Should we stay more than the initial contract?

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inmortus
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:55 am

Should we stay more than the initial contract?

Post by inmortus »

As someone new in international teaching (currently working in south east Asia), I find myself wondering if leaving my current school once my initial 2-year contract finishes is a bad idea...

I have heard both people saying it's not a problem, as well as people saying that if we (my wife is a teacher too) don't stay one more year, potential employers might think that we are "unstable"or maybe that we did not adapt ourselves to living abroad....

Our main concern (interestingly enough) is not living abroad (which we have enjoyed very VERY much), but that our particular school is just terrible and we are not sure we would be able to stay one more year without going insane...

I appreciate any feedback on personal experiences you've had... Have you left after the initial contract and found it hard to get hired after that? Has anyone here been told that working only for 2 years at a place creates doubts in potential employers?
Overhere
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 3:29 am

Post by Overhere »

I don't think you need to worry about it. If your current posiition is not so great then you need to do something about it, and moving on is the most likely solution. As long as you fulfill your contract two years won't be held against you. We've done it twice and never regreted it.

Good luck
Last edited by Overhere on Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
heyteach
Posts: 459
Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:50 pm
Location: Home

Post by heyteach »

It's so common for teachers to move on after their initial contracts, I wouldn't worry about it. Of course you should move on if the school you're at is no good, but I do hope you didn't already sign a contract to stay a third year.
inmortus
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:55 am

Post by inmortus »

[quote="heyteach"]It's so common for teachers to move on after their initial contracts, I wouldn't worry about it. Of course you should move on if the school you're at is no good, but I do hope you didn't already sign a contract to stay a third year.[/quote]

Oh no, we haven't!

Would you say it's Ok to just stay for the initial contract, even if this is our first experience internationally?
calciodirigore
Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:16 pm
Location: Europe

Post by calciodirigore »

Yes, it is absolutely OK. Even the top tier (there it is again, the dreaded phrase!!!) schools which post their 'average length of stay' figures at well above 2 years have many teachers that leave after their initial contracts. Maybe they didn't like the country, maybe their plan was only to stay 2 years to begin with - it really doesn't matter.

I have done it twice and still ended up at top tier schools. I also left a top tier school after my initial contract. It just wasn't my kind of place.

The only concern would be how your administrator at this terrible school handles your desire to leave. I once had an administrator that knew our school was terrible (and never did anything to address the issue) resent the fact that I wanted to leave after my initial contract. They wrote my reference letters and I managed to find what at the time I considered to be my dream job. However, they made the last 6 months of my 2 year stay VERY difficult. The unfortunate thing is that I know that my situation is not certainly not unique...

Any thoughts?
overseasvet2
Posts: 191
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:50 pm

Post by overseasvet2 »

It really only starts looking bad if you have a series of stays for just the length of the initial contract. I knew a great AD who went to about 5 schools and only stayed the 2 years. By the time he started searching for the 6th, schools hesitated to look at him. Life is short, if the situation is bad, get out. If it's good, don't be in a hurry to leave.
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