In the excitement of the upcoming recruiting season, as a newbie or seasoned veteran, remember that your first priority to yourself & your career should be to find out exactly what a school is asking you to commit to. Can this International School be counted on to treat their teaching staff honorably? Do they historically follow moral & legal rules of contractual engagement? Are they honest in their obligations to teachers & in compliance with their nations’ laws? While most International Schools are true to their word we can see on ISR that not all schools would be able to answer “Yes” to these questions.
Schools that withhold salaries, switch contract terms, substitute poor housing for promised housing, fail to reimburse visa, travel &/or shipping allowances, renege on health insurance & engage in other dishonest practices are not acceptable schools to work at by any stretch of the imagination. The International Educators’ Bill of Rights was created through the input of hundreds of educators working around the world who experienced just such abuses.
What would it take for a recruiting agency to bar a dishonorable school from their recruiting venue? Although we can verify that through the years a handful of schools have been banned from recruiting, based on ISR School Reviews there remains more than just a few schools that deserve to be sanctioned. And yet we find them listed to recruit at major venues this season.
Until the time recruiting agencies accept full responsibility for bringing abusive schools into compliance or banning them altogether, ISR recommends recruiting candidates consult the International Educators’ Bill of Rights as a yardstick by which to measure a school’s commitment to their teaching staff.
Why take chances with your personal well-being & your career? Before accepting an overseas teaching position ask the school Director if his/her school endorses basic rights for teachers as outlined in the International Educators’ Bill of Rights. You’ll be glad you did!
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