In Tokyo I think any of the IB schools (which someone listed out for you) are going to be decent places to work. Of course things like personality clashes etc mean a school might not be great for you but in terms of treating teachers ok, having liveable packages etc all of the major schools are pretty good. Unlike some regions of the world (places like China and ME spring to mind) there's nothing super dodgy going on in any of the schools.

I know there have been some upheavals lately and I know some people are less than happy so it doesn't surprise me that there are negative reviews (I'm not a member so I can't read them) but I'd still say any of those main schools can be pretty happy places to work if you've got the right attitude.

Sorry to hear your story.

I'd say that the first step would be to contact Search and see if you can work something out with them.

If that doesn't work then consider other recruitment agencies and/or contacting schools directly. As others have mentioned if you can move on and get another job on your resume then this one won't matter as much. And if you're lucky the person causing the problems will have been let go and it won't be an issue.

Good luck

They still do the thing with the cars. It's kind of funny to visit the school because the car park is full of identical cars.

I've never lived in Bucharest but it's certainly no Budapest! However it's got a lot of advantages of its own. Cheap cost of living, beautiful country to explore, easy access to the rest of Europe. If you're considering the main international school then I'd say it's definitely worth thinking about, it's a good school. If it's some other international school be a little careful. I have a friend there in a for profit school (it's only for small kids, I'm not exactly sure what age it goes up to) and I know she hasn't been very happy with the experience.

I don't think foreing women 'refuse' to date chinese or japanese men. There are many reasons that foreign women don't date chinese/japanese men as much as foreign men date the women.

To list a couple off the top of my head
1. Culturally the men often expect to be unquestioned boss in a relationship and find foreign women threatening (especially ones who may be earning significant amounts of money in local terms).
2. The asian ideal of beauty (and the western as well these days) likes women to be small/petite and thus many western women are not attractive to asian men.
3. Conversely many asian men are rather 'feminine' in a lot of ways and thus are not particularly attractive to foreign women.

Obviously these are to a point generalisations (and I hasten to add that I know several foreign women very happily married to Asian men - although while writing this post I just realised that in all the cases I know the woman is petite and the man is fairly well built for an Asian guy). I just wanted to make the point that it isn't like foreign women are generally having locals lining up to date them while they reject them all out of hand...the situation for foreign men/local women is another story.

I am in a similar position. I don't really make the link between being a teacher and being single that you seem to though. Maybe some of the countries I have chosen to live in have somewhat narrowed the playing field when it came to choice of partners but I don't particularly see that as being to do with education.

And I find it interesting that you seem to imply that North Americans don't look with pity on older single females. Sadly I think western culture is just as guilty of that as others (although people are too pc to come out and say it to your face).

Of course you need to consider what the package is like too since you've got to make enough to live on.

I looked at Uplands in Malaysia but their package was just too low. Don't think it would be much fun to try living there with kids on what they were offering.

Congratulations Senator. That has got to be one of the least intelligent postings on the board.

But then I guess I must be incompetant since I'm certainly not fitting your definition of a superteacher so I'm sure it won't bother you to hear me say that.

While I agree that SOME schools are poor - mediocre (as are some teachers) there are plenty of good schools out there as well and I think anyone who wants to try international teaching shouldn't be put off by your sweeping generalisations.

I'm not American but I suspect there are plenty of poor - mediocre schools there too. And an awful lot of behaviour problems to boot. Good luck with your move back there. I think International Teaching is still a pretty great deal. I get to live in other countries, do a job I enjoy with great students (compared to your average school at home) and have good holidays to travel. I may not make my fortune but that was not the reason I became a teacher.

Jackieewing,

The Prem centre is an absolutely lovely campus which would be quite good in a lot of ways for families (kids could have a lot of freedom to roam around etc). I've never worked there but I have visited and talked to teachers there. Some of what they said were

1. The weather. It rains A LOT at times. Not so great if you are stuck indoors all the time.
2. The housing. Some of the people with kids felt that that housing was a bit cramped.
3. The workload. Quite a few complaints that it was too high. I think that you get extra boarding responsibilities etc.
4. The location. It is about 25 min out of Chiang Mai. That means if you want to go into town you either need to work round the buses or buy your own transport.

Like I said, this is all based on what I was told. I've never worked there. What I can say is that the location and the setting are beautiful (clean air etc) and if I had kids I think I'd definitely rather them be living there than in a city somewhere.

I considered applying for a job there myself but decided against it because I think I would go a little stir crazy living on campus and being around the same people all the time...that's just me though.

well I may be a college graduate but it appears I don't know the difference between 'too' and 'to'...that mistake is really going to annoy me now!

specialed I completely agree with you about the specific attacks on people. not called for.

I guess what people need to keep in mind is that there is no perfect school. And, what another person hates might be perfect for you. BUT, on the other hand if a school has 10 reviews saying that it is hell on earth then you might want to consider whether it is somewhere you want to spend the next 2 years of your life. For me personally when I read the reviews I try to sift through and work out what the main complaints are. If they are things like accomodations being substandard, wages not being paid then that is a huge red flag. If it is just one person disliking a management style then that is less of a concern.

I know you are probably just looking for reassurance but the question is a bit pointless. Of course it is possible to get a good job. Of course it is less likely than if you had more experience. There are so many variables involved in getting a job. How you sell yourself (both in your CV and at interview), whether a school becomes desperate (eg someone quits at the last minute) and whether you have a particular skill set that others don't (eg you just happen to be a fantastic chess coach which is just what a particular school wants).

The only way you will find out is if you apply. We are getting pretty late in the recruiting cycle right now so the schools that are still looking will be more likely to consider you if they haven't found anyone else. (If you are meaning you want a job for next year)

And if what you are after is reassuring stories then I will tell you that I had 1.5 years in the uk, one year in australia and got my job offer right at the end of june (to start that August). I just happened to be in the right place at the right time (well my application did). I've been very happy here and now have 4 years of international experience to take into my next job.

I think human nature is such that people are more likely to make the effort to write something when they are unhappy - it is a form of revenge after all.

Having said that though I don't think all the reviews are negative. Check out WAB (China) for example. A load of glowing reviews.

My school has some pretty negative reviews. But I have written my own to combat that. If other people who think their school is getting a bad rap do the same the site will balance out. The honest truth though is that most people won't bother.

I think part of it comes down to intelligence and a bit of critical literacy on the part of the reader. The school I'm moving too next year has only one review and it isn't particularly flattering. But, reading between the lines I thought that the person's major problems were personality clashes with those in charge. No complaints about housing, money, contracts not being honoured etc, it was all about their dislike of the management style and the fact they felt unfairly treated. I asked questions at interview and researched the school in some other places and decided that it will be a great school for me. If after I've been there a while I decide it is a good place to work then I will certainly come back and write a review to balance out the other one.

No body is forced to read the reviews if they don't want the information.

No problem with sharing my school's name but will email you since if I identify the school I basically identify myself and I'd rather not completely blow my cover.

Will put the title 'recommended school' in the email.

I agree that you have to look at the schools individually. Right now I am probably in what would be considered a second tier school. There are several reasons for that - the package they offer is not as generous as some of the other schools in this city, we are smaller and have not been around as long (although we've been here for 12 years so not exactly complete newcomers).

Personally I would rather my kids in this school than the '1st tier schools' here. There are a few reasons for this. One I don't like big schools. I much prefer a school of 700 to a school of 2000. Secondly we are much more academic. The top tier schools here have much better sporting facilities etc but follow an American curriculum which personally I just don't think is as good as the IGCSE/IBDP which is what we do. And thirdly our strength is a bilingual education which I like.

I've been very happy working here and certainly would be happy recommending this school to people for their kids. So don't write off schools just because they aren't what is supposedly the 'biggest and best'.

It does help. I'll be in the Middle/High school.

I think it sounds like it will be a good place for me. One of the things I liked about the school is its commitment to service.

Thanks for taking the time to find that out for me.

I think I would definitely take world youth academy over your other option. And with Beijing flat out getting itself ready for the olympics now would be a good time to come.

By the way the location of world youth academy is good. you would be living in a fairly central area. quite a few of the other good international schools are a long way out of the city (which means they have space for better facilities) which means staff either have to live outside the city as well or face a longish commute each day.

Good luck with your applications.