I'm getting set up to apply for IS jobs this year, and I'm concerned about one aspect of the interview process.

I currently work at a low-income school in Texas. We're constantly on the state & national "bad lists" because we have too many kids in SPED. It's not unusual to have students be pulled out of class to testify in court. We make sure the kids eat breakfast & lunch at school because some of them don't get food at home. In a fifth-grade class, the lowest student is usually working somewhere between a preschool and second grade level. It's the sort of school you'd see in a documentary about the state of public education in America. As you might guess, it has given me wonderful experience in classroom management and differentiation.

I read somewhere that recruiters don't want to hear about your experience with low-income migrant workers or kids with severe disabilities, because most international schools serve kids of the wealthy and non-disabled variety.

I'd like to hear from some of you with experience -- do I need to spin my experience here? Should I focus on my work with the average- to high-level kids? When schools ask about differentiation, are they talking about differentiating from preschool levels all the way up to high school levels in one classroom, which is what I currently do?

I realize that wealthy and gifted students have a whole different set of problems, and I feel confident that I can work with those kids. I'm just not sure how to convey that to the recruiters.

It seems like there's a pretty broad spectrum of requirements across the states. I'm not surprised that Texas (where I live) is at the lower end. :) Texas employs something like 10% of all teachers in the country -- that's a lot of jobs to fill.

I found some statistics from the US government: 52% of public (state) school teachers have a master's degree or higher, while only 38% of private (independent) school teachers have one. Of all public school teachers, 12% have a Master's that's not in education; only 1% have a doctorate.

As Mick suggested, teachers who went through traditional teacher prep programs are much more likely to have masters' (and to have those masters' be in Education) than are teachers who went through alternative programs (presumably those who have changed career paths).

Also this quote from the Center for American Progress (which admittedly has some biases, but I don't know that this is one of them):

"On average, master’s degrees in education bear no relation to student achievement. Master’s degrees in math and science have been linked to improved student achievement in those subjects, but 90 percent of teachers’ master’s degrees are in education programs—a notoriously unfocused and process-dominated course of study. Because of the financial rewards associated with getting this degree, the education master’s experienced the highest growth rate of all master’s degrees between 1997 and 2007."

Interesting.

Hello, American here.

The major difference between the UK and US is that every state in the US has different requirements. Some states require a B.Ed for elementary and a specialist subject degree for secondary; some allow several different routes of alternative certification. I don't know of any state that requires a Masters for certification, but it wouldn't surprise me to hear it. In my state, you can get a Bachelors degree in anything, then take an approved summer program on pedagogy and get hired by a school.

My husband and I both currently teach at state-run schools in the US. We each graduated with a Bachelor's, and then did a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program at a university, which included a year of full-time teaching. He finished his program in a year, doing teaching and coursework at the same time. I did all my coursework before I started teaching, so it took me two years. From what you described, it seems to be about equivalent to the PGCE. It's definitely NOT a masters, and some people have very little respect for a post-bacc cert. (Programs vary a lot in terms of quality.)

In my state, there are certain certs you can't get without a Masters. I do have a masters (in Library Science), but it's not an education degree. Hubby doesn't have one.

It may be true that more American teachers have Master's degrees, but it's for other reasons: pay scale, becoming a specialist, prestige, America's focus on higher education, or the continuing education requirements in order to renew your teaching cert.

Disclaimer: I don't teach at an international school, but I've lurked on this site for a while, looking forward to the day when I can finally head overseas. So I can answer at least one of your questions. :)

First, us folks in the United States also call them "interactive whiteboards" because SMARTboard is a brand. (My school uses a different brand.) So they do exist, Psy. I hope the international school community isn't so insular that they would think you were talking about dry erase markers....

In the IB system, SL means Standard Level and HL means Higher Level. From what I understand, the HL classes are longer and more challenging (like an honors or advanced section). Kids usually take three subjects at SL and three at HL.

Before you start applying, you might want to learn more about the different curriculum options so you know what you're getting into. There are Canadian international schools; I assume some of them use the national curriculum. You probably already know this, but I'll say it anyway: Most schools use IB, American/AP, or British. Sometimes you'll find a school that follows the curriculum of the host country or a mash-up of curricula. I get the feeling that it's difficult to move from one type of school to another (IB teachers tend to stick with IB schools and so on).

There are some schools that specifically state that they'll train new hires in IB/AP, but the ones I've found are either very large & prestigious with a strong mentoring program (and hundreds of applicants) or small and kind of dinky -- what people on this site would call 2nd or 3rd tier. I'm in the same boat as you (less experience than you, but my husband teaches Science :) and I think we have to go in with medium-low expectations in terms of salary & prestige until we get experience in the right system. Smaller schools and less popular areas are easier to get into. It seems like you could do two years at a small school in Asia and then easily move up to something better.

All you more knowledgeable readers, please tell me if I got something wrong. There's a ton of information out there, but it can be confusing. Good luck with the search!

Thanks very much, guys. You pretty much said what we've said to each other a million times: "It would depend on the offer," and "It would have to be a pretty amazing offer to be worth it." I wanted to get some outside, more knowledgeable input because we're trying to decide whether to sign up for Search this year or wait until we absolutely know that we'd be able to accept an offer. I guess it can't hurt to sign up now... Save the fair for next year.

The husband and I are going into international teaching, but I have a big financial question that will determine our timescale. FYI, Hubby teaches Science (3 years experience), and I teach Primary/Library/English (1 year Primary exp., 2.5 years as an Assistant Librarian). No dependents.

We're worried about paying off our student loans in a timely manner while working at an IS. I imagine we'll have to spend a few years at a less-desirable school because we're inexperienced. So what I'd like to know is... when people discuss the savings potential of a certain school, what's the context for that number?

At the risk of providing too much personal information, here's our situation:
If we stay where we are for two more school years (12/13 and 13/14), Hubby gets $17,500 of his student loans forgiven by the US government. Together, we make about $65,000 a year, and we're able to put my entire salary (and then some) toward debt repayment. As you might have guessed, the cost of living here is pretty low (we rent a 750 sq. ft. apartment for $500/month), and we live conservatively. So we could be debt-free by the end of the 13/14 school year.

The problem is that I'm not feeling particularly patient. I really don't like our current town. I want to stop dealing with all the crap that goes on in American public schools. If we were to leave earlier, for the 13/14 school year, would we be shooting ourselves in the foot? (Feet?) Is it worth staying here for one more unhappy year to pay off our loans (and to let me gain another year of experience)? Or is the savings potential at an IS, combined with our penny-pinching habits, enough to offset the government loan forgiveness?

What do you think?

[quote="bigfatgit"] When I queried with her university how she could be graduating when she had obviously failed her previous year, I was told that they were not allowed to fail her due to the amount of money invested in her by the government! [/quote]

I wonder if this has something to do with it. Do all teachers in the UK have their schooling paid for by the government? I got a few grants for being poor, but I paid for most of college and grad school on my own. We are eligible to have some of our government loans forgiven after five years of successful teaching in a low-income school. But you have to prove yourself before the government pays you.

Also, even public schools in the US have private health insurance, which I imagine makes teachers much more reluctant to visit the doctor. (For example, I have a high-deductible insurance plan, which means I have to pay $2500 before my insurance pays anything.) Maybe US teachers have a stronger awareness of the cost of medical care? Or care is simply more expensive in the US system because of inefficiency?

There is certainly pressure in the US to be independent, and prove your mettle, and pull yourself up by your bootstraps and all that. Weaklings and stressballs don't get much respect in good ol' Texas! ;)

(I say that with a wink and a nod, because one of my coworkers retired mid-year when she found out about the new test. The US has really high teacher attrition rates: [url]www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/03/0 ... c-schools/[/url] ).

Here's my experience, for what it's worth:

I teach in Texas, in the US, where standardized tests are the ultimate standard for judging schools and teachers, and there's no allowance for differences in students' abilities or interest levels. Every student is tested "at grade level." There are some modified tests for special ed students, but there's a limit to how many students are allowed on the SPED rosters. Plus, the state just released a whole new set of tests that are, in my opinion, developmentally inappropriate, and that were judged by an independent expert to be written at a high-school reading level (I teach fifth grade).

I teach in a very low-income, rural area, where many students have disabilities caused by prenatal neglect, abuse, and poor home environment, not to mention the simple fact that low-income students perform at lower levels than their wealthier peers. So when my school had too many students in the Special Ed program, and too many students failing the test, the entire campus was wiped clean, the administration was replaced, and every teacher had to reapply for their jobs.

Our students are still poor, they're still disabled at a much higher rate than the national average, and it doesn't matter if they improve by three grade levels in a single year if they don't pass that test in a few weeks.

I don't mean to sound cynical or like I'm trying to win a bad schools contest; I really love my job. But if doctors could put us on paid leave for stress, I think the entire building would be empty!

[quote="Mathman"]I either here you guys calling yourselves American or saying which specific state you are from. I would just prefer the US or the USA or the States. Sorry, but people from outside the USA should not be expected to know which state is which or care for that matter.[/quote]

When I travel in Europe, a lot of people ask what state I'm from. I'm from Texas, so it's a pretty easy association for most people (either cowboys or George Bush). When I lived in Arkansas, it was Little Rock and Bill Clinton. I'm sure it's different for people from, say, Rhode Island or, I don't know, Washington state, which don't seem to have the same presence (and don't have any recent presidents to claim :).

I don't expect people to know my state, but I do think some people enjoy saying, "Oh, Texas? I've heard of that! Now I know you better!"

Since you're not getting many responses, I'll throw in my two cents. I spent a semester studying in Uganda in 2006. I can't tell you what the international school in Kampala is like, but I can address the general standard of living, etc.

Where were you?
I lived in Mukono, Uganda, with pretty frequent trips to Kampala.

Was travel easy?
Depends what you call "easy." We walked pretty much everywhere, but it's a walking culture. There are matatus (minibus taxis) that run between cities and around Kampala, and you can hire a motorcycle to take you around town (although they are forbidden by the US gov). All of it is cheap and dangerous, including walking. If you get your own car, you need 4-wheel drive to go anywhere outside Kampala, as most of the roads are unpaved. We once hired a (more expensive) private taxi for a full day road trip. We always got where we wanted to go (and we traveled a lot), but it takes longer than you'd expect and not everyone will be happy to see you. British Airways flights come every other day to Entebbe.

Did people come visit you?
I think it depends on your people. Some folks will seize the opportunity, some will be scared. Flights can be pretty expensive (at least from the US). The good thing is that you can visit amazing places for really cheap.

Internet access?
I lived mostly on a college campus. We had Internet access, including wireless in a couple places, but it was really slow. There are a lot of Internet cafes around town, but they're slow, too. They are riddled with really old viruses, so I had to scan my jump drive every time I switched computers. The biggest problem with the Internet is that Uganda was selling it's electricity to neighboring countries, which caused massive rolling blackouts almost every day, with no warning. I don't know if that problem has been resolved in the last 6 years.

What was the good and/or bad?
Living in Uganda was the best and the hardest thing I've ever done. Kampala is much more modern, but living in Mukono meant walking an hour to the post office, haggling for fruit at the market, buying and dismantling a whole chicken for dinner, making sure I only drank potable water... It was very hard on my body (parasites, hair like straw, drastic changes in normal body functions :), but the lifestyle was lovely and the weather was awesome. Also, I was living the life of a student, and things would be different if you could afford household help and hot water.

Conditions vary dramatically from country to country and city to city, but, like sheaf said, you need to be flexible and adventurous (and I would add hopeful and committed).

Why thank you!

I guess I should have said that you sound like my husband, who is very PRACTICAL and LOGICAL whereas I am very impetuous and itchy-footed. You're right that being young and homeless makes it easier, but the thought of leaving my new washer/dryer makes me sad. But adventure trumps clean clothes, right? :)

I don't mean to bump this thread; just wanted to say thank you all for your thoughtful responses!

We've actually been considering this all year, but we didn't want to do the whole job fair thing in my first year of teaching (particularly not if it meant asking for a reference in September)!

dreamgiver, you sound a lot like my husband, who HATES moving. We decided to apply directly to a few schools this year, and then jump in with both feet next year. We just kept coming back to this question of "Will anyone hire us?", hence this thread. You all have been wonderfully reassuring. We really appreciate all the advice.

I'm by no means an expert, but I did some research about two years ago while considering a job at a university there.

From what I understand, they're very protective of their natural resources, and therefore careful about admitting foreigners. Tourists can only enter and move around the country with a tour guide, and tourist visas are issued for exactly the length of a pre-paid tour (usually 2 weeks). Tour fees are set by the royal government.

The "skilled worker" visa (I'm assuming most teachers would fall here) only lasts for one year. The library job I considered was for one school year, just to get things set up and running for them. Then you have to leave. Also, you have to register your HIV/AIDS status with the government. Oh, and there are age limits.

You can get a visa as a business owner, but I don't think there's a market for an IS unless you're only serving the local population. And, even though they're happy, they're certainly not rich: the university would only have paid about $500/month. It would be hard to attract stable teachers, I think, especially if you had forced 100% turnover every year.

I wish we could have considered the job more seriously. It's a lovely country, but maybe best for a (two-week) visit.

Thanks for the perspective. That was much more positive than I expected! Now we have to decide if we want to try for it this year or wait until the next hiring season.

One more question, if you don't mind: How important is having the Library Media certificate itself? In our state, you have to teach for two years and then get university permission before you can add the LMS endorsement. So I have the Masters, but I can't possibly get the certificate for another year (unless we change states). Do you know whether a teaching cert + masters would be sufficient for most schools?

Thanks again for your help!

My husband and I would like to break into the IS world. We've lived abroad before (Germany, Uganda, and Costa Rica), and I went to an IS as a child. What we really need at the moment is a reality check: how appealing are we as candidates, and what should our next moves be? I'd really appreciate any advice or information you can provide.

Here are our details:
-Both US state-certified
-Married w/no dependents (except a small dog)
-We live pretty cheaply in a one-bedroom apartment; as an idea, we currently put half of our salaries to overpaying our student loan debt (rural, public school salaries)

Husband:
-BS in Biology
-Certified in 8-12 Science, could add Math
-3 years teaching HS Biology & Chemistry
-3 years tutoring SPED students at university

Me:
-BA in English
-MS in Library Science
-Certified in EC-8 Generalist, could add 8-12 English & School Library
-1 year teaching 5th grade
-2.5 years as an Assistant Librarian (city & school libraries)
-3 years tutoring English Grammar at university

Here are my main questions:

1. I realize that I'm the weaker candidate. Do we need to stay where we are for a while to build up my teaching experience?

2. I would love to be a librarian, but it's pretty hard to find a school library job in the states right now; will an IS hire me on the basis of my education?

3. My sister works at an IS in Germany. What are the chances of us landing a job anywhere near her?

Sorry for the long post, but I'm having a hard time deciding whether our good attributes outweigh our lack of experience. Would you hire us?