[quote="sid"]This conversation's gotten too juvenile for me. I've said my piece and I'm out.[/quote]

Sensible move:)

Someone I worked with is now teaching there.

It is a newish school, so there is a lot of work going on setting up systems etc.

He works hard, but likes it.

The package is ok in terms of the salary, but it is not great in other areas.

For example, the housing allowance is comparatively low and he had to spend a lot of money setting up the house out of his own pocket.

The work permit the school got was only for 6 months, which meant he paid a lot of duty on his shipment coming in (that would not have happened had the school shelled out for a 12 month permit).

As the earlier poster said, the traffic in Jkt is terrible and you are a long way out of town. You would be spending a lot of time in traffic if you lived out there.

In my view, it would be a useful school to build experience and strengthen the resume - so it would be useful for teachers new to international teaching.

[quote="senator"]Walter and Dave:

Just kiss and make up, will you.[/quote]

Ha ... now that is not going to happen;)

In this case, I do have to side to Walter.

I think PG is just having a bit of pre-christmas fun with comments like - if your school have high turnover, then it follows that it sucks.

Let's take a few examples:

Hong Kong IS and Taipei AS - have about 20 vacancies on their websites
Singapore AS - when I was looking for a job last year, its vacancy list went to 4 pages
Jakarta IS - hired 42 new teachers this year
IS Bangkok - hired a similar number last year (a friend was one of them!).

I am not sure any of those schools "suck" (although there have been mumblings about HKIS).

What probably sucks is living in the cities of many of these schools. Jakarta is not Rome! And as PG often tells us, Singapore is a shopping mall;)

On the other hand, IS Berne may be a dodgy school (who knows) but the location certainly does not suck. I think I could put up with a sucky school in Paris or Rome or Barcelona for a couple of years, if it meant I could live in one of those wonderful cities.

High Turnover can, of course, indicate something is very wrong. I was job hunting last year and recall how there were very few vacancies at Shanghai AS Pudong campus, but there were a heap at the Puxi campus. Relative campus sizes was a factor ... but unhappiness with the divisional principal at Puxi was probably a big influence as well.

Walter's comment about admin wishing for higher turnover is something I can support too. They can not just sack teachers.

In Belgium, teachers get tenure after 1 year (that was the case 10 years ago anyway). It was very hard to move anyone on once they had tenure. The admin at my school encountered a lot of resistance from many of the teachers who had been there a fair while.

I recall a teacher sending an email that basically alleged the principal was having an affair with a parent. Even then, the principal intimated to me that it would be too complicated to fire her. A public apology got her off the hook on that score!

Anyway, I have forgotten what any of this has to do with the original poster's questions;)

Merry Christmas ... or Happy Holidays:)

[quote="fine dude"]Thanks for your comprehensive response, PsyGuy. Let's say Teacher Bob says 'Yes' in November and then he applies to a new job and without Bob's knowledge, his prospective employer contacts his current School Head for a reference. The School Head then confronts Bob and screws up his chances of finding a new job. That also means this teacher damaged his reputation at his present school. What should Bob's strategy be to find a new job in the post-confrontation period? Thanks in advance.[/quote]

Just thought I'd give you the benefit of my experience, which is 5 international schools (2 would be classified as Tier 1, 2 as Tier 2 and one was a dodgy for profit operation).

I can assure you that at every one of those schools, there was nothing to fear from informing admin of your intention to leave, or even that you were thinking of leaving. I can also assure you that even the for profit admin were willing to help teachers look for the next job. This usually involved sending an email to their admin contact overseas telling them to take a close look at the resume of Teacher Bob, who has applied for a job.

This is different to working at home, where admin may be a little less accepting of teacher movements. But in the international scene, it is the norm.

The only exception I could think of would be if the school had spent a fortune on your PD on the understanding that you'd stay at the school for a while longer to help develop a program. This happened at my last school, and did piss the admin off. However, they still gave the teacher an honest (and therefore positive) reference and that teacher is now working at an absolutely stellar school.

Of course, their willingness to help will always be determined to some extent by the job you have done for them.

I have always been very diplomatic when my boss had asked why I am thinking of leaving. It is not advisable to tell him or her that it is because the school is terrible and lacking leadership and direction!

One thing I have noticed at my last few schools is that with the advent of Skype, schools are very keen to hire early. And they are keen for current teachers to help attract quality teachers they know of to the school.

There is no benefit to an administrator to piss off their teachers, as they will become advocates against coming to your school. This does not mean that misguided administrators will not piss off teachers - however, it will not be over the point that concerns you.

On the subject of extensions, teachers at all of my past schools have been able to wangle an extra week (usually up to the last day before the holiday break).

To touch very lightly on the PG-Walter comments (and I mean very lightly), there is a real difference between schools in Western Europe and other international schools. PG honed in on schools in Europe and on ASIJ in Japan, which has been rocked by the double whammy of the economic downturn and the terrible earthquake.

Having worked at both, I found that schools in WE had a far higher percentage of local hires, or teachers who had pretty much settled in that country. The reason for the high % of local hires was mainly because it is very hard to make ends meet financially at these schools. In my experience, a very large % of the teachers at my school (in Brussels) had spouses who were working for NATO, or the EU, or for a multinational. The spouse covered the housing and most expenses, and the teacher salary was used to augment what was a nice life for most of them. These folks did not leave.

As a result, turnover was quite low. I'd say it would be similar to good private schools in the UK or Australia.

My schools outside WE (my experience is mainly in Asia) have much higher turnover. For eg, my current school is having what admin call a "light year" with low levels of turnover - only 23 teachers are leaving. It is usually 40+.

[quote="inman"]As a general rule, I tend to believe a lot of what Psy guy says, unless someone else comes in and says something different...However, I feel that he often discredits himself by posting advice on things that he clearly knows nothing about, and has no experience of. When challenged on those things, it then becomes a personal battle between him and other posters and unfortunately many threads go off the original topic and end up being about him having it out with someone.

I really appreciate the presence of ISR and try to support the forum as much as I can in hope that it will continue to grow, but i am often put off from posting because I just dont want to get drawn in. Too many times already I've had to fight myself to ignore his provocative comments which, for me, take the pleasure out of contributing.[/quote]

I agree with your point about helping this forum to develop. I feel it is even more useful than the reviews on ISR which may often come from folks with large axes to grind.

Having once fallen into the trap of trying to engage PG, I realized it is a waste of time and not what the majority of posters want to read.

So my strategy is to try and redirect to the original post. (in the event I have something useful to contribute).

I do appreciate Walter's inputs - although hope he is not actually as steamed up and aggravated by PG's posts as his words appear.

The bottom line is that any teacher who considers themselves up to the task of teaching students in the digital age, should be able to read across the threads on this post and exercise their own judgment about any of these comments.

It has a terrible reputation for pollution, but Guangzhou is worth considering.

Yes, it is polluted, but the levels are nowhere near as bad as Beijing.

The city is undergoing a lot of development that makes it far more expat friendly (walkways, upgrades to the metro, parks, new western style restaurants etc).

From late Feb through to early Nov, most days are blue sky days. Dec-Jan can be cold and yucky.

If you worked at the American School and had an elementary aged child, you could live on Ersha Island, where the school is located. It is basically one big park now. Kids are very happy there.

Again, Guangzhou is not Paris (!!!).

But I would not dismiss it straight off the bat. If you'd consider Cairo, with all that is going on there, then I'd add Guangzhou to your list.

An added benefit is that the Director is happy to hire teachers with kids, incl. single parents.

Oh ... and AISG meets all your other requirements. Good package and a great mix of students.

My initial thought was that you were being overly precious and paranoid.

Then, I thought back over the 5 international schools at which I have worked, and realized you have a point.

Only one (a school in Belgium) required a criminal check for the work visa. The others, which include some very well regarded schools in Asia, did not require a criminal record check.

The saving grace is that in order to get my teacher certification updated, I need to get a criminal record clearance. And that certification has been required by my employers.

I suppose all you can do is raise this question with your new school, and be vigilant.

The big turn off for me is that the class sizes are big (30+). Met a pyp teacher at a workshop who had 32 kids in her 3rd grade class.

[quote="PsyGuy"]@Sangster2

[quote]If you change airlines you may have to pay excess, even if you paid it on the first airline.[/quote]

No, your wrong.

----://www.dot.gov/affairs/2012/dot0812.html

Second paragraph, last sentence:

"Information on baggage fees also must be included on all e-ticket confirmations, and for most trips the same baggage allowances and fees must apply throughout a passenger’s journey."[/quote]

Again, that may be true in the USA. But a friend changed airlines in Europe and got well and truly hosed. Definitely should check with airlines and do research before flying.

Back to the OP. I am confused that a reputable school in Korea has not laid this all out 4 u.

Take care with bringing bags from Australia or Europe - they are not nearly as generous. A US teacher stopped over in Germany. When he got on the next leg of his flight, he was stung for over 1000 euros in excess baggage.

My motto, for what it's worth is to travel light.

JIS hires inexperienced teachers, so long as they sense those teachers will buy in to the vision of the school. If u r an excellent inquiry oriented teacher with good tech skills and an interest in service learning, you may get in. Inquiry is the big focus at JIS right now. Don't be intimidated by those big schools - absolutely no harm in sending your application their way.

Unlikely. I'd say.

I've worked at a few decent schools and there have only been a handful of late vacancies over that time - nearly all could be filled by local hires or clever scheduling, till they got the staff they want.

I am sure the best way to a top school is be the best teacher u can be at your current school and take adv of whatever pd opps you can get.

Your strategy could work, but i'd say it is such a long shot that a "plan b" would be needed.

[quote="antitravolta"]@ hallier

The one mistake I've made from your list is heading a cover letter with "To Whom It May Concern:". I guess I need to fix that one. It wasn't out of laziness as much as not knowing who to put that I'm writing to. Should you put the head of the school as the name or the principal of your particular school (middle school for example)? This is something that differs from international schools to US schools as there are no school heads. There's just a principal. Thanks in advance for any help on this one and thanks for the very useful tips.[/quote]

My preference has been to send it to the divisional principal. I suspect that they play a big role in shortlisting anyway. Certainly was the case at my last few schools. Will also send to the HR person if they have one.

The name is not so important; rather, that u made the effort. (all my opinion, of course). I do not think a princ. will delete a letter that has the name of the head of school on it.

All the best with your applications.

I would never have posed that 1st question - "what's wrong with you?" - simply because it is likely to cause offense and is unduly provocative.

However, one question you should be asking is - "is there anything wrong with the content or presentation of my applications?"

It can not hurt to look hypercritically at your application and see if there is anything in it (content and/or presentation) that is harming your chances.

I work at a pretty sought after school in SE Asia and had a chat with my divisional principal about the recruiting process.

He is being swamped by applications and spoke about some of the mistakes that many teachers are making.

A few that I remember are:

- letters that start with Dear Principal etc etc. His philosophy is that if they have not bothered to find out my name (it's on the website) then he is not going to proceed further.

- letters that have spelling errors. Common spelling mistakes are of his name, the school, words like "elementary" etc etc. He says he receives dozens like this. I remember helping review applications for Business Management positions a few years ago. It amazed me how many teachers could not spell "business" - buisiness was the most common mistake!

- letters/CVs where the applicant, again, can not seem to write coherent sentences and/or does not seem to be able to use a word processing application.

- letters that are clearly generic. It does not take long to at least put the name of the school or region in the letter.

- CVs that are not up to date and have gaps

- CVs that are over the top, providing lists of information about everything the teacher has done since high school (some include high school information). My principal is happy to look at a 2-3 page CV but only if the information is being presented in an easy to read format, and is relevant.

- letters that do not show off the applicant's key strengths. Again, these ones tend to be generic. He recommends listing (even using bullets) those qualities you have that make you employable. (years of international teaching experience; IB training; commitment to Inquiry teaching; training and experience in teaching ELL learners). Bang. Bang. Bang. Down the page.

I am not saying that you are doing any of these things. But it can not hurt to take a very close look at the package you are sending the schools. Once, I sent a bunch off with the wrong phone number. It can happen!

I am not sure of your background in international education; however, if you have one, I would take advantage of every contact you have.

It must be frustrating for folks new to the scene, but the value of 'having connections' can not be understated. Nor can the need to avoid, as much as humanly possible, ever, ever, ever burning your bridges at your current school. Because the recommendations can work in the opposite way too.

I have been in the market for 10 years now, and know teachers at dozens of schools (probably more).

If I knew they respected my work, I would contact them and think about whether to name check them at the start of your letter, or at least ask them to send a quick email to the administrator recommending that they take a close look at my application.

It is one way to stand out from the crowd - as I said, these admin are getting deluged with emails at this time of the year.

At my current school, the admin specifically ask teachers to recommend good teachers we have worked with in the past to them (and those teachers to the school).

I would suggest that a large % of the early "Skype" hires at my school this year have been recommended to the admin by existing teachers, or have some sort of connection with the school (such as being employed at a school where the administrator worked in the past).

Anyway, I hope this helps.

All the best with your job hunting. I am sure something will come up soon:)

Good luck to you.

Can i assume you've checked out the American Public/Military University?

I did some online courses in education with them that were cheap and convenient.

www.apus.edu (i think)