The International Schools Review Forum

Hello everyone,

I've been reading through some of the reviews on the site, and a *lot* of them seem negative. My question is, if you are considering a school that has negative reviews here, how seriously should you take them? I know they say that a lot of people will only say negative things online, but I'm currently weighing my options and would like to know if I should *always* avoid a school with negative reviews here?

In general, I would say read the reviews and know that they are often posted by people who have an agenda. I came to a school that had mixed reviews, and I absolutely love where I am working. If all the reviews are extremely negative, I would recommend doing some research. The best thing to do is to try to contact a teacher who is currently teaching there and ask questions.

If there is no faculty directory, how would I go about doing that? I've been advised to ask the school to provide contact information, but then was told that the teachers schools supply might also have an agenda. :S So it seems fairly confusing.

Someone showed me the really awful reviews of the school I was applying for, but reading between the lines I could tell the reviewers were just unhappy people. My Search Associates rep did some investigating and said they'd had no complaints, and as long as I understood they weren't a perfect school, to go for it. I got the job, and have been quite happy. Many teachers stay for years, and this would not be considered one of those "top tier" schools.

You should weigh the school reviews here the same way you would weigh a review of anything. Approach them with a critical lens and do as much independent homework as possible to establish a broader perspective. That said, few people will go the lengths that they do on this site to expose what they see as the truth about a school unless they really mean it.

edited.

I agree with what others have posted. Take everything into account, but in the end you have to decide for yourself.

I would pay attention to exactly what types of negative comments are being made:

Personal attacks or obvious personality conflicts with administrators can definitely be in the eye of the beholder and may be very subjective (and so may be worth taking the risk, if other things about the school seem to be a good fit).

Late pay, forced to sign new/poorer contracts, teachers fired at the drop of a hat, repeated reviews that talk about shambolic school housing, seriously consider taking a pass.

edited.

[quote="Open Communication"]Vague negative comments are difficult to interpret. If someone says a school or director is 'bad' or 'you can't trust that person', what does that mean? If someone says 'we were paid late', 'the principal took sole credit for a curriculum I contributed to 50%' that says something. Or, we were promised such and such housing but look at the pictures online of what we got. Or, we were promised classroom with windows, news desks, clean bathrooms, a large stocked library, but look at what we got in these attached pictures. That means something. Maybe ISR and the ISR Forum should allow pictures to be posted or attached to comments. That would really be 'the pudding'.[/quote]

Good points. The word bully is used often in reviews. It conjures up a very negative image but it is not really very useful in determining whether you would be willing to teach at that school.

Pictures would be very, very enlightening.