JenC3 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 My dh and I are thinking about going abroad for him to teach at an international school. If anyone has experience at one can you answer some questions? -what is the teaching load/classes per day? -general quality of students/backgrounds? -do faculty have extracurricular responsibilities? If so, what kind? -teaching enviroment: micro-managed/canned content or freedom with courses? -what is the salary like? -age of applicants? dh is 43 -how did your family transition? My dh has 2 terminal degrees, one is a PhD, and over 15 yrs of teaching, administrative, and online experience, but no secondary level teaching certificate, would he be a valid candidate without one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I very much doubt he would have any luck without a secondary teaching certificate in Australia. We're kind of jerks like that. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Blessings Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 We were at an international Christian school in Indonesia and they required a secondary teaching certificate to apply for and receive our visas, but I don't know that all Asian countries (or schools, for that matter) are that strict. We loved our time there. DH has said many times that teaching out of the U.S. spoiled him to ever teach in a U.S. high school again. We worked hard, but the benefits were excellent. We just returned and our kids have asked us when we will be returning! :lol: It is a huge decision, but we definitely don't regret our time there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I taught at an American school in Africa for a couple of years. I was secunded from a mission organization but the school was not affiliated with the mission. I'll give it a go: My dh and I are thinking about going abroad for him to teach at an international school. If anyone has experience at one can you answer some questions?-what is the teaching load/classes per day? I taught elementary school. The children had a daily French class and PE twice a week. -general quality of students/backgrounds? I taught a mix of children. Some were diplomat children, some mission kids, some the children of wealthy Cameroonians, some the children of wealthy business folk from other countries. The range of academic ability was very broad. -do faculty have extracurricular responsibilities? If so, what kind? Yes, we were required to teach an afterschool class once or twice a week. -teaching enviroment: micro-managed/canned content or freedom with courses? We had a lot of freedom. -what is the salary like? My salary went to pay the mission kids tuition so I don't know this. -age of applicants? dh is 43 The school had a mix of teachers with a range of ages. The younger teachers were from the mission organization, the middle aged/older teachers were either the American wives of Cameroonians or Americans who are like you folks. -how did your family transition? I was single. My dh has 2 terminal degrees, one is a PhD, and over 15 yrs of teaching, administrative, and online experience, but no secondary level teaching certificate, would he be a valid candidate without one? This I don't know. For my program I needed a certificate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Dd was at an IB school in Oman. I am pretty sure all the teachers had teaching qualification. Students tended to come from well-educated and involved families, but from over 40 countries so there were different attitudes to education, respect, discipline to negotiate, I imagine. Teaching couples were common, and I suspect preferred because of lower costs to the school (flights and housing). I came across some western women with degrees but no teaching certificates working in Omani schools. There the teaching conditions would be more difficult, but probably better for men than women (at least Western women who did not fully adapt to local expectations of dress etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I taught at a missionary school in São Paulo, Brasil for a couple of years. A lot of your questions are dependent upon the individual school, but also if you want to teach at a missionary school or an American public school overseas. The school I taught at provided rom and board and a stipend, which was enough to live on. The American public schools paid more. It was a wonderful experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenC3 Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 How long does it take to get an international cert.? He's looking at American schools which seem to be a bit more flexible. If he is qualified and experienced for college level teaching, it seems he should be able to teach at the highschool level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 My DD was a student in a SACS accredited school in Colombia, until our financial situation deteriorated and we had to move her to a much less expensive school. I sincerely doubt that any SACS school in Colombia would consider your DH, unless he has both certification and experience, teaching High School level. Teaching at university level is obviously a big plus for him, but, I suspect they would limit consideration, to those with experience teaching High School students. I suspect this would also be the case with other overseas schools, in other parts of the world, accredited by other Regional Accrediting agencies in the USA, and not just to SACS accredited schools. Continue with this idea and good luck to your family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I am a principal at an international school so I will answer by what we do at our school. All schools and all countries are different. My dh and I are thinking about going abroad for him to teach at an international school. If anyone has experience at one can you answer some questions? -what is the teaching load/classes per day? For full time it is five class periods of 45 minutes each. -general quality of students/backgrounds? Excellent! Students from 28 different countries, parents are educated and have high expectations, there is no such thing as "not" doing your homework. Everyone is striving to achieve. -do faculty have extracurricular responsibilities? If so, what kind? Yes. Faculty all run an extra-curricular club or sport of their choice based on their interests. They sometimes cover study hall. -teaching enviroment: micro-managed/canned content or freedom with courses? Well, I think "canned-content" is a loaded term. We have content standards for our classes so you can't just teach whatever you want, but teachers have professional freedom with instructional strategies. Our admin team is not into micro-managing. We hire professionals and we expect them to act that way. We are too busy to micro-manage. -what is the salary like? Well, this is a Christian school so the salary is a bit less than in a secular school as we try to keep tuition low enough for missionaries to afford it. But it is still quite high for the area and we live very, very well. It also includes free tuition for your children at the school, medical and dental insurance, free trips back to the US, etc. -age of applicants? dh is 43. We have all ages. No one younger than 25. No older than 60 by Malaysian law. -how did your family transition? Wonderfully. This is an incredible place to live and an amazing school. We are super happy here! My dh has 2 terminal degrees, one is a PhD, and over 15 yrs of teaching, administrative, and online experience, but no secondary level teaching certificate, would he be a valid candidate without one? Yes. Malaysian law requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree for a work visa but doesn't require certification. International schools are a fabulous career path! Living abroad has truly changed our lives. We need a high school English and Science teacher for next school year. But if a Christian school is not your thing, definitely look into SEAsia, especially schools like Singapore American School or International School of Bangkok... Or the UAE especially Dubai. Those areas pay the most and have excellent living conditions. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenC3 Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Heather THANK YOU for your input. We actually became interested in this while talking about Panang. I know my dh might have some questions for you, if you don't mind a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 You might find colleges, including the equivalent of junior colleges in some countries, overseas more open to your husband's job experience and education. I've heard about such opportunities mainly in the Arab world (inc both N Africa and the Gulf area), but I have no reason to believe it is specific to the region. I did hear about someone with a PhD who went to teach at a college in Beijing this year. Then again, the former husband of a relative of mine seems to have traveled the globe being well paid to teach English without much of any educational training. Unless he has acquired it recently. He has gone to some non-prime locations, however, especially in the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 (edited) Heather THANK YOU for your input. We actually became interested in this while talking about Panang. I know my dh might have some questions for you, if you don't mind a pm. Absolutely. I would love to help. Here is more info that might be helpful: The biggest job search engine is TIE...you will have to subscribe which requires a fee of $39 but it is the biggest: http://www.tieonline.com/ If you are interested in working in a christian school you can look here (it is free): http://missionteach.com/ Here is a list of international schools on the U.S. government website. You can search by continent and get direct links to the schools themselves: http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/c1684.htm You can also look into Department of Defense schools here: http://www.dodea.edu My school is http://www.dalat.org My blog about our life here is http://www.fischerfamilyadventures.blogspot.com IMPORTANT: the hiring season for next school year is RIGHT NOW. If he waits, he will have a hard time getting in at a good school and will have to wait another year. . Edited November 9, 2012 by Heather in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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