying all the grades you want, isnt going to help much on your university entrance exams. Of course at the university level there are "other" kinds of gifts, that are less of a monetary incentive a student can offer.

Its a rule that is worth repeating. Stay away from countries that end in "stan". Im starting to get the idea that your desperate, and your thinking its this job or nothing.

You can have more then one certification, and it wouldnt be unusual for someone with a general business background to be proficient in several certification areas, including: business, economics, math, humanities, social studies, computers, IT/ITC, design technology, etc.

Thats going to be a very busy schedule, im sure your a better judge of what your capable of then anyone else, so do you really want to be doing all that and struggling with teaching math, a subject you admit your not that great in. What if you get your placement and its calculus? Can you prepare yourself enough to be comfortable with the material, create a lesson plan, demonstrate it, and answer questions, and work with students, without having to look in the teacher copy for the answer and saying to yourself "How did they do that?", all the while having another teacher or administrator observing you? I ask because if your in a business studies class discussing the difference between say advertising, and marketing or the effect of economic systems (capitalism, communism, etc) on international markets, or demonstrating double entry accounting, I would think even in planing a lesson your off to a far better start if you DONT have to learn it yourself first, and you will have a deeper knowledge base to draw on when asked questions, or having to re-teach.

They exactly fall into those categories. Those are specific language acquisition goals/objectives, and have nothing to do with learning style, age range, or past student experiences. Differentiation has nothing to do with the students learning goals/objectives.

Pull out for students still developing BICS. Inclusion (Push in) for students who are BICS proficient, and developing CALP.

Why stress yourself out? Do business for your initial certification, which will be far less stressful and after your fully certified add the 6-12 math test without the pressure?

I would also be sure to check with the teach ready program and ensure (in writing) that they will permit ESL teaching at a language school as your field experience (my experience is they wont accept it.)

If you can do 6-12 math you dont need math 5-9. An international school is going to be concerned if you can teach higher level math, not lower. It would be unusual to have a departmentalized 5th grade math teacher. Not unheard of, but rare. Since your comfortable with 6-12 math, do that. Its going to be your best option in a high demand field.

Dont forget the cost of travel to the states to take those tests if your in S.Korea.

P.E. is pretty common actually. Its not like the states where you have to know someone practically to get a job. What can you coach? Football (soccer) is "THE" big sport. If you can get a coaches certification in it, and some coaching experience, that would make you much more marketable. Dont confuse just being "athletic" though with being able to teach P.E., especially if your teaching primary. there is a lot of pedagogy/methodology to it. Its not just throwing out some balls and letting the kids play.

In international schools math/science teachers dont usually get extra at schools with "open" compensation plans. Its almost always degree, and years of experience. You only get extra if you take on additional duties.
At school with "closed" compensation plans, where you negotiate your salary. if they really want you, or need you you can probably get more then say a primary school teacher, or humanities teacher.

These are personal favorite quotes of mine:

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 A.D.)

"Many things are true, including that many people disagree on what is true" (Judge Ooka Tadasuke)

All beings tremble before danger and death, life is dear to all. When a man considers this he does not kill, or cause to kill. (Buddha)

Sorry, I can't sign this. Why you Ask? Well, because I lied for one and all the other reasons after that don't really matter.

Oh I have been such a coward, a thief of hearts one may say...

"What is Love but One Soul Inhabiting Two Bodies"

I think the best quote I ever heard (and remember) from my one of me students (she was an MYP2) was "Boys are like big rocks, you cant take them anywhere without having an explanation".

So get certified in that. Business Studies/Economics may not be as hot as math but there as many vacancies for them world wide as just about any other subject. Do you have computer expertise as well? Design Technology was popular this year, and so was Computer Science (IT/ITC). I say that because if im reading a resume for a math teacher and the ONLY thing I see is a certification for math and nothing else, you go to the bottom of the pile. If Im looking for a business studies/econ teacher and i see your certified, have a degree, and some business experience, then i think thats a person who can make those credentials work in the classroom.

Aside from that its going to be the easiest avenue possible for you.

1) You wont have to study nearly as much, because you have a background in the field, so you can focus on your education training in pedagogy and methodology.

2) Your probabley already highly qualified which means you dont have to wait to pass the test while looking for an internship (most ACP programs require you to find your own internship).

3) Your going to do better in the classroom, because your going to be a content expert, not just content certified. That means you will perform better, and ultimately get better evaluations and references. These will increase your marketability.

4) Once your certified, you can either take additional tests to get certified in other subjects, such as math if you want. Without the stress of completing your program, all youll have to do is study the content material. If your state doesnt let you add certifications by examination, you can move your certification to a state that does.

The middle east if going to be your best bet to save some money, when talking third tier schools.

What is your degree/background in???

You can also take praxis tests in any state and overseas. if your going to S.Korea (SK) states and programs based on Praxis tests, are going to be the only real option that saves you a roundtrip ticket, hotel, etc for flying back to the states, when you figure it will cost you around $2K per trip.

As i pointed out in the Texas Teachers example, you can do the seminars course work over the summer and clinical teaching over 12 weeks in the fall. That gets you done in 6 months, with certificate in hand. If you can do your clinical teaching at an IB school thats a big bonus. You can then find a third tier school somewhere that will hire you without the "2 years experience" get your 2 years experience that way (and maybe some more IB experience) and youll be going on to your next job (in colombia) with IB experience, and international experience.

Some states do let you add additional certification areas by just taking the Praxis exam.

I think one aspect that sid is not considering is that your not really looking to be a math teacher, your looking to be ONLY a middle school math teacher. Thats a much smaller market, and honestly a middle school generalist can teach middle school math as well. Though I agree with him that we need good math teachers and if you said you were looking into K-12 or 6-12 math id say that would be the way to go.

When you do your teaching internship, you work as a the teacher in your own classroom for a year. Its longer then student teaching/clinical teaching but you can count the year as a teaching year (so you have one year experience). You get a regular salary, and benefits.

Social studies (Humanities) isnt in very high demand, really.

If we look at teaching subjects by department, a schools primary school is typically its largest department. More teachers means more vacancies, and doesnt require specialized expertise. I think that avenue given what your looking for maximizes, your hiring options.