Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

mysharona
Posts: 210
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2011 1:25 am

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by mysharona »

Having gotten two good jobs, that allowed my family to explore SE Asia and Europe, at the Iowa fair I would dispute the notion that it's a "dump" fair. I would imagine SF might be along the same lines. Schools are looking to fill jobs all the time and you never know what they will fill when.

I agree with some of the previous posters that job fair timing is not your friend now if you are looking for a job for next fall, however lots of teachers get jobs outside the fairs these days. It probably requires more time and patience but it can be done.

The two year leave is not an issue. Our second time overseas was done within the limits of a leave and we did return to our home district. At no time did any admin ever make a comment about us being a tourist teacher. We took another two year leave 4 years later and at the end we were prepared to cut the ties. The only difference between the two experiences was the email we sent to our district back home.

Good luck in your search.
Snowball
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:34 pm

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by Snowball »

Thanks all for the continued insights. He had his first Skype interview this week and found it an overall pleasant experience. Not sure if it's the right match for him, but no sense worrying about that until he has a contract offer in hand, anyhow! He has more leads in Iowa this weekend.

The suggestion of some online coursework/seminars in IB/AP or classroom management is a really interesting one. It may not be the critical piece to securing something, but it is one more signal that he is serious about the career and cognizant of the differences between high school and college teaching. I neglected to mention that he has previously published articles in peer-reviewed journals about curriculum design and pedagogy for incoming college freshmen, so that's another signal that he's serious about quality educational delivery.


Responding to a variety of points from various posters:

I am quite willing to seek some sort of credentials along the way. Realistically, I'm probably not cut out for full-time classroom instruction. (My admiration to all of you who do!) I am a skilled technical writer, and so the possibility of working in a school's writing/editing lab to support ELL is quite appealing to me. (Not sure if these even exist in international high schools? They are quite common in colleges and universities, and that's my familiarity with them.) I also could happily work in a library, tutoring, ESL, etc. I'm not able to commit to licensure at this time--I work one and a half jobs, plus parent the two small aforementioned children. If he actually *gets* a job, then I could drop one of my current commitments and start down the path towards licensure. I'm just reluctant to give up my current career options in pursuit of credentials for a likely low-paying job as a trailing spouse, when we don't know if we'll have the opportunity to use it. Worst case scenario, I need to stay employed here and now, in the event we don't go abroad next year. (My current careers are in environmental science and nonprofit/community development. Not particularly transferable for short-term positions.)

Re: quality of the education for our own children. My older child is a very strong student, albeit in his first year of primary school. We are already in the habit of supplementing his schoolwork with additional material and so if the school was not particularly rigorous, I suppose we could survive for 1-2 years of primary before seeking a high-quality school. If there were significant behavioral/safety issues among students in the classroom, that would be another issue. Then we'd be looking at the legality of homeschooling or cutting short our contract after the first year. Hopefully it isn't that bad!
Our younger child is only 2. When we previously lived in SE Asia, we dropped our older child (then 3) into a government-run, foreign language preschool and he adapted readily. I tend to view that as a potential alternative for the younger child, too, if the school only provides one tuition reimbursement, etc.

I'm not sure how I phrased my first post--will have to go back and review. We aren't opposed to the Middle East as a whole... just slightly more selective due to security concerns and, in my case, some ideological issues with Saudi Arabia that I know I couldn't overlook. A friend of mine used to teach at a school in Oman and raved about the experience--both the school, the society, and the natural environment. So, yeah, we'd consider many places in the ME.

We hadn't looked seriously at private international schools in the U.S. Frankly, they tend to be located in very large urban centers with high cost of living. The assumption was that his first-year pay wouldn't be sufficient to handle the rather extreme housing costs, even though we otherwise could live a lean lifestyle. Perhaps that was shortsighted on our part, and we should reconsider. The option of teaching at a public high school offers a lot of potential. Of course, his state-issued license isn't valid in all 50 states, blah blah blah, so there would be some limitations. But he could probably find a public or charter school job somewhere in the country with a cheap cost of living. That's not nearly as appealing as the adventure of living abroad for that year (not to sound like the dreaded "tourist teacher") but a very reasonable consideration and a step towards our ultimate goal.
Snowball
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:34 pm

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by Snowball »

Thames Pirate wrote:
> Some other thoughts:

> Oh, and do you have an email you'd be willing to share since there is no PM
> function?


sdgc@mail.com

It's not my primary email, so I'll have to remember to go check it. ;-)
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Snowball

It would be appreciated if after the Iowa fair you could perhaps post a review of how it went.

I dont see how taking the AP or IB workshop is going to matter much. The AP workshop is mostly reviewing the syllabus, the IB workshop the course guide and the vocabulary. The rule is no amount of training equals any amount of experience. These workshops dont teach you the meds and peds of working with KS/K12 students they teach you the curriculum basics of those programs. So if being able to make the argument I spent some coin to sit in a room for a day without sleeping is an indication of seriousness, and that works for you okay. Thats not the issue, the issue is the cost for a logistic hire who have some very esoteric requirements.

IE doesnt really have writing labs like you find on a Uni campus, when such an activity is available its usually an ITs ASP, or its the ESOL IT by assignment or its the Librarian as an adhoc activity or its going to the IT in which the paper is due. In all those cases its a very small component of someones overall job description. The closest you would find in IE as an FTE position and then it would still be a component of other tasking would be an IB Essay coordinator.

Getting a credential would take you a day or two on the weekend. You could schedule the exams locally for a Saturday (you would have to take a minimum of 2) and the rest is the online application and paperwork. This would get you a MA provisional credential with an effective lifetime validity period. The cost would be a few hundred USD. You could do ESOL or English Literature. Either way you have a two year old so unless your IS offers really young EC/EY your going to be a stay at home parent anyway.

No IS will pay outside costs for third ./outside tuition places/waivers at another IS. You would likely have to absorb those costs yourself (and that would quickly erode your coin), the option would be placing your children in the municipal edu system or taking the tuition placement/waiver.

Im going to agree with you, that the whole DS pathway dosnt accomplish your goals. Two years trying to make a move to an independent/private IS, or working at would essentially be the local HS or an instate move to a municipal DS isnt what you want to do. You have a two year leave of absence and a very fixed time frame either IE works out for you, or its a lost opportunity.

The other option I would suggest exploring is your family pick a place or region you want to explore (one with a healthy IE community) and in addition to what your spouse is doing now look for another guest or visiting professorship in the run up time, and then just relocate to this region and look for an appointment over the summer as a LH. As a backup to this Id seriously consider exploring the ESOL market. Spouse finds an ESOL position with a Uni or other ES, move there in May, you continue doing what it is your doing since it seems you can pretty much do it anywhere online or telecommuting. Spouse keeps eyes/ears open and being a LH your family is there and you get your adventure and peek into IE. The leave of absence doesnt go to waste, and you push everything too the future on whether KS/K12 education is something your spouse and family want.
Thames Pirate
Posts: 1150
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am

Re: Reply

Post by Thames Pirate »

PsyGuy wrote:

> I dont see how taking the AP or IB workshop is going to matter much. The AP
> workshop is mostly reviewing the syllabus, the IB workshop the course guide
> and the vocabulary.

Exactly--he would have the jargon and an understanding of the program aims, assessment structure, etc. that would help in an interview. It signals being serious AND provides that element. So not going to hurt, and if you can afford it could really help. Maybe not, but it might.

> The other option I would suggest exploring is your family pick a place or
> region you want to explore (one with a healthy IE community) and in
> addition to what your spouse is doing now look for another guest or
> visiting professorship in the run up time, and then just relocate to this
> region and look for an appointment over the summer as a LH.

Interesting from the person who always talks about local vs overseas hire packages. The packages for local hires are, in many countries, not comparable. Something to consider.

Anyway, check your inbox!
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Thames Pirate

No he wouldnt, he might, maybe. If you learn by watching a slide show, and listening to a consultant and you dont need repetition maybe, but if you can do it that way than you can look at the guidance documents and practice responses just as well at home. Having a bullet point on your resume that you have X workshop certificate isnt going to mean anything if your asked a curriculum question and your eyes glass over and your answer starts with a long "uhm". Likewise not having that bullet point and workshop certificate isnt going to mean much if you can converse intelligently and fluidly about the curriculum during an interview.

No LH packages arent comparable to OSH packages but as the LH already indicated in their prior post, suggesting they could absorb some of the costs of the OSH package themselves. If they are willing to do that at a certain point they really dont have an OSH package anyway.
Thames Pirate
Posts: 1150
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by Thames Pirate »

Contrary just to be contrary once again. The fact that I didn't state the obvious doesn't mean I am wrong--just that I think the OP is capable of drawing some conclusions.

But sure, have the last word if it makes you happy. Snowball, you have my email. If you have further questions you think need multiple opinions or might help others, by all means post them here.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Thames Pirate

No, youre wrong because your wrong, and your wrong because curriculum certificates whether AP or IB, arent really of any significant value. They dont prove anything in regards to recruiting, especially at the tier of ISs the LW has to pursue to meet their requirements.
shadowjack
Posts: 2138
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by shadowjack »

<takes out yet another bag of buttery popcorn for the microwave, then after, sits on the couch...>
snowphantom
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:42 am

Re: Reply

Post by snowphantom »

PsyGuy wrote:
> @snowphantom
>
> You dont know what an average is, its not half makes under 30K and half
> makes more than 30K, the unit of measure isnt people, its coin. We already
> settled this several years ago, and again several years before that, its a
> very pervasive statistic. Your error is there are a lot of ISs, its not
> just the 800 or so ISs repped by the premium agencies. The third tier and
> lower third tier particularly as well as regions like the LCSA push the
> average down.

Great, since you are the "expert" on this data, care to cite a source? Or care to explain how you surveyed the thousands of schools not listed on SA or ISS for their average salary? Or explain what your methodology was for classifying these as international schools? Or care to explain that how global inflation doesn't affect these schools and salaries haven't adjusted by the global inflation rate of 3.5% over the last 5 years which would be now nearly 34K since you last stated this statistic in 2014?
shadowjack
Posts: 2138
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by shadowjack »

Actually what was mentioned was the median -the halfway point. Mode is the most common occuring and mean is the average... I used to teach this in Math class...
Overhere
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 3:29 am

Re: Advice for a college professor looking to teach abroad?

Post by Overhere »

SJ, still sharing?
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@snowphantom

The average rate of global inflation from 2014 to present is 3.1% (2015=2.75%, 2016=2.75%, 2017=3.2%, 2018=3.78%), regardless the growth of IE has not been linear across all tiers and all salary points, theres simply much more growth below the mean, thats pulling don the average. Though I should start reporting the average is 31K/yr, since its now over that.
snowphantom
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:42 am

Re: Reply

Post by snowphantom »

PsyGuy wrote:
> @snowphantom
>
> The average rate of global inflation from 2014 to present is 3.1%
> (2015=2.75%, 2016=2.75%, 2017=3.2%, 2018=3.78%), regardless the growth of
> IE has not been linear across all tiers and all salary points, theres
> simply much more growth below the mean, thats pulling don the average.
> Though I should start reporting the average is 31K/yr, since its now over
> that.

Again, no cites to back up your "alternative facts"? You have the same response whenever anyone challenges you and you choose to ignore questions. Even my 6th grades know the difference between and opinion and fact and how to present sound arguments with research.

You are more like Trump living in your pseudo reality and try to pretend you are an expert in everything.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@snowphantom

Do your own research, I have my data, if you have counter data wheres your research and citations.
Post Reply