nikkor wrote:
> Hi Benj,
>
> Did you hear back from SMIC? Over the last year, I've talked to a couple
> of teachers who work there. They don't seem to be too negative about it.
> For a first international school job, I think it would be pretty good gig.
> Most people really like shanghai.
>
> Others have mention that getting IB experience will benefit you
> professionally. I would make that my first priority.

Hello Nikkor,

I haven't heard back from SMIC yet. She was a little put off by the fact that the bulk of my teaching experience was done at an academy. She was also put off when I told her that the phonics classes in the academy were done by the Korean teachers. The foreigners were stuck with Open Court Reading which I thought was inappropriate for children whose native language was not English. I remember teaching Thomas Jefferson to 5-year old Korean students. I constantly had to go back and modify my lessons, because they didn't understand the material.

I'm not expecting to get the job, but I am staying positive. She told me that she needs to speak with her supervisors, and she will let me know within a week. It's been 5 days so far. If she wanted to hire me, my guess is she would have gotten back to me now, or she would have offered me a contract during our Skype interview. I don't know if I want the job to be honest. The job looks difficult. If I got the job I'm going to teach thirty 6-year old Chinese children in one room. I am not going to have an aide as well. How do you conduct an effective ESL classroom with 30 children who don't speak English? It seems like a night mare.

I will keep you guys updated.

jessiejames wrote:
> I am sorry to hear the interview didn't go as planned. If you are looking
> for experience, have you considered an Intern application with Search? I
> know it is probably not ideal, but it sounds as if it might suit your
> situation: 'Intern positions are available for graduating seniors and
> recent college graduates who wish to spend an academic year working in an
> international school. Intern candidates may have teaching
> certification/qualifications and some teaching experience, but are not
> required to do so. Internships are paid positions with the same benefits
> given to teaching candidates, such as housing, round trip airfare and more.
> '

That would be great, but I'm not a recent graduate. I graduated from college 10 years ago. If I was a recent grad I would work as an intern. It is a great chance to gain experience.

eion_padraig,

Thank you for the information. I have read a few reviews on the school and I have mixed feelings. I'm lacking IS experience so I might accept the position if I am offered a contract. I will make sure to ask about the housing and benefits.

If anybody has anything else to contribute it would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Ben

I had my interview tonight with SMIC Private School. My experience teaching at a Korean hagwon is going to be difficult to overcome. The interviewer thought that I worked at a real international school. It's one of those schools that is international in name only. It's an academy. I guess who was thrown for a loop.

How can I overcome this issue? I have my teaching certification. I just need two years of real teaching experience. It's very difficult to get into a school back home. If there happens to be an opening for a teaching position, you can bet that the school received 300 applications.

Any suggestions?

I think teachers are willing to put up with low pay, and bad behavior by administration because Thailand is a great place to teach. Who wouldn't want to work in a country with beautiful year round weather? You get a lot of bang for the buck in Thailand.

I could be wrong though.

redrider wrote:
> Search Associates would be the best place for you to look. After you get
> past the 'front gate', you can search the jobs currently available by
> content area. I've been seeing a lot of special needs positions (relatively
> speaking, a few a month lately) posted. You're right, special ed is very
> different in international schools. In my experience, teachers overseas are
> not as interested in being inclusive or making accommodations as in the US.
> I would put that down to a cultural difference, in that there is no
> pressure in particular to be inclusive in international schools, it is
> pretty well up to the individual teacher's comfort and interest level. Some
> utterly don't make accommodations and dislike even having those students in
> their classes. Sad but true.
>
> The hogwan experience doesn't give you salary steps BUT it does speak to
> your ability to adapt and adjust to another culture without doing a runner.
> That's not insignificant, and it's often your foot in the door. Because it
> is so expensive to bring in expat teachers, schools want to be sure that
> who they hire isn't going to decide the place isn't up to their
> expectations and then up and leave. I would play that part up in your cover
> letters.
>
> Check Search Associates, check TES (the Times Educational Supplement,
> search your position under SEN). Some people swear by joyjobs and teach
> anywhere, but I haven't much used the last two and can't really speak to
> them.

Rider,

I'm not looking for salary steps at this point. I'm looking to get my foot in the door, and I will work hard and take care of the rest. Getting as much experience I can is very important to me, and the experience has to come from a reputable accredited school.

I signed up at TIE Online. They seem pretty good, but the available Special Ed jobs that they have are meager. I was able to locate a few and I sent my resume to the schools. I have my application almost completed at Search Associates. My fear is that they aren't going to be able to work with me, because I don't have 2 full years experience as a classroom teacher. They don't count teaching at a hagwon as real experience, and my classroom aide job that I had will not count either. I'm still going to fill out the application though. I might get lucky.

Thank you,
Ben

Thanks everyone for contributing to my thread. It's appreciated.


"I have seen ads for teaching in public schools in Abu Dhabi, Vietnam, and China where you might not be in an international school, but you could gain full-time classroom teacher experience. If you are interested in getting started and not worried too much about the pay I would suggest looking at Latin America or China."

Where are these ads? I don't know where to look, and any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Vettievette,

Thank you for your reply. It is very appreciated. I will run a search for Learning Support and Special ED. Hopefully I can find some great information on teaching special education internationally.

I know teaching children with disabilities is a much different experience overseas then it is in America. I am aware of the differences, and I do know that disabled people are at a huge disadvantage. Students who have learning and medical disabilities are inadequately represented. Actually, I think that if someone wanted to open a school that catered to special ed children they could do very well. Currently, I don't see much competition in this area.

I had a feeling that my hagwon experience wouldn't amount to much. It was a great time for me to experience another culture, so I don't think it was time wasted.

Thank you,
Ben

Hello Everybody. I joined this forum because I truly do not know where to turn. I will explain my situation.

I'm a certified special education teacher in New Jersey. I'm also a highly qualified teacher for grades K-5. This means that I can teach regular and special education k-5. This is for only New Jersey. Every state has their own set of rules. After graduation I was a classroom aide for 3 years. The goal was to gain employment in my area, but when it didn't materialize I decided to leave. During this time I also worked 2 summers as a classroom aide for an alternative school. The children who attended this school were classified with severe behavior disorders.

I always wanted to travel the world so I took a job in South Korea with a private school. The school is a Hagwon. I taught ESL, and the grades were K-7. We had both kindergarten and elementary students. I worked there for a little over two years, and it was a wonderful experience.

My Experience/Credentials:

Hagwon - 2 years
Public School Classroom Aide- 3 years
Private School Classroom Aide- 2 summers

*NJ Teacher License (Special Education)
*Highly Qualified to teach grades K-5 (Regular/Special Education)

Currently I am home in the states. I am trying to decide what I should do next. I would love to go back to Asia, preferably Thailand. I do not want to work at a hagwon or another private school. I would like to work at an International school.

My questions are...

1. Will the experience that I've attained at the hagwon count on my resume?
2. If the experience does not count, what should I do? Someone suggested to me that I should first work at a 3rd tier internationally accredited school. The individual told me that their standards are lower, so getting a job there would be easier.
3. How do I find out whether an International school is 1st, 2nd or 3rd tier?
4. My specialty is special education. Are there international schools that cater to special needs children?

I'm in the process of signing up with Search Associates. Hopefully they can lead me in the correct direction.

Thank you,
Ben