{"id":638,"date":"2012-04-29T21:11:22","date_gmt":"2012-04-29T21:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=638"},"modified":"2012-10-14T19:55:08","modified_gmt":"2012-10-14T19:55:08","slug":"blogs-of-international-school-teachers-gary-and-sally-about-international-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/blogs-of-international-school-teachers-gary-and-sally-about-international-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogs of international school teachers: \u201cGary and Sally: About international teaching\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad?<\/p>\n

Our 18th blog that we would like to highlight is called \u201cGary and Sally: About international teaching\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 Check out the blog entries of these international school teachers who have worked in both Dubai and Almaty (including even a few other cities around the world).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few entries that we would like to highlight:<\/p>\n

International schools \u2013 \u201cThe circuit\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>In the world of international education there are many teachers who are \u201con the circuit\u201d. It is in fact a very small community and the chances are that you will know someone who has been to a specific school, once you have been in one or two schools overseas. Don\u2019t be surprised after some years if you walk into a staffroom in a different school, and country, and you meet someone you worked with in another school.<\/p>\n

School reputations are developed among the teachers through word of mouth, staff at a good school will be very positive and upbeat, staff at a school with issues will not be so positive. You have to learn to read between the lines \u2013 sometimes what is left unsaid is more important than what is said \u2013 in the similar way that recruiters are careful to give you the good side.<\/p>\n

When you attend a job fair, one of the best things you can do is talk to other candidates in the recruiting lounge, over a coffee etc, and ask about the international schools in their country, and also their current school. For example you can find out if there is a stable staff or a regular high turnover \u2013 things that most recruiters are unlikely to pass on. In some cases there are one or two international schools in the country, so it is worth asking \u2013 in other countries there are numerous schools. Word of mouth and the reactions and knowledge of people \u201con the ground\u201d is very important \u2013 as they are not only able to tell you about the school, but also the general lifestyle, cost of living, social opportunities, potential for saving etc etc.<\/p>\n

Other teachers are your best resource, in my opinion, for honest information about schools. Of course there will be some teachers who will be unhappy in a school (not because of the school, but because of themselves) and will be negative, but these are easy to spot, so you can usually discount their vitriol against a school and its administration.\u00a0 Most people will give you a balanced view of the school, point out some of the negatives and things that need to be addressed, but will also be honest about the positives in the school as well. One sign of a good school is one which will put current teachers in touch with you (after you sign the contract \":)\" ) so that you can ask them direct questions about the school.<\/p>\n

A recent development I have noticed in the last few years is that some teachers encourage colleagues from a previous school to come to a school where they are, this has many benefits, for the school and the people coming in –<\/p>\n

* they do not have to recruit the teacher through Search or CIS,
\n* the school is trusting the staff they have to bring in tried and tested staff who they rate,
\n* the people being employed usually do not have to attend a job fair,
\n* and they have the safety of mind that their friends have checked out the country and school for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The international school community is indeed quite small.\u00a0 With a prediction of there being over 10,000 international schools in the next decade (there are just around 6,000 right now) the community of teachers might be just getting a little bit larger.\u00a0 I think there are many factors that determine the school\u2019s reputation in the community.\u00a0 Word of mouth is definitely one of those ways.\u00a0 I think the benefits that the school offers sometimes is related to the school\u2019s reputation as well (i.e. Shanghai American School in Shanghai).\u00a0 I wonder how fast reputations change about a school or if they change even at all.\u00a0 If you are new to the international school community, then you might not necessarily know the current reputation of the international school you are interviewing with at the fair.\u00a0 You can get some information from the internet and certain websites, but now we have International School Community<\/a>.\u00a0 On our website, you can go to the school\u2019s profile page that you are interested in and contact a member that either currently works at that school or has worked at that school in the past.\u00a0 You can easily get a first hand account of the reputation from a current or former teacher at that international school.<\/em><\/p>\n

Living overseas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>Having left your own safe environment suddenly you no longer have control (which as teachers we enjoy) over your world. As soon as you step out into the outside world in whatever country, you can be faced with<\/p>\n