You can always rely on him for accurate data!
"No one is sitting down at the family table back in Surrey and saying "Lets take the kids to Dubai for the family vacation". (A Psyguy insight!)

"Brits look to Dubai for holiday deals this autumn

"Sep 11, 2012
"LONDON, England - Dubai is the number one destination for holiday deals this autumn, and the second-most popular autumn destination overall after New York, according to new figures from the website dealchecker.co.uk.

"Dubai's profile as a holiday hotspot has risen dramatically this year. The number of Brits searching for cheap holidays to Dubai this spring and summer rose 36 per cent compared to the same period last year, and new ACI Passenger and Freight Flash Reports show that Dubai International Airport posted a 13.7 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in the first half of 2012.

"Mark Attwell, MD of dealchecker.co.uk, comments: "Cities across the Middle East and Asia have grown in popularity this year, from the relatively nearby Dubai and Istanbul to far-flung hotspots like Hong Kong and Beijing. From London, you can fly to Dubai in the same time that it takes to drive to Scotland, making this exciting and family-friendly city more accessible than ever.""

Dave, I'm going to type this slowly because I know you don't read too well. This is what I wrote:

"Like most good international schools, we have a thriving EAL/ESL program that runs all through the school. Teachers in this program receive exactly the same salaries, benefits and respect as any other of their colleagues. I don't know of any high quality school where this isn't the case."
May I repeat that: "I don't know...where this isn't the case."

Then I asked you to nominate one school where this isn't the case, and you have told us IS Bangkok. You have never worked there. As I remember, when you did a runner from Cairo you went to Bkk for a few months to work in - Assumption was it? I guess you may have met teachers from ISB, or friends of teachers from ISB, or even distant relatives of acquaintances of friends of teachers from ISB. Let's see what the ISB faculty has to say about your allegation.

In the meantime, I do know that ISB has a very serious EAL/ESL program with more than a dozen teachers and several full time assistants. It's hard to imagine that the administrators would secretly despise them and talk about them behind their backs. I guess we'll have to wait until we get a response in order to verify your "data".

You're so funny. Your idea of data seems to be an opinion you have: "At many top tier and 1st tier schools ESOL is treated as an inferior subject." Who knows where you've got this stupid idea from, but it's not data in any form that I would recognize. That's why I asked to nominate one high quality school where this is the case, so we can verify your opinion. And of course you can't.
And the next part is even funnier. Every IB student has to take a second language. You think you've proved that English B is a minority subject because only 30% of all students choose it. That means that the remainder chose their second language from the dozens and dozens and dozens of alternatives available.
Please tell me that you have already decided to leave your latest one year job and will be attending a recruitment fair. I shall make a point of interviewing you to give me some comic relief during the day.

Of one of those "top tier" schools you've been in and seen that kind of discriminatory attitude toward EAL/ESOL teachers? Just one. Please.
You can do this without fear of being identified, because you yourself have never been employed by a "top tier" school.
As for the nonsense you write about Eng B, it is, of course, a Group 2 subject and a major foreign language option. Tell me, do you think "most students" do Spanish or French or German or Russian?
Please stop giving stupid misinformation to people who are trying to enter the international teaching world.

"In my experience even at the top tier schools, ESOL teachers don't have the same level of prestige and respect in the faculty or school."

Dear POlson:
Please note that Dave Psyguy has never seen the inside of what he calls a "top tier" school, and so his advice is as vacuous as most of the other stuff he posts.

Like most good international schools, we have a thriving EAL/ESL program that runs all through the school. Teachers in this program receive exactly the same salaries, benefits and respect as any other of their colleagues. I don't know of any high quality school where this isn't the case.

You should also know that English B (or English as a foreign language) is a popular IB examination option, and it would help your cause if you did your research on this before going for interview - if a high school job is your target.

You know of all of the brainless things you've written, this has got to be number 1!
"I agree with your general premise, but in this case the school doesn't have a really practical choice. The school admins have to plan as best as they can for the upcoming year. They can't wait until they actually have official resignations in June. It would wreck havoc in the IS world. The school in this case was doing the best they could with the information they had, and it was tentative information, but they didnt have any better, and under German law they couldn't make it more definitive until early summer.
The school can't ignore the law just because it would suit them better.

"You really don't want the alternative either. If none of the European schools did any recruiting in the fashion they do now, it would shift the entire recruiting season forward about 6 months and drastically compress it. You would have all these top teachers waiting to see if they got offers for Europe, until the summer which would put the top tier Asian schools on hold , which would all cascade down through out the varying tiers and regions. It would be a mad house, there would be one fair in early June, EVERYONE would have to go, and it would be the equivalent of throwing contracts n the air and whoever caught one got that position. It would look like the floor on the NYSE after the WorldComm incident. Europe and Japan would set the market, and then in the course of hours the Asian schools would fight it out, then the ME and S/C America would be jockeying candidates between money and lifestyle."

You really, truly don't understand a thing about recruiting. No European school would go out and hire teachers in January to fill "tentative" vacancies and then turn round in May and tell the people they hired: "So sorry there is no job after all." That is why the story about BIS strains the bounds of credulity. If that is what happened, I am certain that the school would have offered more than one month's salary as compensation. You, however, keep talking about your speculation as a proven fact, when it is nothing of the sort. It is myth-making and gossip-mongering of the worst kind. Until you know what happened, you should shut up. (But of course you won't.)

European schools know every year that some of their people are going to leave. That isn't a question of "intent", that is a matter of fact. Some people retire, some people know they are going home, some people are quite clear that this year is their last at a particular school and are quite prepared to say so. In such cases, they will write letters of resignation to allow schools to go out and look for their replacements. Any letter of resignation is binding. Some people, however, want to play the game of waiting as long as they are allowed by law before they declare their hand, but will indicate that they think they may be leaving. That's why, when you go to a fair, the Euro schools advertise certain jobs as definite and others as tentative. As I said, no serious school would dare to offer a contract for a tentative vacancy. This is why Euro schools tend to use the May and June fairs more than others around the world - because they have to wait for those who are late to decide.

And as for the Euro schools being the drivers of the entire recruitment season, and everyone else having to falling in line behind them - that's so far off the mark as to be laughable. Like all of your other comments on this topic.

I don't know what happened in this situation, but what I would say is that if the original poster is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then I am appalled by the school's actions. He should certainly take this up with the recruitment agency, and they should intercede on his behalf with the school.
However, BIS isn't a fly-by-night operation, so I think you should be careful before you make assumptions - as Dave Jaw does so readily. His first comment is:
"What probably happened is the teacher you were going to replace decided to stay..."
A couple of days later, the "probably" becomes a fact:
"The school had a position on offer, but then because the prior teacher didnt vacate the position they didnt have an opening anymore."
Of course he has no grounds for turning his speculation into truth, but when did he ever let facts get in the way of his postings?
Next he reveals his profound grasp of German labor law:
"...so a school can't force a teacher who gives notice or intent to leave the position to actually resign..."
Let me be clear about this, in German labor law, once you give formal written notice, you have no right to rescind that unilaterally. And I cannot believe that BIS, with its easy access to best legal advice, would ever make such a stupid mistake as to "assume" someone was leaving and then hire a replacement only to find its original assumption was mistaken.
If the school did do this, then the poster should take them for whatever he can, but my own guess, on reading the school's letter is that, after signing the contract, something emerged about the candidate that was a deal-breaker as far as the school was concerned. Because they don't wish to reveal their sources or become involved in court action, they are making the minimum pay-off they can.
My "guess" may be doing the candidate an injustice, but so might all your guesses be doing the school an injustice.
That said, I can't believe that BIS was ever going to hire someone with such a dodgy resume. That string of one year postings is enough of a red flag to make any sensible head at a decent school pass over this candidate in a second.

1) There is no research on this area full stop, and even if there were its value would be marginal at best. As for your "experiences" - well they are certainly plentiful but always shallow. But based on your "experiences", tell me what do you think is the breakdown of candidates entering the field of international education vis a vis their prior teaching experience. Because my guess - not research-based - is 90% + from the public school sector. Yet you tell us "in (your) experience" these are the ones who find it hardest to adjust. Meantime I am an administrator, and I know lots of them. I can't think of one who would find Amy's experience prejudicial. So give me the names of the ones you know who would find that a mark against her.
2) Getting a job through deceit or lies or trickery is, as I said, a tactic you always recommend. I think that's a pretty clear comment on your morality. Some of the most powerful lessons that kids pick up from their teachers are caught rather than taught, and I certainly hope the students in your care don't find your unscrupulous behavior contagious. The notion that one can concoct experiences about one's career, and then spend the next few months trying to make them come true is as silly as most of your other statements. Meantime, as you know, I've seen your resume. It may be that your State sprinkles certifications like confetti, but to be certified doesn't mean that you are qualified. Indeed, in a (rare) moment of modesty recently you admitted as much. Frankly, you aren't "qualified" to do very much in any school, as your lukewarm references seem to indicate.
3) You're right, some administrators do cross the line from presenting their school in the best light to misrepresenting their school. The first is acceptable; the second isn't. The same strictures apply to teachers. Your "moral" stance seems to be: "This administrator could possibly be lying to me so I'm going to get my lies in first." What a sad world people like you live in.
4) Being a "good fit" is something you have never experienced in your career, because you are never in one place long enough to discover this.
5) I know this is a big ask, but for the sake of your erudition and because I am an educator at heart, will you please try to learn the difference between "disinterested" and "uninterested".

You just really don't get it, do you...
1) Having good experience in challenging circumstances is something to be proud of and not to be ashamed of. If you can teach well in a difficult school then you can surely teach well in an easier school. I don't know of any administrators who would look on what Amy has done in a negative light.
2) Of course interviews are about presenting yourself in a good light. You want to show the best of yourself in order to get job offers. That does not mean that you should lie about your past or claim to be able to do things that you can't. How does that make sense? Would you want a job that you can't do? Would you want to have to confess, a few months after the job starts, that you aren't capable of doing what you promised?
3) How would you feel about school administrators who are similarly economical with the truth, and who lure you into a position that turns out to be nothing like what you envisaged?
4) For schools and candidates, the right fit is important, and in order to get there it's important that both sides are above board in their discussions.
5) Dave J Psyguy is a constant advocate of fraud, deception, misrepresentation and lying in the job-seeking process. Perhaps that's why he can never keep a job longer than a year - because he keeps getting found out by administrators that he's just a blowhard and a bull-s#^\+*€!

Talk about your experience exactly as it is. Talk about the successes you've had and the challenges you've faced and overcome. Most international school teachers and administrators come out of the public school system at some stage in their careers. I taught inner city for five years. If you can be successful teaching kids who have had little experience of academic success and present with behavioral issues, you will think you have died and gone to teacher heaven in most international schools. Any administrator with any sense at all will realize that. Do not lie or dissimulate or spin. It is completely unnecessary.

Please read what I wrote about schools like Saigon South who are part of a developer's creation of a community:
"so although again it would be nice for the school to make some money that is not the driver. "
Why would you think that I suggested that the school is an amenity? Of course it has to cover its costs, but all that that means is that it is run properly and doesn't necessarily have to make the 10%+ bottom line that a for-profit operation would want.
Now tell me why you would think the new interim head is a man?

1) The idea of building a school to develop a living community is a short term one. Once the homes are sold, the school inevitably resorts to another management type. The Interim head at South is a good educator, but there are a lot of other forces and factors that are going to run the school. Its either going to change him, or hes going to move on.

Frankly I'd be quite worried f you did entirely agree with me. You need to understand that the majority of such houses, and this is certainly the case in South Saigon, are sold in order to lease to incoming expats. And the developers retain possession of substantial numbers to rent themselves. Thus there is a long term interest in retaining the magnet of a high quality international school.
I did smile at the last ntence when you give your imprimatur of approval to the interim head there, and then said "it's going to change him, or he's going to move on."
Two points: interim heads do move on. That's why they are called "interims". And the interim is a woman.
You know so much.

You don't know, but you sure like to pretend you do.
Buffalofan, for-profits come in different guises.
1) Some for-profits are run by individual business people in forthe short haul and a quick buck and they make their money at the expense of students, parents and teachers.
2) The second set are the major companies who have seen international education as a multi-million dollar business and are quite ruthless in their mission to build schools around the world. Administrators and teachers are viewed as company resources and squeezed as hard as they dare. GEMS is one of companies. Cognita is another and they recently became owners of ISHCMC.
3) The next group plays a longer game and has a name to protect. It comprises those franchises working under the auspices of high powered independent schools who keep an eye on performance and standards. Most of these are from the UK - Dulwich, Wellington etc - but US independents are joining the .. Of course they want to make money from the operation to help subsidize the founding school, but they don't want to be seen to be ripping off their communities, because that would be bad for their global reputations. Moreover, one of their "hopes" is that students in these overseas schools will go back to the mother ship to complete their education as boarders.
4) Some ostensibly for-profit schools are in this for the sake of legacy. Someone has made a lot of money and wants to leave behind something that bears his or her name. Although making money might be a nice outcome, it isn't the real driver. It's having "my school". I know of two or three schools like this. Of course the danger is that when the founder dies, those who inherit the legacy may wish to move the school closer to group one.
5) More and more, developers are realizing that if they want to build a community of dwellings for the upper middle class, a really good way of enticing people to move there is to build a school as part of the development. That school has to be a good one, otherwise people wouldn't go. The profit for the developer comes from selling the homes, not places in the school, so although again it would be nice for the school to make some money that is not the driver.
Saigon South is in the last category, and if you are prepared to work in the for-profit arena is the place to go. I know the school and the former school head. It presently has an interim there who is a very strong educator. It's a good place, and if you can get a job there you should be fine.

You just get worse and worse. You aren't a poster, you're a blurter. You just blurt out the first things that come into your head.
You have no idea about AS Dubai, and your experience of the Middle East is limited to a few weeks in Cairo before you did a runner. If you don't know about the school, you have no right to try to influence people who are asking a legitimate question about one of the best schools in the region - and one of the very few non-profits.
So you don't like the region? So who cares.
JIS Alum, the new head is Brent Mutsch who made an active choice to leave SAS after five years to take on this school.
4429, ASD is already a good place to be, and he will make it better still. You should pay no attention to Dave P.

You know zero about the American School of Dubai, Dave, but it seems like you cannot stop yourself from posting. Harmless enough on one level but some people may think you have the faintest idea what you're talking about. Seriously, I think you're in need of help.
For 4429, Their previous head of school was a good guy, and they have appointed this year one of the top heads on the circuit who will spend his every working day trying to make ASD better still. If you want to work in the Middle East, this is one of the top three schools. (Which means that someone with Psyguy's laughable employment history wouldn't make it to first base at a recruiting fair.)