Let's try this again...
Let's try this again...
Three years ago I went to the Boston SA's fair. I was offered a position in the Middle East. I came home excited to go, my family lost it and I backed out. It's still one of the biggest regrets I have. I didn't have any teaching experience at the time. But now, I've been teaching in Special Education since. I'm licensed to teach PreK, K-6 and SPED K-12. I'll finish a Masters program in the Spring of 2019. Will I be a competitive applicant for the 2019-2020 school year or will my blunder 3 winters ago come back to bite me? With what I'm licensed in, where would I be needed the most (not including the ME)? What do my options look like? Thanks in advance! :)
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Let's try this again...
Did you accept a contract and then pull out? That could be problematic with the SA. It's still worth signing up again if you're interested and see if they take you on.
In terms of having 3 years teaching experience and a MA degree now, you'll be more competitive. A lot of the growth in international schools has been in the Middle East and East Asia (more specifically China, Korea, Vietnam). Again, it will depend if you have dependents, but if it's just you then I'd say you should get different options to choose from. Are you planning on registering with either SA or ISS?
What are you looking to teach? What has your experience been in? Were you teaching in a IB PYP program?
Bottom tier and schools focusing just on local students in places like China and Vietnam are less likely to look for special ed teachers anyway.
If you're interested, then go for it.
Eion
In terms of having 3 years teaching experience and a MA degree now, you'll be more competitive. A lot of the growth in international schools has been in the Middle East and East Asia (more specifically China, Korea, Vietnam). Again, it will depend if you have dependents, but if it's just you then I'd say you should get different options to choose from. Are you planning on registering with either SA or ISS?
What are you looking to teach? What has your experience been in? Were you teaching in a IB PYP program?
Bottom tier and schools focusing just on local students in places like China and Vietnam are less likely to look for special ed teachers anyway.
If you're interested, then go for it.
Eion
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wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Let's try this again...
The vast majority of decent to great international schools have some type of SPED Lite Dept., even if it only consists of one or two people. The vast majority of those positions will be some type of learning support/resource room positions so I would spin my experience/responsibilities that way if you can (unless you have done your research and found that the school is one of the few that offers support for students beyond the "mild" range.
These schools will exist and operate in most regions so really it is more about where you are interested/willing to go. China has a wide range and large number of schools so if you are open to China, it may be your best bet.
2 years of experience is the minimum that most decent to great schools will want in a teacher so you have that covered. It might come down to being in the right place at the right time. Your previous cold feet may hurt you with SA but may not since they want your money (and depending on the exact circumstances). Try and reactivate your account and see. Don't mention the previous unfortunate outcome unless they do.
These schools will exist and operate in most regions so really it is more about where you are interested/willing to go. China has a wide range and large number of schools so if you are open to China, it may be your best bet.
2 years of experience is the minimum that most decent to great schools will want in a teacher so you have that covered. It might come down to being in the right place at the right time. Your previous cold feet may hurt you with SA but may not since they want your money (and depending on the exact circumstances). Try and reactivate your account and see. Don't mention the previous unfortunate outcome unless they do.
Response
You should make peace with your pain. If you had gone you may just as likely also had regrets.
Generally the forum consensus is two years post credentialing experience is the bar to entry in IE. You have three and you will have 4 and a Masters degree by the time you start recruiting. You will absolutly be competitive, you wont be a super star IT but youll be somewhere around a Career class IT which is 3 steps from the bottom.
The one IS you baled on might not be too welcoming of your application, and they may likely not even give you the time of day, but they are one IS among a vast number of ISs. The bigger concern is SA, its been some time, your marketable, and the choice you made is at least understandable. As long as you sell your associate that your very flexible on tier and location, it would just be throwing away coin not allowing you to register. Even then you could do just as well with ISS and TIE as a job search strategy.
SPED/LS/LD/SEN is growing but its still not cheap and the ISs with actual programs that arent shams to satisfy parents tend to be better ISs within their tier and more prevalent in higher tier ISs. What are you really open towards. Hardship parts of Asia youd be marketable too and aside from the ME, the LCSA would be good regions. The LCSA particularly, salaries are lower and its harder to attract quality candidates on ET coin, and you could make up for loss time by finding a strong tier 2 IS or maybe even a desperate tier 1 IS and then moving on to a better region after your contract with a reference in hand. For all practical concerns however there isnt really a focus, you want to apply to anything and everything that get past your list of deal breakers, and see what you get.
I would concur with @WT123 that you want to spin your experience in resource as opposed to inclusion even if inclusion or some niche service population was what you actually did. SPED/SEN/LD in IE is limited almost exclusively to mild needs and mostly high functioning mild needs and your likely to be in a very small department typically assigned to a division (primary, etc.) if not whole IS and you will provide small amounts of LS to a caseload of students. Most of the actual work experience is closer to tutoring, its students who need a different explanation/presentment of the material, need a little more time, or a minor accommodation. being able to pitch that your adaptable on the fly is the most important skill set.
Generally the forum consensus is two years post credentialing experience is the bar to entry in IE. You have three and you will have 4 and a Masters degree by the time you start recruiting. You will absolutly be competitive, you wont be a super star IT but youll be somewhere around a Career class IT which is 3 steps from the bottom.
The one IS you baled on might not be too welcoming of your application, and they may likely not even give you the time of day, but they are one IS among a vast number of ISs. The bigger concern is SA, its been some time, your marketable, and the choice you made is at least understandable. As long as you sell your associate that your very flexible on tier and location, it would just be throwing away coin not allowing you to register. Even then you could do just as well with ISS and TIE as a job search strategy.
SPED/LS/LD/SEN is growing but its still not cheap and the ISs with actual programs that arent shams to satisfy parents tend to be better ISs within their tier and more prevalent in higher tier ISs. What are you really open towards. Hardship parts of Asia youd be marketable too and aside from the ME, the LCSA would be good regions. The LCSA particularly, salaries are lower and its harder to attract quality candidates on ET coin, and you could make up for loss time by finding a strong tier 2 IS or maybe even a desperate tier 1 IS and then moving on to a better region after your contract with a reference in hand. For all practical concerns however there isnt really a focus, you want to apply to anything and everything that get past your list of deal breakers, and see what you get.
I would concur with @WT123 that you want to spin your experience in resource as opposed to inclusion even if inclusion or some niche service population was what you actually did. SPED/SEN/LD in IE is limited almost exclusively to mild needs and mostly high functioning mild needs and your likely to be in a very small department typically assigned to a division (primary, etc.) if not whole IS and you will provide small amounts of LS to a caseload of students. Most of the actual work experience is closer to tutoring, its students who need a different explanation/presentment of the material, need a little more time, or a minor accommodation. being able to pitch that your adaptable on the fly is the most important skill set.