I'll be living in the swag district of Gangnam where Psy produced his Gangnam Style K-pop hit.
In the next couple of months I'll be posting entries mainly for teachers like myself who are applying abroad and sharing the process of what it is like to pack your life and venture 5,000 miles from home. Griffin and will fly out at the end of July and he will help me settle in then he will return to live with his dad. I'll be posting photos, videos and text regularly once we get there. Here's the link to the school:
http://kisseoul.org
The following info is for educators looking to teach abroad:
For fellow teachers who are interested in moving abroad I suggest you sign up with International School Services and start filling out your documents in September. Principals know by the end of November which positions they need to fill. They start hiring at the fair in Bangkok, Thailand the first week in January then go on to Boston, Iowa, San Francisco and Vancouver, BC. I planned on attending the SF hiring fair, but KIS emailed me saying they looked over all the active teacher files at ISS and wanted to interview via Skype. After four days, many emails and three Skyped interviews with several principals and directors, I was offered a job. It is standard procedure to be given only a few days to accept/deny the offer. Fortunately my colleagues who had worked abroad looked over my contract and gave me the thumbs up.
Here are the type of questions you want to be prepared to answer. What is your teaching philosophy? Why do you want to go abroad now? What does the word"professional" mean to you? How do you communicate with parents? Describe a typical day for you. What is the most important thing the first few weeks of school? Is technology important? How of you use it? What kind of school do you teach in? What are your concerns about adaptability? Are you familiar with the Common Core Standards? How do you use differentiation in your classroom? Why do you want to teach the grade level you applied for? What are your strengths/weaknesses?
I highly recommend you peruse the school's website and know their mission statements. Tell them what you like about their school and be prepared to ask them some questions to kind of interview them. Ask about the principal's style, transportation to and from school, resources, collaboration time, a typical day, expectations for coaching extra-curricular activities. Get as much information about the position, the principal, the expectations and the housing situation as you can. Before signing a contract, you'll want to request the name and email address of the person you are replacing and a couple of other teachers. Communicate with them and ask what is the best/worst things about their jobs and where they live.
My recommendation would be to go to Asia over the winter holiday break (if you can afford to) and take a look at the schools you are interested in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia etc. then go to the hiring fair in Bangkok and get yourself a job! Or, start actively applying to the schools online and be prepared for them to start calling. The $200 fee to join ISS includes uploading and sharing your documents with schools and participating at any of the hiring fairs.
Once you are hired, the school is going to request a bunch of documents. You'll need your fingerprints taken at the local cop shop, a letter from your insurance company stating your eligibility, several passport photos and a US residency tax form. I would go ahead and start collecting those records in the fall so you are prepared. If you know which country you want to work in, check out their working visa requirements and download that paperwork.
In the next couple of months I'll be posting entries mainly for teachers like myself who are applying abroad and sharing the process of what it is like to pack your life and venture 5,000 miles from home. Griffin and will fly out at the end of July and he will help me settle in then he will return to live with his dad. I'll be posting photos, videos and text regularly once we get there. Here's the link to the school:
http://kisseoul.org
The following info is for educators looking to teach abroad:
For fellow teachers who are interested in moving abroad I suggest you sign up with International School Services and start filling out your documents in September. Principals know by the end of November which positions they need to fill. They start hiring at the fair in Bangkok, Thailand the first week in January then go on to Boston, Iowa, San Francisco and Vancouver, BC. I planned on attending the SF hiring fair, but KIS emailed me saying they looked over all the active teacher files at ISS and wanted to interview via Skype. After four days, many emails and three Skyped interviews with several principals and directors, I was offered a job. It is standard procedure to be given only a few days to accept/deny the offer. Fortunately my colleagues who had worked abroad looked over my contract and gave me the thumbs up.
Here are the type of questions you want to be prepared to answer. What is your teaching philosophy? Why do you want to go abroad now? What does the word"professional" mean to you? How do you communicate with parents? Describe a typical day for you. What is the most important thing the first few weeks of school? Is technology important? How of you use it? What kind of school do you teach in? What are your concerns about adaptability? Are you familiar with the Common Core Standards? How do you use differentiation in your classroom? Why do you want to teach the grade level you applied for? What are your strengths/weaknesses?
I highly recommend you peruse the school's website and know their mission statements. Tell them what you like about their school and be prepared to ask them some questions to kind of interview them. Ask about the principal's style, transportation to and from school, resources, collaboration time, a typical day, expectations for coaching extra-curricular activities. Get as much information about the position, the principal, the expectations and the housing situation as you can. Before signing a contract, you'll want to request the name and email address of the person you are replacing and a couple of other teachers. Communicate with them and ask what is the best/worst things about their jobs and where they live.
Once you are hired, the school is going to request a bunch of documents. You'll need your fingerprints taken at the local cop shop, a letter from your insurance company stating your eligibility, several passport photos and a US residency tax form. I would go ahead and start collecting those records in the fall so you are prepared. If you know which country you want to work in, check out their working visa requirements and download that paperwork.
