I just saw the other IB thread down the page so I'm changing my post based on other school openings I see.

Do schools in places like BKK (Harrow and others) hire American teachers with no experience with the Cambridge system?

And secondly, isn't the workload a bit heavy at UK-style schools? I'm used to teaching 5 classes and having 2 periods off, but I recall reading that at UK schools, they teach 7 classes in a row. True?

That may well be, but some school just contacted me and I told them I'm not interested, and exactly why.

They are getting plenty of applicants? How do you know this, Sigh Guy?

I would love to go teach overseas again but I'm fairly sure I have been blacklisted. So you might think I would be quite willing to go teach in Indonesia (which prior to this guy's conviction was probably #3 of my top teaching destinations).

They couldn't pay me enough to go teach anywhere in Indonesia. This guy was convicted by a kangaroo court and Indonesian international schools are going to have a VERY hard time hiring teachers from here on out.

It does sound good, but I'm not going to break contract with the private school I am teaching at in California, to go to Vietnam. I also have no IB experience at all.

I'll go ahead and apply in case they want to have my name for next year (in case they can't fill it this year).

Wow. That's awful. What a terrible thing for his family, and his students too. Thanks for the reply.

I haven't found anything online other than one parent review of this school. They seem to be looking to fill an immediate opening for a maths/physics teacher (which I am). Of course the concern there is that if they have the opening, then someone just broke contract to get away from the school. But I'd like to get more information if any one here knows about it.

sofiarose, did you ever get your questions answered?

I worked at that school and broke contract to leave, and don't regret that decision much.

It isn't ignorant at all. You seem to be unaware of, or simply ignore, the fact that surfing has been banned at most Recife beaches for over two decades due to the shark attacks. And Recife is THE place with the vast majority of shark attack fatalities in South America--50 shark attacks in and around Recife in the last 25 years, with 24 of those attacks fatal.

I agree that there are many other dangers in Brazil, that are actually a far higher statistical risk to the average person. But many Americans want to go to Brazil to enjoy the wonderful beaches and tropical waters. It would really suck to go there and only then find out that you really can't go in the water most of the time.

I completely agree with indogal's description of Brazil. I was able to save a lot of money while I was there, but I basically didn't do much or go on many trips. I hardly even ate dinner, since the school provided a huge lunch buffet. I lived like a miser and saved a lot, but I don't recommend that as a way to enjoy Brazil.

I haven't been to Recife, but I lived in Salvador last year, and I think there are some similarities--particularly the violence and crime rates. But Recife has the added factor of sharks, as you probably already learned. Recife has the highest rate of shark attacks in all of Brazil, from what I recall--and one of the highest in the whole world.

As a single American woman, you'll be popular with the guys, certainly. There are some great guys in Brazil, but my female friends often said that the general attitude among Brazilian men is that women are just for sex, nothing more.

If you have a thick skin for such things, don't mind living in a place where you can't go for a walk after dark in most areas of the city, and you mostly have to stay out of the ocean, you might like Recife. I'd bet that you'd end up flying to Rio on long weekends though.

[quote="Cheery Littlebottom"]Well I have a cheery little bottom, does that help?[/quote]

Goes well with your beard, dear. And the helmet looks lovely.

I'll add my two cents. One of the main reasons I left Salvador Brazil was the safety. The school director who interviewed me tried to claim the school was safe--failing to mention the fact that he had recently had his car stolen at gunpoint right outside the school. One of the music teachers at the school had her car stolen at gunpoint right outside the school last December, and this was the 2nd time she had a car stolen at gunpoint.

A young college student in my guarded condo complex was robbed at gunpoint at the bus stop right outside our gate. Incidents like these (and many other things I disliked about Bahia) made me decide to break contract and return to the States. I don't miss it one bit.

Huh. I'm new to the whole Int'l teaching thing, but this must be a pretty good school I'm at, because none of those who are leaving seem to me to be whinging. There are 10 leaving, and two of us are breaking contract after one year. I'm fairly sure that the other person's main reasons are *not* the school, but the city where we live, and the same goes for me. Actually, the reason in my case is my sister's health, but I also can't stand the city.

Some who are leaving have been here 8 years, others just two (besides us two contract-breakers). While there are few complaints about how things could be a bit better at the school, there really isn't any whinging. One curriculum coordinator who is leaving said she is very happy to be leaving Brazil and won't ever come back, but it is because of Brazil, not the school.

If it were't such a hellhole of a place to live, and if my sister's cancer had not returned, I would be very happy to teach at the school for several more years.

mbovi, I'll ask you rather than starting another thread.

Teachers at my school here in Brazil have tried to scare me about the workload for teachers in Japan: "you'll be working 70 to 80 hours a week!" That sounds completely ridiculous. 80 hours a week is, what, working 12 hour days Monday through Saturday, plus another 8 hours on Sunday.

And they aren't talking about time spent grading and planning at home, they are talking about spending all that time AT the school.

What's the reality in your experience? I gather that teachers stay in Japan for many years once they land a good job, and I can't believe they would do that if they are working much more than a regular 40 hour week.

About 3 or 4 weeks ago I informed my prinicipal and superintendent that I will not be returning next year, since my sister's cancer has returned for the third time. It is a sound reason, of course. As I told them both when I talked to them in person, I missed the last three years of my mother's life and I do not want this to happen with my sister if it is terminal.

Once the issue is settled (hopefully by a third remission after treatment) will I be able to land a job at another international school?

I teach physics, AP physics, and secondary maths. Unfortunately, I have no IB experience.

I have not asked if I will be able to get letters of recommendation from them, I figured I would wait until it is closer to the end of the year, and my "smart goals" have been achieved and well documented for this year.