Other than Search or ISS, what other databases are there where teachers can ask their confidential references to be held and not annoy the referee to death with dozens of individual requests?

In regards to internal online application forms:

I am currently in China, where the internet appears to get slower by the month (if not by the day). While some of those internal forms may or may not bear some logic, it is sometimes physically impossible for me to go through them. Case in point: I attempted to fill out one belonging to a chain of schools earlier this week. Things kept reloading and crashing over and over, it took me over 10 hours to go through everything that was asked. At the end (so I thought) the thing just crashed entirely and l was never actually able to submit anything. To make it worse, I do not remember one single thing in the application system that cannot also be found on my resume and supporting information.

Once winter vacation ends next week, I simply will not have the time available to go through this again and teach at the same time. Do those in charge of hiring not realize that the whole world does not yet have access to the super-fast internet some of their countries enjoy?

I think I may be missing something here...

You state that the school may have already reached the limit of work visas they are allowed to issue for the year and you did not receive one of them. So how are you working at that school at all?

The different investment options are really interesting.

Another thing to consider (if one can get the legalities in place and does not consider such factors as family ties): Where is the best place to retire? US? Europe? Costa Rica or another tropical paradise? Which factors would you consider in deciding on a place?

So what do you guys use to prepare for retirement if your school does not offer a pension plan? As an international teacher I can no longer contribute towards my public teacher retirement plan (and the pension I can expect at this time is crap, even with over a decade worth of contributions), so I'm looking at my options too.

Eurocampus - Shanghai
Wuxi International School
Kunshan Canadian School
EtonHouse (many campuses)

So it looks like there is quite a lot of variance, but policies tend to cover worldwide (including US)? My question not is, what could you do if you are offered an otherwise desirable job (location, other benefits, type of school etc.), but the insurance does not quite measure up - as in, it's basically just hospital insurance? Is there any possibility of adding on? Sorry, but I have heard a couple of horror stories lately...

As we evaluate the packages we are offered, one benefit that may not get a lot of detailed attention is the health insurance package. Some contracts simply state "Group health insurance" without any more explanation what this entails. So what DOES it usually consist of?

- comprehensive package for the family, including dental, vision, disability, valid worldwide?

- comprehensive package, but only for host country (or some countries excluded, most notably the US)?

- you pay for family members at discounted rate?

- stop-gap measure with a low annual cap, no direct pay, no dental (never mind vision), valid only in host country?


If only a basic policy is part of the contract, are you able to purchase add-on at a discounted rate?

Just trying to compare apples to apples here...

higgs - I have heard that the procedure to obtain a z visa has recently changed and added documents are necessary. Just wanted to check whether I am the only one who has been told this...

Btw., I have been told about the health check now needing to be done ahead of time as well.

[quote="tdaley26"]In my opinion, you should only accept if the school is getting a z visa for you. It is technically illegal to enter on a tourist visa with the intention of being employed.[/quote]

That's what I thought as well. However, there still is the factor of things being done differently in different countries. Having lived in South America many moons ago, I know that many a bureaucratic issue was in practice carried out very differently than it was supposed to be done on the books. There is more than one translation for "Jeito".

On the other hand, I sure don't want to find myself without a job on arrival, turned around at the border or worse just because what I had been told was a cultural issue turns out to be something else altogether...

And thank you everyone else for your input as well. It truly is appreciated.

[quote="PsyGuy"]
that being said, there are people/teachers who after arriving on their tourist visa had their job disappear. In some cases the school required a modification to the contract the teacher wouldnt agree too (enrollment dropped). In other instances the school over hired. In some cases the school just couldnt get a work visa. These are more endemic of lower tier schools. An upper tier school will have no issue, and with kids/ a family it would not be unreasonable to require proper visas before departure. if the school balks at this, given your situation consider what it means as far as the schools general business practices.[/quote]

Exactly! This happened to a local teacher-friend of mine. She went to China two years ago, contract in hand, then was back three weeks later when her school told her she was not needed after all. I would like to think of her case as exceptional, but don't want to end up being the case that proves the rule.

Having gone through a few interviews with Chinese schools now, I am surprised to hear from at least two of them that it is their practice to bring the teacher over on a tourist visa and then only do the work visa paperwork once there.

Maybe I'm a big chicken, but since I'll be coming with children, the thought of that is a bit scary to me. Others who have worked/are currently working in China - what has been your experience? I'd really prefer to have the work visa secured before I enter the country, but by the same token I do not want to appear unreasonable.

[quote="seashell"]I actually think you both may be a bit competitive within Germany. Teachers unions in Germany are very strong and local schools pay very well with less work than an International School, hence most qualified native German speaking teachers choose to work in the local system and many Int'l Schools scrounge for thier German teachers (not the top tier schools).

You also (I'd assume) have a more North American work ethic. I like my host country colleagues, but none of them hesitate in the slightest to be written off sick for a week or more and that often has a knockdown effect on the rest of the school.

I'm on the ground here in Germany.[/quote]

I haven't even thought of teaching at a regular German school! All I keep hearing is about people going through certification over there and then having to wait years for a job! Also, I checked out the projections of some of the local education authorities and they look quite dire for someone not already in the system. Not sure how my own credentials/degrees would carry over anyway, but would appreciate any input available from anyone in the know.

[quote="Shay"][quote="upintheair"]

Take advice from those of us teaching abroad--if you want to break into the good international schools, you need a degree in education, which leads to a teaching certification.

Look--if you really want to teach--why would you major in one thing and then go through the alternative certification? That is at least two years of extra coursework--and you are basically (at least, in my licensure state) repeating the last two years of college.

Some Tier 1 schools snub their noses at candidates who have alternative licensure. A degree in education is a make or break for the ultra, ultra competitive.
[/quote]

It may just be my inexperience with international education speaking - but the above comment scares me!

Here in California, where I obtained my certification, there is no such animal as a BA in education. You must first obtain your BA in something (could be liberal arts if you want to be an elementary teacher), but the official education coursework can ONLY be done as a post-baccalaureate program (5th year undergraduate or graduate). Nowadays, many credentialing programs also automatically lead to a master's degree.

I'm not sure how aware international schools are of this - would that be held against a candidate as it may be interpreted as alternative certification?

I am going to piggy-back on this thread instead of starting a new one because my experience is almost exactly the same as thirsty's, right down to our location.

Only exceptions: I AM a native speaker of German (along with English) and instead of a reading endorsement, I have an ESL endorsement (CLAD) and part of my elementary teaching experience long ago was in bilingual Spanish classes. My current high school is also not an IB school, though I have worked with a local IB bilingual immersion school in the past.

Does any of this make a difference or would the same answers still apply?