@psyguy
"I agree with @helloiswill you arent going to be very marketable in the regions of Malaysia or SG. The experience requirement is easy to get around your ESOL experience (8 years would likely qualify in terms of getting a visa and work pass). I disagree that your ET experience has any value in IE."

I know its purely anecdotal on my part, however, a few IS's were interested in hearing about my 2 years as an ET in Taiwan. I think ET experience becomes more of an asset if it is combined with a few years teaching domestically. The schools that told me that they looked on it favorably were schools in China. I get the sense that it proved to them that I I knew what I was getting into and that I might know some of the cultural nuances of working in China. You can spin time as an ET to your advantage but it most definitely isn't going to make your resume look any better. This being said, I think we can agree the ET is not the golden ticket many current bushiban/hogwan teachers think it is and may even be a disadvantage if not combined with "real" teaching experience.

I don't think you will be able to transition directly to Singapore or Malaysia due to the 5 year teaching experience visa requirement they have. I know Singapore has this and I believe Malaysia has either the same requirement or something approaching it (this experience must be at an international school or domestic school while licensed). From what you listed in your experience I'm not sure this would count towards that visa requirement. However, someone with more direct experience in these countries may know better.

I would expect the ELA endorsement to have a better chance of getting you a job. Some lower tier schools do see ET experience as a positive despite what the general consensus on the forum is. You could also think about getting a proper ESL state certification, that would combine even better with your past ET experience. Looking back now you don't say what you were teaching while in Hungry/SA, I assume it was ESL because of your CELTA and ESL certs.... if not this advice might not be applicable.

I can't say enough about taking two years off from teaching ESL abroad to do an alternative certification program through TFA/TNTP. Thats what I did and I'm about to head back out again with a much improved resume and as a vastly improved teacher. Anyway, best of luck. I'm sure other will have more specific advice.

This is a pretty contentious issue here in The States. I happen to think pay raises based solely on seniority is not the best model. IMO salary should increase based upon a blend of merit and experience. Here in North Carolina, many schools have opportunities for teachers to take on greater responsibility in a coordinator/teacher type of role (called a multi-classroom leader) that comes along with a 10k -20k bump in your salary at the end of the year that is tied to the academic gains your students make. I like this system because it allows great teachers to affect larger groups of students without moving into admin. However, there are only 4 MCL's at my school and we have close to 60 teachers on staff, so it's very competitive. However, North Carolina does not reward experience enough, someone who as been teaching for 20 years only makes 10k more than I do.

I look forward to reading it. Almost feel like I'm missing out on the fair even though I accepted a good offer last month!

I don't have too much to say about this other than I agree with you that this sort of behavior in the interview process seems pretty "bizarre" relative to what I have experienced. Can you think of a reason why the school would be desperate? Usually, location alone is not enough to make a school bite your hand off to sign a contract, especially when, as you said, they pay well and are IB.

My Next Steps would be:

I think I remember from you previous posts they you are, like me certified in ESL. Ask if you can speak with another teacher who teaches in your content area or grade-level at the school. While they will undoubtedly say positive things, if you read closely you can probably figure out if it is genuine or if there is a gun to there head, so to speak.

See if you can find some information on the school from an expat forum specific to the city the school is in. You can usually find this some info after some detective work. This may be from the perspective of parents or community members but still may be useful.

Are you signed up with with Search or ISS? Ask your associate if they know anything about the school and mention the peculiar interview. On two instances my associate steered me away from a school because it probably "wasn't a good fit for me." It was pretty easy for me to pick up on the subtext behind this statement that read, this school is a crap place to be teaching.

Good luck and let us know what you uncover/decide!

I would encourage you to continue your search. You are too experienced to settle for something that is "half" as valuable as you had first thought. And it's not like West Africa or China are Bali and Costa Rica.

I'm always curious if I will end up working with someone on this forum...

Congrats Shawanda! I knew you were way too experienced not to get an offer. I accepted my first IT offer last night at an upper tier school in China.

I think it might be useful to share my personal story because you are at very similar point (though you have certification) as I was three years ago. Coincidentally, I plan on accepting an offer at an upper tier school in East Asia tonight.

Three years ago, I was in my second year teaching English in Taiwan (at a chain cram school) but professionally and fiscally my ESL work was unfulfilling/unsustainable. I realized international education was where I wanted to be and I worked backwards to identify the steps I needed to take to be considered for the position. As everyone on this site knows, I needed teacher certification, some experience teaching domestically, and probably a masters degree.

While in Taiwan, I applied to a program in the US called The New Teacher Project, it is a sister program to Teach for America. Shortly after, I was accepted and packing my bags to start my training and later a position as an ESL teacher at an elementary school in the US. This job was difficult because I was teaching in a Title I school an urban environment. A lot of teachers self-removed from the program because of a lack of support from administration, egregious behavior problems, and general frustrations with domestic education. However, I came in expecting these issues, was unfazed when I encountered them, and stuck around for a first and later a second year. After the first year, I applied and was accepted int Johns Hopkins for my masters of science in education. I mention this because you are guaranteed a position in their masters program if you are a TNTP or TFA cohort member.

At the beginning of my second year teaching (this year), I added certifications in English (9-12) and ELA (6-8) and made an account on Search Associates to begin sending applications to some (around 60) schools. I was encouraged by the amount of attention I got. Most of the schools were lower tier but I landed interviews with three or four tier 1/tier 2 schools. I decided on a position in a tier 2 school teaching language arts at the primary level.

So, I know my story wouldn't fit the exact path you want take but I wanted to share it to show you that it's possible. I did have to do some "wading through the mud" for a couple years but I'm coming out the other side non-the-worse and with a pretty solid resume.

Interesting article for any teacher working in Shanghai or Mainland China.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/world ... culum.html

Thanks Thames! I always enjoy hearing about the hiring process from the perspective of the school recruitment team.

Taiwan is a very comfortable, yet exciting, place to live. Despite a few people on this forum who had some negative experiences, I can tell you that in my 3 years living and teaching at a cram school, I found it to be a remarkable place to live and travel. People are welcoming, food is fantastic, and the island is full of natural beauty. It definitely has an island feel but in a way that strengthened community, not in a way that felt confining. I eventually moved on from Taiwan, seeking professional growth and my certification/masters back in the states. However, If I were offered the right opportunity at the right school on the island, I would move back in a heartbeat.

@chilagringa

I currently work in a DS and we use MAPS three times a year. That data is data is generally used to track student growth. However, as an educator you WILL be judged if there are negative trends amongst your students. I think that is the nature of any information that is being collected from a class. The collection of data is there for the primary reason to monitor students but if there are undesirable results admin won't be happy. That being said, I have found MAP testing to be a really useful tool in building student ownership of their growth. Students set their own goals and have middle of the year and end of the year opportunities to meet those goals.

During my first two years teaching, I have built a strong understanding and facility with the Google apps available with G suite for Education. It is looking more and more a possibility that I will be in China next year and I am wondering how that will impact my ability to use Google Classroom, forms, sheets, etc. Are these resources completely unavailable to IS's in China or do schools take advantage of workarounds?

50 schools, 8 interviews total. 4 led to offers (which I declined), 1 did not lead to an offer, and 3 waiting hear back on/conduct 2nd interview. I only have 2 years of experience and am certified in a common subject area. If I don't get offers from from the three I am waiting on, I will most likely attend Cambridge fair.