One of the generally overlooked areas in the field of education is that of international education. There is a large network of international schools all over the globe. Some are very small and little known while others are very large and prestigious. There are jobs in these schools ranging from teaching to administration to coaching to nursing/athletic training to athletic directing to recruiting. Most of you would find that a lot of what you do here in the states is available for you to do overseas.
In 1995, I was at a crossroads in my career, where I knew I wanted something a bit different from what I was doing, but I wanted to keep teaching. I saw an ad about teaching overseas, contacted the company, Search Associates, and began a dialogue with the company president. He helped me apply to three schools where there might be a fit, and I moved on those applications. I applied to schools in Hanoi (Vietnam), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Quito (Ecuador). I heard back from Sofia first, but we could not work out some logistical issues. I am still waiting to hear from Hanoi. And, Academia Cotopaxi in Quito acted quickly, interviewed me by phone on a Tuesday, called my school on the Wednesday and offered me a position that same day.
Now, there are a number of job fairs for international schools, and that is the best way to get into the network. That is actually the way we went when we moved on from Ecuador to the Philippines. One can also get addresses email addresses, and websites and apply that way on one's own. That is more difficult, but I did hear from schools which I contacted that way.
International schools are generally at least loosely associated with US embassies because they take a lot of embassy children as students. Most international schools have English as the language of instruction. In most cases, about half the students are from the host country. Then there are children from all over the world whose parents work at embassies and international corporations. The mix of nationalities, cultures and ideas is very exciting.
International schools also tend to have very high standards for performance and behavior. The parents of these students want a great education for their children. They are paying a lot for that education (or their employers are). They are expecting that their children will go to very good colleges in the US or somewhere.
The faculty of these schools are also diverse. One can expect half of the faculty to be native to that country. Then, depending on the nature of the school, there are teachers from everywhere. American international schools will load up on American teachers. British international schools will load up on Brits. However, there are a lot of Canadians, Germans, and Australians at these schools with teachers from everywhere else as well. Headmasters and principals will almost always be ex-pats. This helps in a few ways. One, labor laws in some countries would entrench a native of that country in a job for life after just a short time. Second, the schools try to reflect their identity with their leadership, so an international school will have an international administration. Finally, most administrators in these schools will serve one or two three year contracts before moving on so that there are always fresh ideas coming in.
In both Ecuador and the Philippines, my schools followed the International Baccalaureate Programme. This is the most common program overseas, and it is very good. A growing number of US schools follow this program, but it is pricey and will often get dropped when budgets are tight because there is a constant per pupil cost. IB is comparable to AP, but IB offers a diploma facet that AP does not currently have. It is a good program to teach in, and it looks good on a resume.
There are many pros and cons to working at an international school:
Pros:
Cons:
In 1995, I was at a crossroads in my career, where I knew I wanted something a bit different from what I was doing, but I wanted to keep teaching. I saw an ad about teaching overseas, contacted the company, Search Associates, and began a dialogue with the company president. He helped me apply to three schools where there might be a fit, and I moved on those applications. I applied to schools in Hanoi (Vietnam), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Quito (Ecuador). I heard back from Sofia first, but we could not work out some logistical issues. I am still waiting to hear from Hanoi. And, Academia Cotopaxi in Quito acted quickly, interviewed me by phone on a Tuesday, called my school on the Wednesday and offered me a position that same day.
Now, there are a number of job fairs for international schools, and that is the best way to get into the network. That is actually the way we went when we moved on from Ecuador to the Philippines. One can also get addresses email addresses, and websites and apply that way on one's own. That is more difficult, but I did hear from schools which I contacted that way.
International schools are generally at least loosely associated with US embassies because they take a lot of embassy children as students. Most international schools have English as the language of instruction. In most cases, about half the students are from the host country. Then there are children from all over the world whose parents work at embassies and international corporations. The mix of nationalities, cultures and ideas is very exciting.
International schools also tend to have very high standards for performance and behavior. The parents of these students want a great education for their children. They are paying a lot for that education (or their employers are). They are expecting that their children will go to very good colleges in the US or somewhere.
The faculty of these schools are also diverse. One can expect half of the faculty to be native to that country. Then, depending on the nature of the school, there are teachers from everywhere. American international schools will load up on American teachers. British international schools will load up on Brits. However, there are a lot of Canadians, Germans, and Australians at these schools with teachers from everywhere else as well. Headmasters and principals will almost always be ex-pats. This helps in a few ways. One, labor laws in some countries would entrench a native of that country in a job for life after just a short time. Second, the schools try to reflect their identity with their leadership, so an international school will have an international administration. Finally, most administrators in these schools will serve one or two three year contracts before moving on so that there are always fresh ideas coming in.
In both Ecuador and the Philippines, my schools followed the International Baccalaureate Programme. This is the most common program overseas, and it is very good. A growing number of US schools follow this program, but it is pricey and will often get dropped when budgets are tight because there is a constant per pupil cost. IB is comparable to AP, but IB offers a diploma facet that AP does not currently have. It is a good program to teach in, and it looks good on a resume.
There are many pros and cons to working at an international school:
Pros:
- exposure to many cultures and ways of viewing the world
- a great opportunity to travel
- working in IB is great professional development
- the students are all very good learners and are open and curious
- teachers work with two year contracts and can then either move on to other schools or sign a series of one year contracts
- administrators work with three-five year contracts with the opportunity to sign after that
- lots of flexibility
- a break from traditional bell schedules
- it is always a good idea to get new perspectives
- educators are viewed with a lot of respect
Cons:
- we witnessed, first hand, a coup in Ecuador
- in third world countries there are third world problems like pollution, power outages, possible food shortages, fewer options in stores, discrimination
- one has to be away from extended family for usually at least nine months at a time
- in other first world countries expenses can be very high
- there are usually big differences from what we are used to in terms of personal space and hygiene
- customs and manners are very different, and one has to be aware of these differences in order to stay out of trouble
- US children who live primarily overseas tend to have a problem with their identity as Americans
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