My school (in China) hired fewer teachers this year. Due to lower numbers, a couple of positions were eliminated. Because most of our staff are going into the 2nd year of their 2 year contracts, there wasn't the need to hire as many this year either.

I agree with seinfeld, this forum does seem quite disappointing at times.

oh, well...c'est la vie!

:)

My personal favorite:

Tom Berenger as Jonathan Shale in 'The Substitute.' Every educator should stand up to thugs and corruption the way he did.

:shock:

starting point:

look into the out-of-state certification requirements of other states...most post these on their state board of education websites...in most cases you will have to sit for an exam (or exams). Also, look at states where recertification is more easily achieved (via PD time is the easiest). When I received my out-of-state certification in Texas, I received a lifetime certificate (no need to renew)...not sure if they still do this...this was in 1995.

hope this helps.

We have all tuition and registration fees paid by the school. We must pay for all materials and "external" school benefits - lunch, uniform, after school activities. These amount to about $500 USD per year. Then again, we're in China, where costs are much cheaper I suppose than in many other parts of the world.

This policy is not necessarily standard, as we worked for a QSI school where all tuition and fees were paid for by the school...including lunch. Of course, these policies change as well from year to year, so what is paid one year may not be the next. I echo what ichiro said about reading the contract and asking ahead of time. Another idea would be to ask if fees could be deducted over several paychecks rather than taking them all out of one. This would reduce the amount you pay each month and give you a little more salary.

Best wishes to you.

~Gengrant

In terms of the tandem interview, it was great for my wife and I as we were able to share thoughts regarding each other with the interviewer, and were able to project much higher enthusiasm and provide details and information that may have been overlooked in an individual interview.

Much as a good comedy team develops expert timing, a couple that is in sync can make a tandem interview a thing of beauty.

Best wishes to you.

~gengrant

In terms of Shenzhen, SIS is the school to work for. I worked for QSI and can tell you that even though QSI has more students, it is not because they are the better of the two.

Bob Dunseth, the SIS director, has been there for a number of years and because of this, has things at SIS humming along nicely. They have expanded campuses, and now have a separate HS facility (very nice). They have also just built a new outdoor sports facility as well.

I have several friends that have moved from QSI to SIS and tell me that it is a world apart.

Shekou itself is considered the "expatriate ghetto" as most expats live there and most never get out to experience China...they simply use the closeness to Hong Kong as a jump-off point to travel SE Asia. There is a great assortment of Western food in Shekou as well...

for info on Shenzhen, check out www.shenzhenbuzz.com and www.shenzhenparty.com

~gengrant

In terms of Shenzhen, SIS is the school to work for. I worked for QSI and can tell you that even though QSI has more students, it is not because they are the better of the two.

Bob Dunseth, the SIS director, has been there for a number of years and because of this, has things at SIS humming along nicely. They have expanded campuses, and now have a separate HS facility (very nice). They have also just built a new outdoor sports facility as well.

I have several friends that have moved from QSI to SIS and tell me that it is a world apart.

Shekou itself is considered the "expatriate ghetto" as most expats live there and most never get out to experience China...they simply use the closeness to Hong Kong as a jump-off point to travel SE Asia. There is a great assortment of Western food in Shekou as well...

for info on Shenzhen, check out www.shenzhenbuzz.com and www.shenzhenparty.com

~gengrant

Puka2,

Can I ask, which QSI school are you with? I have friends who were hired to work in Dongguan and they have tons of questions.

Thanks...

Gengrant

Skype has a program where you can buy a 'local' number for a year (check out their website - www.skype.com) that people can call. Others can call that number with their regular long distance and it will not charge them international rates. The nice thing is that Skype-to-Skype calls are free! Calls from China to the US cost us about 2 cents per minute...cheaper than we ever would have thought.

Not sure how this all compares to Vonage, but I recommend Skype.

:)

I think in his roundabout way, the OP was simply asking for our:

"Suggestions for screening and letting my teachers know what the expectations are?"

My recommendations include:

1. Be open and honest. One thing that any teacher hates is being told one thing and then finding out first-hand that what they were told was a lie.

2. In terms of screening, I suggest looking into joining the American Association of School Administrators (www.aasa.org), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (www.nassp.org), or the National Association of Elementary School Principals (www.naesp.org), and utilizing resources they provide in screening/interviewing applicants. Another idea would be to Google searches such as effective interview questions or similar ideas.

3. Another thing to do would be to have current teachers provide a list of things they wish they had known about the school prior to the first day, or using exit interviews with teachers leaving the school to gain information that could be passed on to prospective hires.

I'm sure there are lots of other ideas, and I hope my colleagues out their feel up to sharing...

Best wishes.

We have been in the same position...and you are correct, the time of year does have an effect on whether or not questions get answered in a "timely" manner.

A couple of suggestions: 1) see if you can get the email address of a mentor or someone at the school teaching in the same grade/age range you will be teaching in and who may be able to answer some of your more basic of questions, and 2) try to 'save up' your questions and send them in one email, so that you are not sending emails over and over (more than once a week is probably too many).

Last suggestion: find a hobby or some other means of releasing tension so that you are not stressing out about having to wait for email responses...the more you can get your mind off of the wait, the better you'll feel.

Hope this helps.

:)

I would recommend getting an online program such as Skype, and then using your laptop to call anywhere in the world...Skype to Skype calls are free and Skype to non-Skype numbers are dirt cheap...we called from China to the US for about 2 cents per minute.

There are other programs too...Yahoo has one, among others.

Best of luck

:)

I do agree that the religion comment is unfounded. There is an underlying current of spirituality, but I know of noone who has been asked their religious affiliation in an interview.

Most of the 'problems' associated with QSI are really problems with the people they install as Directors of specific schools. Once there are problems that arise with a director, Jim Gilson and QSI are negligent in that they do nothing to move those directors out, and teacher grievances are not addressed.

Overall, I would recommend QSI to anyone, especially those who are looking for a new post or looking for a place where they could transfer between schools (after only working with QSI for 2 years!)...I do stand behind the statements made regarding single teachers...those are first-hand reports. But don't let that be the only reason you would consider or not consider QSI...

As I said before, email me directly if you'd like.

send me an email at gengrant5 (at) hotmail (dot) com and i'll be glad to respond candidly.

thanks.

QSI does hire singles, but often they will try to pair them up with other singles as roommates to save on housing. I also know for a fact that some singles (specifically in Shekou) have been required to take in a boarding student to offset the cost of housing that student as well...the single teacher receives a small stipend to cover the cost of the student, but you basically give up a lot of personal freedoms acting as a surrogate parent.

Also, from what I've heard (firsthand, mind you) is that QSI prefers to hire singles under a local contract, not overseas.

If they do offer a contract, make sure to get EVERYTHING in writing from them...they will try to change things once you're at the school...in terms of housing especially.

Just my two cents worth.