FYI: All I am looking for is some perspective here. Your personal anecdotes & opinions are welcome.
My quandary is this: should we stay or go?
Here is our background:
I have been teaching for 8 years, four in America and four overseas. My husband has been teaching for 2 years, both overseas. I have my MA and he has his BA. I am a certified middle school humanities teacher, and all of my experience has been in middle school classrooms (grades 6-9) teaching language arts and social studies. I have two certifications, K-8 Elementary Education and 4-9 Humanities. My husband is an elementary school teacher with experience grades 3 & 4. He has his K-6 Elementary Education cert. We have been at the same school overseas for four years. Obviously, the first two years we were here he was earning his BA and certification online.
Here comes the question: to recruit or not to recruit during next year recruitment season?
Our factors:
We don't loathe our school, but we don't love it. We don't really see a future for ourselves here for various reasons. The package, however, is decent. Together, we have $60,000+ USD of disposable income yearly. We get flights home every year, professional development funds annually, free housing that is decent, and good local insurance. We like the city we live in and we like the country we live in. Our work environment is pretty relaxed and not cut throat, which matters to both of us. Our students are well behaved, and for the most part, the parents are too.
Our concerns:
Will my husband's lack of a MA and more than 2 years of experience leave us with a greater chance of moving on to a "worse" school with a "worse" package rather than on to a "better" school? While our school certainly doesn't have a bad reputation, it will certainly not impress recruiters. Would it be a waste of time to linger here in order to get my husband more experience?
So what do you think? Would you stay a little longer or recruit?
To recruit or stay
Re: To recruit or stay
Stay another year or two. You have ample experience, but your husband needs more time on his CV before he's really marketable.
And to be honest, tons of people would trade their position for yours in a heartbeat. Good money, good life, non objectionable job. You could do a lot worse.
And to be honest, tons of people would trade their position for yours in a heartbeat. Good money, good life, non objectionable job. You could do a lot worse.
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wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: To recruit or stay
I'm sure you will get a range of opinions. For me, I don't see just putting in another two years there necessarily being a huge factor in getting you to better school/location. It's true that some schools may see your husband's additional years as major improvement but other schools would look at his only experience coming at a so so int'l school and still find him wanting.
If your goal truly is to improve your marketability and you choose to stay, you really should come up with a plan for both of you to try and increase your attractiveness as candidates. You really should see if it is possible to add secondary certs and/or experience to your CV. Does your state (where your cert is from) allow you to easily add additional areas or levels? If not, could you move your cert or add one from a state that does? If that is impossible, could you talk to your school about giving you some secondary classes? What could you husband add to his CV beyond two more years? Could he start working on a Masters? Could he add some additional certs? Talk his way into something at your current school that will increase his marketability?
On the other hand, it is possible that you could find yourself in the right place at the right time and talk your way into an upgrade of school and location with your current certs and experience. If you can send out some applications without giving up your current positions then it might be worth doing to see what happens.
I think just staying two more years could make a mild improvement in your chances, but if you can really make it a fruitful and strategic two years then it could significantly increase your chances. Find some feasible areas you can work on, attend some conferences, make some useful connections and then look to make a major upgrade.
If your goal truly is to improve your marketability and you choose to stay, you really should come up with a plan for both of you to try and increase your attractiveness as candidates. You really should see if it is possible to add secondary certs and/or experience to your CV. Does your state (where your cert is from) allow you to easily add additional areas or levels? If not, could you move your cert or add one from a state that does? If that is impossible, could you talk to your school about giving you some secondary classes? What could you husband add to his CV beyond two more years? Could he start working on a Masters? Could he add some additional certs? Talk his way into something at your current school that will increase his marketability?
On the other hand, it is possible that you could find yourself in the right place at the right time and talk your way into an upgrade of school and location with your current certs and experience. If you can send out some applications without giving up your current positions then it might be worth doing to see what happens.
I think just staying two more years could make a mild improvement in your chances, but if you can really make it a fruitful and strategic two years then it could significantly increase your chances. Find some feasible areas you can work on, attend some conferences, make some useful connections and then look to make a major upgrade.
Response
The question you need to ask yourselves is what is 2 more years where you are at going to do for you???
4 years at an unimpressive IS isnt going to sell more or better than 2 years at an unimpressive IS. Lots of candidates enter IE each year with 2 years experience from DSs that are little more than 2 years experience, at least your spouses experience is actual IS experience.
An MA or lack of one isnt much of a factor, while ISs will pass on ITs who dont have the right experience a lack of a Masters, especially in elementary is a non-issue. You should really wait to add a Masters until that Masters can do something for you, such as administration, counselor, librarian, or a new and different field.
@Sid makes a good point however, you could find yourselves doing worse, but 2 more years experience isnt going to provide you any guarantee that after those two years you wont find worse. Another recession might hit, the WE may restrict immigration, etc.. and IE moves in cycles, what might be in high demand this year may not be in such high demand next year or in two years or whenever.
There are ITs in your class that would be very happy with the package you have.
What I agree with from @WT123 is that if you stay for two more years you REALLY need a plan to do more with those two years than just counting up years of experience.
You need to add all level secondary in your fields (social studies/literature) and move up to higher secondary classes, especially school leaving level (which will require you to likely specialize within social studies, likely history). Thats the big factor, if you cant do that and get those classes and exam scores on your resume in the next two years, than you need to be looking for ISs that will give you that opportunity.
As for your spouse, the sooner he can get into a PYP classroom and begin working on that experience the better, thats really his next goal as a primary IT. PYP is very different from the traditional stranded teaching methodology, and the sooner that happens the less pain and resistance there will be to adapting PYP and inquiry based learning.
Beyond that you need a plan now that will increase your marketability. Can your current IS offer you leadership positions, HOD, or class leads, coordinator, even AP/DP/VP? Can they expand yours and his grade levels, or branch out your teaching fields with some marketable electives (not just changing ASPs)? If your spouse could teach the last year of primary or move to lower grades (year 1 or 2/KS1) that would add marketability. Could your spouse move into a specialist teaching field that is departmentalized (Science, Math, Art, Music, PHE, ICT), whatever subjects HRTs dont teach?
Essentially you either need to move on to something better at your current IS, or move on to something bigger at a new IS.
Additional certifications generally add utility and if you can add them by taking an exam, its an inexpensive and efficient way of doing so (especially if you can do so through the PRAXIS, which you can take overseas at numerous locations). It would be worth moving your certificate to another jurisdiction just for that benefit. However, aside from the crucial need of you adding all secondary literature and social studies (and maybe specializing within social studies), unless you really have experience or academic background in another field, your far more marketable in what you are doing now than what you would add. Social studies/literature are already the paired areas for lower secondary. Drama/Theater would add some marketability with the Literature credential. A foreign language might add some utility if you were targeting smaller ISs. The only certifications that would really add to your marketability would be special populations such as SPED/LS/SEN/LD, ESOL and to a much lessor degree G&T. Your main focus is going to be the all secondary literature and social studies and figuring out which aspect of social studies you want to specialize in, and again Im assuming history has been the basis of your lower secondary experience, but you may want to choose Geography if you were looking to move onto a BS, or a social science like Psychology if you were interested in moving into counseling (at small ISs where the counselor has a teaching load, they often teach Psychology). Philosophy if you were interested in IB and TOK.
Lastly, there is no need to decide on one or the other. You can easily begin recruiting now or at any point simply by making your most current IS vague on your resumes and applying to ISs to see what interest you may get and an understanding of your specific marketability as a couple. You dont need to be repped by one of the premium agencies to do so. You may find ISs in different regions that appeal to you without having to do anything more.
4 years at an unimpressive IS isnt going to sell more or better than 2 years at an unimpressive IS. Lots of candidates enter IE each year with 2 years experience from DSs that are little more than 2 years experience, at least your spouses experience is actual IS experience.
An MA or lack of one isnt much of a factor, while ISs will pass on ITs who dont have the right experience a lack of a Masters, especially in elementary is a non-issue. You should really wait to add a Masters until that Masters can do something for you, such as administration, counselor, librarian, or a new and different field.
@Sid makes a good point however, you could find yourselves doing worse, but 2 more years experience isnt going to provide you any guarantee that after those two years you wont find worse. Another recession might hit, the WE may restrict immigration, etc.. and IE moves in cycles, what might be in high demand this year may not be in such high demand next year or in two years or whenever.
There are ITs in your class that would be very happy with the package you have.
What I agree with from @WT123 is that if you stay for two more years you REALLY need a plan to do more with those two years than just counting up years of experience.
You need to add all level secondary in your fields (social studies/literature) and move up to higher secondary classes, especially school leaving level (which will require you to likely specialize within social studies, likely history). Thats the big factor, if you cant do that and get those classes and exam scores on your resume in the next two years, than you need to be looking for ISs that will give you that opportunity.
As for your spouse, the sooner he can get into a PYP classroom and begin working on that experience the better, thats really his next goal as a primary IT. PYP is very different from the traditional stranded teaching methodology, and the sooner that happens the less pain and resistance there will be to adapting PYP and inquiry based learning.
Beyond that you need a plan now that will increase your marketability. Can your current IS offer you leadership positions, HOD, or class leads, coordinator, even AP/DP/VP? Can they expand yours and his grade levels, or branch out your teaching fields with some marketable electives (not just changing ASPs)? If your spouse could teach the last year of primary or move to lower grades (year 1 or 2/KS1) that would add marketability. Could your spouse move into a specialist teaching field that is departmentalized (Science, Math, Art, Music, PHE, ICT), whatever subjects HRTs dont teach?
Essentially you either need to move on to something better at your current IS, or move on to something bigger at a new IS.
Additional certifications generally add utility and if you can add them by taking an exam, its an inexpensive and efficient way of doing so (especially if you can do so through the PRAXIS, which you can take overseas at numerous locations). It would be worth moving your certificate to another jurisdiction just for that benefit. However, aside from the crucial need of you adding all secondary literature and social studies (and maybe specializing within social studies), unless you really have experience or academic background in another field, your far more marketable in what you are doing now than what you would add. Social studies/literature are already the paired areas for lower secondary. Drama/Theater would add some marketability with the Literature credential. A foreign language might add some utility if you were targeting smaller ISs. The only certifications that would really add to your marketability would be special populations such as SPED/LS/SEN/LD, ESOL and to a much lessor degree G&T. Your main focus is going to be the all secondary literature and social studies and figuring out which aspect of social studies you want to specialize in, and again Im assuming history has been the basis of your lower secondary experience, but you may want to choose Geography if you were looking to move onto a BS, or a social science like Psychology if you were interested in moving into counseling (at small ISs where the counselor has a teaching load, they often teach Psychology). Philosophy if you were interested in IB and TOK.
Lastly, there is no need to decide on one or the other. You can easily begin recruiting now or at any point simply by making your most current IS vague on your resumes and applying to ISs to see what interest you may get and an understanding of your specific marketability as a couple. You dont need to be repped by one of the premium agencies to do so. You may find ISs in different regions that appeal to you without having to do anything more.
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global_nomad
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:12 pm
Re: To recruit or stay
I agree with Sid. Bite the bullet and stay a couple of more years at your current school to make your husband more marketable.