The Life of an International School Teacher
Finding the Right School Highs and Lows of Teaching Abroad
Feb 21, 2009
UNESCO records show there are now 60 million teachers in the world, but thousands are leaving the profession due to overcrowded classrooms, dismal pay, stress, or stagnation. A number of those who remain, travel the world to teach in international schools. These unique schools follow different curricula, either UK, US, International Baccalaureate or combined. English is the medium of instruction, with French, Spanish and other languages being offered as mother tongue or foreign language subjects.
ISC Research monitors 5,178 international schools worldwide, and says that nearly 200,000 teachers and more than two million students comprise a mobile population.
Finding Jobs through International Teacher Organizations and Online Searches
First thing to do is to register with a trustworthy international teacher organization like Search Associates, ECIS, COIS or ISS. These agencies are reputedly thorough in their selection of candidates, so not every one may get in. They maintain databases, which top member schools access ahead of recruitment fairs. Registration fees / services vary, from £90.
TESconnect offers a free online job search service, with detailed information on vacancies around the world. Teachers contact the schools directly, quoting the TES job reference numbers on their applications.
The second must-do for the teacher-applicant is to get invited into one of the annual job fairs organized by these agencies, held in various cities such as London, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Boston. These fairs are action-packed – school presentations, job interviews, networking, chats by the bar or watching games on TV with the headmasters, who are actually sizing-up candidates during these informal settings. Sometimes, firm job offers are bestowed upon a few.
For the others, there's the angst from waiting, especially if they had already handed-in their resignations from their jobs, in anticipation of the new. However, for job insurance purposes, some teachers only go on sabbatical leave, teach abroad, then return to their former jobs.
How to Deal with Job Offers and List of Important Questions to Ask Recruiters
When a job offer finally comes through, which may take from a week or more, if one has the time and resources, it may be best to visit the school, to get its "pulse," meet the teachers, talk to students, check facilities, and to get a "feel" of the country, before making that very big decision. This could be one of the toughest decisions to make, especially if the whole family is being uprooted to move to foreign soil.
Aside from being clear about the job description, hours to be worked, and salaries, teachers must also ask about freight allowance, travel expenses, possible jobs for a dependent spouse, free tuition for children, accommodation, personal safety levels, opening of bank accounts, provision of utilities allowance, medical insurance, household help, pets, shopping.
High Points of Teaching Abroad Outweigh the Lows
Aside from culture shock, which hits new teachers at varying levels, huge disappointments may occur, sometimes from the onset. It could be from the tone of welcome and kind of assistance the new arrivals and their families get from school. Unfamiliar school policies, loads of paperwork, working with complete strangers, teaching some unmotivated students, unfriendly locals, are just a few of the low points an international school teacher may encounter.
Some teachers had been known to break contracts after a month due to the inefficiencies of school administrations. Others experienced not getting paid their salaries for months. In one appalling case, a school found itself short of teacher's housing. To accommodate a new hire, cleaning staff hastily packed off the belongings of a returning teacher, and couriered it to where he was spending his summer vacation. But these are the extremes.
High points definitely outweigh the lows in teaching abroad. Take these scenarios, for instance. By three in the afternoon, an international school teacher may be found sunbathing by his/her garden swimming pool, a champagne-filled flute within reach, or spreading good cheer to local street children, by way of student-led school projects, or leading a high school girl's basketball team to triumphs unforetold.
But most of all, teaching abroad is one of the most enriching, life-changing experiences one could ever have. All the challenges that come with the job help strengthen character and broaden understanding of other people and their culture. These are the high points that surmount the lows in the life of an international school teacher.
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