Ahh ok--well yes, but thats a whole other kettle o' fish. Parents paying money to a school that is mismanaged and misappropriates funds is never ok, and of course, you are correct--that would be an impossible situation for any teacher. Definitely that does not make the school a Tier 1.
Thats not what my post was about--I am talking about the rural schools. The schools in a big part of India, Africa, China--the schools that nobody has heard of, the schools that have nothing...and are totally unable to compete on the world stage...I am talking about the kids in those kind of schools. Which is, I realize as I write this--nothing to do with this forum, or even this website. This website is called "international schools review" and the type of school I am talking about is so far removed from that position they would never be discussed here. I am on a completely different tangent--I will come down from my soap box and shut up now....mea culpa. :) ( however, if you ever do get a chance to go and work for one of those types of schools--its pretty friggin great from a teaching perspective--just sayin')

Redrider...good teachers teach because they value learning, and education and the well being of their students. Unfortunately not everyone is fortunate enough to live in countries where the infrastructure is such that their schools have desks, let alone beakers!!! In fact, I would hazard a guess that there are way more schools without reliable electricity than with. My point is that a teacher who can make a science lesson without science equipment ( for example) is a good teacher indeed. You are right it would be 'pretty important to have on hand' the accoutrements that you describe--its just a bit of a shame that in some countries that would be like asking for the moon. And regards to the rewards? Teaching in a school with nothing, and making a go of it is the most rewarding teaching you will ever do, because the joy on the kids faces is worth its weight in gold.

Amsterdam is a fabulous place. Its much more than the drug culture and the Red Light District. Ppl in amsterdam are friendly, fun and physically active. They live 'outside' and its not uncommon to go for dinner at 11pm at night, when the weather is nice. The are very social ppl always entertaining on their boats ( anything that floats) or in cafes. Its a beautiful city--kind of reminds me of a Disney set. Crowded though--there is the ubiquitous tourist trade.....its too bad really, that its known for the drugs etc..if you want to find it, its there of course--but its not as in your face as one is lead to believe. IMO

why not apply, and see what happens. If you get a job offer--you can debate it all then?

Sid...I could be wrong, I am on occasion :) but from what I am hearing/reading, the school gets a Tier 1 rating, by what it offers the teachers.

The point I was trying to make is that labelling schools as Tier 1, implies that they are better schools and that teachers all should want/do want to teach there--and if you DO work there, by default, you must be a great teacher. I think if you can handle yourself at a lower tiered school,or unrated school-- you become a better teacher.
Its easy to do a lesson with a smart board, the internet , kids who are all motivated, entitled keeners from rich families clutching their macs....its not so easy to do a lesson with no chalk, no books, no electricity and no desks.

India is frustration and India is dirty and India is magnificent and India is generous and India is challenging. I can think of hundreds of reasons to go back. It is however, not for the faint-hearted. At best, you will love it and hate it.

Sid--Your comment about Tiered schools being a different question than " do I want to work there" makes a lot of sense.
Framed that way, the concept of " TIER 1 is GOOD" and " TIER < 1 must be BAD" that seems to be so prevalent on ISR is easier to get my head around.

I also think that great opportunities can be had in rural, small and no-name schools where the parents and kids are appreciative of your efforts and real connections and relationships are formed. The opportunity for true learning is immeasurable.
There is a lot of talk of teachers "putting in their time, or paying their dues" at a Tier 2 or 3 school--with the Tier 1 schools being the holy grail of IT. I personally dont understand this 'quest' to be at schools that are arbitrarily ranked--I have to wonder if opportunities are missed that way?
I said it before here and I will say it again. The best years of my teaching career were spent at a Tier 89 ( ha ha) school. Pay was shite though. :) It all depends what your goal is.

Shadowjack--what an inspiring post!! LOVE IT. Taking the time to list all the things to do, provides a wealth of information and definitely shows the two sided coin. Well done. :)

I would suggest that there IS no right way to do it. I think it depends on the person at the receiving end of the email.
Some people say that if you email through SEARCH--some schools have the word "SEARCH" flagged for their inboxes, so that email does NOT go in the junk folder. I dont know if this is true or not.
I emailed every single school that I was interested in working at, from my personal email. Simply because I did not like the look of the email sent from the SEARCH email. I like to be in control of how the email appears.
I also made sure I applied EXACTLY how I was told to apply. If the posting said " apply with CV nor more than two pages" I made sure my CV only had two pages....etc.
I dont think it is a big deal either way--do what feels comfortable. Perhaps--a mix and match approach?

Thank you all for posting such well thought out and interesting responses. Yolo--I definitely hear you about the school you were at not being Tier 1 or 2 etc. You also make some very interesting points about the older teacher who is set in her ways--having the most difficulty. Makes perfect sense. Perspective, perspective, perspective.
One of my first IT experiences was in a school that I think was similar to your first gig. :) I have never, ever in 30 years of teaching met a more delightful group of students and appreciative parents. Mind you, there was nothing in the classroom :no books, no desks, no chalk, no plugs--nothing. But man, those kids wanted to learn. It also taught me to be creative, resourceful and to make better connections with the kids--the teacher became part of the fabric of their life--being invited home for tea, dinner for example. So-do you think that the school atmosphere, more so than the country is the deal breaker for success for new teachers, going out on their first teaching post?

Interesting and rich discussion--which is what I had hoped. Of course, like in all things, it depends on the person, their experience, their attitude and their outlook--whether or not they are new to teaching or not. It just seemed to me that tackling both a new profession AND a new country, might be a bit daunting--especially if one has not travelled much, or has never visited the countries that typically would hire first year teachers.China, Egypt, India, ME are not for the faint of heart. One would hope that there would be some kind of a mentoring program at the school(s) for first year teachers. As it has been said many times it also goes to show that the reviews here on ISR and other places ( blogs/twitter/facebook etc) should also be read judiciously--what is true for one person is not necessarily true for another.

You make an interesting point about working up north with aboriginal communities. Thats what I did my first year out of teachers college, 30 years ago. You are right--it was like another world ( I taught up in the arctic) but it was still Canada. Still english, and my passport was unnecessary. I was still under Canadian rules and regulations, still had Canadian security, still had access to 'my world'. When I worked in india as an IT, starting about 10 years ago--I had 20 years of teaching under my belt --it wasnt the teaching that was the issue, it was the challenge of the country--and being removed from everything that I knew. I guess my point is, is it reasonable to even THINK that anybody new to both teaching AND the country could report a favourable experience that first year, given the extreme stress they would be under in both living and profession?
In regards to reducing the cohorts--yes, they are making teachers college TWO years, changing it from the current one year program.

Yesterday, in Canada, I was giving a lecture to students in teacher's college--these are Canadian students, in a Canadian school. They have had 12 years of Canadian school, then 5 years of Canadian University.
They were all graduating with their Coveted and hard earned teacher's degree AND their Undergrad degree ( in a concurrent program, they earn both degrees simultaneously).
Before my lecture, I had asked them if they had a job--getting a job in Ontario is very tough, and not surprisingly, out of 300 students, there were maybe 10 people who raised their hands. Someone then yelled out that they had a job "IN AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL" --in Egypt. He also went on to say, that he knew of a few of his pals who also took jobs overseas--China, Egypt, Korea. Good for them, right? Shows adventure and spirit and ambition. That's one way to look at it for sure, but the other way can be summed up in two words: CULTURE SHOCK.
Is it realistic to expect glowing reports of a school/country if, not only you are new to the teaching arena ( And the stress of that--nothing prepares you for your first classroom) but you are now new to a whole different way of life, culture and existence. It is not surprising that often, new teachers struggle with classroom management and classroom routines. Teaching can be a challenging business, and is no different than any other profession in that the way to become really good at it, is to practice, and get experience. I have to wonder--is starting a teaching career in a new country like being thrown into the deep end? And if so, are the experiences recorded-valid--or should they be taken with a grain of salt?