/r/Internationalteachers

Photograph via snooOG

This is a subreddit created for certified and qualified teachers who teach in international schools - wherever they may be. This is a place to share information and discuss issues related to teaching in international schools.

Newbies to the career should read the wiki or join us in the Newbie Question thread recurring every Monday. Questions that are already addressed in the wiki will be deleted.

Please read the subreddit wiki and the full set of rules before posting. Here are some general guidelines:

  1. Be respectful. Posts that are unnecessarily rude/abusive will be deleted.

  2. Job listings, advertising, survey links, and anything that comes across as self-promotion will be deleted unless cleared with the mods beforehand.

  3. This subreddit is specifically for K-12 teaching in international schools. Posts related to TEFL teaching, teaching abroad in local schools, or anything else deemed off topic will be deleted.

  4. Anything that is already discussed in the subreddit wiki will be deleted.

/r/Internationalteachers

27,332 Subscribers

5

Teacher Horizons - is it reputable?

Are people finding luck using this platform? It was recommended by my former principal when I had a very negative experience with Search Associates, but I am not seeing many verified schools or positions of interest to apply to. My profile strength is 100% and I haven’t heard a peep from anyone there for weeks since I finished it. Am I to actually work with an advisor? I guess I’m asking, how does this site work?

5 Comments
2024/12/03
20:59 UTC

2

Regret taking on extra responsibility

I am posting for a friend. This is what they said "As a favor to administration I took on extra responsibility. It is a class with extra duties. I was told this class is not evaluative in nature 😒 however it is now being used in a manner that is evaluative. I am also not getting the extra support promised, extra planning time etc. Finally I am being asked to do things that are in a gray area policy and ethically " I don't want to do this extra responsibility anymore but if I quit it will effect the students. I am not sure what to do. There is no extea pay with this responsibility."

1 Comment
2024/12/03
19:52 UTC

3

International School of Panama

Does anyone have any experience with this school or about living in Panama City? Would love to hear some pros and cons especially related to cost of living and social life for an expat, thanks!

1 Comment
2024/12/03
19:36 UTC

0

UK Right to Work

As I continue my search, I've realized the UK has a lot of openings for maths. What is the process for RTW? Would they entertain an American coming in versus a homegrown candidate?

4 Comments
2024/12/03
18:47 UTC

5

Moving as a single female

Hi, I (26 F) am a teacher in the UK who is wanting to apply for jobs abroad ( most likely middle east as that is where a lof of the jobs are). Moving as a single person I have concerns about meeting friends/ potential partners etc. I just hope I wouldn't be too lonely. Anyone with experience please share and be honest don't sugarcoat ! Thanks for the help guys

10 Comments
2024/12/03
18:03 UTC

1

Info on Capital Tokyo International School

I'm pretty familiar with a handful of schools in Tokyo, but I don't have any info on Capital Tokyo International School. Anyone know of this school and the culture there? Thanks!

1 Comment
2024/12/03
17:51 UTC

10

Does grade-fixing and inflation of GPA happen in most private international schools ?

I teach at international private school (ME/GCC ) that obsessively raises grades and ensures that students get a 4.0 GPA.Even the most academically challenged of students achieve extremely high grades. Parents will bully teachers till they give their children 93%, coming up with all sorts of weird and wonderful excuses and reasons for regrading and resubmissions. Administration is fully aware of what is going on and play around the matter, by dropping of the lowest grades, special allowances and charged classes- at an extra fee, of course.

Parents feel, because they are paying, they are entitled to 4.0GPA, no matter the actually capability of their child. As you can imagine it a great moral dilemma for honest teachers who actually care about education, equality and fairness.

So my questions is does this happen in most international private school, cause it certainly can’t be all ? Is this a common experience in ME/GCC ? Any experiences or insight would be greatly appreciated ?

17 Comments
2024/12/03
16:51 UTC

2

Master in Education/Non-native English speaker

I have a bachelor's degree in lower secondary maths from Belgium. I studied in French (my native language). This is my fifth year teaching and my 2nd year teaching internationally (British schools in the ME). I speak English well enough to teach, obviously, but you'd never confuse me with a native English speaker. I'm clearly intelligible by parents, staff and students. My accent has softened a lot in the last two years but the French is there and I don't think it's ever going away.

I like my current job. The pay is okay. It's not a top school but it's nice. I'm okay here for a while but I'd like to move on to better(-paying) schools. I do feel however that not having a 'native English' passport is working against me (I am quite aware being Belgian is a gift of God and I won the passport lottery. I understand I'm privileged and I'm not complaining about my passport, just giving context for career advice). So, a few questions:

1/ Would pursuing a Master's degree improve my employability or will I always lose to Native Speaker CVs?

2/ If it is worth it to get one, how should I go about?

A lot of schools in the Middle East (where I want to stay) do not recognize online degrees. Although I know some unis give 'regular' degrees to online graduates, I don't know how to identify which unis would be suitable. Would an (overpriced) Master's degree from England be worth it to compensate for the lack of British passport?

INFO: I could go home and get a shockingly cheap master's degree there, but my husband does not speak any Dutch nor French so the likelihood of him finding a qualified job in Belgium is basically 0.

Thank you for any advice!

1 Comment
2024/12/03
16:37 UTC

3

Schrole now TES, TES now Schrole?

I just logged into Schrole for the first time in a few weeks. I noticed some of the branding has changed, while other parts of the site are still the same. Anyone know what’s going on? I’ve found Schrole to be the best resources for me when job hunting.

12 Comments
2024/12/03
16:28 UTC

1

Job fair with a small child

Dear colleagues,

Me and my wife are going to attend a job fair in Bangkok, but we have 3 y.o. son. We have never attended job fairs before, is it possible somehow to manage babysitting in a hotel room and going to interviews by turn? Who had the same situation? Or is it absolutely impossible and we need to find another solution?Thank you!

4 Comments
2024/12/03
15:19 UTC

1

Phnom Penh Schools 2024

Can anyone give me current information on the international school of Phnom Penh or Northbridge please? Which one is better to work at these days?

4 Comments
2024/12/03
13:13 UTC

3

Shenzhen Vanke Meisha Academy

Does anyone know anything about this school? I can't find much about it online. ISR reviews seem fine, but not much seems to be known about it...

3 Comments
2024/12/03
10:11 UTC

1

NCIS - Opinions about this school

New Cambridge International School in Phitsanulok (Thailand). Anybody worked here before? Any opinion? Thank you

1 Comment
2024/12/03
08:42 UTC

12

Pay Reductions

Do you guys get pay deducted for taking a sick day, being a minute late, or getting injuries at work and needing to leave?

Currently losing nearly a thousand rmb for taking a day off due to hospitalization and never experienced this before.

33 Comments
2024/12/03
08:39 UTC

5

How good is an Ed. S. Degree in Teacher leadership Internationally

I know a lot of teachers luck out and get bumped to various admin positions without having certs but how good is it to have this degree and a little experience in the Us on paper?

Side note: I’ve also got a decade abroad under my belt tracing in 3 countries.

5 Comments
2024/12/03
03:24 UTC

14

I've had 10 Interviews and lost out to all of them as someone else always has more experience.

I'm worried as all the schools I wanted to join have told me no now. My current place of work is disorganized and I was hopeful I could leave. Should I be worried? I'm not seeing that many new vacancies pop up anymore. Some of the jobs I was turned down for with other people given offers still have the original job advert up too? What am I supposed to assume from this.

Recruiters have told me not to panic and most schools usually hire in April / May anyway. I've become very anxious about next year now, I really hoped I could find a new school that would be a level up. Applying for jobs has been a full time job in itself and I'm freaking out.

31 Comments
2024/12/03
02:48 UTC

1

Phorms Education - Josef Schwarz Schule

Hi there ,

I was wondering if anyone had any insight into phorms education and their schools ? Hard to find any information online that’s not from their own website.

0 Comments
2024/12/03
02:39 UTC

2

Ruamrudee application process?

Does anyone know what's up with this school? They're hyper efficient about rejecting, but their rejection email is just the "your experience and qualifications don't match the job you applied for". Except I have over a decade in exactly the experience and qualifications for the job that they've listed. Even tier 1 schools give me a look when I apply to jobs that match my qualifications

I've applied to 2 separate jobs they've posted this cycle and within 48 hours rejected both times.

I can't figure out if they're efficient about sorting but lazy about mass emailing or they just have people already in mind when they post these things.

12 Comments
2024/12/03
02:27 UTC

3

Scheduling interviews

I’m wondering if this is normal. A school wants to interview me and they just sent me an invite for one 30 minute slot that work for them without asking me about my own availability.

I feel like it would be more efficient to either give a list of times that work on their end for me to pick from or ask me for my own availability, right?

10 Comments
2024/12/03
01:50 UTC

1

Singapore American School - video Interview (Teacher position)

Does anyone know what the video questions are - or how best to prepare? Thanks

3 Comments
2024/12/03
00:42 UTC

3

Has anyone got any experience of working within Dubai Heights Academy? I know they are opening a new building gm(secondary) next academic year however they have loads of roles going, was thinking of applying however wanted to get a lay of the land before hand.

0 Comments
2024/12/03
00:04 UTC

0

Notice Required at Mexico City International Schools

Hi there. We have been informed that if we do not plan to stay for the 2025/2026 academic year, we need to submit our notice by next Monday. I haven't even started exploring other options for the next academic year. Is this a normal practice in Mexico? 8 months' notice seems excessive.

15 Comments
2024/12/02
23:43 UTC

1

CLN at Bogota

Thoughts on this school?

2 Comments
2024/12/02
23:05 UTC

2

Anyone have the MYP Design Subject Guide?

I'm researching in to the course for my school to potentially deliver MYP next year. However, for some bizarre reason, IB gatekeeps every single document behind a paywall.

Does anyone have it, or a link to somewhere I can get it. It's ridiculous that you can't just go online and see it like you can every other exam board.

17 Comments
2024/12/02
18:54 UTC

1

Will my license count for QTS?

Hello all, apologies if this is not in the correct place. I'm currently in my undergraduate program and have hopes of teaching in the UK (Northern Ireland specifically) soon after getting my degree. When I complete my program I'll have an Initial teaching license (ITL) in North Carolina. Is there a way to see if this would be acceptable on a QTS application?

Thank you!

5 Comments
2024/12/02
16:07 UTC

8

Schrole Rejections

Is it normal to receive lots of “Unfortunately the school has decided not to move forward with your application.” at this point? When schools make an effort to give you a notification- does that mean they even considered you at some point?

Feeling discouraged. Lol

29 Comments
2024/12/02
14:53 UTC

0

Do you get paid in local currency or dollars/euros?

18 Comments
2024/12/02
14:35 UTC

1

NLCS Singapore

I've seen a lot of ads for NLCS Singapore. It's one of my dream schools. Please share updated feedback about work culture and generally if it's worth to be there. Thank you.

11 Comments
2024/12/02
11:09 UTC

1

Weekly recurring thread: NEWBIE QUESTION MONDAY!

Please use this thread as an opportunity to ask your new-to-international teaching questions.

Ask specifics, for feedback, or for help for anything that isn't quite answered in our subreddit wiki.

9 Comments
2024/12/02
11:01 UTC

16

Difficulty in getting hired for very experienced teachers/counselors?

Hello, it seems that many of my past colleagues are having trouble finding employment for the coming year. These are very experienced, seasoned professionals ( 20+ years abroad) who have almost always worked at very good tier 1 schools and have good /great references. Could it be possible that new administrators with less than 5 years and many times 1-2 years feel threatened by these people and therefore pass them over? These colleagues are plug and play types, no getting them up to speed on the latest anything or worried about how they will deal with challenges etc. Has anyone else seen this trend? I think it is pretty worrisome too that they get passed over for teachers/ counselors with very little experience... just wondering and would love to hear your thoughts.

51 Comments
2024/12/02
07:37 UTC

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