References to rockstar ITs keep cropping up, recently related to a teacher getting offered a job on the night before a fair started.
What is a rockstar IT? Is this different to any good IT with experience? How do you spot one?
Rockstar ITs
Re: Rockstar ITs
Much like an actual rockstar, one with a massive ego.
-
Thames Pirate
- Posts: 1188
- Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am
Re: Rockstar ITs
This is PsyGuy's word for teachers who score high on his scale. However, even those who do that are not rockstars if they actually do things like post on here or talk to people or . . . well, exist. So I call them unicorns.
Basically PG's scoring scale is reasonably accurate.
"PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System:
1) 1 pt / 2 years Experience (Max 10 Years)
2) 1 pt - Advance Degree (Masters)
3) 1 pt - Cross Certified (Must be schedule-able)
4) 1 pt - Curriculum Experience (IB, AP, IGCSE)
5) 1pt - Logistical Hire (Single +.5 pt, Couple +1 pt)
6) .5 pt - Previous International School Experience (standard 2 year contract)
7) .5 pt - Leadership Experience/Role (+.25 HOD, +.5 Coordinator)
8) .5 pt - Extra Curricular (Must be schedule-able)
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)
IT CLASSES:
1) INTERN ITs have a score around 0
2) ENTRY ITs have a score around 2
3) CAREER ITs have a score around 4
4) PROFESSIONAL ITs have a score around 6
5) MASTER ITs have a score around 8"
So the metric works fairly well in that these are all qualities that can give a teacher an edge, and the points correspond to how much of an edge you get. It provides a good baseline. However, it obviously cannot take into account factors such as networking, personality, or standout resume/cover letter writing or other bizarre unknown that causes someone to stand out. For example, degrees from top institutions such as Oxford or Harvard, being a published author for teaching a lit class, etc. can make an otherwise ordinary CV stand out. A person can charm a recruiter and score an interview they wouldn't have gotten on paper. A recommendation from a trusted source can go far (a friend's father is a HOS in the same country where she was applying, for example). An EU passport is another example.
Not a one of these factors takes into account how well you actually teach. So it's a rockstar on paper, not in practice. We have all seen first year teachers be far more effective, efficient, and loved than folks who, on paper, should be the superior teacher because they have experience, etc.
In PsyGuy's world, schools fall all over themselves to hire these particular individuals who have these points. Except they don't. Schools turn down people who, on paper, look good because they are, quite frankly, not good with kids and it shows in an interview or cover letter or it's obvious from database references. Schools hire people who have less experience but who come with stellar references--if those people can get their CVs past the gateway gauntlet (admittedly hard to do). Even the best, most experienced teacher who truly is a "rockstar" both in the classroom and on paper can get bogged down the CV gauntlet. So the teacher the school perceives as a "rockstar" gets the interview pre-fair. The teacher who is a rockstar but wasn't able to get the pre-fair because they teach elementary and the school got 100 similar ones gets the interview at the fair signup. The teacher who is a rockstar but lacks the checkboxes has to talk their way into an interview and then into the job at the fair.
Remember, too, that there are factors such as nepotism, fit, and needing warm bodies as well as recruiters just wanting to fill the spots before signup. Those all lead to pre-fair hiring as well.
So rockstar doesn't mean good teacher. On this board it means people who score well on PG's scale because that is a guide to how well they might run the CV gauntlet. Unless they post on here, where they might contradict PG. ;)
Basically PG's scoring scale is reasonably accurate.
"PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System:
1) 1 pt / 2 years Experience (Max 10 Years)
2) 1 pt - Advance Degree (Masters)
3) 1 pt - Cross Certified (Must be schedule-able)
4) 1 pt - Curriculum Experience (IB, AP, IGCSE)
5) 1pt - Logistical Hire (Single +.5 pt, Couple +1 pt)
6) .5 pt - Previous International School Experience (standard 2 year contract)
7) .5 pt - Leadership Experience/Role (+.25 HOD, +.5 Coordinator)
8) .5 pt - Extra Curricular (Must be schedule-able)
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)
IT CLASSES:
1) INTERN ITs have a score around 0
2) ENTRY ITs have a score around 2
3) CAREER ITs have a score around 4
4) PROFESSIONAL ITs have a score around 6
5) MASTER ITs have a score around 8"
So the metric works fairly well in that these are all qualities that can give a teacher an edge, and the points correspond to how much of an edge you get. It provides a good baseline. However, it obviously cannot take into account factors such as networking, personality, or standout resume/cover letter writing or other bizarre unknown that causes someone to stand out. For example, degrees from top institutions such as Oxford or Harvard, being a published author for teaching a lit class, etc. can make an otherwise ordinary CV stand out. A person can charm a recruiter and score an interview they wouldn't have gotten on paper. A recommendation from a trusted source can go far (a friend's father is a HOS in the same country where she was applying, for example). An EU passport is another example.
Not a one of these factors takes into account how well you actually teach. So it's a rockstar on paper, not in practice. We have all seen first year teachers be far more effective, efficient, and loved than folks who, on paper, should be the superior teacher because they have experience, etc.
In PsyGuy's world, schools fall all over themselves to hire these particular individuals who have these points. Except they don't. Schools turn down people who, on paper, look good because they are, quite frankly, not good with kids and it shows in an interview or cover letter or it's obvious from database references. Schools hire people who have less experience but who come with stellar references--if those people can get their CVs past the gateway gauntlet (admittedly hard to do). Even the best, most experienced teacher who truly is a "rockstar" both in the classroom and on paper can get bogged down the CV gauntlet. So the teacher the school perceives as a "rockstar" gets the interview pre-fair. The teacher who is a rockstar but wasn't able to get the pre-fair because they teach elementary and the school got 100 similar ones gets the interview at the fair signup. The teacher who is a rockstar but lacks the checkboxes has to talk their way into an interview and then into the job at the fair.
Remember, too, that there are factors such as nepotism, fit, and needing warm bodies as well as recruiters just wanting to fill the spots before signup. Those all lead to pre-fair hiring as well.
So rockstar doesn't mean good teacher. On this board it means people who score well on PG's scale because that is a guide to how well they might run the CV gauntlet. Unless they post on here, where they might contradict PG. ;)
Re: Rockstar ITs
Where, say, would TOK experience come into it?
Re: Rockstar ITs
Or TOK Coordinator, or EE Coordinator, those kind of roles.
Are they valued at all?
Are they valued at all?
-
wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Rockstar ITs
It's a made up construct to refer to teachers who are so outrageously attractive to the better int'l schools that they can walk into pretty much any job they fancy just by throwing their halo into the ring (or even by the school catching a whiff of their availability).
This attractiveness could be based on certs/experience in hard to find areas (e.g. secondary math and science, other highly sought after combinations), experience and connections at an elite int'l school (which then greatly increases the chances that another elite school will find you attractive) or other qualities that set a candidate above the pack.
I had a quip about how to recognize one but there was really no way to phrase it delicately. The whole concept is a semi-urban myth and not really worth worrying about.
This attractiveness could be based on certs/experience in hard to find areas (e.g. secondary math and science, other highly sought after combinations), experience and connections at an elite int'l school (which then greatly increases the chances that another elite school will find you attractive) or other qualities that set a candidate above the pack.
I had a quip about how to recognize one but there was really no way to phrase it delicately. The whole concept is a semi-urban myth and not really worth worrying about.
-
Thames Pirate
- Posts: 1188
- Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am
Re: Rockstar ITs
wrldtrvlr123 wrote:
> It's a made up construct
> The whole concept is a semi-urban myth and not really
> worth worrying about.
This is why I like to use the term unicorn.
> It's a made up construct
> The whole concept is a semi-urban myth and not really
> worth worrying about.
This is why I like to use the term unicorn.
-
wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Rockstar ITs
Ironically, I just came across this article about the former head of an elite school in Beijing having an offer rescinded because he apparently misrepresented that he had been non-renewed by the previous school. The school board of the prospective school in the states literally referred to him as a "rockstar". Guess it doesn't always turn out well for unicorns.
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2014 ... r-andrews/
To be fair though, another article states that the stateside school apparently paid him off to the tune of $150K, so I guess rockstars/unicorns do land on their hooves.
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2014 ... r-andrews/
To be fair though, another article states that the stateside school apparently paid him off to the tune of $150K, so I guess rockstars/unicorns do land on their hooves.
Re: Rockstar ITs
"In fact, the term ‘rock star’ was used to describe him by our search consultant from the Ohio School Boards Association. I agreed. He did seem like a rock star.”
Yup. Rock star teacher = one with a big ego. Often not living up to their actual hype. Certainly these people do often land on their hooves. I think that JK Rowling parodied the rock star teacher brilliantly with her character Lockheart in the HP stories. As an ex-teacher, she probably had personal experience.
Yup. Rock star teacher = one with a big ego. Often not living up to their actual hype. Certainly these people do often land on their hooves. I think that JK Rowling parodied the rock star teacher brilliantly with her character Lockheart in the HP stories. As an ex-teacher, she probably had personal experience.
Response
Rockstar/SuperStar ITs are above Master class ITs. They are far above "good" (have you ever heard an IT claim to being mediocre). Every IT claims they are good at what they do by virtue of not having run from the job, everyone believes they are a special snowflake. The vast majority of ITs have experience, the ones that dont are intern class ITs.
Superstar ITs have considerable experience 10+ years at least half in IE. Advance degrees, multiple credentials, demonstrable performance success, a professional network, and qualities/factors with a unique or niche skill set, and a lack of deal breakers. They are not mythical, or semi mythical.
Superstar ITs have access to alternative recruiting pathways that offer direct or expedited access to the selection stage.
Most of superstar ITs participate in Pre/Early recruiting (Pre-Recruiting is recruiting before staffing needs are formally identified/posted, Early Recruiting is recruiting after posting but prior to closing of applications). They do tend to have large egos, these may be over inflated.
Superstar ITs are the ones that know everyone at conferences/seminars/workshops. They are on first name basis with the leadership circuit. They are often interviewing during first night recruiting (first night recruiting is a scheduled interview in advance of a recruiting event that occurs at the event site but prior to signup).
You dont see superstar ITs at signup, they are either on their way home or enjoying the regional attractions. Most first night recruiting is meet and greet, handshake and dinner after signing a contract.
There are a number of Superstar ITs that contribute to this forum. ISs pursue these ITs vigorously, there is nothing imaginary about it. Superstar ITs are by definition good with children, they dont participate in competitive interviews, rely on database references (and an attentive associate/consultant wouldnt let a negative reference into the agency database), or bother with cover letters. They dont run the CV gauntlet, they watch from afar as other ITs go through the cattle call. Superstar ITs have all the check-boxes, they get offered interviews.
Most ITs are very nondescript from one another, the PsyGuy Application Scoring System is a selection scale that allows a recruiter to sort applicants against a specific vacancy. It does not address special/unique/niche factors or skills. If you have such a characteristic that a recruiter wants than the score is irrelevant, and your comparison to other candidates is moot.
Of course personality and charm can compensate for deficiencies in a resume. The differential aspect of recruiting is fit, not field competency or technical proficiency. Recruiter resources are limited, and the upper tier ISs get man, many more applicants than they have resources for. Elite tier ISs can get a 1000 applicants for a single vacancy. Recruiters and leadership need a methodology for reducing the selection pool to a manageable level. Even at recruiting events/fairs an IS with multiple vacancies cant interview every candidate, and wouldnt want to. You can be an AMAZING DT, but if you dont have X years of IB experience top IB ISs will just pass, they arent interested if you dont meet their vision of the ideal candidate, and your not going to get that opportunity to charm or impress them.
While there are superstar ITs that do not live up to their marketing, they are more an abnormality than typical. Superstar ITs get complacent because they make the job look easy, they have practiced their teaching performance such that its natural. They dont need to stress their job performance anymore.
Doing your tasking with ease does not make you more effective. I do not confuse energy and enthusiasm from a 1st year DT as effectiveness or efficiency. Being "loved" is not a criteria of high performing ITs/DTs,, education is not about being popular, liked, or friends with your students.
@MartElla
TOK experience is marketable for a TOK vacancy but many of the candidates for the position are going to have TOK experience. Its a niche skill set, for a niche vacancy. The utility would be most marketable for a junior/senior admin of an IB IS/DIP program in a coordinator or curriculum role. There are many IB practitioners in leadership roles who know what TOK is and can give lay ITs a definition but they dont know what it looks like in practice or application.
@shadylane
I can see that reference, Lockhart was more an icon of style over substance. An emphasis about talent or skill that is a factor of competency in ones field. He was a charismatic individual who excelled at networking and social interaction. Those skills are applicable to education, he probably would have been a proficient educator if he wasnt so narcissistic.
Superstar ITs have considerable experience 10+ years at least half in IE. Advance degrees, multiple credentials, demonstrable performance success, a professional network, and qualities/factors with a unique or niche skill set, and a lack of deal breakers. They are not mythical, or semi mythical.
Superstar ITs have access to alternative recruiting pathways that offer direct or expedited access to the selection stage.
Most of superstar ITs participate in Pre/Early recruiting (Pre-Recruiting is recruiting before staffing needs are formally identified/posted, Early Recruiting is recruiting after posting but prior to closing of applications). They do tend to have large egos, these may be over inflated.
Superstar ITs are the ones that know everyone at conferences/seminars/workshops. They are on first name basis with the leadership circuit. They are often interviewing during first night recruiting (first night recruiting is a scheduled interview in advance of a recruiting event that occurs at the event site but prior to signup).
You dont see superstar ITs at signup, they are either on their way home or enjoying the regional attractions. Most first night recruiting is meet and greet, handshake and dinner after signing a contract.
There are a number of Superstar ITs that contribute to this forum. ISs pursue these ITs vigorously, there is nothing imaginary about it. Superstar ITs are by definition good with children, they dont participate in competitive interviews, rely on database references (and an attentive associate/consultant wouldnt let a negative reference into the agency database), or bother with cover letters. They dont run the CV gauntlet, they watch from afar as other ITs go through the cattle call. Superstar ITs have all the check-boxes, they get offered interviews.
Most ITs are very nondescript from one another, the PsyGuy Application Scoring System is a selection scale that allows a recruiter to sort applicants against a specific vacancy. It does not address special/unique/niche factors or skills. If you have such a characteristic that a recruiter wants than the score is irrelevant, and your comparison to other candidates is moot.
Of course personality and charm can compensate for deficiencies in a resume. The differential aspect of recruiting is fit, not field competency or technical proficiency. Recruiter resources are limited, and the upper tier ISs get man, many more applicants than they have resources for. Elite tier ISs can get a 1000 applicants for a single vacancy. Recruiters and leadership need a methodology for reducing the selection pool to a manageable level. Even at recruiting events/fairs an IS with multiple vacancies cant interview every candidate, and wouldnt want to. You can be an AMAZING DT, but if you dont have X years of IB experience top IB ISs will just pass, they arent interested if you dont meet their vision of the ideal candidate, and your not going to get that opportunity to charm or impress them.
While there are superstar ITs that do not live up to their marketing, they are more an abnormality than typical. Superstar ITs get complacent because they make the job look easy, they have practiced their teaching performance such that its natural. They dont need to stress their job performance anymore.
Doing your tasking with ease does not make you more effective. I do not confuse energy and enthusiasm from a 1st year DT as effectiveness or efficiency. Being "loved" is not a criteria of high performing ITs/DTs,, education is not about being popular, liked, or friends with your students.
@MartElla
TOK experience is marketable for a TOK vacancy but many of the candidates for the position are going to have TOK experience. Its a niche skill set, for a niche vacancy. The utility would be most marketable for a junior/senior admin of an IB IS/DIP program in a coordinator or curriculum role. There are many IB practitioners in leadership roles who know what TOK is and can give lay ITs a definition but they dont know what it looks like in practice or application.
@shadylane
I can see that reference, Lockhart was more an icon of style over substance. An emphasis about talent or skill that is a factor of competency in ones field. He was a charismatic individual who excelled at networking and social interaction. Those skills are applicable to education, he probably would have been a proficient educator if he wasnt so narcissistic.
Re: Rockstar ITs
As in, would TOK experience help with the points for cross-certified, or special population set?
How about IB examiner or Workshop Leader experience?
How about IB examiner or Workshop Leader experience?
Re: Rockstar ITs
This is hilarious. Dave, you have surpassed yourself. Please identify any single "rockstar teacher" you know of. In 30 years of recruiting, I have never come across one who has not only this portfolio of talents but also name recognition among school administrators. If "there are (sic) a number of Superstar ITs that (sic) contribute to this forum..." identify them by their call sign and tell us how you know this. And then let them confirm that they "they dont participate in competitive interviews, rely on database references or bother with cover letters. They dont run the CV gauntlet, they watch from afar as other ITs go through the cattle call. Superstar ITs have all the check-boxes, they get offered interviews." To others on the Forum, please pay no heed to this nonsense.
The next part is better still: "the PsyGuy Application Scoring System is a selection scale that allows a recruiter to sort applicants against a specific vacancy." You make this sound like administrators actually use your so-called "Scoring System". Dave, you have never recruited a single teacher in your career. What makes you think that any recruiter anywhere pays even the slightest attention to your silly scale?
I don't know what you're smoking, Dave, but I think you need to take a little more tobacco with it next time.
The next part is better still: "the PsyGuy Application Scoring System is a selection scale that allows a recruiter to sort applicants against a specific vacancy." You make this sound like administrators actually use your so-called "Scoring System". Dave, you have never recruited a single teacher in your career. What makes you think that any recruiter anywhere pays even the slightest attention to your silly scale?
I don't know what you're smoking, Dave, but I think you need to take a little more tobacco with it next time.
Reply
@Walter
You can fill volumes on what @walter doesnt know or has experienced. You continually cite your "30 years of education", I can only conclude you have learned nothing in the last 3 decades.
Ive recruited more than you have and in less than 30 years.
Just more smoke and mirrors. Everything in IE is a mystery, and only leadership are the lords of everything IE.
You can fill volumes on what @walter doesnt know or has experienced. You continually cite your "30 years of education", I can only conclude you have learned nothing in the last 3 decades.
Ive recruited more than you have and in less than 30 years.
Just more smoke and mirrors. Everything in IE is a mystery, and only leadership are the lords of everything IE.
-
Thames Pirate
- Posts: 1188
- Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am
Re: Rockstar ITs
I had a friend who had all the checkboxes you describe, PsyGuy. 10 years, at least half IE, advanced degree, no dependents, special populations, leadership experience, and her father is a HOS in the region, so she knows tons of HOS, including the one she was targeting. If her references weren't stellar, they were lying. Any school in the world would be lucky to have her, and indeed she was hired by the elite school she wanted. At the fair. After going through the cattle call. She still had to pursue the school.
Nobody is so good they are spared an interview. Yes, schools get 1000 applications for a job--and they still might hire someone they meet at an interview signup. There is no formula. Your scoring guide is great for getting a general idea of what an IS wants and how you stack up, but there are so many factors involved that you have no idea what does and does not get through a CV gauntlet. We have all seen schools outright reject a candidate that another, comparable, or even better school couldn't hire fast enough.
I have never seen a top school contact someone cold and ask them to leave their current job next year for a vacancy at the new school. In fact, I have never seen a top school contact anyone who has not expressed interest in their school first. The candidate always has to reach out first unless we are talking notes in boxes at the fair or bottom of the barrel schools. After that it's still a matter of interviews, whether at the fair or elsewhere. Some schools still like to see what they get at fairs. Some schools prefer hiring the night before. Some schools do everything online. There is no formula, even for the top schools and teachers.
There is no such thing as a unicorn.
Nobody is so good they are spared an interview. Yes, schools get 1000 applications for a job--and they still might hire someone they meet at an interview signup. There is no formula. Your scoring guide is great for getting a general idea of what an IS wants and how you stack up, but there are so many factors involved that you have no idea what does and does not get through a CV gauntlet. We have all seen schools outright reject a candidate that another, comparable, or even better school couldn't hire fast enough.
I have never seen a top school contact someone cold and ask them to leave their current job next year for a vacancy at the new school. In fact, I have never seen a top school contact anyone who has not expressed interest in their school first. The candidate always has to reach out first unless we are talking notes in boxes at the fair or bottom of the barrel schools. After that it's still a matter of interviews, whether at the fair or elsewhere. Some schools still like to see what they get at fairs. Some schools prefer hiring the night before. Some schools do everything online. There is no formula, even for the top schools and teachers.
There is no such thing as a unicorn.
Reply
@Thames Pirate
Your friend wasnt a superstar IT then, maybe Master class IT. Perhaps after her elite IS placement she will move into superstar IT.
Thats inaccurate, while superstar ITs do interview the interview is more a meet and greet as a social interaction rather than a professional interaction. One superstar ITs interview consisted of a single question regarding their hobbies and the recruiters comment that they would find plenty of opportunity to pursue, then they were offered a contract and hired. Even then there are ITs who dont have to interview at all, yes they are that good. You just arent privy to them.
Yes, there is a formula but its more a recipe. Its a heuristic not an algorithm. Sure some entry class IT could be hired for an elite tier IS, its possible, its happened, will happen again. People also win the lottery. There arent that many factors, and all the ones you reference are in the category of special/unique/niche factors.
Thats because ''YOU'' havent been cold contacted by an upper tier IS and your professional network hasnt expanded to the superstar IT realm.
Keep believing that and youll never see one.
Your friend wasnt a superstar IT then, maybe Master class IT. Perhaps after her elite IS placement she will move into superstar IT.
Thats inaccurate, while superstar ITs do interview the interview is more a meet and greet as a social interaction rather than a professional interaction. One superstar ITs interview consisted of a single question regarding their hobbies and the recruiters comment that they would find plenty of opportunity to pursue, then they were offered a contract and hired. Even then there are ITs who dont have to interview at all, yes they are that good. You just arent privy to them.
Yes, there is a formula but its more a recipe. Its a heuristic not an algorithm. Sure some entry class IT could be hired for an elite tier IS, its possible, its happened, will happen again. People also win the lottery. There arent that many factors, and all the ones you reference are in the category of special/unique/niche factors.
Thats because ''YOU'' havent been cold contacted by an upper tier IS and your professional network hasnt expanded to the superstar IT realm.
Keep believing that and youll never see one.