I have certainly seen discrimination go in the favor of women on the uniform issue, but only because male admin have been too scared to say anything.

Regarding the boss that I spoke of before, a couple of other male teachers and I mentioned it to him informally (out of school when we saw him in a pub) and were given a very frank tale of events in which anytime he'd tried speaking to female staff members about it he'd received abuse and comments that were verging on accusations of staring and being lecherous. I felt bad about it because I really thought he just had double standards and
didn't want to do anything about it. I guess a lot more happens behind the admin doors than we realize some times.

I'm not saying that this is common in schools or that it happens often. I am only saying that I have seen this once. The school where I work now are quite strict on dress, but I am in Qatar. "Respectful dress" (as it says on the signs in some places) is a big deal here. I don't think the head of school needs to say anything as others will speak before it gets that far.

I agree with Shadowjack. Take one step at a time. First of all aim for a school that will give you some experience. If that experience happens to be IB then you're in luck, but if not, at least you got some experience and have more chips at the table next time.

If you're looking at the middle east then you'll have to rule out the UAE. As I remember they have a rule of wanting 3 years verifiable teaching experience for a teachers work visa. That might have just been for Abu Dhabi though. Keep an eye on it anyway.

A low end school in China might be a good option. Somewhere like Beanstalk might work, and I think they're IB. They pay little (but certainly enough to get by) and I wouldn't expect the greatest of professional environments, but if you can get experience and it's IB then it's everything you're looking for, right? There are a few others in China also but I can't remember the names of the top of my head. Maybe have a look at the IBO website and get a list of IB schools for China. There are quite a few.

I hate the waiting game. It's just painful.

Once, I had a Skype interview with my first choice and was so excited that I put all other options on a back burner. I wasn't even applying to places where I knew I had a good chance, or where I knew someone already. Then, after 3 weeks no offer came and my other top choices were already gone. That was a tough lesson learned.

On another occasion I had one very good interview with my first choice school who told me they'd have an answer in 10 days. Having learned from my previous experience I interviewed with my third choice anyway and was also offered the job. I contacted my first choice school and respectfully requested that they could give me an answer sooner, which I got. I was offered the job after 7 days instead of 10. If they'd have said no to giving me the answer sooner then I would not have hesitated to accept the other job.

In my opinion, if someone really wants you then they will try to get you. They must know that you'll have other offers within 3 weeks. I personally never like to feel pushy by asking for a sooner answer, but you've got to look out for your own back. If you're single then it's maybe not so bad, but if you're married or have kids then I think that extra security is important and it's good to tie things up as soon as possible.

Good luck to you. I hope you get what you're looking for.

Bobby Bamboo, I sympathise. I was doing playground duty in shirt and tie whilst working in Thailand. It's horrible and if you're remotely active- walking around, occasionally kicking a ball around with students or doing anything more than standing still, then you can easily find yourself feeling uncomfortable (and quite unsightly) all day. It makes no sense to have teachers out in the playground in 35oC mid-day lunch duties wearing a shirt and tie. Hopefully this is where better schools have some flexibility and show that they care about their teachers.

At the same school in Thailand, it seemed that female staff could wear whatever they liked. This was once mentioned in a staff meeting and was a source of tension during the hot season, but the male principal seemed to avoid it like the plague.

This is fantastic Pippafrit. I will be following with great anticipation, just as I was for Shadowjack's day by day account of Bangkok. My fingers are crossed for you.

Once again, this kind of sharing is what, to me, this site should be about. Massive thanks for continuing the culture of sharing.

Psyguy, you said the majority of schools. Is that the majority of schools you've worked at or the majority of schools in a particular region where you've worked?

Has anyone ever worked anywhere that you can shorts? A buddy of mine was very upset at having to move to shirt and tie in the UAE, as in New Zealand he was always allowed to wear shorts. Haven't heard of any international schools that allow that though (except for PE teachers).

I haven't worked in an international school yet where male teachers don't normally wear a tie. All my international experience has been in the Middle East and East Asia so I don't know what it's like in other areas. However, despite the rule I haven't been anywhere where it's REALLY strict. People have always gotten away with a polo shirt from time to time or a nice shirt without a tie if you're going to be doing some outdoor activities.

It was mentioned in another thread on here a little while ago that some of the lower schools (such as some of the third tier schools in Thailand) will focus heavily on appearance of teachers to add extra appeal to the school. The better schools, I've observed, appear to lean towards a perspective of "It doesn't matter what they look like. We hire for teaching ability, not for looks". That's only from my experience and observations though.

I understand what's being said about the Hong Kong fair being a swap meet for Hong Kong schools. I've heard that Hong Kong is tough before. But if you were really looking to work in Mainland China and didn't have much experience elsewhere then surely this is the fair to go to. There are 14 schools from the mainland on the schools attending list, and none which you could call top tier. In fact, outside the Hong Kong schools I'm not sure there are any top tier schools on the list. If I knew someone who wanted to get their foot in the door of international school teaching and were OK with somewhere in China, then surely that's the fair to go to.

Danny, sorry, I know that information was no good to you. Seriously though, I'll certainly second what heyteach says about not assuming all Middle East countries are the same. Dubai is great for Singles, and Abu Dhabi isn't bad either. There are certainly IB schools there that will give training to new IB teachers.

I personally never had a maid. Many colleagues did though, especially families. As I remember the price could be anywhere from about 1000 to 2000 AED. I'm sure you'll be able to find online though. There are many agencies.

By the way, an excellent place to buy, sell stuff, as well as find services is dubizzle.com. Worth a look, especially if you're looking for second hand furniture or car when you arrive. You might be able to find info about maid/nanny services on there too.

This schools is a perfect example of how quickly things change in international schools and how quickly reviews can go out of date. I spoke to a good friend who left there last year. When I was in in Abu Dhabi they were still close to the main city, but they recently moved to a new state of the art campus outside of the main Abu Dhabi city, but close to a few other schools. The facilities at the school are apparently just amazing, but this isn't reflected in the teaching and learning that goes on. They want to get their money back and that means that any standards that were attached to their entrance exams have gone, and anyone gets in. That's quite normal in for profit education, I know, but still, it's something to be aware of.

It's never had a reputation has been as being a great school, but you can do worse. I agree that with 13 years experience you can probably do better. But, at the same time, this school seems to be in quite a transition period. It might be a good time to get in and be part of building towards something new.

Al Reef is a bit further away from the city than the school, but it's nice and the school can give you good accommodation there that its a bit cheaper than places closer to the city. I'm not saying they're going cheap on you. I've heard very nice things about the place. Yas Island is very close by and there are quite a few decent bars and restaurants there, as well as Ferrari World, some new water park, the F1 circuit (where you can walk or ride bicycles every Tuesday evening) and a massive Ikea with a decent restaurant.

Nannies/helpers are cheap in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi will be different from Hong Kong, but I imagine it will be a nice change. A lot of people really like Abu Dhabi, me included. And if you get bored, Dubai is just down the road.

I just realised how much I wrote in my previous post. I guess I must have some pent up bad feeling towards some of my colleagues who are constantly negative..ha ha ha

Lets face it, us teachers are a moaning bunch. Some more so than others, but in the eyes of many there can never be enough resources, the naughty kids are never dealt with well enough, the principals never have enough attention to staff... the list goes on and on, and I moaned a lot too in my first couple of international schools. Part of it comes down to the fact and reality of working in for profit education. That's hard to get used to, and the more businesslike the school, the harder it can be to get used to it. However, some people still just moan no matter what happens. A woman at the school where I work, which is a decent school (not elite, but certainly good) has moaned about everything which most people don't have a problem with, and she's exactly the kind of person to go out of her way to write a scathing review. For me though, I feel that if a school has been around for 5 years or more and only got 1 or 2 people who have been upset enough to post a review then that's not bad at all. For sure, if you've got a few people coming in with the same points then you want to be careful, but read them carefully and try to read between the lines. Ask yourself, is his person reporting the problem, or were they the problem.

Decide what is most important to you, and if these things seem compromised from the reviews then avoid the school. For example, for me, getting paid late is an absolute deal breaker. I turn up for work early every day, so I find getting paid late the most disrespectful violation of the most basic employment agreement. If I read a review which reports people getting paid late then I will avoid the school. I don't care if the principal is sociable or unsociable, I don't care if the boss has favorites, I don't care if the boss takes time off to go and do other things, and I don't have loads of sympathy for the people who move overseas and then constantly moan to colleagues, supervisors, parents and students because their school on the edge of a rice field in southern China doesn't have enough plastic clocks for teaching time, and the local director doesn't give teachers all the same rights they get at home (and after they don't get their contract renewed they write to ISR arguing that anyone fighting for teachers rights is this school is silenced). I have even less patience when they moan constantly for 2 years and then decide to sign up for an extra year. However, if people are getting paid late, I can't be there. That's what's important to me. One of my colleagues recently decided not to renew because the school were moving teachers into different apartments for the second time in 2 years. To me it's annoying, but to my colleague it's her deal breaker, and fair enough.

I really appreciate this site and am grateful to those who run t. I love that after so long with nowhere to voice grievances, we finally have somewhere to let it all out. But, take it with a pinch of salt. There are a lot of good schools out there where you will be happy. My advice is, decide what's important to you and look out for it.

I'd be very careful of SABIS. They want everything doing EXACTLY their way and you will have very, very little creativity. They also pay terribly. At least with ADEC they pay a good amount of money. It's a tough call because neither is ideal really.

Hi,

It's true that even after 2 years in the Abu Dhabi public school system, you won't be as competitive as someone in an out and out international school, but more important than the experience will will be about how you present yourself after it. If you talk about "only working in the Abu Dhabi public school system" then others will view it the same way, but if you refer to the experience as "a wonderful experience in which you enjoyed the opportunity to develop classroom management techniques whilst also refining your teaching skills" then you become seen as a positive, hard worker who loves a challenge.

I disagree with the assertion that native language proficiency is needed to work in such environments. As you will find in many similar programmes, there will most likely be a local teacher either present or nearby to help out with urgent issues regarding classroom management or emergencies. All organisations that I've heard of that provide teachers for public school programmes strongly urge their teachers to NOT speak the local language, with the reasoning that if they wanted someone to speak the local language and a bit of English then they can find someone much cheaper than flying you in. Additionally, if students think you can speak their language then they will try to use that with you instead of English. You probably found the same in Korea.

Have a look at the post "Talk up the Middle East". There are some really good perspectives on there. It doesn't say about schools in particular, but there are some ideas about where others have enjoyed.