Hello Everyone!
I have been reading since early fall - just now brave enough to post...
My husband and I are looking into opportunities to teach internationally next year (it is just us - no kids). At this point, we have not signed up with SEARCH - just TIE. We are not only new to international teaching, but relatively new to K-12 education in general. We know that we are far from being stellar candidates (someone called us a "non-traditional" teaching couple) - but we have had heard back from a few schools and are scheduled to do a few interviews (more than what we expected). I would be curious to know what your thoughts are on us as candidates (MS Social Studies for the husband, School Counseling Intern for me). I know that currently not being licensed as a School Counselor affects our chances. Should we wait another year? Should we sign up with SEARCH? Or just take our chances? What would you do? "Tiers" are not important to us - we love working with kids, we want to be part of good school community, and we want to get some experience under our belts. Here is a little about us...
The Husband:
-BA in History, BA in Political Science
-Teaching License (Indiana) in MS/HS Social Studies, MS Math
-2 years working in a MS setting (one year as an aide and co-teaching, one year teaching Study Skills and Current Events)
-Very involved in extracurriculars (Coaching - MS Basketball, HS Soccer)
Me:
-MA in Counseling (MA research on counseling TCKs)
-Currently enrolled in a post-master's certificate program to qualify for license as a School Counselor (internships are remaining - interested in completing overseas)
-5 years working with college students in a residential setting (my job is an interesting mix of counseling, academic advising, mentoring, and crisis management)
-1 year working at an International School in Europe in their boarding program
-Several years of experience working with teenagers in summer camp setting (both in the US and in Europe)
Any advice would be so helpful! Thank you so much in advance.
New to international teaching - Any advice?
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midwesthopeful
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:21 pm
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
I would recommend you finish your counseling practicum first before trying to head overseas. Even though your husband is credentialed to teach math, since his studies were in history and political science, I think you will still be the one schools are most interested in once you have a credential.
Also, I've only seen one intern school counselor position through TIE, and none through Search. I don't know if these are meant for those still working on their degree, but I suspect not. You can check with Search about their policies. My understanding is that without 2 years experience they will want you listed as an intern, but they may not do this for a school counselors.
I knew a fellow who completed his MA by interning at an international school; an elite one with a rather large school counseling staff. I don't think it was paid, and I don't know if this qualified him for a credential back in the US. The school is one that is accredited by a North American accrediation organization and the school counselors were all credentialed, so maybe this was enough. The international school where he eventually ended up as was decidedly 3rd tier, in a country that may not have required him to be credentialed.
If you're planning on staying overseas long-term, you really want a school counseling credential because without it there are countries where you cannot be hired (I know Singapore is one). It's entirely possible that countries that now allow non-credentialed school counselors may not in the future. The unpaid internships that last a semester or a year that you have to do on to finish the program admitedly stink, but they're hard to find a work around.
If you are thinking about being a high school counselor, I would say you may want to consider attending the OACAC conference this summer (July). It's a conference focusing on international university admission, which is a large part of most high school positions at international schools. It's an excellent chance for professional development related to university admissions, but even more important for you would be the chance to meet international school counselors. It's a good place to hear about upcoming positions. Obviously this means footing the cost yourself. Every year this conference fills up, so if you are interested in attending make sure you don't wait too log to register once it goes up. It's being hosted at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Another solid looking professional development opportunity that I've seen lately is something called Counseling Training Center which is associated with Principal's Training Center. They have something in Miami this July on international university counseling. They also have two programs in London, UK in June focused on more general issues for international school counselors. I know one of the people who is a facilitator, and that individual is a very good, intelligent presenter. These programs look at bit expensive; it looks like it is designed for schools to pay for the training so I'd be relectant to pay for training myself.
Again, this is my opinion. I hope it's useful. Good luck.
Also, I've only seen one intern school counselor position through TIE, and none through Search. I don't know if these are meant for those still working on their degree, but I suspect not. You can check with Search about their policies. My understanding is that without 2 years experience they will want you listed as an intern, but they may not do this for a school counselors.
I knew a fellow who completed his MA by interning at an international school; an elite one with a rather large school counseling staff. I don't think it was paid, and I don't know if this qualified him for a credential back in the US. The school is one that is accredited by a North American accrediation organization and the school counselors were all credentialed, so maybe this was enough. The international school where he eventually ended up as was decidedly 3rd tier, in a country that may not have required him to be credentialed.
If you're planning on staying overseas long-term, you really want a school counseling credential because without it there are countries where you cannot be hired (I know Singapore is one). It's entirely possible that countries that now allow non-credentialed school counselors may not in the future. The unpaid internships that last a semester or a year that you have to do on to finish the program admitedly stink, but they're hard to find a work around.
If you are thinking about being a high school counselor, I would say you may want to consider attending the OACAC conference this summer (July). It's a conference focusing on international university admission, which is a large part of most high school positions at international schools. It's an excellent chance for professional development related to university admissions, but even more important for you would be the chance to meet international school counselors. It's a good place to hear about upcoming positions. Obviously this means footing the cost yourself. Every year this conference fills up, so if you are interested in attending make sure you don't wait too log to register once it goes up. It's being hosted at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Another solid looking professional development opportunity that I've seen lately is something called Counseling Training Center which is associated with Principal's Training Center. They have something in Miami this July on international university counseling. They also have two programs in London, UK in June focused on more general issues for international school counselors. I know one of the people who is a facilitator, and that individual is a very good, intelligent presenter. These programs look at bit expensive; it looks like it is designed for schools to pay for the training so I'd be relectant to pay for training myself.
Again, this is my opinion. I hope it's useful. Good luck.
Reply
Your not an intern, and You should apply now, your a very competitive couple (OK hubby is a little weak), the hook is that your not a "school" counselor. Your a "college advisor", the reality is that most Counselor programs prepare their students for the mental health aspect of being a school counselor, which you dont do much of in an IS. Its mostly a junior admin position that essentially consists of student management tasks.
What you have is gold, someone who actually knows the ins and out and back office machinations of how admissions, financial aid and other enrollment services work. Thats the hot thing that schools are looking for now.
Your done with your coursework and if your certification program is flexible, having an admin supervise your internship would be a minor request for a school to full fill. (your value would move from gold to platinum if you were in admissions at an ivy, such as Harvard).
Depending on where you go or want to go, you could go with Search or ISS. This is one of the rare times id initially recommend going with ISS or SA. ISS is a "faster" route, the data base is limited to upper tier schools, recruiters have more faith and trust in ISS (means faster hire) and your competitive enough.
Many countries dont have a "school counselor" certification, in those cases a Masters is your license, (may require being accompanied by a teaching credential).
Singapore requires a teaching license for teachers, your not a teacher, you dont need one for Singapore immigration and labor to issue a visa.
The summer camp experience is worthless, though the boarding experience id consider as IS experience. Your definitely the front card
Hubby is pretty weak:
The "aid/co teaching" year doesnt count and is worthless.
Everyone "says" their very involved in XCs, does he have a coaches certificate/PE certificate?
Hi teaching experience is going to kill him, hes only got one year and its not in anything really demanding such as history, math, etc. When schools look for a SS teacher they want someone with experience primarily teaching history.
Id advise he add certification in HS math if possible, and certification in Business Studies (assuming its separate from the SS certificate).
What you have is gold, someone who actually knows the ins and out and back office machinations of how admissions, financial aid and other enrollment services work. Thats the hot thing that schools are looking for now.
Your done with your coursework and if your certification program is flexible, having an admin supervise your internship would be a minor request for a school to full fill. (your value would move from gold to platinum if you were in admissions at an ivy, such as Harvard).
Depending on where you go or want to go, you could go with Search or ISS. This is one of the rare times id initially recommend going with ISS or SA. ISS is a "faster" route, the data base is limited to upper tier schools, recruiters have more faith and trust in ISS (means faster hire) and your competitive enough.
Many countries dont have a "school counselor" certification, in those cases a Masters is your license, (may require being accompanied by a teaching credential).
Singapore requires a teaching license for teachers, your not a teacher, you dont need one for Singapore immigration and labor to issue a visa.
The summer camp experience is worthless, though the boarding experience id consider as IS experience. Your definitely the front card
Hubby is pretty weak:
The "aid/co teaching" year doesnt count and is worthless.
Everyone "says" their very involved in XCs, does he have a coaches certificate/PE certificate?
Hi teaching experience is going to kill him, hes only got one year and its not in anything really demanding such as history, math, etc. When schools look for a SS teacher they want someone with experience primarily teaching history.
Id advise he add certification in HS math if possible, and certification in Business Studies (assuming its separate from the SS certificate).
I hate to be a downer, but I don't think you're gold yet. You may get there. Your husband's experience is too thin so far and not in a standard subject area. You need to finish your credential and get some K-12 experience under your belt. Uni experience can be great, but it doesn't prepare you for working with students trying to survive high school with their psyches intact while simultaneously applying for uni.
I'd recommend a couple more years in the US gathering the experience you need.
I'd recommend a couple more years in the US gathering the experience you need.
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
In the effort to point out dubious information given by another poster, let me clarify. I was told by a school counselor at Singapore American School that it was important to have a current school counseling credential, or you couldn't work in Singapore without it. It is possible it only applied to teachers, but that is not what she was telling me.
While there seem to be an increasing numbers of college counseling positions that some schools are creating. (I have a theory about why that's happening and I think it's going to happen a lot more in the future, but that is an aside.) I read what you did as being a residence director at a university, rather than counseling high school students on options for colleges. I think a more typical college counselor background is having worked as a college admission officer or working in a US independent school as a college counselor. If I misunderstood your experience then college counseling could be a good route, if more limited options, for now at least, than being a school counselor.
By the way, if college counseling or high school counseling is what you're interested and you want/need to learn about college admissions, UCLA has an online course (not a degree program) to learn about how admission and financial aid works. It's the kind of information you learn by working in admissions for a year or two. This tends to be taken by people wanting to be US independent college counselors, high school counselors (most MA programs get no training in college admissions), and people wanting to be independent college advisors. I've heard it is fairly US centric, and folks working in international schools also should know about Canadian, UK, Australian university admissions. I've also had the occasion student apply to universities in other countries (Korea, Hong Kong, UK, other European).
While there seem to be an increasing numbers of college counseling positions that some schools are creating. (I have a theory about why that's happening and I think it's going to happen a lot more in the future, but that is an aside.) I read what you did as being a residence director at a university, rather than counseling high school students on options for colleges. I think a more typical college counselor background is having worked as a college admission officer or working in a US independent school as a college counselor. If I misunderstood your experience then college counseling could be a good route, if more limited options, for now at least, than being a school counselor.
By the way, if college counseling or high school counseling is what you're interested and you want/need to learn about college admissions, UCLA has an online course (not a degree program) to learn about how admission and financial aid works. It's the kind of information you learn by working in admissions for a year or two. This tends to be taken by people wanting to be US independent college counselors, high school counselors (most MA programs get no training in college admissions), and people wanting to be independent college advisors. I've heard it is fairly US centric, and folks working in international schools also should know about Canadian, UK, Australian university admissions. I've also had the occasion student apply to universities in other countries (Korea, Hong Kong, UK, other European).