Considering the truly vicious tone of some of your 'writers', I am not surprised that some adverse comments from outside are anonymous; that is what you deserve and should expect. I also noticed the dearth of 'facts' in many cases, and the amazing approach of Dr Spilchuk, who claimed the line of defense that 'stories are important'. This 'narrative' form of counseling removes almost all facts in crucial cases such as divorce, abuse etc, and may be used to obscure any given set of circumstances. Stories of course do MATTER to the one who tells them; they do NOT provide data useable for decision-making where professional expertise and responsibility are paramount in a school. I clearly recall the ISR's attempt to trash the whole of Thailand in one month; not to mention reprinting reviews which are years old. It is high time that you people stopped glorifying your kind of under-handed power, and told some of your teachers to get used to less-than-ideal conditions; that is sad,but it is the real world. Sure, it's a pity that schools are businesses; who is going to change that?

Parents and kids depend on reliable teachers; not every posting will be a 'holiday'. I am sad to hear that so many parents pay highly for schools whose staff change every 2-3 years, so that 'international' teachers can roam the world on a good salary! Maybe this concept isn't as healthy as it seems. I note also that ISR fully supports anonymity for teachers to heavily critique their schools, and/or make ruthless attacks on admin personnel. So how come you WON'T respond to a cogent, but anonymous critique? Does that mean you are not guilty of what they state? Why don't you go back over all the anonymous critiques encouraged on your site? Many of them are tragically unworthy of professional teachers. Sure, conditions may be unfair, apartments may be lousy...but did they want to see the world or not?

It is way past time the so-called ISR stopped attempting to damage a very wide range of legitimate education activities, in a worldwide setting, with this mud-slinging and extreme emotionalism you have been sending out every month. I'm glad several others have made this clear to you. But I don't think you have any intention of stopping it. You will just act like a network of 'dealers', and go underground, to build up groups of 'discontents 'who will continue to create clandestine damage to the ethos of a school. And yes, some schools do cover up a shabby profit motive with pretty words...but vicious attacks on their staff won't help. And is a corporation any better? HA HA. Even worse, you still claim you are 'helping' people, even now. While I feel truly sorry for those who get a raw deal (and yes, it happens), if anyone goes around videoing school doors, meetings, interviews etc, they could expect to lose a contract! How about doing that in an office job! How long would it last? Why didn't you remind your writers of that?

Get real, ISR. A lot of people have had enough of you. Caring teachers deserve much better representation, and should use, and expect, a truly mature approach.

I have appreciated this web site as a resource in looking for future employment. In most cases, schools should not fear if they are doing most things right. I have seen reviews that assured me that a successful application to work there would be a good thing, even if there are a few negative comments. Life is never going to be a bowl of cherries.

On the other hand some reviews are surely written by people with an axe to grind, perhaps for good reason. And some just tell it like it is, warts, flowers and all. One school reviewed here approached me because my file was active through a placement service. The reviews helped me 'read between the lines' of their job offer. I asked some oblique questions, and never heard back from them. So I believe that was a good thing.

The school I am at now is not reviewed here. Will I write a review? Possibly. But I want to be away from here before doing so, even though much of what I might say is positive. Any unflattering comments would surely unmask me as the author by readers currently working at the school. That's why I'm not sure the temporary email address would be helpful in the long run. Usually, (but not always) the problem lies with the director, head of school or head of department. Most directors have feet of clay and will probably not take kindly to criticism, even when there is a chance to resolve the basis of criticisms via anonymous email addresses.

One more thing: I don't see a spell check option for this reply box, and in spite of winning many a spelling bee in elementary school, I make mistakes. Sigh. But when I read reviews that were written by someone with no apparent awareness of the conventions of the English language, I shudder, and think that the school reviewed by that person is lucky to be rid of him/her.

Of course, human nature being what it is, there may well be some "reporting" that might exaggerate or misrepresent the truth, but then those who are also teaching in the same school have the option to write dissenting opinions. However, I say with confidence that teachers as a group are truthful, helpful and honorable people. To suggest otherwise from the first writer's point of view, is an unacceptable attitude. Perhaps, it is this kind of administrator that prompts the comments and observations we read about on the ISR site. I suggest that the writer understand that educated individuals are able to discern the truth and veracity of the comments and the follow up comments. We can also recognize organized attempts to cover up or disguise the realities through a series of exceedingly glowing reports and especially glowing reports of a parent who is neither in the classroom or who at best, is witness to a small sliver of a school's effectiveness.

I would like to suggest that you put a push on accepting positive reports from teachers. Many teachers see this web site as a "I'll get them" venue. I am guilty of not reporting a positive experience from a former school, and hope to rectify that in the near future. So, if you would encourage positive reviews with some kind of article expressing the fact that candidates at hiring fairs use your web site to a great degree. They are certainly entitled to a fair, peer review of any school that they are considering. Administrative reviews stick out like sore thumbs.

In closing, I love your site and agree with the reviews of the schools where I have taught. I went into each experience fully informed and take responsibility for my current unhappiness for not listening to the reports (oh, they must be disgruntled employees).

Please feel free to publish my comments, and again, I hope that you will expend some literary energy to encourage all reports, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Unfortunately, unsigned, due to impending employment.

I have recently accepted a position at a school which did not have a great review on ISR. The major complaint appeared to be with housing. I made a number of inquiries about the housing and while it was admitted to having been a problem it has been addressed in such a way that it is believable. ie the situation is improving and will take time to be perfect. This is a far more believable response than, "that was a problem but now everything is great."

I take all opinions with a grain of salt, we all see the world through our own experiences and what I might find interesting, quaint or reasonable another might term substandard.

When moving overseas I think the most important thing to remember is that it will be different, there will be challenges that are unique and unexpected. That is a large part of the fun of it! :) If this is unacceptable then stay at home where the challenges are known and familiar.

Thanks ISR for allowing us to vent our feelings and thoughts to each other.

One way to perhaps satisfy both sides of the anonymous issue would be do as many newspapers do. You must submit your name and contact information to the newspaper printing your letter, but you may ask the newspaper to withhold that information and keep it confidential. Your contact information would be privileged and therefore could not be compromised. I think such a procedure would serve two purposes:

1. This would allow ISR to track teachers that continually send in bad reviews everywhere they go. Unfortunately there are people out there that are a bad fit no matter where they are or who enjoy trashing someone who has disciplined them. It is a form of bullying and weak people enjoy bullying without getting caught.

2. By attaching contact information to any review I believe this would weed out those who love to send anonymous notes around an organization (I have worked in such a place) from those who are prepared to stand behind their words. Even if you know that your contact information is confidential, the fact that it is attached would certainly make most of us weigh our words much more carefully. I think it would help encourage an atmosphere in which the writer would want to stick to facts rather than recite mere opinions.

I think ISR provides a much needed service and I will continue to support it. The reviews certainly alerted me to potentially bad situations. At least if I decide to accept a position at one of these schools with bad reviews I am going in with my eyes wide open. And I believe most of us can read between the lines of many of the reviews. We deal with this situation every day when students come to us complaining about another student.

Hopefully we remember that reviews may not only be written by unhappy teachers, but also by disgruntled administrators either posing as teachers or who coach teachers to disparage someone in print in order to take potshots at their fellow administrators (and getting the writer to praise them!). Of course directors may write glowing anonymous reviews in order to balance out negative reviews by teachers.

In other words free speech requires intelligent reading.

Signing my name,

Mary Linklater

To write articles in a web site against another one does not help anybody. Therefore, if you are not happy with ISR or any other one, do not read them, or if you do, also add positive suggestions to improve.

I dare say most teachers who write in are not disgruntled, but are merely expressing some of the most abominable and dangerous circumstances that one may face in the teaching profession and in various parts of the world.

The threats of being sued are merely a means to force silence and submission, because the very worse schools can no longer recruit unsuspecting dupes and they are frustrated. If a forum such as this can be intimidated, threatened, and forced into silence, just imagine what they attempt to do and often do to coerce silence and force conformity among teachers, who are primarily female.

Considering what has happened recently to teachers in Kuwait and Mexico, I dare say, let this forum continue and anonymity be a right. Teachers seldom lie about their conditions.

This is implied terrorism against teachers and ISR and should not be allowed to continue. For the moment, until the U.S. government and other governments gets involved to protect its citizens abroad, and stop foreign nationals from forcing their children via American schools into western countries, this is the only legitimate forum available for us to warn and protect each other.

Please don't be intimidated and keep up the good work. Obviously, someone is quite distressed at having lights shone upon their despicable behaviors which ultimately undervalues the education students receive in these many of these fake foreign educational institutions that cater primarily to the rich elite who want to transplant their children in western societies via force and intimidation.

As for the comment as to how unfair some of the postings may be, teachers should be given credit for being critical readers by leery administrations. When I look at postings, I look at what and why something is being said. I take what I read with a grain of salt. However, when you have several postings by different people that say exactly the same thing, maybe there is a problem. Identifying issues and dealing with them will only make for better overseas schools and teaching environments, and this should not be something we as community fear. Picking an overseas school to work at is about fit. We all need to take several things into account when accepting a position. At the UNI FAIR which I recently attended, we were all encouraged to research our schools of interest before we arrived. I called people at one of the schools I wanted to interview with and got a first hand account of the school. The person I spoke with gave me the pros and cons and I made my own decision!
based on, "Is this a fit for me."

Those of us who have done this before realize, a specific school or situation which is ideal for one person is not for another. When reading the postings people should not just look at the numbers but what the person wrote regarding the country, living situation, etc. I worked in Hong Kong recently and love almost everything about that country, several of my fellow teachers disliked the big city, the weather, the lifestyle etc. To each his or her own. If we use these reviews in this manner, I don't see that there could really be any valid complaints about it.

We as teachers do need to do our research on this end, ISR is a valuable tool for knowing what to ask at times. I would not rule out a school because of one bad review on ISR, but I would as questions in advance before accepting a position. I think most administrators would find that a fair and valid use of this web site as a tool, but not as a definitive authority on all schools.

Schools and directors will find that when they are willing to tell plain truths about their schools at the interview stage, they will preempt the unhappiness that results when teachers feel duped or undervalued. For example, one of the complaints I've been reading about repeatedly is that some schools will take teachers' passports and keep them. Now, to me, having a school keep my passport is unthinkable until someone explains that in some countries there are legal ramifications to having all your various IDs in your possession. Then this act on the part of the school becomes, not a sinister development, but simply one of the many challenges of living abroad. Poor housing, shared transportation, local taxes, overly-involved school boards, all these are surmountable problems if you are given the chance to anticipate them. After all, most international teachers are spirited, adventurous people who are in the field because they are risk takers.

I certainly hope that you send this letter to TIE to se if they have the guts and sense of fairness to publish it. I would guess that they won't since they won't want to give ISR more exposure. I hope I'm wrong, though!

The one problem with ISR is the same problem you'll find with similar feedback forums: people are more likely to post bad news than good news. A quick scan of the reviews on ISR will reveal few glowing reviews (save for those that read with the voice of a school administrator). So how to balance this formula?

I would suggest that every time a forum is opened on a school, send out a solicitation for teachers at that school to post their own review. I understand you need to make your subscription dollars, so they would need to pay that if they want to read all the feedback. But make it free to post a review. This would provide subscribers with a much more informed picture of that school.