Great website – The International School Teacher

My friend told me about this relatively new website back in November 2010.  It is called The International School Teacher.

It is a forum/social networking/information gathering website designed for the international school teaching community.

Parts of the website I like:

International Schools
How can one increase their chances of getting a job?
Get married… and to someone who’s not only good looking, but also teaches! No really, if you happen to be what is referred to as a teaching couple, then you are indeed much more marketable. If a professional club were to sign a striker and get a defender in the mix… Schools do indeed kill two birds with one stone when hiring couples. Also, for many schools in cities where housing is an issue, they simply can’t afford to provide single teachers with their own housing.

As much as I don’t like to constantly hear people and schools say this, it just might actually be true.  A school does “save” money by hiring a teaching couple, and they do kill two birds with one stone.  I don’t really believe though that married couples are more “stable”  I’ve seen many couples leave after 2 years (even 1 year one time) at schools I’ve worked at.  One reason they leave early is because they find out their salary is sometimes not covering all their expenses (I’m referring to a school on the Mediterranean for example).  Sometimes, one member of the couple is not completely satisfied working at the school because the school really wanted to only hire their partner and have placed the other member in a position they don’t 100% enjoy or find fulfilling.

What you really love about your host country
I really appreciate this section because it highlights the positive aspects of our lives as international school teachers, something International School Community strives to do as well.  No matter where you are living in the world, there are always things that you enjoy and reminding yourself of those things is a very good idea sometimes (especially when you go through all the different stages of culture shock).  Here is an excerpt of one of the member’s reasons for why they like living in Cyprus:

– I can drive forty minutes from my house in one direction and be in the beach. I can drive forty minutes in another and be in snow.
– Large, luscious lemon trees in my yard
– Ottoman, Greco-Roman, and Venetian architecture

Check out the rest of the website here.

Types of International Schools – Do you know how many there are?

Check out this article about all the different colours and varieties of international schools.

Types of international schools that are listed in the article:

  • original expatriate
  • broadly international
  • local international
  • bilingual
  • state school teaching

Highlights of the article:

– “We often find that teachers considering working abroad get quite confused by the breadth and range of international opportunities out there. It’s hard enough to consider working in another country in another culture, but it’s complicated further by the fact that there are different types of schools serving different populations. When you are at home, you know instinctively which is a posh, academic school versus one that serves, say, children with special educational needs. Internationally its not so easy.”

– “You are unlikely, for instance, to get an invite to attend a local wedding when working at one of these schools.”

– “We find these schools in areas with a high influx of foreigners such as the UAE, Singapore and China and these schools are more of a melting pot.”

– “At most of these schools you will still get a mix of children but more than half will be locals.”

What a great resource for information related to international school teaching – http://www.teachanywhere.com/default.aspx

“The Amazing Race” of International School Teaching

“If only my life could be like The Amazing Race!” I say that to myself all the time.

I can’t stop watching this show as it is like all my dreams coming true.  How cool would it be to travel around the world (for free), do amazing challenges with your teammate and interact in a very interesting and meaningful way with a variety of different cultures?

Many of my international teacher friends watch this show religiously. Why? Because I think we are attempting to do “The Amazing Race” in our lives abroad every time we book a flight for our next trip.  The international educator’s life is one step closer to the life of an Amazing Race contestant.  Luckily, we have more money and more vacation time to go on more trips.  Living in the United States, I was lucky to travel internationally once a year (and it was more like every 2-3 years).  Because of that fact, it will be some day when I decide to go back to live there.

Here are the countries that The Amazing Race has been to so far:

Who cries during the finale, when the winning team is running towards the final pit stop mat?  Actually, I get emotional at the end of any of the episodes; when the last team explains what traveling around the world with their teammate has meant to them.  I do like traveling by myself, but there is something quite special experiencing another language and culture in a foreign country with a good friend or your life partner.  I personally have some great memories about many of my trips that I have taken with friends.

The unfortunate thing is that the vast majority of us will never get to be on the Race itself while living abroad.  You need to be currently living in the U.S.  Also, you need to be able to leave your job for 2-3 months, and that is just not possible for most of us working at international schools.

How cool to meet someone though who has actually been on The Amazing Race?  I actually have met somebody (who is currently an international school teacher) who was on the Race!  It was the The Amazing Race though in Belgium.  She got in 2nd place!

 

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