African American

[amd358]

Hello all!

I am an African-American female in her 40's. I have been teaching for a few years, and I now want to teach overseas.

I know that race can be an issue when applying for teaching positions. I'm hoping someone can recommend specific schools that don't discriminate when it comes to hiring.

Are there perhaps some African-American females teaching at particular schools they can recommend to me?

Thank you in advance.

[sid]

We can't discuss specific schools on this forum, or the thread will be closed. You can try the members forum for names of schools.
In general, try the bigger, more established schools, not-for-profit rather than run by an owner. These are usually better equipped to reject racism and pressures from parents to have teachers who "fit a certain profile".
I don't want to claim that all small schools or proprietary schools discriminate, as the truth is quite different. It's just that the pressures from parents always exists, and it takes backbone to fight it. Backbone is easier to find in schools with large students populations and financial security.

[PsyGuy]

Strongly disagree with @sid, the opposite is not true. IE is predominately Caucasian. I would agree though that 1st tier ISs are in a better position to be more resistant to racial discrimination, as these tend to be the larger ISs as they are more financially secure and stable.

[adminpaul]

Check out our Articles and Information Section for information.

Here is a Blog from that section with 199 posts that you may find helpful. If you want to get info on a specific schools you are welcome to post such questions to the forum inside the member section of the site. This forum is not designated for reviewing schools.

Teachers of Color Overseas
https://internationalschoolsreviewdiscu ... -overseas/

[mamava]

I have worked with African-American teachers in South America, the ME, and China. There are regions of the world where more obvious stereotypes exist--or that people may be more direct in comments. My colleague faced issues when she was in taxis or out and about (she was also very tall and very beautiful), but nothing at the school, from colleagues, parents, or students. In the ME, there was a perception that a native English speaker (which was a strong preference from parents and they would say so very directly) was preferable and could more more disparaging about people from certain countries--so a colleague from the Caribbean, but who had lived in the UK since she was 8 years old, got some backlash when parents were not happy.

[PsyGuy]

@amd358

You can research this yourself at some ISs, go to their website and look at the faculty profile photos. You can tell pretty quickly which ISs have some degree of ethnic/racial diversity and who doesnt.

[peachestotulips]

Don't let the color of your skin hold you back from applying to jobs. There are quite a few FB groups for minorities working at international schools if you do a search. These serve as networking and support groups as well as job opportunities. Also, look beyond the Middle East. So many Black American educators are automatically looking to that region as if its the only option. It's a good thing that most international schools require a CV with photo because those schools won't contact you anyways, so its really a non-issue.
The problem isn't that most of the better international schools are discriminatory, the problem is that there are not nearly enough qualified minorities APPLYING for these positions.

We are out here, and we are working at some of the top schools.

[citygirl]

I totally agree with the above comment. Of course racism exists and I understand where you are coming from as far as safety. But I would say do not let who you are stop you from applying to places or limit your choices. From my experience this past summer in Europe, Italy was one place that I definitely felt that I was treated differently and harassed in the airports. However I got a job offer from an Italian school so you never know. Hope all goes well for you.

[peachestotulips]

In August this site shared an article highlighting International Teachers of Color in The Wall Street Journal. I know that many of the teachers who were highlighted in that article contribute to the forums. I find it sad that for some reason the admin turned off the comments for that particular article; relegating ALL 'minorities' to only leave comments on an 8 year old article that doesn't encompass the diversity of educators today.
Diversity in international education is a topic that needs to be discussed openly, not hindered.

Do better next time ISR.

[southeast asia]

I agree with a comment above, there's a picture of you and if they aren't interested, they won't hire. I have lived in both Asia and Africa (the latter obviously isn't a problem), but in Asia, things could be different. I know a few of the black British or Americans that I have worked with have talked about discrimination, but I don't think this was in the workplace so much, more when out in the local community and being stared at etc.

[crypticvenus]

Anyone who has been around the block a time or two knows that hiring discrimination based upon race is still very relevant. People do pack their prejudices and racist tendencies along with everything else and some do not have the foresight to not accept positions in countries inhabited by people that they despise.

I agree that browsing the perspective school's website to see if they feature staff and looking for POC is a must. Also reach out to the staff and ask for the no-filter report. Administration changes and what was once a welcoming and inclusive environment under one administration could be the opposite at the present and still change again for the better.

I encourage you and all interested POC to apply in your region of choice and see what happens. What one won't do, another one will.

[wntriscoming]

The schools I've worked at have all been fine hiring teachers of any color. For them, it's more about good qualifications, experience, and most importantly, the fit. The longer I'm overseas, the more I realize it's how the administrator believes you will work with the current group of teachers s/he already has in that division/grade level/department.