There's certainly a ton of confusion and be glad most ISs don't have it yet. Unless there is proper training, ongoing teacher support and proper texts, it's a disaster. A set of "objectives" swiftly adopted by states without proper input from educators and nearly zero input from child development experts. There are many schools in Ca that pulled texts and supporting resources from teachers who then scrambled to supplement. a close friend is at a mandarin immersion school in a San francisco suburb. The LA texts sat in the cabinets all year and everything was supplemented. Testing programs and computers failed numerous times and testing exceeded the alloted days. Headaches all around.
We spent over a decade teaching children "to the test" and then those students entered universities poorly prepared on a variety of levels. Now CC is the magic program to get kids thinking and communicating the who and why and how. Quality teachers, quality programs were/are already doing this.
The massive pushback in school districts stateside to opt out and withdraw their participation from CC and associated tests is a tiny step toward some change, what that is who knows. It certainly isn't enough to put power back in the hands of educators.
I'm thrilled to be away from it. The decline in teacher moral is off the charts. I can only hope parents wake up and see how important their support of teachers is for the future of education and the best interest of their children.

Thanks to you both. Psyguy do we have PM features back?

Are there stipends/salary differences for teachers who are hired as curriculum coaches?
Is this typical? Stateside it's a different classification.

Sounds like the typical american school right now: they can't agree on what texts to use as CC ones don't really exist but they demand teachers follow CC and use CC assessments (beyond the stupid exam) for report cards.
Common core is a joke.

@cherrypop
For recording lessons I would suggest large and small group opportunities. In this case a whole group math lesson that also shows student participation and their transition to independent work. If you can capture small group/intervention as well that's great! Of course you'll need parent/school permission to film kids. On another note it's fantastic to watch yourself. If you can have colleagues watch it with you. Pick your best segments and post.

If you're close to Iowa I'd suggest attending it. I chose not to as the airfare and timing (winter storms) were too much of a risk
Coming from the west coast with limited time off. I attended the ISS fair in SF, but had offers leading up to it. Because SF was at the end of the fair season I knew options would be limited. I had my portfolio done by Aug, references and letters of rec uploaded by mid September (the more you can gather the better) and my portfolio was live by the end of Sept. I started applying right away and had interviews lined up in Dec. My goal was a contract before the fair and I did just that.

You did not make a mistake coming home for the two years, but you may find some IS schools skipping over you for this recruiting cycle. Set up your resume, teaching philosophy and cover letters to meet the needs of the schools you want to work for. Research them and be sure to hit specifics. I landed an interview with a top school (never even thought I'd get a response) because of my cover letter (confirmed by the director). I didn't get an offer (my main experience didn't match her opening), but I got an hour long interview to connect and who knows maybe next time I'm looking I'll be a fit.
If you have opportunities this next year to pick up experience mentioned above comments then go for it.

Perhaps certain posters have lost their sense of humor or ability to detect "tongue in cheek" comments. The post was a cry to blow off some steam and get some coping tips. Perhaps this teachers school lounge is full of martyrs who lack a sense of humor too. Or she's being professional and airing her frustrations anonymously and not weighing down colleagues who have their own stressors to deal with.
I've been a public and private school teacher. I've been a youth worker for city gov and private agencies. Done fine in both with outstanding reviews. My private school colleagues are no better than public and vice versa. I just love the generalization that american public school teachers couldn't hack international schools. yes some can't and some can just like any other teachers from around the world. I'm choosing to leave the American public (and private for that matter) education system (again and for now) because of the poor pay, lack of quality PD, ineffective admin, limited teacher support, etc. I'm giving up amazing colleagues and school families. YES I'm being selfish and taking some item to cultivate me for a few years. I could stay in American Ed as I know the system and maybe the assumption is it would be easy over time, but I decided I won't accept the work load without proper compensation. That doesn't mean I DON'T currently do the work or all the extra time off the clock. My contracted time is 15min before and after the bell...on average I'm there 2 extra hrs every day and that doesn't include evening time spent on school. Sure there are teachers who really just call in...and they have done it every day since tenure was awarded. But I don't meet too many of those people and when I do I blame admin for allowing it and I look at the Union and shake my head in disgust for protecting these morons.
We're all hard working dedicated people or else we wouldn't get into this field and stay. The pay and "time off" certainly didn't attract me as I had more of both in my previous field as a youth service worker with the year round hours. But I do it because I'm great at what I do and I enjoy teaching.

Let's all have a sense of humor with just days left in another school year marathon. Let's respect that public, private and IS teachers inherently have children and their needs in mind, but sometimes we need to stop sacrificing ourselves for the sake of others: kids included.

So happy Friday! Roll out the margarita machines, yank out the flask of whiskey, turn on a video, put your feet up on the desk and call it a day unit the last bell rings!

Oh and btw I'm kidding about the last statement in case anyone was wondering or was getting ready to lecture me about being unprofessional.

@psyguy good call! Yes use your personal/sick days. Wednesday's are nice days off. I've worked for gov agencies where I cashed them out but others it was use it or lose it (if you're not staying in which case some got rolled over).

@chilagringa you're in the final countdown and perhaps your stress will ease when you enter your classroom every day knowing this is the last month of "lasts". Don't feel guilty for one second about wanting to get out of there. Don't worry about anyone else "stuck" there because no one is stuck unless they're chained to their desk. You did what you needed to do for YOU when no one else was going to do it. Leading up to my "last month" experience was full of anxiety for what I still had to get through and anticipation of what was coming and if I'd made a better choice. Once I decided to enjoy my last few days I did. I focused on the little bits I loved about the school from some of the kids to an amazing garden I'd cultivated. I let the owners and admin spin circles around me (like usual) while I told myself that "their lack of planning was no longer my emergency". The owner was furious when I said, "my priority is the kids and their families." Yes, he expected his needs were the priority 24/7. Screw anyone who says you should be grateful for a job. Please! I'd rather shovel shit (and I did) then stay in a miserable job for the paycheck. Huge lesson learned after staying for an enormous paycheck. I was happier making 1/4 of my pay and still paid the bills.

First I counted the number of teaching days, then I figured out how many mondays, staff meetings, paydays, etc. I also wrote a new letter of resignation every week and sent them to friends.
You only have 4 Mondays and possibly 20 full days. Break it down into little milestones. A glass or two of wine a day, write a list of things you won't miss, and list of things you're looking forward to!
You survuved at least 160 teaching days already right?! You can absolutely do 20 more. Chin up!

@shadowjack you are so right. Mr. Gates should step back out of his short time in education based on his push for CC without proper study, testing and planning. Not to mention NO consultation of child development experts. It's a mess. Good intention, terrible implementation.
A decade ago online classes would make in-class university courses obsolete. Well that didn't happen. I do believe online courses are perfect for some learners, but is definitely not for everyone. I'm one of those that just despise taking online courses. I'll do it if that's the only option, but I prefer in person classes and the dynamics you find in that setting.
I have a teacher friend who does teach via online courses, mostly serving home school students, and has enjoyed the program, but also misses the student contact.

No adding a major or extensive classes. In CA its about passing the CSET sub tests, ELD class and a methods class. As a multiple subject teacher (k-8) I had to pass the three subsets (math/science, history/language arts, music/art/child dev). It's easier to go multiple to single. Because I have a BA in English I can also pass any of the English subsets and then would need to take a methods class or seminar to apply for my single subject credential at my undergrad university through their credential program, however at the university I completed my credential I'm missing one additional class for their English/Lit major so they won't endorse me until I take it. Time and $...

Here's a link to CAs credential site. It explains adding authorizations
http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl621a.pdf

Sorry about not finding the link on the main eduction site. It is through their extension program. @leipanga thanks for posting the link.
FYI quite a few universities offer great coursework and Certs this way (extension programs)...I did an adult learning/pedagogy for teaching at the jc/university level cert through a state school for a pretty reasonable price. If you were back in CA a few more do offer online but only for instate teachers. Quite a few students from my program completed the credential coursework and practicum and moved for work/family. With 5 years to clear it we all have time, but moving back to CA for two years is financially impractical to clear it.

Just good to share options out there! Good luck with what you decide.

Funny my school just required a letter from my doctor that said I was "fit and healthy" to travel and work. She did not have to fill out any additional forms like she thought she might (she has immigration and visa health clinics). No issues with the Visa other than a long wait and most of that wait time was for the school staff to translate all of my documents for the application.

@nathan61
You can now do induction programs for CA online and offered by sponsoring universities to people who were not already students. Once rulings changed for religious and private school teacher requirements the state needed to help those teachers get into induction programs. They weren't required to have CA credentials (or any for that matter) for a long time! Issues started to pop up then about clearing the credential (Just another way for people to make even more $ off of us by making us re-hash what we already did in our PACT) as school districts offered it for their teachers but there was no formal program for private school teachers.
UCLA does offer three induction programs and one of them is specifically designed for teachers clearing out of state and internationally! It's not a 2-year program (yea!) but a little pricier and all online. CA credentials seem to pack the most reciprocity power in the states with most states requiring another health, state history/gov course and sometimes their version of CSET exam or CBEST.

Congrats! What area?

Throw Jakarta into the search window and there's 16+ pages to scan. Quite a few discuss schools, others housing and pollution. Might be able to direct message people.