We had a teaching mentor from the state of North Carolina who tried to tell us new teachers that "Teaching is a passion, and passion means 'to suffer'".
I was personally offended, and the rest of the newbies just ate it up. I got out of that district as quick as possible. I'm not surprised to see that they have several open positions on their website in the middle of the school year.
Life in Cairo
Par for the Course
But it happens ALL the time. This summer I was at an IB seminar for Intro to MYP and heard a very similar statement in a group session when a participant was very frustrated over what she described as a "lack of guidance", as she put it "I just want to know what I have to do today when I show up to my classroom in the morning. Where can I find what the IB wants me to do?" This went on for 5 minutes and I could tell the facilitator was frustrated and had already exhausted his canned responses, when he said "You need to follow your inner voice on what is right". I remember thinking to my self "Huh???, when did we get all Yoda, and step on the side of the Force?"
What i dont get (getting up to my lectern here) is these schools that have bad reviews that are 10 evaluations long and all bad except for the one totally glowing evaluation that you know has to be from an admin at the school. These schools that are ALWAYS, year round advertising for teachers and are constantly hiring. These schools are in countries that always have serious domestic issues. What do these new teachers expect is going to happen, I mean at some point I wonder (because I did) "why didnt i see is coming???" I mean when you actually have to mention of all the possible things you could warn someone about that the cab drivers might (although rare) flash you and whack off in front of you, I have to think you deemed it necessary to do that because its an actual issue (You dont hear people in Australia feeling compelled to warn you about shark attacks if you take a job teaching in Sydney).
What i dont get (getting up to my lectern here) is these schools that have bad reviews that are 10 evaluations long and all bad except for the one totally glowing evaluation that you know has to be from an admin at the school. These schools that are ALWAYS, year round advertising for teachers and are constantly hiring. These schools are in countries that always have serious domestic issues. What do these new teachers expect is going to happen, I mean at some point I wonder (because I did) "why didnt i see is coming???" I mean when you actually have to mention of all the possible things you could warn someone about that the cab drivers might (although rare) flash you and whack off in front of you, I have to think you deemed it necessary to do that because its an actual issue (You dont hear people in Australia feeling compelled to warn you about shark attacks if you take a job teaching in Sydney).
Re: Par for the Course
[quote="PsyGuy"]a participant was very frustrated over what she described as a "lack of guidance", as she put it "I just want to know what I have to do today when I show up to my classroom in the morning. Where can I find what the IB wants me to do?" This went on for 5 minutes and I could tell the facilitator was frustrated and had already exhausted his canned responses, when he said "You need to follow your inner voice on what is right". [/quote]
Oh, yes, of course. And then - after you so clearly articulated that you just wanted to know what you're supposed to do/how to do it and they wouldn't give you a clear answer - they come in and say "you're doing it wrong." Well, how are we supposed to do it "the right way" if they won't tell us what that is?
Oh, yes, of course. And then - after you so clearly articulated that you just wanted to know what you're supposed to do/how to do it and they wouldn't give you a clear answer - they come in and say "you're doing it wrong." Well, how are we supposed to do it "the right way" if they won't tell us what that is?
Re: Par for the Course
[quote="PsyGuy"] What i dont get (getting up to my lectern here) is these schools that have bad reviews that are 10 evaluations long and all bad except for the one totally glowing evaluation that you know has to be from an admin at the school. These schools that are ALWAYS, year round advertising for teachers and are constantly hiring. These schools are in countries that always have serious domestic issues. What do these new teachers expect is going to happen[/quote]
I totally get you on that, and I - for one - would rather go without an international job than end up at the schools with reviews like that. However, there's also this whole narrative in the forums/websites about how you have to work your way into the system, how you can't expect to start out at one of the really good schools, how you may have to put in two years somewhere you don't want to stay in order to get somewhere you do want to be. So, as many of us do, the new teachers think they can handle two years somewhere before moving on. "It's just two years, after all" is probably going through some of their minds. And if you're coming out of a rougher school district, like mine, you've also got that idea in your head that says "well, if I could make it through x years here, then I can manage for two years anywhere." And so the new teachers don't consider as much as they should the aspects outside of the school that are going to affect how they manage the two years.
I totally get you on that, and I - for one - would rather go without an international job than end up at the schools with reviews like that. However, there's also this whole narrative in the forums/websites about how you have to work your way into the system, how you can't expect to start out at one of the really good schools, how you may have to put in two years somewhere you don't want to stay in order to get somewhere you do want to be. So, as many of us do, the new teachers think they can handle two years somewhere before moving on. "It's just two years, after all" is probably going through some of their minds. And if you're coming out of a rougher school district, like mine, you've also got that idea in your head that says "well, if I could make it through x years here, then I can manage for two years anywhere." And so the new teachers don't consider as much as they should the aspects outside of the school that are going to affect how they manage the two years.
Sigh
I just wish teacher trainers would be honest instead of just putting on some rainbows and sunshine act, like becoming a teacher is some "spiritual experience", and that knowing the right way involves some kind of inner quest. A lot of teachers arent chefs, but they can do the job if you give them the recipe.
I can understand that viewpoint especially in this economy, teachers start saying to themselves "I can do anything for 2 years, beats doing nothing", but thats what the second tier schools are for, competent, new teachers to get their experience, and move on. The third tier schools just dont have anything sufficiently redeeming about themselves, and the admins know it. Many of them either completely lie about their school, or they are straight to the point, with the attitude that a new teacher is desperate and cant do any better. When I was at Sydney, i over heard a small group of admins from I have to imagine as a 3rd tier school, bragging about who could get a teacher the cheapest, and im betting their were candidates who were leaving without a contract thinking "maybe i can do that for 2 years"
I can understand that viewpoint especially in this economy, teachers start saying to themselves "I can do anything for 2 years, beats doing nothing", but thats what the second tier schools are for, competent, new teachers to get their experience, and move on. The third tier schools just dont have anything sufficiently redeeming about themselves, and the admins know it. Many of them either completely lie about their school, or they are straight to the point, with the attitude that a new teacher is desperate and cant do any better. When I was at Sydney, i over heard a small group of admins from I have to imagine as a 3rd tier school, bragging about who could get a teacher the cheapest, and im betting their were candidates who were leaving without a contract thinking "maybe i can do that for 2 years"
Re: Sigh
[quote="PsyGuy"] I can understand that viewpoint especially in this economy, teachers start saying to themselves "I can do anything for 2 years, beats doing nothing", but thats what the second tier schools are for, competent, new teachers to get their experience, and move on. The third tier schools just dont have anything sufficiently redeeming about themselves, and the admins know it. [/quote]
And that's what I'm worried about when contemplating interviews. What if what I think is a 2nd tier school and thus okay is actually a 3rd tier school? I mean, anything with mostly horrible reviews and just 1 glowing one is obviously a place to avoid, but what about the places with a mixture of reviews? Some negative (about a previous director), some positive, some mixed.
And that's what I'm worried about when contemplating interviews. What if what I think is a 2nd tier school and thus okay is actually a 3rd tier school? I mean, anything with mostly horrible reviews and just 1 glowing one is obviously a place to avoid, but what about the places with a mixture of reviews? Some negative (about a previous director), some positive, some mixed.
I'm one of 'those teachers' who has just broken onto the international school scene and landed their first post after a few years working in local schools.
I'm just over 6 months into my two year contract, living in a city which both my gf and I do not like in the slightest - I knew I didn't like it before I came, it's her first time here - we just don't 'get it'.
And yes, it's not easy, not easy, not easy... I count down the days until the next holiday when I can escape abroad and get my life back for a week or two!
But, as has been said, we do it for the IB experience, international school experience and the hope that it will lead to better things...
Roll on June 2013!!!
I'm just over 6 months into my two year contract, living in a city which both my gf and I do not like in the slightest - I knew I didn't like it before I came, it's her first time here - we just don't 'get it'.
And yes, it's not easy, not easy, not easy... I count down the days until the next holiday when I can escape abroad and get my life back for a week or two!
But, as has been said, we do it for the IB experience, international school experience and the hope that it will lead to better things...
Roll on June 2013!!!
[quote="Mr.Cake"] But, as has been said, we do it for the IB experience, international school experience and the hope that it will lead to better things...
Roll on June 2013!!![/quote]
Good luck on making it through. I hope your next posting is much more to your liking. :) It's good to see that even if you don't like where you start, it is also possible to make it through in spite of that.
Roll on June 2013!!![/quote]
Good luck on making it through. I hope your next posting is much more to your liking. :) It's good to see that even if you don't like where you start, it is also possible to make it through in spite of that.
Well....
Well there is no insurance or guarantee. Life isnt about punishments or rewards, its about consequences. So you sign up with a third tier school thinking its a second tier school, and you have to make a choice stick it out and bennifit from the "experience" hoping to explain away the bad experience, or run fast and hope you can move into something quickly or you just go home.
Honestly, and I advise this of new people that you should focus more on the location your moving too and not the school. Really, all schools will have something you hate or doesnt work for you, but the school is your job, its the thing you do so you can afford to do the other stuff. Ive found that if the best thing about a new position is the school, and theres nothing else where your at, then the school and therefor work becomes your life. Sorry but thats not a life I want to live. If however you choose a location that you enjoy, that enriches and enlightens your life, (IE Fun), then even if your school sucks, then your no worse off then many people who have a job they dont like. A good city can make up for a bad school. Its hard for the reverse to happen.
In my experience i personally believe that international teachers do what they do for one of 4 reasons:
1) The Money, and not just the money but the advantages of cost of living differences. $50K USD in the USA is average, $50K USD in Thailand is MAJOR bank.
2) The Travel: Face it living in a foreign country is exciting, its new. It makes you cultured, sophisticated, and worldly. There is a prestige factor, you go home during the summer and while the other friends are bragging about their cars, or their new gulf clubs, when you get asked your parents can finally say "Oh our child has been teaching in [insert cool country here]" instead of the "Oh there just teaching". On a date "oh i just got back from teaching in Rome" sounds a lot better then "Im a teacher" when asked what you do.
3) Experience: Or more accurately running away from a bad experience (not so much running away from the law or something), but usually running away from a bad teaching position. Becoming an international teacher at an IS school makes you over night a professional again. Even the second tier schools are far and wide a major improvement from most public schools.
4) Social Life: This applies more to men then to woman or families, but teaching overseas gets people stuck in a routine, who have well little going for them "OUT". I know several guys when i was back in China who were divorced and couldnt get a date to save their lives. They come to asia, and flush with cash, they get a lot of attention from the locals, just because their westerners. They can spend money on themselves again, instead of sinking everything they have into a mortgage, car loan, student loans, credit cards, medical bills, alimoney. Ive met a couple of people over the years who basically filed for bankruptcy before leaving overseas, and after 4-5 years will have decent credit again back in the states without having to deal with the disadvantages of not having a 700 credit score.
Honestly, and I advise this of new people that you should focus more on the location your moving too and not the school. Really, all schools will have something you hate or doesnt work for you, but the school is your job, its the thing you do so you can afford to do the other stuff. Ive found that if the best thing about a new position is the school, and theres nothing else where your at, then the school and therefor work becomes your life. Sorry but thats not a life I want to live. If however you choose a location that you enjoy, that enriches and enlightens your life, (IE Fun), then even if your school sucks, then your no worse off then many people who have a job they dont like. A good city can make up for a bad school. Its hard for the reverse to happen.
In my experience i personally believe that international teachers do what they do for one of 4 reasons:
1) The Money, and not just the money but the advantages of cost of living differences. $50K USD in the USA is average, $50K USD in Thailand is MAJOR bank.
2) The Travel: Face it living in a foreign country is exciting, its new. It makes you cultured, sophisticated, and worldly. There is a prestige factor, you go home during the summer and while the other friends are bragging about their cars, or their new gulf clubs, when you get asked your parents can finally say "Oh our child has been teaching in [insert cool country here]" instead of the "Oh there just teaching". On a date "oh i just got back from teaching in Rome" sounds a lot better then "Im a teacher" when asked what you do.
3) Experience: Or more accurately running away from a bad experience (not so much running away from the law or something), but usually running away from a bad teaching position. Becoming an international teacher at an IS school makes you over night a professional again. Even the second tier schools are far and wide a major improvement from most public schools.
4) Social Life: This applies more to men then to woman or families, but teaching overseas gets people stuck in a routine, who have well little going for them "OUT". I know several guys when i was back in China who were divorced and couldnt get a date to save their lives. They come to asia, and flush with cash, they get a lot of attention from the locals, just because their westerners. They can spend money on themselves again, instead of sinking everything they have into a mortgage, car loan, student loans, credit cards, medical bills, alimoney. Ive met a couple of people over the years who basically filed for bankruptcy before leaving overseas, and after 4-5 years will have decent credit again back in the states without having to deal with the disadvantages of not having a 700 credit score.
-
wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Sigh
[quote="davey"][quote="PsyGuy"] I can understand that viewpoint especially in this economy, teachers start saying to themselves "I can do anything for 2 years, beats doing nothing", but thats what the second tier schools are for, competent, new teachers to get their experience, and move on. The third tier schools just dont have anything sufficiently redeeming about themselves, and the admins know it. [/quote]
And that's what I'm worried about when contemplating interviews. What if what I think is a 2nd tier school and thus okay is actually a 3rd tier school? I mean, anything with mostly horrible reviews and just 1 glowing one is obviously a place to avoid, but what about the places with a mixture of reviews? Some negative (about a previous director), some positive, some mixed.[/quote]
Reviews can be a good source of information, but also a mixed blessing. Read the reviews for WAB or ISB (Beijing). You would expect them to be glowing, but they are decidedly mixed. Of course, the negatives are more Category 1 complaints: personalities, too many meetings, cliques and favorites etc, rather than Cat. 2 complaints: Not honouring contracts, late pay, horror show housing, safety concerns. teachers fired at the drop of a hat etc.
To me, you could find the Cat. 1 complaints at any school in the world (elite or not). Cat 2. complaints (if you believe them to be true) would be a deal breaker for me.
Comments somewhere in between like, bullying Directors, or percieved pressure to inflate grades or not thrilled with housing or allowance, then you have to sort through all information, weigh them against your current situation and make a choice.
And that's what I'm worried about when contemplating interviews. What if what I think is a 2nd tier school and thus okay is actually a 3rd tier school? I mean, anything with mostly horrible reviews and just 1 glowing one is obviously a place to avoid, but what about the places with a mixture of reviews? Some negative (about a previous director), some positive, some mixed.[/quote]
Reviews can be a good source of information, but also a mixed blessing. Read the reviews for WAB or ISB (Beijing). You would expect them to be glowing, but they are decidedly mixed. Of course, the negatives are more Category 1 complaints: personalities, too many meetings, cliques and favorites etc, rather than Cat. 2 complaints: Not honouring contracts, late pay, horror show housing, safety concerns. teachers fired at the drop of a hat etc.
To me, you could find the Cat. 1 complaints at any school in the world (elite or not). Cat 2. complaints (if you believe them to be true) would be a deal breaker for me.
Comments somewhere in between like, bullying Directors, or percieved pressure to inflate grades or not thrilled with housing or allowance, then you have to sort through all information, weigh them against your current situation and make a choice.
Re: Well....
[quote="PsyGuy"]Honestly, and I advise this of new people that you should focus more on the location your moving too and not the school. Really, all schools will have something you hate or doesnt work for you, but the school is your job, its the thing you do so you can afford to do the other stuff. Ive found that if the best thing about a new position is the school, and theres nothing else where your at, then the school and therefor work becomes your life.[/quote]
Going through this currently, I have to agree with this comment/observation 100% - school is not your life, or I would hope not. Once you get home after work life begins again: What shall we eat tonight? Where shall we go? What did you do today honey?
When the answer to those questions are the same as the day before or worse still, you don't even bother asking them because you already know the answer - then indeed work has become your raison d'etre, and that's not the way it should be.
Going through this currently, I have to agree with this comment/observation 100% - school is not your life, or I would hope not. Once you get home after work life begins again: What shall we eat tonight? Where shall we go? What did you do today honey?
When the answer to those questions are the same as the day before or worse still, you don't even bother asking them because you already know the answer - then indeed work has become your raison d'etre, and that's not the way it should be.
Re: Well....
[quote="Mr.Cake"][quote="PsyGuy"]Honestly, and I advise this of new people that you should focus more on the location your moving too and not the school. Really, all schools will have something you hate or doesnt work for you, but the school is your job, its the thing you do so you can afford to do the other stuff. Ive found that if the best thing about a new position is the school, and theres nothing else where your at, then the school and therefor work becomes your life.[/quote]
Going through this currently, I have to agree with this comment/observation 100% - school is not your life, or I would hope not. Once you get home after work life begins again: What shall we eat tonight? Where shall we go? What did you do today honey?
When the answer to those questions are the same as the day before or worse still, you don't even bother asking them because you already know the answer - then indeed work has become your raison d'etre, and that's not the way it should be.[/quote]
Thank you so much, guys. That's DEFINITELY put a new spin on how I'm going to think about things. I really want there to be more to my life than school, and you've sort of opened my eyes to how I should be thinking about this whole experience. I mean, when I studied abroad in college, despite me being a major nerd, my first thought was not about finding the best school but rather picking somewhere I wanted to be. Part of the reason I want to go is to is, in fact, to find a school that really fits with my educational philosophy and is not mired in the current craziness that is inner-city public school teaching, but I could just as easily do that teaching in a private school in the US. If I'm headed overseas, I want to end up in a country/city where I actually am excited to be living.
Going through this currently, I have to agree with this comment/observation 100% - school is not your life, or I would hope not. Once you get home after work life begins again: What shall we eat tonight? Where shall we go? What did you do today honey?
When the answer to those questions are the same as the day before or worse still, you don't even bother asking them because you already know the answer - then indeed work has become your raison d'etre, and that's not the way it should be.[/quote]
Thank you so much, guys. That's DEFINITELY put a new spin on how I'm going to think about things. I really want there to be more to my life than school, and you've sort of opened my eyes to how I should be thinking about this whole experience. I mean, when I studied abroad in college, despite me being a major nerd, my first thought was not about finding the best school but rather picking somewhere I wanted to be. Part of the reason I want to go is to is, in fact, to find a school that really fits with my educational philosophy and is not mired in the current craziness that is inner-city public school teaching, but I could just as easily do that teaching in a private school in the US. If I'm headed overseas, I want to end up in a country/city where I actually am excited to be living.
tgrear2008--it sounds like we will be working at the same school next year. I have been to Cairo a few times and really like it. I know a lot of people who have worked in Cairo and they just have loved it. The location is great and the cost of living is low. Maadi is a nice expat area but still has some grit to it so you know for sure that you are in Egypt! It is my understanding that the expat community is large and there is a lot to do. I have a place in the Maadi area already lined up through a friend.
There is an active Couchsurfing group there--they meet on Tuesday evenings and do a lot of events together. There is a mix of locals and expats in the group. There is also Internations--which has meet ups as well. I have asked the school to connect me with a single female teacher so that I can get her advise and perspective. She has been great!
I am very much looking forward to living in Cairo--I think it will be great!
There is an active Couchsurfing group there--they meet on Tuesday evenings and do a lot of events together. There is a mix of locals and expats in the group. There is also Internations--which has meet ups as well. I have asked the school to connect me with a single female teacher so that I can get her advise and perspective. She has been great!
I am very much looking forward to living in Cairo--I think it will be great!
-
tgrear2008
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:50 am
- Location: Seoul, Korea
@sheaf72
I tried to PM but it looks like it is disabled. I'm teaching geometry for AISE. I've read good and bad on the review section of this site, and the reviews seem to be trending positive, with excellent reviews of the new director. So I am hopeful everything will turn out.
Yes, I will be looking for a place in Maadi. I'm not really down with sharing an apartment with a coworker, and also teachers tend to gripe about the job with each other, so I wouldn't want that at my home.
I figure there will be a lot of challenges that I can't really predict but I think the expat community is extensive enough that it wont be too bad.
I tried to PM but it looks like it is disabled. I'm teaching geometry for AISE. I've read good and bad on the review section of this site, and the reviews seem to be trending positive, with excellent reviews of the new director. So I am hopeful everything will turn out.
Yes, I will be looking for a place in Maadi. I'm not really down with sharing an apartment with a coworker, and also teachers tend to gripe about the job with each other, so I wouldn't want that at my home.
I figure there will be a lot of challenges that I can't really predict but I think the expat community is extensive enough that it wont be too bad.