For personal reasons, I'm cautiously contemplating moving to the US in the long term. From what I gather on the Internet, I'd pretty much have to get requalified in order to teach in public primary schools there (which seems to be awful, if I may believe the stories), but since independent schools apparently do not have to employ qualified teachers, I suppose they may be willing to hire a European qualified teacher as well. And they tend to get described as the 'better' schools anyway. (???)

Anyone have any insights on this? Do you think I would stand any chance at all getting a job in an independent school in the US; is it even worth trying? Would it lead to visa nightmares, or would it be a simple case of, "you got a job here, so here's your visa"? I have a BEd plus a Master's in a totally unrelated field, and have taught both in public and international schools in Europe.

I wonder sometimes. You see everywhere on the Internet that you have to make your CV stand out from the crowd, but the examples given are usually the CVs of graphic designers. How would it be in the world of international schools? Do you think they'd - consciously or unconsciously - look more favourable on fancy CVs, or would they prefer candidates with traditional CVs?

PsyGuy wrote:
> At this point in time you need to start looking in Asia, especially China.
> EUR domestic schools are looking at this time of year but you wont get much
> of an OSH package, one way airfare and whatever the national social
> insurance program offers.

Gee, and what's wrong with that? That's what most people live on, isn't it? Paying their own rent and insurances etc. Of course it's nice to get extras being an international teacher and all, but if you're going to make it a requirement, then you're narrowing down your search big time. But if that's what you want, please, be my guest and flock to Asia. It just means better chances for us who prefer to stay in Europe.

Scoobysue: if you prefer to stay in Europe (like me), don't worry too much yet. I know people will keep telling you that the big recruiting season is from October to January, but the fact of the matter is that in many European countries, by law you can still terminate your contract at three, sometimes even two months notice. Which means that for us, the recruiting season is far from over.

I've had this experience, too, this year. Kids and parents loved me, yet it seemed I couldn't do anything right in the eyes of the director. Tried to keep an open mind and adapt my teaching to her wishes as far as I could while still adhering to PYP and my own standards, but whatever I did, she considered it below standard. Even subjected myself to ludicrous measures to 'help' me improve my teaching, but at a certain point I just had enough. I quit. It's a decision that was not easily made, but I haven't regretted it for a second yet. Financially it's going to be a bit tight to bridge the gap till the next school year, but I'll manage.

Now I'm left to try and explain to the schools that are interested in me for next year how come I quit in the middle of the year. And always having gone by the motto that you don't say anything negative about your previous employers, I'm not sure what to tell them. And what guarantee can I give them that I won't quit mid-year again? It's a legitimate worry that has been voiced a few times already in interviews. Maybe the answer to that should be, "My first concern is my students' well-being, and as long as I'm not subjected to this type of continuous bullying, it will always remain that way." :-)

Any tips on how to handle these questions in interviews?

In itself it was a useful experience though. I can now say that I've experienced serious bullying first-hand, and now I'm more convinced than ever that no one - be it students or teachers or anyone - should have to put up with this.

Plus it taught me that being a good teacher is - up to a point - a matter of subjective opinion. The way to succeed is actually to find a school that matches your personality and your preferred teaching style. And I get the impression that's mostly a matter of trial and error...

First of all I've got to agree with the previous poster: the first order of business is for *her* to find out if this is what she wants. Meanwhile of course, it doesn't hurt to get some info to help her get an idea what she'd be getting into :-)

Being a Western European non-native English speaker myself, I've had some experience with the 'discrimination' you describe. Some schools simply list in their job ad that they only want native English speakers. Sometimes they even list exactly what countries they want them from, and more than once, I've come across schools that would only consider hiring you if you've got a teacher's certification/education from an English speaking country.

If you're just starting in the circuit, I'd say don't waste your time on them. There are enough schools out there who *do* actively seek to have a truly international faculty, with as many nationalities and languages represented as possible. Go for them - they're much more likely to be happy to hire us non-natives. Only when you feel certain that your English is every bit as good as a native speaker's does it make sense to ignore that specific language requirement and apply anywhere you want.

But in order to have a chance anywhere as a teacher in an English speaking school, your English really has to be of top quality. CAE at the very least, I guess, but CPE (ALTE C2) is even better. Don't forget - we're fighting an uphill battle to convince people that our English is every bit as good (or even better...) than a native speaker's! Basically, the demands they have on our English are actually *higher* than they have on a native speaker's!

The only international school I know of that specializes in music is a secondary school in Austria. I believe it's called Amadeus, and it might or might not be affiliated with the Vienna Choir Boys (but it's a co-educational school). But there might certainly be more - just hit Google ;-)

Being a mere amateur in music, of course I haven't paid much attention to ads for music teachers, so I have no idea what the market is like. I do kind of recall that Music seems to be a subject that comes up rather often in the ads on jobsites, so it might be worth a try. Especially if you're not too picky about where you'd want to go.

One option to get some experience in international schools (which is always a plus when applying for a position) is to try and get into an international school in your home country first. With your wife's very specific skills and experiences, I can imagine the international schools in your own country might be interested in hiring her when they are specifically searching for a music teacher - if only because local hire is cheaper ;-) Personally, I would try to gain access and experience in a role like that, before trying to get into a more managerial position. But that's just my opinion ;-)

Good luck!

Just want to give a heads-up to anyone who's still looking:

I've just had a sudden rush of 4 interviews in 4 days, ending in 3 job offers within 36 hours... All in Europe, all IB schools or candidate IB schools, and all of this without the help of an agency. Just applied directly to the schools based on ads on the school's website, or on jobsites like TES, Guardianjobs and Joyjobs.

So if you haven't found a position yet for the upcoming year, there's no need for despair yet. Just make sure you're right on top of new ads, because the hiring process is going extremely fast this late in the season!

And now I'm recuperating from a first-time-ever problem of having to *choose* from among three schools really eager to hire me... (But don't worry, I'm very happy with my decision :-)

I happened upon this article in a local Australian newspaper once, written by a mother who is amazed at the patience of her kids' teachers! I saved it for rereading, so here it is:

Schoolteachers deserve medal for dedication
SHE'LL BE RIGHT By Jillian Doyle
Wednesday, 20 July 2005

How did you survive the school holidays?
I say three cheers to the teachers as they deal with large groups of children on a daily basis and most times actually achieve what they set out to do – teach them something new.
My clan is tiny compared with what they deal with and I still can't get them to make their beds each morning.
My kids have confessed that they save their bad behaviour for home, as I have walked away from parent teacher interviews wondering if we were talking about the same children.
I am not complaining, I know I have great boys, but teachers don't always have the honour of dealing with polite, attentive students and they still manage to get through to them.
Two of mine are in primary school and one is in high school, and admittedly since starting high school I don't have much contact with his teachers except for the occasional note home regarding the late submission of assignments.
These are usually still floating around in his school bag, completed, because he forgot to hand them in. Although this is frustrating for me, if it is the worst thing he does I'm lucky.
He attended the same primary school that the other two are currently at and I think that is what gave him such a good basis for his study and behaviour.
They are amazing, patient people who I comfortably put in charge of my precious children five days a week.
I admire the way they encourage achievement by the setting of goals. The older children have the reward of excursions for good behaviour and the younger have their sticker charts, while all can be recognised with the presentation of merit awards at weekly assembly.
I must say that my youngest son's teacher has gone beyond the call of duty with the promise to dance on the table if everyone in the class returns their homework on the Friday it is due.
This teacher has made this offer to each class she has taught since starting her teaching career and hasn't had to do it yet, but it has given wonderful inspiration to her young students.
My boy, although as sick as a dog, one Friday begged me to take him to school long enough to drop in his homework and watch the display if everyone else did too. I would love to be a fly on the wall the day it actually happens.
Honestly, when you consider the amount of time we spend with our kids, their teachers have them for a larger part of their lives than us. I am pleased to share them with someone who has a sense of humour and fun but who is still firm enough to teach them the basic skills of life.
Having said all that, to their school, thanks for taking my boys back again this term. I have a suggestion however, how about including a lesson or two on how to make a bed that doesn't look like a scale model of our nearby hills?
It doesn't matter what reward I offer. And they have seen me dance and I think it actually scares them.

Source:
http://tamworth.yourguide.com.au/detail ... m=7&y=2005
(Edit: seems the link is a bit outdated. No wonder after 9 years...)

I'm no expert, but it sounds to me like your wife could really add something to the mix.

And don't worry - there are loads of jobsites for international teaching jobs out there. Some free, some for a minor fee. Check them for credibility as well as biases (for example: TES/British international schools, TIEonline/Asia and Middle East), and just go with the ones that suit your skills and wishes best.

Actually, I have been 'collecting' the employment pages of schools' websites for a while. It works quite well: bookmark them, put them in a bookmark folder by country, and every week or so I click on 'open all bookmarks in tabs'. Once you've set it up, it goes pretty quickly, and this way, I've found dozens of vacancies that I hadn't come across on any of the jobsites I check.

LOL Now don't spoil it! Let those Americans think they need 100,000 euro a year just to survive in Europe, and have them flock to the Middle East and Asia instead - it eases the market on European natives! ;-D

You may be late, but I don't think it's *too* late. I had an interview this morning, and another one planned for next week. Apparently, schools often end up with last minute vacancies due to teachers announcing rather late that they've found another job, or something like that. That happens even at the so-called good schools, and with your experiences, I'd guess they're likely to want to hire you pretty quickly.

Can't give you an opinion on Search since I've never been with them, but job boards like TIE, TES, IBO and joyjobs still have loads of listings. Just go out and apply, I'd say :-)

Best thing about being out looking for a job this late, is that everyone wants to go on holiday, so the application process is often quite speedy!

I've taught in Russia for a year (not in Moscow though), but that was before the Ukraine situation, so I can't help you on that. But I can tell you that in the rest of Eastern Europe of what I know (Poland, former GDR, Finland), people are far more likely to speak and understand Russian than English. The younger generations are somewhat more inclined to English, but not much. And English knowledge is generally more widespread in the big tourist centres than in 'ordinary' cities. Best thing to do if you're planning to stay there for a longer period is indeed to try and pick up the basics of the local language.

"Is it better to be (relatively) wealthy in China or the Middle East, middle class in the US, or poor in Europe?"

Gee, I've never considered myself to be poor... :-D What inordinate amount of luxury are you guys aiming at?

A continental Western European native here.

If that's a netto salary, it's a fairly normal salary for a regular local primary teacher. And as long as the school is located in an area where housing is affordable (say up to 600, 700 euros a month for a one bedroom apartment) and you don't have any extremely expensive hobbies or tastes (like daily caviar and champagne), you'll be fine. You wouldn't even have to share your apartment.

What you can't do so easily on such a salary is travelling extensively to all the corners of the world, and nor are you likely to end up with huge savings. Travelling around Europe for a month or so in the summer (the way most people take vacations) is certainly possible on a salary like that. Just stay out of the 5 star hotels ;-)

So it's up to you. If you value the experience and would like to be located in Europe (and Europe is small, really - everything is within a few hours reach), then you might certainly want to consider this position.

If earning a lot of money is important to you, then you might want to look further instead.

And if that 20,000 is a bruto salary, then you might indeed want to reconsider. 30% taxes is fairly normal in Western Europe...

"Off topic a bit, but talk to an Elementary teacher about teaching vs prep load. 10 preps out of 40 would be heaven. :)"

Maybe I should switch to teaching secondary... :-D

From what I understand, CRB and the likes (at least here in Europe) are only able to check your background within their own country. What you've been up to elsewhere is inaccessible to them. So with teachers moving around the world, all they have access to is the last country where they've lived.

Not sure if it's true, but this is what someone the educational business (not schools) told me once.