Extra baggage on the plane usually works for me, and letting the airline know a couple of weeks in advance usually gets me some discount. That's not so great though if you're traveling for a month first. In that case, I'd just try to send whatever I need for work using the postal service. They're cheap and cheerful, but usually takes about 3-4 weeks if going to a new continent.

Going to Grumpy's first topic, Grumpy wrote "criticisms are often without merit". This is spot on. You'll find a lot of people who spend 3 or 4 years overseas, work with people from a few different nationalities and then make sweeping statements that are often based on little more than stereotypes, generalizations and second-hand information.

In my experience, people who have been making sweeping statements or generalizations about an entire curriculum or national system have often made unfounded comments. People who challenge particular aspects of a curriculum or national system seem to be more informed. That's just my experience though.

Here are some examples of funnier generalizations I've come across; I worked with a woman last year (in the PYP school where I work now) who talked about British teachers "lacking flexibility to differentiate properly because of the rigidity of the British system". She had no experience working within a British school, but once went to a bake sale at the British school down the road. Someone else talked about not liking the American system because "all you do is turn the page in whatever text book you're provided". She'd never worked in a U.S curriculum school full time but had been a supply teacher a few times once at U.S int'l school in China. Another person a couple of years ago talked trash for a year about the whole of the Canadian education system just because 5 kids had transferred to her class from the Canadian school in Abu Dhabi (which, in fairness, did have a bad reputation) and couldn't match the standards of others in her class. Such generalizations are ridiculous, but are real life examples of things you might hear.

A lot of people do talk a lot of garbage in their attempts to look informed and intelligent.

I remember when I first moved overseas working with loads of people that loved to duel out over this topic, but I really don't see any right or wrong. When working in a British international school I expect that British English will be the standard, and the same with American English in American schools. Theoretically (and in the school where I work) in the IB system they should allow students to choose which is appropriate for them and simply encourage consistency from the student.

As far as original English is concerned, I don't think it really exists. Some say that English comes from England, and sure, the name of the language known as English that was used during the years of dominance of the empire could be considered to come from England, but in reality it's a mixture German, French, Danish, Norwegian and Gaelic. Many words such as metre, centre and colour still use the French spelling. Even the name England originates from the Angles of Germany.

I find myself appreciating the originality of American English due to the stance made in moving away from French spelling structures and matching spelling closer to the pronunciation that s used. After all, no-one actually says "met-re".

I agree with Open Communication. Good on you Dantespal. Sounds like a nightmare scenario that you handled with pride and dignity.

My worst experience was working in a place that almost always paid late. Sometimes it was just a few days and the longest was a week. I personally find this absolutely offensive. I turn up to work early and I leave late, so I should at least be paid on time, especially when the students pay in advance. I guess that was the down part of working in a low end school. I do now specifically ask in interviews if there are any circumstances whatsoever that teachers are paid late. I just can't accept that again.

Personally, I don't see how choosing applicants according to relevant qualifications and training is the same as discriminating against applicants based upon their religion.

micki0624, You mentioned that you're out of the classroom now, which makes you in admin at the school, right? Out of curiosity, does a persons status within the church link with their ability to gain higher status within the school?

Having a Christian school doesn’t go against open mindedness. I have absolutely no objection at all to the idea of a school that affiliates itself with a religion, and I recognize the good work done by many religion-affiliated schools. I even have no objection to a school saying something along the lines of, “We are a Christian school and employees are required to uphold the Christian based philosophy and values of the schoolâ€

Micki0624, you wrote, "If you all judge people by religion it's a sad state to think about what you're teaching in the classroom". I agree, that's why I find your original assertion, "It is a Christian IB school. You must be Christian" to be cause for concern regarding what goes on in the classroom there. I believe schools should be leading the way as examples of open-mindedness, fighting against descrimination, equal opportunities employment practices and a non judgemental attitude to people of different beliefs. "It is a Christian IB school. You must be Christian" seems to go against all that. It assumes that only Christians, despite the wide array of different types of Christians and Christian beliefs, are fit to work there. Seems like judging people based only upon their religion to me.

There are a lot of reasons why China rubs people up the wrong way or why some people just can't stand the place, but there are a lot of expats in China (certainly more than I expected) who seem to enjoy it. Here are the reasons I perceived why people like it from interactions with people when I was there.

1. For some it just satisfies a curiosity. It's a place that you always see on the news but not often hear about people visiting. It's a massive leap into the unknown and putting a picture of themselves walking across Tiananmen square is like the coolest thing ever. In fairness, it does feel pretty cool, and pic's on the great wall are definitely good souvenirs.

2. Some people really want to learn Chinese and love the Chinese history and culture. For them, it's obvious why they'd like China. For them it's like living the dream.

3. Despite the widely reported food contamination issues, it's really not that bad. There is an incredible choice of food there. You have to learn some Chinese to be able to order it, but it's well worth the hard work. I still miss the grilled lamb skewers covered with cumin (at least I think it was lamb). Local food is also very cheap.

4. Travel opportunities around China are amazing. Outside of China it seems as though people have only heard of a few famous places, but once you're in China or really look into the place you find that there are really a lot of very interesting places.

5. You can have a good quality spending little money. That's why it's an easy place for people looking for an adventure to go, learn some Chinese, work in a language school for 20 hours a week and have a great time.

6. Nightlife in big cities is quite good, and again, not expensive.

The food, travel opportunities and cost of living where why I liked it, but China seems to change a lot in short spaces of time. Maybe my ideas about prices and cost of living are outdated, but that was my impression when I was there. I do mss the food and travel though.

I've had an eye on Korea for a long time. Any other opinions about this place?

The IBO aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect...These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right" (IBO mission statement). I really find it difficult to see how, "It is a Christian IB school. You must be Christian" fits in with that.

I also don't see what's rude about AnnieT's posting. She only made a simple observation. Sure, it's good that people who don't have job have been given a heads up, but it's also good that people looking at a job are aware of things to look out for. It's better than going in blind.

Just because the guy has been arrested doesn't mean he's guilty or going to jail. The case is being investigated. The police have a job and that is to investigate those reported to have broken the law, so if a country has laws against something and 3 people call the police to report witnessing someone breaking that law, then authorities do have an obligation to investigate. It's easy to say that this wouldn't happen in other places and with regard to the particular law being discussed, I agree, it wouldn't. But even in the EU, if three people called the police saying that they had witnessed someone breaking the law then the police would investigate. This COULD happen anywhere. There are many occasions of teachers being subject to claims of criminal behavior from students. Some are false, but unfortunately some are not. It's not nice if a false claim is made against you, but it's a reality of the job that if students make a claim against a teacher it will be looked into. That's why we spend so much time in paranoid states of mind trying to make everything as absolutely transparent as possible. You can only hope and pray that your admin will fight in your corner.

Hi,

As a couple you sound like you'd be in a good position, with or without MYP experience. MYP experience would be especially useful if you're going to an IB school, but if not then it's not so much of a worry. Personally, I always think that an extra course can't do harm. An online introductory MYP course at least makes you look committed to the idea if you do manage to interview with an IB school. It certainly won't do you any harm.

I'm not sure about the masters. With the experience and qualification you have it'd be a lot of time and money to invest into something that you can probably get by easily without.

Hi,

For the PGCE(i)'s, I agree that most schools won't accept that alone without any other experience, whereas if you got a PGCE direct from the UK then that wouldn't be a problem. But, if you've got some referenced international school experience and interview well then in my opinion, it doesn't make much difference what kind of PGCE or certification you have, especially if your experience goes beyond 4 or 5 years. After 4 or 5 years post qualification what you've done in that time matters much more than the piece of paper you got 5 years before. I just read a post by about the London spring fair, and how the author had 5 or 6 interviews without certification at all, but does have the PYP experience.

So, how can you get into an international school then, you may ask. If you were looking at doing a PGCE(i) then I'd target a low level school that will give you a mentor and let you do your teaching practice there. Maybe there you can try and get some agreement that suits both you and the school about staying on for a second year. You could train for your first year getting a lower salary, and maybe agree to stay on for a second for only a little extra, or something like that. You will need 2 years experience. 1 year will not be enough. The benefit for the school is that they get someone who's enthusiastic, committed and doesn't cost them a lot, which is often quite appealing for lower end schools, wherever you are. What you get out of it is your qualification and some referenced international school experience.

I really sympathise with your situation because I think there are a lot of Hakwon teachers that throw their resumes at international schools in Korea. Another email from a another Hakwon teacher isn't going to attract a lot of attention, unless it's really special, so it's going to be hard to separate yourself from the crowd as someone different. For this reason I wouldn't email, I'd give them a call or visit. Calling and having a chat with the principal, or going through the front door and presenting yourself as a dedicated person who wants to become better certified and experienced might at least get you in the door.

Best of luck to you.

I agree with the list from Snowbeavers of WAB, NIST, Yokohama, Canadian Int School of HK, Tokyo Int School, ISPP, Nanjing Int School.

Western Academy Beijing (WAB) and Yokohama are the top of that bunch in my opinion, but it's hard to rule out Nanjing as far as quality administration and teaching and learning goes. Nanjing (the city) itself doesn't interest me at all, but I'd love to work at the school. If you look at the way the school present themselves and then speak to anyone who works there then you'll see that they really are progressive. All the stuff that they say on their website (which always seems a bit too good to be true) is apparently a very true reflection.

There are some interesting other schools worth keeping an eye on too. The UN school in Hanoi is supposed to be quite good, but I'm only passing on second hand information there. I don't know anyone drectly that worked there, more friend of a friend type information. The Prem Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand used to have a really good name but not sure about nowadays. The Phuket International Academy is also supposed to be very nice and very enjoyable to work at, but NIST is certainly the best PYP school in Thailand. The new Dwight School in Seoul seems to have a lot of backing, as does the Busan International Foreign School, so they're worh watching over the next year or 2. The advantage for those 2 in Korea is that there are only a couple of other decent international schools there so there's very little competition for them. Bali used to have a really good school but again, not sure what they're like nowadays. It's amazing how much schools change in just a few years. If they can stay top for 10 or more years then they have to be pretty special in my opinion.

Not sure about social security, but you should definitely expect to be asked for your passport details very often. You'll need it for all sorts of things as an expat, such as getting a phone number (depending on where you go), opening a bank account, moving into an apartment...almost everything. However, in my experience the only ones that have ever asked to keep it for a while have been my school. Handing your passport over just feels completely wrong the first couple of times, but it's part of the process. The place I had it held longest was Thailand. I guess they really have to jump through hoops to get things sorted there. In the UAE and Qatar I've only needed to hand it over for a maximum of 5 days, and that included a weekend.