I wouldn't say they should be ashamed. It's the free market at work. Spain is a very nice place. In the Middle East, you're not being paid for your beautiful and rare skill as a teacher, you're being paid because you're an acceptable-looking Westerner who's willing to live in the Middle East. (Or in China, because you're willing to breathe that air, etc.)

A really great financial decision would be to find a better job. Other than that, yeah, unless you're waiting out your trust fund, avoid Spain.

The "tier" system is based on how well a school can make money, dominate its market, turn away bad students, hire good teachers, and get or maintain prestige in its community. Tier 1 schools tend to accomplish all these things, while lower-tier schools accomplish only some of them or none.

It's hard to place UWC schools in this tier system because they get most of their money from donors. (UWCSEA might be an exception.) The goal is not to build a better mousetrap, the goal is probably whatever the donors say it is. That's why they tend to care a lot about ideology. Traditionally, as far as I can tell, UWC has been a very left-wing, very British ideal of a perfect DP program. The IB was set up across town from Atlantic College for a reason. As far as the IBDP is concerned, UWC is probably the purest example of a DP program. PsyGuy has a point that it sounds a little cult-ish. As far as staff, they tend to hire alumni and other true believers, and anyway it doesn't sound like an easy job. The poster above is right, a lot of UWC types end up working for the IB or publishing textbooks.

UWC have excellent DP programs. I think most people agree on that. Otherwise it is hard to judge how good they are at being a school. Take away their donor money and they wouldn't exist.

Never heard of them, but being with Search means nothing.

1800 euros after paying in for how long?

That's the trouble with pensions, you have to work a really long time, and then hope you don't die too soon.

What if I was licensed in Ontario, then earned QTS by reciprocity, and then let my Ontario qualification lapse. I am Canadian, not a Brit, at least by citizenship. Would I still be 'qualified,' or don't most ISs insist that you're certified in your home country?

I have no PGCE so the QTS wouldn't make sense on my CV.

PsyGuy wrote:
> its nothing more then a grooming school for students who are
> better resourced than they are capable.

This is true of almost every international school in the whole world, especially in the Middle East.

The 'brand name' often does mean something. It probably means the school is better-resourced to start off, and it probably looks better on your resume than some other crappy school with no brand name.

Some of the brand name chain schools in Asia seem to have done well. Harrow, etc. But unlike in Asia, the rich people of the Middle East often seem culturally incapable of receiving a proper education, no matter the name of the school.

I know someone who spent quite a while in Norway, which might be the most expensive places in the whole world. After the first two years he was getting killed with taxes, supposedly to support a social pension scheme, but since he's not Norwegian he doesn't get any. Not a good situation from what I could tell.

Which countries in WE have generous pensions that you qualify for after some years? I'm in Europe and I'm not getting anything worth caring about.

My understanding is that you have to be in for a long time before your pension starts to count up or be accessible to you. I'm not sure if I'd trust my retirement to the proposition that an IS will keep me employed for 10+ years. Too many variables. Is this a concern at the better WE schools?

Those reviews confirm what you might expect: most schools aren't very good and also are bad places to work. If you don't keep your head down and fit in, it's just a matter of time before you are done over. This is true of first-tier schools as well as third-tier, so it's not like you missed out on great places to work if you don't have a job by now.

Even though I applied to UWCSEA (and never heard back), I got the feeling that whatever the UWCs were looking for, it wasn't me. At least I know why my current school is in business and who I have to keep happy so they can make money. I don't really know how a UWC works. A lot of people have great reverence for UWC, and they seem to have a big name in some circles, but not a lot of crossover between them and mainstream international schools.

I definitely wouldn't go out to Armenia to work for one unless I was their 'type'.

People talk about fairs falling out of fashion. I get that they're impractical, but I don't know why they would go away. They are a great time for heads to network and get their egos stroked on a free trip. Besides, they aren't necessarily looking for the most qualified teachers, just for the ones who look good, go along and get along. That's harder to gauge over Skype than at a fair. This is especially true for non-specialist positions.

I would think the utility of fairs is greatest to those who cannot easily demonstrate objective value on paper.

Psyguy, you might as well just say the entire IB is a cult and a second-rate curriculum model. Do you know the history of the IB and UWCs? I don't think anyone, including yourself, has any idea what you're talking about.

Not that the IB is perfect. Indeed many of the best international schools are not IB, and many IB schools are very bad. But that's another subject.

I truly can't believe this person got a job. What's even more incredible is that you think you can support 4 dependents on one international school salary. What does the typical UNI school pay these days? Even for a teacher with a load of years, 40-50k tops? Likely far less than that. Hope you have done your research and were not the victim of misinformation. Admin doesn't care whether or not you struggle to pay your bills.

Psyguy, I have more respect for you than most on this board because I prefer your realistic candour over a lot of the silly things that are said on here, even if you can't spell or keep your personal story straight.

But you really lost me with your portrayal of UWCSEA as some sort of second-tier school. In many ways it is a benchmark for the other IB and British schools in the region. It can afford to be more selective than other large Asian schools because it gets its intake both from the UWC national committee system and its own very strong position in the Singapore market. If anything, SAS should have a wider range of talent among its students because of its uniquely American identity. In my mind neither SAS nor UWCSEA has more prestige than the other. FWIW, I am a single IB teacher at what one might consider a low first tier/high second tier school in Europe and UWCSEA wouldn't even sniff my application.

There are a lot of ways to judge schools. If you want to sort by salary, then Tanglin is the "best school in SG," case closed.

Not sure why you'd want to go home--not like it's any better there, especially if you're sick and in debt.