New Survey: Which region in the world would you most NOT want to move to next? May 16, 2013A new survey has arrived! Topic: Which region in the world would you most NOT want to move to next?
There is always going to be a region of the world that you would most NOT want to move to. They always say at international school recruitment fairs to be open to positions in all areas of the world, but in reality that is just not likely for many candidates. Though on the other hand, we also know some international school teachers that one time did take the risk and had selected a position in a region that they were not really interested in at the time, and then they ended up actually really enjoying their time living and working there. Who knows then what the best advice is for teachers out on the look for a teaching job abroad at an international school? Is there one region in the world that is more popular than the others? We are not for sure. The “popular” regions seem to keep on changing every few years or so. On the other hand, there seems to be a group of international school teachers for each region of the world. For those who will choose NOT to interview for a position in the Middle East, there are definitely a handful of other candidates that ARE interested in applying for that job in that region. There are many reasons that you would NOT choose to live and work in a specific region: Love, Travel, Career, Money, School, Location, etc. Which ever reason or reasons that are the most important to you (at that specific time period in your life) will help you decide on which region is the best for you and NOT the best for you. For the very flexible candidate, the one that has the goal to live in as many regions of the world as they can, they will be on the look out for a region that they haven’t been to yet! Is there an international school teacher out there that has lived and worked in all the regions in the world? If so, we would like to interview that person for our member spotlight feature. So, which region in the world would you most NOT want to move to next? Go to the homepage of International School Community and submit your vote today! You can check out the latest voting results here.
Surveys
 benefits, benefits package, international school, international school community, international school educators, international school recruitment fair, international teachers, International teaching, interviewing for an international school, life of an international school teacher, living abroad, living overseas, region, survey, teaching abroad, working at international schools,
Survey results are in: How easy is it for you get reimbursed for things at your school? May 14, 2013The survey results are in, and it seems as if most visitors and members of International School Community who voted have had very easy when trying to get reimbursed for things at their international school (though ‘kind of hard’ was in a close second place).
Thank goodness that most members are finding is very easy to get reimbursed. There is nothing worse than buying something for your school (even after getting approval to buy it) and then it being a big hassle to get your money back. Some countries you need to really do everything by the book, otherwise there isn’t much hope for you to get your money back. But what is it typically like for the international school teachers who are finding it very easy to get reimbursed? These schools will most likely be not-for-profit ones. They also will be in an excellent financial situation with great budgets for departments and for individual teachers. When you buy something for this kind of school, all you have to do is hand in your receipt to the business department; and yes they will accept all kinds of receipts (or better said, the country that they live in doesn’t have a history of corruption amongst local businesses and the receipts that they use will be more universal and accepted). Once you had in your receipt at a school where it is ‘very easy’ to get reimbursed, you will either get paid back straight away in cash (if the amount is under a certain amount) or you the business office manager will set up a bank transfer that day so that you can get your money back quickly in that manner instead. Getting your money back in a timely manner is good for everyone at the school. If you are waiting for money to be paid back to you then that most likely means that you are still thinking about getting that money back when you come to school each day. As each day passes (without you getting paid), it starts distracting you (at times) from your work and doing the best job you can do. Let’s share more about the international schools where it is ‘very easy’ to get reimbursed! It would be very interesting to see which schools would show up on that list. Luckily on International School Community, we have a School Information section in the comments and information part of each school’s profile page that discusses this very topic. • What types of budgets to classroom teachers/departments get?
There have been many comments and information submitted in this topic on numerous school profiles on our website. One International School Community member said about working at Vietnam American International School (27 Comments): “There were no budgets. No one ever knew how much they could spend. Most of the supplies requested and ordered did not come in. Even basic supplies like teacher’s editions to lab supplies to art supplies were not purchased during the 2011-2 school year. However, there were two very good copiers and plenty of paper available.” Another member said about working at American School of Barcelona (98 Comments): “Getting supplies at ASB can be quite the challenge as all the supplies are “guarded” by 1 person. You must go through him to request these supplies and sometimes he is not so forthcoming with them to you. If you ask for pencils, you might get 10 from him!” Another member submitted a comment about working at Harbin No. 9 High School International Division (Songbei Campus) (45 Comments): “I was not aware of any budget process. The man financing this for profit school was Mr. Cao Ying Hua. He seemed to wield the purse strings as he saw fit. I believe that his primary intention for the school was to make money. He showed very little concern for anything else. Certainly not for the well being of staff or even long range student well being. Oligarch maybe!” If you are currently a premium member of International School Community, please take a moment to share your experience of what it is like to get reimbursed (or NOT reimbursed) at the international schools at which you have worked. You can start by logging on here. Stay tuned for our next survey topic which is to come out in a few days time.
Surveys
getting reimbursed, getting your money back, international school, international school educators, international school teacher, international schools, working at international school,
Selecting an international school: Tip #10 – Does the school facilitate learning about the host country? May 9, 2013What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are they similar reasons for why teachers choose to work at an international school abroad as well? There are many different kinds of international schools and they are all in different situations. How important is finding out about how well the international school deals with disciplinary problems? It could be beneficial to ask these types of questions at your interview, before you make any big decisions to move or choose an international school at which to work. So, how do you choose the right international school for your children to attend or for you to work at? In this blog series, we will discuss the Tips for Selecting an International School.
One of the exciting reasons to work at international schools is to live, work and learn about a different culture and region. Many international schools strive to embed the local culture into the academic curriculum, extra-curricular activities and overall vision/mission of the school. The benefits of doing so are enormous. It helps to create open-mindedness, a sense of belonging to a community, create local partnerships, inspire community action and outreach projects, and promote understanding of language and local customs. However, this does not happen by accident and a school must make a conscious decision to design this all areas of the school; starting with the vision, mission and core values of the school. Assessing how much value an international school puts into its local culture can start with looking at the school’s mission, vision and core values. For example, the International School of the Hague’s mission statement states part of its mission is “to make an active contribution to global, international and local communities” while “interacting with global, international and local communities through the exchange of resources and knowledge.” Another international school in Indonesia, Sinarmas World Academy, has their mission to “engage, act, thrive” by engaging in service to solve local, Asian and global issues. So why does this matter? All school-wide goals, projects and action items must be aligned with an overall school’s mission, vision and values. Therefore, if you have an interest in engaging in the local culture, this is a good place to start your research. The second place to start is within the formal curriculum. Does the school offer authentic ways to engage and connect with the local community within a unit of study? Some international accreditation bodies have it as part of their framework. For example, the IBO (international baccalaureate organization) has a strong action and community service component of the PYP, MYP and DP programs. The DP program has a creativity action service (CAS) program where students use local issues to take up action projects. Both the MYP and PYP have strong action components as well that are integrates into units of inquiry and cross-curricular units. This often leads to relevant and meaningful action projects where students get to learn about and help solve local issues. Often schools have CAS coordinators that help to coordinate these projects across the school. These projects do not just happen outside of school walls, but can happen inside school. For instance, local schools are often invited into the school for a mutual learning experiences tied to a unit of study.
Another area to integrate with the local community is through extra-curricular activities, conferences, special events and sporting programs. An important question to ask your prospective school is what types of extra-curricular activities do they offer with the local community? Do they offer local conferences for teachers or parents? Do they offer sports tournaments with local teams? Do they offer cultural events celebrating local traditions or customs? These are often questions that are way down the list but contribute to the overall school culture and climate. They provide unique opportunities for students and staff to learn and develop friendships with local members of the community. For example, in some international schools in Asia, they celebrate Chinese New Year and often invite local performers, artisans and experts to offer musical, arts, culinary activities for students to engage with. This can really enrich the informal areas of the curriculum that can have long lasting effects. The opportunity to learn another language is another popular reason for choosing to work at an international school. The ability to converse in another language opens doors for our future learners as well as professionals. Thus, a critical question to ask is what languages are offered at the school and what language levels? Do they offer language instruction in the local language, either in the formal curriculum or as an after-school activity? Do they offer language lessons for staff? Often being able to speak even a few words of the local language goes a long way and is often appreciated by locals. Interacting and learning from local cultures provides a tremendous opportunity for rich learning experiences for students, teachers and parents. I believe this is one reason why we travel and live overseas. Often, this is an area that is forgotten in job interviews but remains an important consideration when choosing an international school in the future. This article was submitted by guest author and International School Community member: Mark Marshall Have a specific international school in mind that you thinking of applying at? Check out our “Where our Members have worked” page and start contacting some of our members that know about the international school you are interested in knowing more about. Our 2400+ members currently work at (or have worked at in the past) 430 different international schools. Feel free to send them a private message about how much their international school facilitates learning about the host country.
28 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School
host country, international school, international school educators, international school location, international school parents, international school teacher, international school teachers with dependents, international schools, mission statement, teaching about the host country, working at an international school, working at international schools,
Selecting an international school: Tip #9 – Does the international school properly deal with disciplinary problems? April 1, 2013What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are they similar reasons for why teachers choose to work at an international school abroad as well? There are many different kinds of international schools and they are all in different situations. How important is finding out about how well the international school deals with disciplinary problems? It could be beneficial to ask these types of questions at your interview, before you make any big decisions to move or choose an international school at which to work. So, how do you choose the right international school for your children to attend or for you to work at? In this blog series, we will discuss the Tips for Selecting an International School. Tip #9 – Does the school properly deal with disciplinary problems? Some international schools, unfortunately, are lax on discipline, and problem children and their disruptive behavior can adversely affect other children’s learning.
Discipline is an essential element for children to experience school success. Without it, there is a compromised climate for learning that can eventually resemble chaos. No one wants their child to learn in that type of environment. Usually questions regarding school discipline policies and procedures can be answered by a school administrator or by reviewing the international school’s handbook and/or website. In most cases, parents and teachers will find the procedures school personnel follow and the resulting consequences for a litany of offenses. How well that is implemented will partially determine the effectiveness of discipline in that international school. As schools create Mission statements that often include phrases like “preparing students for the 21st century” or “meaningful roles in society”…suggesting the inter-personal development of the student in addition to the academic excellence every parent and teacher expects, but they also need to ask for explanations of how that is accomplished in that international school setting. This level of questioning brings us to a more complete cycle for discipline. The procedures discussed earlier are “partially effective” because they represent control from the outside in. Rules are written, procedures are outlined, and consequences are administered with varying levels of fidelity and consistency. That is the tricky part of traditional discipline programs—they can include judgment and some cases just are not as clear as others. Given those facts, schools can expand their focus on discipline to include inner disciplinary development. This might be brought about through special Character Education programs that can be implemented or in the case of a religious • They are examining their own actions and taking responsibility. Effective value-added discipline programs depend greatly on an investment in each child by a responsible adult, consistent mentoring, and positive connections between family and school. The rewards are beyond measure, however. When parents happen to discover this holistic approach to discipline, seize the opportunity! It is a jewel that shines for a lifetime. This article was submitted by guest author and International School Community member: Mary Anne Hipp (contact her here - mahipp@suddenlink.net or visit her Blogspot - http://mahipp.blogspot.com/) On our website we have a related topic in the School Information section of each school profile page that discusses the issue of the students’ demeanor at each school. It is called “In general, describe the demeanor of the students.” Our members have submitted over 70 comments and information in this topic on a number of different international schools listed on our website. Here are just a few of the comments and information submitted in this topic: “ISD is a primary school, with children ages 3-12. The school’s buddy program pairs the older children with the younger ones, so that the pre-k and kindergarten classes become very comfortable with the big kids. Since most of the children are expats, they are very friendly to newcomers and take changes (such as new students arriving and students leaving) in stride…” “Whereas it cannot be described as a school for the gifted, DAS does have an exceptionally large number of gifted students. Whereas students with negative attitudes are definitely there – as everywhere – expat teachers regularly remark about their enjoyment of the teaching-learning process at DAS because of the eagerness of most of the students to learning…” “The students are students. Just like anywhere else you have some who are there to learn and some who are not. You have some that you have a rapport with and some you do not. In general these are funny kids who like to tease and like to get to know you as a person and as a teacher. And just like any kids, in the beginning they will test you to see what you are made of. Stay strong, don’t let them see you sweat and you will be fine…” “Pretty good for the most part, although overall respect and tradition of bowing was going out the window. Some cheating on homework and other areas. Very humorous and fun to teach, save for a few small groups who needed to be expelled for cheating, threatening teachers to try to change a grade, setting fires in the bathrooms, smoking, swearing, skipping school, hiding in the wedding hall to sleep, going over to the dark gym to snog and make out, sneaking in beer during school events, stealing school property…etc. Most of these violations were done by a small group of boys and girls who must have had special status with the school or principal…” “They are pretty rich and spoiled, mostly. Their priorities include shopping, partying and traveling. Studying might be next, but most students don’t stay for more than one or two years. The students I enjoyed the most were either in the dorm I was responsible for or on yearbook staff (which was also my responsibility)…” If you are an International School Community member with premium access, log on today and submit your own comments about the students’ demeanor at the international schools you know about! If you are not a member yet, make sure to join www.internationalschoolcommunity.com and automatically get 7 free days of premium access. You will become a part of our over 2200+ members.
28 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School
agreements, behaviour, classroom discipline, classroom management, international school, international school educators, international school location, international school parents, international school teacher, international school teachers with dependents, international schools, school rules, student behavior,
New Survey: How easy it is for you get reimbursed for things at your school? March 13, 2013A new survey has arrived! Topic: How easy it is for you get reimbursed for things at your school?
There is nothing good about not getting reimbursed for things that are a part of your contract/benefits. It is also not fun when you purchase things for the school and the process of getting reimbursed for those things is either nearly impossible or you must wait for 3-5 months to get your money back (or even longer at some international schools!). When international school teachers are worried about the money that is owed to them by the school, things can get even more stressful when living abroad in a foreign country. Many international school teachers would very much appreciate a quick and easy system in place to get the money that is owed to them by the school. However, that is not always the case…as we all know all too well. The issue with a quick reimbursement might be related to what country your school is in (or what city), whether your school is a for-profit one or non-profit, or it might be related to the competency and effectiveness of the business department. It is also important to remember that there might also be a language and/or cultural barrier that delays your reimbursement. Some countries have specific ways of getting “official” receipts, and knowing about these specific ways can speed up the reimbursement process for you. If you don’t follow the guidelines of the school and country for getting the right receipt, you will soon find out those guidelines after you try and hand in your first receipts! So, how easy it is for you get reimbursed for things at your international school?? Go to the homepage of International School Community and submit your vote today! You can check out the latest voting results here. From the staff at International School Community.
Surveys
benefits, benefits package, flight allowance, getting reimbursed, international school, international school community, international school educators, international teachers, International teaching, learning language, life of an international school teacher, living abroad, living overseas, reimbursement, survey, teaching abroad, working at international schools,
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