..Our previous Newsletter featured a letter from a school Admin asking that teachers seriously consider if they’re really cut out to live & teach overseas. He asserted that when a teacher’s preconceived ideas & fantasies turn out to be in sharp contrast to reality, they may become frustrated/disillusioned & thereafter post awful Reviews to ISR. He stressed the following points & suggests teachers ask themselves, Am I Cut Out for This? (click here to see full article)
“…If you are going overseas for an international experience, let it be what it is and experience it with all its ups and downs, its occasional discomforts and daily delights. No one suggests you have to like everything about it, but if you feel the need to reshape your school and community to conform to your perception of what’s ‘best’, you’re plainly not going to enjoy it overseas.”
..How very true! But at what point does a teacher’s personal code of what is ethical & moral dictate they can no longer stand idle on the sidelines accepting injustices in the name of ‘adapting to a new environment’? One comment brings this point to light:
“…Most of the teachers I have met overseas are incredibly flexible but also professional. It’s when the administration, who are also expat, bow to local custom of allowing bullying by students, assaults by students, and cheating by students that really upsets me…When teachers challenge the accepted behaviour and are told to just ‘go along’, I believe that to be wrong.”
..Another educator further commented:
“…It is important they (teachers) bring with them the educational practices and ethical expectations received in their training and experience from whatever part of the globe. School cultures that accept classroom disruption, bullying, patronizing contempt for teachers and their contracts, abuse and assault as normal behaviours must be rejected outright and changed by legal intervention.”
ISR asks, At what point should you speak up? What do YOU consider the dividing line between failure to adapt & what’s morally/ethically right? How do you handle a situation in which the school Admin bows to parental pressure, leaving you completely unsupported & expected to do the same?
ISR Discussion Boards 
Education should be based on truth. What could be more simple? The minute you start sliding away from that, much less diving away from it, then you are miseducating, misinforming, misleading, which is worse than no education at all. There is nothing local or culturally variable about this basic fact. To argue otherwise is condescending, or worse, and reveals a sad lack of education in the heritage of whatever culture and society you’re in, or from–not to mention a sad lack of ethics.
As Aristotle put it: “To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true.”
Education that deviates from that simple formula deviates from truth and from being education. No amount of equivocation alters that.
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Behaviour from other teachers and managers such as verbal threats and abuse, or physical groping and violence, has made me ‘cut and run’ on several occasions over the last thirty years. Other forms of unprofessional conduct have had more of a ‘slow burn’ effect that usually results in a refusal to renew contracts (on either side) but can trigger confrontations: support for pupils against teachers’ class discipline; exam malpractice and manipulation of marks; sub-standard accommodation (vermin, no hot water, flooding, open gaps in exterior walls); contempt for one’s maturity through first-name patronizing (“this is a family/community”, “smile more”); having to renew every year ten-month contracts that have no open pay scale or legal security; working with drunks, back- packers, and ex-lecturers who sneer at ‘less-qualified’ school teachers; and, of course, open contempt by bullying managers for one’s ‘career’: “you’ve moved on rather a lot haven’t you?” All of this is invariably excused by the usual ideology of liberal multi-culturalism.
But is it any better back home in the West? I suppose at least we can get July off, let our flats out and pay off a mortgage. It’s just that, with two masters degrees and senior management experience in four overseas schools, I’d rather hoped for more professional environments, interactions and development in compensation, rather than some travel agency’s adolescent “adventures”.
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I sometimes wonder how many school owners and admin troll this site. It is these types of owners and admins, in my opinion, that are the ones you hope to stay away from during your international teaching career. Yes teachers need to show some tact and understand local customs, however they are not prostitutes that sell their wares to the highest bidder either. if you want prostitutes visit a brothel, if you want a teacher, value and support them rather than constantly undermining them.
Let’s be honest here. Some international schools have a reputation for hiring white faces to legitimize their often shoddy approach to education and money centric business models. I know because I currently work for one and the region in which I work is infamous for this type of approach to international teaching.
The problem in some cases is that corrupt, elite, western educated locals use international education simply to make money and use foreign teachers to paint a veneer of professionalism at their institution. At these types of international schools you simply can’t hold the students, parents and admin to professional standards as they don’t want them and will actively work to reject them. In the process these types of parents, students and admin teams will often try to ruin your career and professional reputation if you make too many waves.
Pick your battles carefully, don’t fight each and every battle. Try and go along to get along in regards to some issues, get a good reference, enjoy the sites of your local host country in the meantime and then move along to a better school and / or better country as soon as your contract expires. I’m not being a defeatist, but rather a realist. Teachers are not often affluent and when they move to a new school or new country the school basically has control over them if they wish to act unethically. This is the major pitfall of international education, and is something we all consider before making the leap into this field.
It’s sad to say but where I’m employed at the bullying of teachers is the norm and so is academic misconduct by students. I do my best but I can’t change the culture of the school because admin is controlled by the parents and the owner. I only make an issue when admin gets too out of hand & tries to outrageously empower students and parents. However, I can do this as I have currency with the students and parents. Thus, even though admin don’t particularly like me, they leave me alone for the most part because I work hard and have a very good reputation with my parents and students. However, this often feels like treading water.
This thread was started after an admin made a post I found quite rude and condescending. I can’t see how people can defend this type of attitude. It seems as though teachers are always on the defensive and shoddy administrators and owners are always attacking teachers. Once upon a time teaching was considered a respected profession. These days are gone, long, long, gone.
I now find three types of teachers. Firstly, there are teachers who will do anything to keep their job, and often, these types of teachers are lazy but pledge their allegiance to the school admin or owner and are left alone. Secondly, there are teachers who are very competent but cop criticism when they won’t lower their professional and personal standards to accommodate corrupt practices. Lastly, the last type of teacher is the one I just described, but who is often tempered because they have a family to support or financial obligations.
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It would be helpful to rank the evaluators (teachers) of any school or institution by simply noting how much prior international school teaching experience the instructor has had. That will give clues to readers how to take the message shared.
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In my experience, the majority of the reviews left by teachers should be taken with a pinch of salt anyway, given that in general they are left by unhappy teachers who are trying to get out of their school, or who have recently left. I’m making no judgement on these people, other than to say they are more likely to take the time to post a review than those who are very happy,and are too busy enjoying themselves and their new life to worry about posting reviews.
However, the time I take real notice is when many teachers from the same school leave reviews that speak of contracts not being honoured. In my humble opinion, what is agreed to at interview and then subsequently put in a written contract should be adhered to. Everything else should be an adventure.
In some cases (maybe many but I couldn’t say with any certainty) expat owners or Principals deliberately mislead candidates, knowing that they will be trapped once they arrive. For example, a few years ago I was offered a contract which had a series of photographs and the address of the accommodation included. On the basis of this I signed and was very happy. However, upon arrival the reality was very different, and I can only say that I had to learn the hard way. I now do a great deal more research before even applying to a new school.
The key point is that if International schools adhered to their contracts, I believe the majority of international teachers would be able to overlook the other aspects of their schools which they perceive (rightly or wrongly) to be of a lower standard than they would like.
Then again, if this was the case, ISR would not be needed in the first place!
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First and foremost, if you are feeling threatened in a place get out of there.
Something I am seeing in this tension is moral judgments made by my fellow teachers, and what are morals but an ethical abstract based upon one’s subjective perception of what is good and bad?
If we are living a life of sacrifice, we may be in a position to judge the morals of the distant places we find ourselves in. Yet, often the packages teachers sign on to voluntarily pay more than we would make back home. Therefore, if we are not sacrificing anything we are not in position to cast moral judgments, I contend.
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So what you’re really saying is that all ITs are prostitutes, international schools are Johns, and we should just lie back and take it since we’re getting paid money so anything goes.
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Absolutely agree with your last point:
“…if International schools adhered to their contracts, I believe the majority of international teachers would be able to overlook the other aspects of their schools which they perceive (rightly or wrongly) to be of a lower standard than they would like.”
ISR would not be successful if schools (and teachers, for that matter) were ethical and did what they agreed to do, because while there will always be some “whingers” (or negative individuals) out there, there wouldn’t be enough of them to warrant a website like this.
There are unethical schools out there, and being a positive and happy person, I make the most of any situation.
In saying that, I have had experiences at 2 International Schools in SE Asia where things were not the way they were portrayed at interview.
Both of these schools have very honest and frank reviews demonstrating this unethical behaviour from the directors / admin (and 1 also has positive reviews) – so I don’t agree that “bad reviews” are (as you put it) “…in general they are left by unhappy teachers who are trying to get out of their school”
Because in my experience (only 2 different schools, mind), the reviews are true and correct.
If Schools deceive canditates and are unethical, they not only deserve to be “left in he lurch” due to teachers leaving, but it should be made public.
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The bottom line is that working overseas is very different from working in your home country. You can always expect the unexpected. Remember everything you have learned may be subject to change. This goes for cultural norms, societal norms, and your expectations of what is quality education.
As a worker you will have NO rights and NO protections under the local laws unless you work in a country that has a strong, positive track record of upholding workers’ rights. Your religious freedom, sexual freedom, etc may be restricted. The local host nation will fully expect you to adhere to their social values, behavioral patterns, and
culturally defined roles. Even if that is not said to you people will still have that expectation of you.
Let me share an example, in the USA if you see an adult standing in a line ahead of you and he is farting, belching, and picking his nose what is your first thought? In many countries this is acceptable behavior in public. See you have just judged this man according to your standards. You may never say to him that you judged him but you will think it and change your behavior towards him accordingly.
You are fully expected to “fit in” with the school and whatever educational programs are currently in place. Your feedback will NOT be welcome and will be seen as an attempt to negatively change the status quo. They may attempt to trick you into giving an opinion by saying they welcome your ideas and what do you think. This is a difficult situation. Best to say that you have not had enough time to think about it yet (being new staff) . If you are asked after you have been there for a while it is best immediately comment on something you find positive about the school. Be prepared ahead of time because it can be difficult. If you are really pressed then you can say, “Well I have been here only for a little while. I am still thinking about and learning about the school.” Let’s face it, unless you have been at a school for 5 years you are still pretty new.
That school existed long before you arrived and it will exist long after you leave. Any “control” you have is an illusion and any changes you make are fleeting. You will have NO true idea about the host culture or how things are done in the host culture’s educational system. You will often NOT be able to see the powerful “players” [puppetmasters] behind the scenes as these may be people in the educational ministry, political offices, etc. Many cultures are quite tribal and the reach of influential families can have serious implications affecting even how their children are graded, treated, etc. Much of the world is neither a democracy nor a meritocracy.
Put your time and energy directly into your students because that is the only thing you can change positively.
Never be in a room alone with 1 child, always have other children present or another adult. If you are going to “discipline” a child such as telling them verbally their behavior is not acceptable then do it with other adults present or speak to them quietly in an area of your classroom but while other children are present in the room working.
Try to identify situations in your new school that are likely to be problematic and formulate strategies that will either change the environment (when you can) or result in your being able to tactfully address the situation quickly in a culturally acceptable manner.
For example, If you are a female avoid being alone with heads or school or directors whom you don’t know and trust. If in the host nation culture males and females are not normally alone together do not allow yourself to be put into an “alone” sort of a situation with host nation male as misunderstandings can occur. Do not accept offers or rides, dining out, etc. from male colleagues or male supervisors. Also be careful about accepting favors because in many cultures the definition of friendship is that “I do you a favor and then I expect you to do me an even bigger favor back.”
BE NICE to everyone. Be ultra professional and do not share ANY details of your personal life at work. Do not make friends of coworkers because you never know when someone will fall out with you and then share everything you told them in confidence all over the school or use it as a weapon against you. The world of international teachers is small and we all really do know each other to within 3 or 4 people away. Keep school school and outside of school private and separate.
If your living conditions are adequate and fairly safe count yourself lucky. If you can find clean water and food to eat that does not make you ill consider yourself lucky. If you have more than that, you are of the fortunate few!!!!!
Remember the positives and forget the negatives. Build a life for yourself outside of school that is fulfilling.
This is how you flourish internationally.
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Short version: be a complete sycophant to survive. Be a psychopath to succeed.
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Yup.. that sounds about right, especially at smaller schools in China with corrupt and greedy owners and insecure teachers and administrators who can’t get hired in top tier schools.
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“BE NICE to everyone. Be ultra professional and do not share ANY details of your personal life at work. Do not make friends of coworkers because you never know when someone will fall out with you and then share everything you told them in confidence all over the school or use it as a weapon against you. The world of international teachers is small and we all really do know each other to within 3 or 4 people away. Keep school school and outside of school private and separate.”
Wow, what a lonely life you must lead!
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The bottom line is that working overseas is very different from working in your home country. You can always expect the unexpected. Remember everything you have learned may be subject to change. This goes for cultural norms, societal norms, and your expectations of what is quality education.
As a worker you will have NO rights and NO protections under the local laws unless you work in a country that has a strong, positive track record of upholding workers’ rights. Your religious freedom, sexual freedom, etc may be restricted. The local host nation will fully expect you to adhere to their social values, behavioral patterns, and
culturally defined roles. Even if that is not said to you people will still have that expectation of you.
Let me share an example, in the USA if you see an adult standing in a line ahead of you and he is farting, belching, and picking his nose what is your first thought? In many countries this is acceptable behavior in public. See you have just judged this man according to your standards. You may never say to him that you judged him but you will think it and change your behavior towards him accordingly.
You are fully expected to “fit in” with the school and whatever educational programs are currently in place. Your feedback will NOT be welcome and will be seen as an attempt to negatively change the status quo. They may attempt to trick you into giving an opinion by saying they welcome your ideas and what do you think. This is a difficult situation. Best to say that you have not had enough time to think about it yet (being new staff) . If you are asked after you have been there for a while it is best immediately comment on something you find positive about the school. Be prepared ahead of time because it can be difficult. If you are really pressed then you can say, “Well I have been here only for a little while. I am still thinking about and learning about the school.” Let’s face it, unless you have been at a school for 5 years you are still pretty new.
That school existed long before you arrived and it will exist long after you leave. Any “control” you have is an illusion and any changes you make are fleeting. You will have NO true idea about the host culture or how things are done in the host culture’s educational system. You will often NOT be able to see the powerful “players” [puppetmasters] behind the scenes as these may be people in the educational ministry, political offices, etc. Many cultures are quite tribal and the reach of influential families can have serious implications affecting even how their children are graded, treated, etc. Much of the world is neither a democracy nor a meritocracy.
Put your time and energy directly into your students because that is the only thing you can change positively.
Never be in a room alone with 1 child, always have other children present or another adult. If you are going to “discipline” a child such as telling them verbally their behavior is not acceptable then do it with other adults present or speak to them quietly in an area of your classroom but while other children are present in the room working.
Try to identify situations in your new school that are likely to be problematic and formulate strategies that will either change the environment (when you can) or result in your being able to tactfully address the situation quickly in a culturally acceptable manner.
For example, If you are a female avoid being alone with heads or school or directors whom you don’t know and trust. If in the host nation culture males and females are not normally alone together do not allow yourself to be put into an “alone” sort of a situation with host nation male as misunderstandings can occur. Do not accept offers or rides, dining out, etc. from male colleagues or male supervisors. Also be careful about accepting favors because in many cultures the definition of friendship is that “I do you a favor and then I expect you to do me an even bigger favor back.”
BE NICE to everyone. Be ultra professional and do not share ANY details of your personal life at work. Do not make friends of coworkers because you never know when someone will fall out with you and then share everything you told them in confidence all over the school or use it as a weapon against you. The world of international teachers is small and we all really do know each other to within 3 or 4 people away. Keep school school and outside of school private and separate.
If your living conditions are adequate and fairly safe count yourself lucky. If you can find clean water and food to eat that does not make you ill consider yourself lucky. If you have more than that, you are of the fortunate few!!!!!
Remember the positives and forget the negatives. Build a life for yourself outside of school that is fulfilling.
This is how you flourish internationally.
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I would say that expecting the basics like safe and clean housing and getting paid on time is not being too pushy. On the other hand if you want to hire westerners who are used to Starbucks and air conditioning who are also green teachers because you don’t want to pay them more than the bottom of what you have to offer and they have little to no experience you deserve what you get.
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International schools can be described as operating similarly to businesses in the corporate world which are not yet operating in the interests of employees. The transition from teaching in a unionised context to the corporate context is challenging, and little has been written about it. The senior leadership are self interested and do not want to have any teachers undermining their cosy relationship with the school owner. Corruption is rife. Integrity is not part of the school’s ethos. Student personal responsibility is neither encouraged nor acceptable to parents. Teachers are paid to put up and shut up. IB schools in particular are an international rort – look at the organisation’s top-heavy, self-interested body that pay themselves large salaries to travel round the world “running” an ineffective, low grade educational approach very unsuited to second language learners. If teachers feel their integrity is compromised they must immediately make an exit plan and quietly move on as soon as it is possible. No waves. No complaints. Just go quietly and never expect to return to that country in the future. I agree with the writer who says each country deserves the education system they have implemented. Hopefully time will teach them what is best for their young people of the future.
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I am so glad you said that about IB. My last, thoroughly corrupt school was also my first IB school, and I was completely unimpressed with not only the way the school executed IB (miserably), but also with the overrated and incoherent IB program itself.
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I think it depends on the situation your are in – one of which you’re financially handcuffed will leave you verbally silenced, as well. I believe it is incumbent on us as professionals to speak out against unethical practices, regardless of the (im)possibility of change in the school environment. Finding/creating the space to do this is the challenge, but don’t give up! Knowing you’ve followed a moral obligation is one hell of a peace of mind. Continue the fight against unethical practices in education.
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Always try to get the student and their parents on board with your concerns for the childs’ education and improvement at the forefront. IF this fails and the admin does not support you, then your clearly at the wrong school. Leaving is the only real option you have. Making a school change requires an administrative position at least HOD. Take the action that you feel is best and accept what happens. I try not to get into discussions that I feel are pointless. If student shave plagiarised work for example then I can assign a 0, beyond that it is up to the admin. If they change my grades then there is little I can do about it. I can change the grade back again.
As an HOD I had a teacher who had a grade raised by a member of admin. I asked the admin why? They responded that after talking to the student only, they felt the student deserved the higher grade. I instructed the teacher to reset the grade to his original assessment and informed the admin’s supervisor. The admin was reprimanded. The grade stood.
Following the chain of command does work in many schools but must be done with respect. Public shaming does no one any good.
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2 out of these 6 replies, while defending their integrity and the ethics of the profession, show disrespect for International education, which is what they say to defend. A “country or school deserves the education system it has”, oh dear! you are a teacher, not a missionary “spreading education”, why are you assuming other countries have bad educational systems, or that local children deserve anything in particular just for being born there? Another comment mentions “buying a Western education for their children”. Western as opposed to what? Eastern? Southern? Northern? Or do you mean American?
I can’t help but feeling disappointed at people who defend international education on such short-sighted and discriminatory bases, hinting at their ulterior motives.
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You know what western education is. Don’t play games with your counter-question “as opposed to what.” If you work in international education you know exactly what that means.
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Aw shucks. You’re disappointed with the disrespect shown to international schools. I’m disappointed with the disrespect shown to hamburger chains – but they’re still out there making money.
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I wonder if a good education, no matter where it is located, shouldn’t be in the best interest of enhancing the educational experience for students. And if the experience is flat, not forward thinking, marks oriented without substance and built only upon a quid pro quo environment for paying parents, where does that leave ethically minded teachers who hope they are making a significant difference academically, socially and emotionally for the students? Being an educator is more than simply traveling as a tourist in a country. It is about bringing value and substance to an educational system from abroad. It is also about supporting strong educational morals and beliefs about what is right for children. When a teacher’s beliefs have been shattered, tampered with, watered down or modified, where does it leave that teacher? Food for thought……
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When you are in a senior leadership position (e.g., principal) but the owner, after agreeing in a private meeting to support some of your initiatives, then goes behind your back and directs more trusted staff members to thwart these same initiatives.
When you work in an IB school (which to you had implied a kind of quality assurance) but most of the library consists of photocopied materials, and the ‘real’ books get transported to other campuses as they come up for authorisation/ review cycles, and the teaching team is given scripts to perform for the visiting team. Or the few qualified teachers in a particular subject group are ‘transferred’ to the campus for a few weeks prior to the official evaluation visit, so on the surface all seems hunky-dory.
When your judgments of student assessment is over ridden without mutual consultation of the evidence, to suit powerful parents/ sponsors.
Integrity is everything when you are a teacher, because pay (etc) means little. If that is not respected, I’m not cut out for the system, and country or school deserves the education system it has.
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You can do all the homework you want. Schools are very good at lying about whatever they can in order to get teachers. Their websites are organized to sell the school – show the best features and hide the truth. Every administration I have worked for overseas answers to the budget, parent council, board of directors and do not support or look out for the teaching staff. All the principals i have worked for are puppets for administration. None had the backbone to say no to admin and yes to teachers. We were their last priority. Students could do whatever they wanted, vandalize property, cheat, have grades changed, whatever. Teachers had no voice.
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I worked at a school where the teachers were abused by admin. The director had complete power over me. I had no recourse, no nothing. I was completely vulnerable to his whims. I soon learned to keep my head down and stay out of his way. Jokes on him though!!!After posting about him on ISR more teachers came forward and posted. He’s not on the circuit these days and I am.
Had I persisted in speaking out while at the school I would have been shipped home and forced to pay my air fare, shipping fees and everything. I didn’t have the money to do it. I was forced into silence I felt humiliated, belittled, powerless and abused by this buffoon hired by a board who blindly supported his every action. Had I been in the States I could have garnered the support of the teachers’ union and no doubt public officials. Not so where I was and a few dollars could have had me removed to jail on trumped up charges.
Choose your school carefully. Some just need a white face with a degree to pull of the extortion of money from unsuspecting parents who think they are buying a Western education for their children. If you are caught in such a situation please consider that you have a responsibility to at least warn other teachers on this web site.
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Speaking out will never make any difference in an international school environment. I learned that the hard way. So there is never a right time to do it, because there is never an effective time to do it. You have no leverage whatsoever. The best you can do is to try to preserve your personal ethics as best you can, and make plans NOT to return the following year.
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You are so correct. When local parents (usually unsophisticated and untraveled locals who are allowed access to an “international” school) are willing to pay the money for a sub-standard (sometimes non-existent) service, just who are we to pretend to be some savior of those who do not want us. Many of these businesses are just that – businesses and it is wise to take care of #1 first and all the time.
The best one can do is to warn other teachers as best that we can elsewhere and on ISR and hope that ISR doesn’t put up edited reviews.
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As a friend of mine put it, “I was the only one who cared about the things I cared about. The administrators didn’t care, the parents didn’t care, the students didn’t care. So I had to ease up in order to be fair to myself.”
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Too right. Especially with an administrator who ignores senior or long term teachers, cuts them out of decision making and undermines them with other teachers, parents and students. There is no leverage as there are plenty of inexperienced little back-packer types ready to replace you as long as they will not question anything and just show their white faces each day.
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When your health and family life start to suffer it’s time to change. Pointless making yourself sick fighting.Try not to get to that point .
Do your homework on the school first before doing your homework on the country. I got caught out – lovely country, appealing lifestyle, has it all – just not the school.
Lesson learnt and worrying that the particular for profit school where I learnt my lesson is in a complete state with countless issues (2 out of the 3 top tier educators and some middle tier administration bowing out) has not been reviewed in 3 years.
No recent reviews for a school that has had 80% negative reviews in the past is a sign that a deep seated fear is prevalent in the environment.
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Do homework. Dont get to that point.
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Totally agree. It surprises me how many educators arrive in a new school and country and have failed to do any research before arriving. Obviously you can’t ‘know it all’, but at the same time, come as well prepared as you can.
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I think when you no longer feel you have respect for the administrators who make decisions on a consistent basis which undermine the school’s Mission Statement, it’s time to look elsewhere, but before jumping to another school, be sure to do your homework! Otherwise in spite of all the hype on the school site and in the interview(s) the new school could be even worse!
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