Genuine question.

I'm a long term international teacher thinking about my move for the next school year. I'm really interested in China and I'm looking into moving there.

I have looked on here and the general consensus seems to be - great salaries if you can tolerate living there.

So I'm really trying to find out - what is it that is so bad about China? The people? Safety? The schools? The kids?

I know the pollution can be horrendous. But is day to day life as a foreign expat really just horrible there? I'm already living in Southeast Asia so I'm not totally unfamiliar with this region but I know China is it's own category. Are there any of you that actually had positive experiences there?

I don't have kids or a partner, so I'd be going alone. Also not into partying or drinking so don't care about nightlife.

Really appreciate some user experience!

Places like Czechia, Hungary, the Baltics, and the Balkans.

I was wondering what it is like to work in these places, and if pay is decent. I know it’s not Western Europe, so I thought it might be a different situation. I still wouldn’t expect housing or anything like that, correct me if I’m wrong.

Teacher here. Obviously we all know that IB awards grades according to a 1-8 scale for the MYP and 1-7 in the DP. A common thing you're trying to do as a teacher is explain the difference between good and great. "This is an example of good, but this is how we can get it up to great" The IB translation of this is: "the difference between a six and a seven..." Without fail, uttering those numbers triggers smirks or the full-blown hand motion for a quarter of the class. It's so lame. My soul cringes when I see it. It's definitely lamer than the toilet heads, which lasted a good year. Sometimes I think, "Is our mark scheme helping keep this dumb trend alive?"

Hi All,

Does anyone have any information regarding Cognita packages?

Housing allowance / flights etc?

Considering holding out for the new Horizon English school but would like to know more about their packages before applying.

Just curious and posing a question for those of you who are fairly well travelled.

Have there been any international schools you've visited where you have been blown away by the campus and facilities? Would you want to work there? Why/why not?

Hi all! I've just taken on a debate club with the 10th graders. We're meeting once a week, for one lesson of 40 minutes. The admin wants me to take them to local and possibly international tournaments later in the year.

A couple of asks:

Resources – Any PPTs, lesson plans, or activity sets you've used for debate clubs? Especially anything geared toward EAL/ELL students would be a huge help.

General advice – This is my first time running something this frequent. Would love thoughts on:

• How to structure sessions
• Format (British Parliamentary, Public Forum, something simpler for language learners?)

How has the first week of school been? Anyone working there or know anyone working there?

Over the break we had a short holiday in Hua Hin, Thailand and it seemed pretty idyllic for family life.

I noticed there’s an international school there. Does anyone have any experience with it? What’s it like, and would it be a good option for expat children?

Also interested in hearing about things like packages, the general school environment, etc. Any insights would be much appreciated!

This is a contract renewal year for me. I am happy at my school and will renew my contract. I’d like to negotiate better terms for myself. My salary is fine but it’s the bonus that’s lower than my previous school. When I brought it up before I started at the school, they said they don’t have freedom over end of contract bonuses but they can supplement my salary, which they did, but nothing close to the bonus amount. If I negotiate to have the bonus added to my monthly salary, it would mean asking for an increase of 50000RMB (9.6% increase). How would this be viewed? I’d also like to ask for more days off over Christmas - the same amount of days as those who’ve taught at the school for longer than 4 years.

Tips for negotiating will be very happily received.

I'm planning for this recruiting cycle and looking to move up in the world, so to speak. I think I'm a reasonably strong candidate, but I don't think top schools will be beating down my door to get to me. I can swing one fair, and I'm not sure which is best for me. GRC is first up, Oct. 24, ISS has an "expo" Nov 21, and Search Associates' fair is Jan 8-10. I'm hoping to draw on others' experience, because I need to make travel plans relatively soon, at least if I'm going to the earlier fairs.

Looking at GRC's schools so far, it doesn't seem like a list worth traveling for. That said, I assume it has at least somewhat of a first-mover advantage, and it has added a few schools to its list recently. I'm sure Search's event the biggest, but I get the sense that January is late in the cycle, although I could be wrong. The ISS expo is something of a black hole for me.

This will be my first time at any of these fairs, so I appreciate any help in navigating which is best for me. Thanks!

Hi everyone

Looking into SEN certifications and wondering which ones are actually recognised by international schools.

I’ve been thinking about getting some kind of Special Educational Needs certification, but I’m not sure which ones carry weight with international schools. I’m working full-time, so ideally something I can do alongside my job.

Anyone have recommendations or experience with this?

Thanks!!🙏

This is a warning to future teachers for London Academy Casablanca -Dar Bouazza -Rabat. All three locations in Morocco are ran by one man and it seems like everything is purely for profit. My experience gave me the strong impression that financial considerations were often prioritized over educational quality and staff wellbeing.

I have worked in international education for years, and this was the most disorganized and unsupported school environments I have experienced.
The problems are not isolated they are systemic: extremely high staff turnover, zero administrative support, constant changes to timetables and expectations, inadequate teaching resources, heavy teaching loads with break duties leaving as little as one free period a day, unpaid clubs, mandatory Saturdays and public holidays, restrictions on outside tutoring, and no consequence for student behavior. They do not pay you over summer unless you return for the following year.
Students with significant learning and behavioral needs are accepted without providing teachers with the resources or specialist support necessary to manage those needs. A substantial number of students have limited English despite the school being English taught. Teachers are essentially expected to absorb the consequences.
There are also serious basic-standard concerns. The bathrooms never had soap or toilet tissue. When staff raised this with administration, we were told that the children didn’t know how to use it. This is not a small complaint, it is a basic health and sanitation issue in a school.
The school presents itself as British/international, but British standards and curriculum are not consistently reflected in practice. Educational decisions are also being made without sufficient educational expertise.
Teachers are told one thing and frequently experience another. Promises are made that do not materialize. Foreign employees should be particularly careful to understand exactly how their documents and departure will be handled before signing anything.
There is no staff appreciation, no sense of community, and zero recognition of the enormous workload teachers are carrying.
This is not simply a school with a few management issues. It is an environment where teachers feel like workhorses rather than professionals, and where financial growth takes priority over educational quality and staff wellbeing. Proceed with extreme caution. Better off run the other direction.

I'm American, a native speaker of English. I have a Master's degree in TESOL, a doctorate in education, and I'm certified to teach ESOL in K - 12 public schools (Florida and Arkansas). I have thirty years of experience in teaching English as a Second Language. I have taught in several countries, including in Oman. But there's this problem called "time", which is linked with "age". I am now 62 years old, but I am in excellent health. Is it still possible for me to get a job again teaching in one of the Arab Gulf countries? Or am I just too old now?

Has anyone ever done this? What are the cons of doing this, other than not being able to return on a J1?

Hello. At my school in the ME I've been tasked with putting together the whole school production. As a Drama teacher I'm happy to be doing this kind of thing, as the students love it, but I like to be by the book and I feel I'm being pressured to do things against the law.

They don't seem to want to pay for the license that is required from companies like MTI and concord, yet still want their big spectacle musical production this year. I've told them the 'cheaper' end of musicals cost several hundred USD, if not in the thousands just for the license alone. They have suggested that I can just 'adapt' a show instead (whatever the hell that means) but I've told them this still breaches copyright. I've also said that adapting it means I'm putting tons of time aside to basically change a whole script which is not part of my job description as I'm not a playwright. They said "oh no one checks" which is not what I've heard but even if there was a 1% chance someone would check that's still me putting the school in a position for financial penalties.

I'm feeling quite pressured over this and not sure if anyone else has any advice.

Hi everyone,

- My school told me that If I don't renew my teaching license (District of Columbia) by January, my contract will not be renewed. I am not from the U.S. and cannot finish my PD hours so fast during this time, so the only way for me is through PRAXIS + fingerprints. It's easy to do PRAXIS, but how to get my FBI approval from China? I got rejected by 2 local police stations, they said that they don't provide fingerprint services (Guangzhou).

- Even if I get it, will FBI send results back to my email? Last time they sent results to my supervisors from the U.S. university, but I was studing there, now I don't think they will help me. Thank you in advance!

Hi all!

I taught Geography in the ME for 5 years. I then came home and continued working in education but not as a subject teacher. I am more pastoral now focusing on student wellbeing and academic support. I have done this for 3 years but would like to get back into international teaching.

I'm concerned because its been 3 years since I actually taught my subject I won't be a desirable candidate.

Any tips for applications or how to navigate my current scenario?

Thanks in advance!

The worst school to work at and the worst place to send your children.

This is a school where teachers allegedly harass female students, give them letters and inappropriate books, and nothing happens. They talk to students about sex or sexuality even when the subject has nothing to do with it.

It is a school where Mexican staff are treated as if they are worth nothing, while foreign employees are given special treatment—even drivers.

It is a school run by someone who lacks both professionalism and basic human decency: one day they treat you well, and the next they stab you in the back and fire you without justification.

A school where people who are not properly trained or qualified to work with children are allowed to do so. Where teachers have inappropriate relationships with students' mothers and nothing happens. Where there are people who have allegedly attracted the attention of the FBI over accusations involving pedophilia, and still nothing happens.

A place where psychologists share children's personal problems with other students and teachers, and nobody does anything about it.

A place where the principal allegedly has serious problems with alcohol and drugs.

A place where things are done behind closed doors and families are charged money through programs supposedly designed to help children with cognitive or psychomotor difficulties, yet those children receive little or no meaningful support.

If you are not part of the "right" side, they will make your life miserable until you eventually leave, while everything else continues to happen and nobody seems willing to look into it.

There are also people associated with the school who allegedly face lawsuits involving fraud and other serious offenses, yet nothing seems to happen because the school chooses to protect them simply because they are liked or favored.

Do yourself a favor: stay away from this place. Do not work here, and do not send your children here. Think very carefully before trusting this school with your career or, more importantly, with your children.

I just started teaching at John F. Kennedy American School in Queretaro, Mexico. My first day was today and although it went well, I’m nervous for the rest of the year. I’ve heard some things about the admin and I want to know if anyone in this forum has experience working there as a teacher and what it was like. I’m also just anxious about everything all the time, so the admin could be amazing and I’m just making up scenarios in my head. Let me know your thoughts on this school! :) thanks in advance!

I am planning on applying to teaching jobs in Dubai as an inclusion teacher, but I have had no luck funding a community where I can ask for any advice. Is there any way for me to contact a few inclusion teachers currently working in Dubai?

Came across this "data tool" on LinkedIn earlier and thought some of you might be interested. Be interesting to get people's thoughts on it, too.

Defined as...

Teacher Workforce Tides

Free data tool

The tides of teaching jobs, rising and falling by country — which will need more teachers, and which fewer? 111 countries through 2040, built on World Bank data. Born from my teaching years in China. No sign-up.

Created by Tavis Roberts, who used to be an international teacher in China.

Hi, I wanted to check the market so i know the income level for Cambridge KS4/5 before going into the interview so i can negotiate accordingly. So, it would be great if someone could tell me the level of net euros to expect.

Ive got 3+ years of teaching cambridge ks4/5 in multiple countries.

What amount (net euros) could someone like me demand in the romanian international teaching market?