When relocating to a new place there are so many things to consider, so many new impressions, so much to take in, and oh so many things to learn. Even though we’re constantly told that today we are living in a globalized world and that the distances between us may seem wide, and reality, new technology has brought us closer somehow. But all considered, and perhaps despite the ever-evolving, ever-growing technology, there’s still a difference.
Novelist Herman Hesse said: “Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and cruelties.” Through centuries we’ve grown accustomed to certain kinds of conventions, some passed on by older generations as a kind of “we’ve always done it this way” and some just grow out of nothing until they become significant.
Can you learn culture? Probably! But it does take a while, and it demands a lot of patience, and the risk of embarrassing yourself and others, when cultures clash, and our differences become obvious. It’s in these kinds of situations you might need to be flexible, and open to new experiences. Even as simple as buying some bread at the local bakery. Not knowing how to buy the bread there can be a tiny bit stressful (i.e. not knowing how the queue system works, not knowing how to ask a question in the host country’s language, not knowing how to respond to the person behind you in line who starts talking to you in the host country language, etc.).
Waaaaaaay back when we were taught that to survive we somehow had to adapt. We were never the ones to lay down the rules, there was always something stronger than us. Since then we have desperately tried to prove that we are greater than we think, but we’re still bound to be flexible. We still have to compromise every now and then. When you have just arrived at your latest international school posting, there is much you will have to compromise! Luckily, there are the teachers who started at that school the year before) who are able to help you along your way trying to be flexible in every situation.
When you are new in some strange city that seems like anything you’ve ever seen, you have to have an open mind, maybe re-evaluate a little, and take things as they come. The easiest thing to do is just deeming everybody wrong, and yourself the master of right, but it really won’t get you far. In many international school locations, you might be living in a new apartment that might not live up to the standards you are used to, but still, you have a roof over your head, and a bed to sleep in, and we all need to start somewhere. And then the grocery store, they don’t sell the same items you’re used to, so you have to be inventive and creative. Everybody speaks a different language, the cars drive on the wrong side of the road, there’s no Starbucks, and the cinema’s more expensive, and so on and so on. A lot of things can be wrong or bad if you don’t learn to compromise and learn to be flexible. You might enjoy the little peculiarities, it might even broaden your view, and you gain more than you, at first, might thought, you’d lose.
I’ll leave you with some wise words from author Ayn Rand: “Man’s unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself.”
Take care, you…
This article was submitted anonymously by an ISC member. Check out the rest of the 10 Commandments of Relocated Overseas here.
What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are there similar reasons why teachers choose to work at a 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 school is linked to other international schools? It could be beneficial to ask these types of questions at your interview before you make any big decisions to move or choose a school to work at. So, how do you choose the right international school for your children to attend or for you to work at? This blog series will discuss the Tips for Selecting an International School.
Not all international schools are well-linked to other international schools. Some international schools tend to operate independently. The teachers at those schools typically have little to no contact with teachers at other international schools. Sometimes, even in a huge city like Shanghai, where there are quite a few international schools, there are smaller schools that just seem to be doing things by themselves and on their own with minimal contact with other schools in the area. The teachers there can become quite content to be on their own and find themselves forgetting that they could be doing more collaboration with other international schools in their city.
These ‘less-connected’ schools could very well be for-profit schools. Some for-profit international schools have strict or no allowances for teachers to network or attend conferences and workshops for international schools in their area. Because the school doesn’t encourage this type of connection to the wider international school community, the teachers there ‘lose touch’ a bit with how other schools are doing things or tackling similar problems. It is easy to just get used to being isolated and to doing things on your own, forgetting how much collaborating with nearby international schools could be beneficial and important for your career.
Not all international school teachers would choose to work in less-connected schools. Many of us would not like to teach in isolation at an international school that is not well-linked to the wider international school community. We all know that networking and meeting more people in our international school community helps us learn more about what is going on at other schools, the current trends and best practices for working with third-culture kids.
Many international schools are quite well-connected and linked indeed. These international schools usually do many things to make sure their school is well known in the local and wider international school community. They might be providing generous PD funds to their teachers so that they can attend and go to many events that can, in turn, help their staff and the school as a whole become more linked to other international schools. Some schools will send their teachers to check out a specific programme in person at another international school. Some of the best learning about teaching and running new programmes (or changing old ones) at your school can be had when you can get the opportunity to see how it looks in person at another international school that is already doing those things and having great success at them. Does your international school promote this type of PD for their staff?
International schools in the same city can either ignore each other as separate entities or they can create ongoing PD moments between themselves and facilitate collaboration and sharing of skills and knowledge. It takes the effort of the administration, most likely, to get the ball rolling (and keep it rolling) so that international school teachers at each school get opportunities to meet, network, and work together on common goals. Do you have a good working relationship with the other international schools in your city?
Another way international schools can become well-linked is through the various sports leagues/organisations. When schools participate and compete with other international schools in their region of the world, their teachers and students become better connected with each other.
International schools can also become linked and connected via the various accreditation organisations that schools opt to become members of. For example, an international school that is a member of the ECIS organisation provides certain privileges and opportunities for its teachers. Working at an international school that is not accredited can limit their opportunities to become linked to each other.
If you are an International School Community member currently working abroad, please log on today and submit your comments and information about your school and how it is linked (or perhaps not so well linked) to other international schools.
If you are not a member yet, make sure to join www.internationalschoolcommunity.com and become a part of our over 32000 members. Many of our current members have listed that they work at over 1200 international schools around the world. Feel free to send these members a message with your questions about an international school’s accreditation status and get firsthand information about how the accreditation process is going for them.
It is that time of year when recruiting teachers need to get their things in order and register with various recruitment agencies. There are a number of them out there now: Search Associates, ISS-Schrole Advantage, Teacher Horizons, etc.
However, it isn’t as ‘quick and easy’ as one might think to get fully signed up with one of these organizations. There are a number of things that you need to prepare, find, upload, and create. It is a time-consuming process, so it is best to start early. Even if you have been keeping track of things and collecting the necessary documents, each time you move countries, you need to keep yourself well-organized so that you can find things easily.
A personal statement
International school administrators want to see and read a short write-up about yourself and your teaching philosophy. This statement shouldn’t be too long, but long enough. It should be personable and reflect your true self and ambitions. It could include a highlight of your past experiences in teaching and your passions so far in your career.
Confidential references
It has been quite common for a while now that international schools want to see confidential references of the candidates that they are considering to interview. Getting these confidential references doesn’t always happen in a quick way, so it is best to ask your references well in advance so that they will have enough time to fill it out for you. You definitely need to include a reference from your current supervisor. Talking to them in person about this request beforehand is advised before you send them the reference request.
Personal information
You typically need to enter your latest contact information as this can change quite often for international school teachers. You also need to include a copy of your current passport. Don’t forget to make those changes on your updated CV as well.
The positions that you are seeking/qualified for
Schools need to know what you are qualified to do so that you will become searchable for them via the recruitment website’s database. Also, for you to receive the sometimes daily email updates on the latest job vacancy information, of course, you want to receive the information related to the job position/s you actually want to apply for.
Your address and police reports for at least the past 10 years
This one is tricky if you are not prepared. Every time that you leave a country, you need to make sure you get a police report stating that you have not been charged for any crimes there. In some places, you can get this report for free. In other places, you need to pay a fee. The part where it could get even more expensive is if you need to get the police report translated into English. Once you get the report, scan them in and save them somewhere as you’ll need them when you move on to your next country. It is not just a requirement to have your past police reports uploaded on a recruitment agency’s website, it is also typically a requirement when applying for a visa in a new country.
Details of your past and current teaching experiences
You need to write down the school names and the years you worked there for all the schools that you’ve worked at in your teaching career. Hopefully, you don’t have too many gaps in your career as that will often need some explanation. Also, you will need to include your supervisor there at the time. The challenging part is which email and phone number will you put… as your former administrator, there has probably moved on and is working at a new international school. Make sure you get up-to-date email addresses for these past bosses.
Education and credential details
You are required to enter the universities that you’ve attended. You will need to write in what your area of focus was for all of your degrees. You also need to upload a copy of your scanned diplomas and teaching certificate. A lot of us need to keep our teaching certificate valid and up-to-date, so don’t get lazy and forget to renew your teaching license before it expires.
Activities and sports you can sponsor
Many international schools will be looking for candidates who can run after-school activities and/or sports teams, so make sure to include all of your experiences doing that. If this is your thing, then it could make you stand out more and help you get the job. It will be a nice addition to your paycheck there! On the other hand, other international schools will not necessarily pay you to do these things as it will be a requirement in a lot of teaching contracts that you offer at least one after-school activity in a school year…for free!
Languages you know
Make sure to state your proficiency in all of the languages that you know. It is an asset in many international schools if you can speak the local language; especially at schools where the parent population has a low or even non-existent knowledge of English. For example, you might need to hold parent conferences in the local language.
Fairs you would like to attend
Many international school teachers still attend recruitment fairs. It is a good way to meet the school administrators face-to-face. However, many recruitment agencies often state that their candidates get hired before the recruitment fairs even happen, so it is not always necessary to attend a fair. Other international schools like to know which fairs you will be attending so that they can set up some interviews there in advance.
Money to the recruitment company
For you to be an available and accessible candidate in a recruitment agency’s database, teachers often will have to pay some sort of fee. It can be for free as well with some companies, but typically the fee could range from USD 50-250. If you don’t get hired that year, some agencies will not require you to pay again. If you do get hired through the recruitment agency, then you will need to pay the fee again if you want to recruit with them a second time. In some countries, it is illegal to charge a person to get access to jobs and interviews.
Your up-to-date resume and transcripts
Get all of your past university transcripts scanned in as well and make sure to upload them to the recruitment agency’s website. To fully complete your profile, you will also need to upload the most recent copy of your CV. The maximum number of pages for a CV is typically no more than two pages.
Confirmation that you haven’t committed any criminal offenses
Finally, all international schools need to know that you are a safe candidate to hire and this is in relation to child protection laws. Many countries are getting very strict with this process so as to keep their students safe at school.
These are really just some of the things you will need to prepare and do when applying to be on an international school recruitment agency’s website. It can take only a few days if you are really prepared and if your references fill out the confidential reference in a very timely manner! However, if you are not the most prepared, this process can take many weeks. In turn, be sure to start early. As you hop from international school to international school, find a spot online where you can store all of these important documents.
