The International Schools Review Forum

Dearest Forum Friends,

I might be facing a decision between two schools. This would be my first international teaching job, my first EVER teaching job. I teach elementary and I will potentially have to decide between a school that has IB's PYP or a school without. I would be happy to live in either location. I think the PYP school might pay a little less.

I think I plan to teach internationally for a good while and will want to move further on up the tier system with time. I've heard that a lot of the best schools to work for are IB schools. Based on this very little information regarding my situation, should I go for the PYP? Will my career options be highly enhanced should I take it?

Thanks y'all,

dangranger

Teach at the PYP school if you can. It will pay off in the long run.

I would agree. If there is not a huge difference in desirability between the two then the IB would get my vote. The majority of top quality schools around the world are either IB or moving that way (aside from American and British curriculum schools, and even some of them). If you establish a successful career with a strong IB experience base, then you will have set yourself up very nicely for future moves/advancement.

I would also give thought to which school will offer you the best support/mentoring. As a newly minted teacher, you will need that support to establish your own best practices in planning, teaching, assessment and behavior management. In general, that could be an IB environment as a certain level of professional development is required to be provided by the school.

PYP is more in tune with where education is going. At the good PYP schools, inquiry is the name of the game, solid Units of Inquiry are in place, there is an articulated curriculum that drives inquiry so that students have a framework for their learning experiences as they progress in grades, and there is much less rote kill and drill than you would ever see back home.

Having PYP also opens up the world of IB schools when you want to move on. Top tier IB schools want you to be trained and to be able to show experience and familiarity with the program and its concepts/tenets. So having that under your belt will increase your marketability and chances with those schools.

For me, the IB program is also more in tune with my philosophy - and even more so now with changes they've made to the new chapter.

Good luck in your choice!

shad

i would agree with the previous posters.
IB is what good schools do even if they're not technically affiliated. the schools i was teaching at in canada come to mind, and it seems most of the education programs where i come from in canada teach these kinds of things as a matter of fact, especially when it comes to assessment and approaches to learning.

affiliation seems to also be a driving motive for a lot of higher tier schools for the flexibility it offers in terms of tuition. i suppose the really good NP schools don't need it, but i would guess that they would teach fairly similar concepts as the IB.

n.b. i teach IB PYP currently, so can't say much about the MYP/IBDP. if you ask me, it's a little over the top. schools should be teaching this way anyways...

v.