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Notes from the General Manager by Diane Jacoutot:  Speed

Cyclist Lance Armstrong gave up his fight against the USADA this week, who accused him of using steroids and blood transfusions to win his 7 Tour de France medals.  Whilst not admitting any wrongdoing, backing down from a fight isn’t something that Armstrong -a former hero of mine and at one time the world’s fastest distance cyclist, would do without a reason. It’s sad. Competitive athletes are programmed to win at all costs but perhaps that’s the problem.  At the same time, over in Los Angeles on Thursday, rapper LL Cool J “detained” a burglar in his home who was not fast enough, leaving the man with a broken nose and ribs. 

Speed is the theme this week, now that Principals and Head Teachers come back from holiday and are realising that they have more enrolment than they expected or finding that one or two teachers they thought were coming back had change their minds.  This happens every year and gives us an exciting array of jobs sprinkled around the globe, this week from Abu Dhabi to Tajikistan to Thailand and everywhere in between.  

What’s slightly different this year is that many of our clients are sticking to their experience requirements, not bending the rules as much as normal. In some cases it’s because Ministries of Education have set governmental regulations and this is true in China which now requires 2 years of post qualification teaching experience, the UAE and Kuwait which now require that first degrees are completely relevant to the subject one is teaching (even down to core subjects only for Primary teachers), and an increasing number of ‘expatriate ‘ type international schools in the Middle East, including the UAE, being told that their teachers must meet the previously loosely enforced 2 year experience requirements. 

This means that teachers looking for international jobs for September are faced with a dazzling array of possibilities, especially if they are Early Years, Primary (Elementary), English, Maths or Science teachers but at the same time many doors are not really open to them. I think this makes the role of Teachanywhere more crucial to guide teachers to schools that can hire them.  Every country has rules which are constantly changing, and within those rules some schools can bend them and some schools cannot.  I can imagine how frustrating it must be for international teachers wanting to move to a new country and not knowing why their applications are failing. So this is where we can help.

Speaking of help, one of our consultant’s Ben, did a webinar about Kuwait as he taught there himself quite recently.  It was only our second webinar and the feedback from the teachers who participated was super. If you missed it, you can catch it HERE for the next 10 days.  Have a listen- you might learn something!

All the best,

Diane Jacoutot

General manager, Teachanywhere

Ps. Watch out for our World Teacher Day flyer coming out next week. You could win £500 in free teaching resources!

Teachanywhere says Eid Mubarak

Notes from the General Manager by Diane Jacoutot

One of the pleasures of international teaching is celebrating holidays abroad and Sunday marks the first day of Eid Al Fitr, the celebration at the end of Ramadan.  Ramadan, for those who do not know, is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a holy month which marks the period in which the Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.  During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to strive to a higher level of spirituality to nourish the spiritual side rather than the physical side of themselves, and this is achieved by fasting during the hours of daylight. This means no eating, drinking, smoking and other pleasurable activities from sunrise to sunset. Even drinking water is not allowed.  In addition, Muslim virtues are emphasised such as charity to the poor, patience, steadfastness, etc.

Ramadan ends with a three day holiday and celebration, Eid Al Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. This is time for family celebrations, outdoor prayer, large gatherings and the giving of money to children. This year Eid Al Fitr runs Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and these are bank holidays in the UAE and many other countries.  A traditional greeting is “Eid Mubarak” meaning roughly “May you enjoy a blessed festival”.

If you are fortunate enough to be in a Muslim country for Ramadan and Eid, I encourage you to participate wherever possible. If you are invited to a meal or celebration by all means go.  Your hosts are understandably proud of their culture and heritage, and by inviting you to participate, are sharing this with you.  Understanding another culture by firsthand experience is hopefully one of the reasons you have gone abroad in the first place. It’s what makes living abroad so much better than just going on holiday.

Speaking of holidays, I should also mention that World Teacher Day is coming up on 5 October and to celebrate this year Teachanywhere is having a fabulous competition to celebrate.  We are inviting schools and classes around the world to send us their poetry, artwork, videos and essays celebrating those who make such a difference – You!  

 Please see www.teachanywhere.com/worldteacherday for more information. The winning class, judged by a respected South African artist,  will be presented with £500 of free school resources.

All the best

Diane Jacoutot

General manager, Teachanywhere

Ps. Apologies to all of Ireland. Ireland has actually won 9 gold medals, not one. I should fire my researcher (me) and hire a new one (someone else)! Thanks to all the Irish readers who gently pointed out my error.

Teachanywhere: Olympic Success

Notes from the General Manager by Diane Jacoutot

The Olympics are drawing to a close this week, and as someone who loves all things international I have loved every minute of it. Whether it was Ireland winning their first gold medal ever (Anne Marie was going wild in the Teachanywhere office yesterday), Usain Bolt’s historic 200m win (Nick was going wild in the office as well), Michael Phelps’ amazing medal count, the first brave Saudi female athletes, flawless Chinese divers, or Kazakhstan’s 6 gold medals, it’s been a feast of national and international pride.

There were calls in the paper yesterday to make the 70,000 Olympic volunteers a national Sports Personality of the Year, which is quite an honour here in the UK. Having been to some of the events I can say that they certainly deserve recognition as unsung heroes.  Pink jacketed “Games Makers” have been absolutely everywhere and incredibly helpful to the millions of visitors who have come to the games as well as those wandering around London doing touristy things. I met some lovely ones in Trafalgar square last weekend and they gave me great directions to a restaurant I was trying to find which I would imagine was somewhat outside of their call of duty.  Extending the friendly hand of welcome makes such a difference when you are new to a place and I was proud of the UK for doing it so well.

It is precisely that hand of welcome that international teachers experience when they arrive in their new country, and one that is just as unsung.   International schools will have representatives meet you at the airport, and take you to a hotel or your new apartment. You will then meet the other new international teachers for an organised orientation that covers culture, language, and everyday necessities such as setting up bank accounts, residency paperwork, medical forms, curriculum and school policies. It’s so ironic that many of the fears teachers feel before embarking on their new jobs abroad are so unfounded – the lifeblood of an international school is an international teacher and you are welcomed with open arms.   I was corresponding with a teacher yesterday who is about to embark on a job in Kuwait and I told him how jealous I was – I love the feeling of excitement tinged with trepidation that accompanies the start of a new journey. I love the challenge of working in a new environment where you don’t know precisely what’s around the corner, because once you overcome personal and professional challenges in this way, the rush of satisfaction when you turn the corner into the relative unknown becomes quite addicting. 

Speaking of personal challenges, for those who have been following the story, my 16 year old son returned home from Tanzania this morning having summited Mount Kilimanjaro and completed a community service project. He’s slightly skinnier, definitely fitter and more confident with a higher tolerance for vegetables, a hankering for a big steak and a newfound love of coffee.  He’s also got a head full of indelible memories and the knowledge that if you set your mind to something and put your fears to the side, you can do the most amazing things. 

 I think I learnt a bit of that myself in letting him go.

Teachanywhere goes Olympic!

Notes from the General Manager by Diane Jacoutot

The Olympic Games are on, and it’s been quite a thrill to be a Londoner this year. Despite the numerous and constant warnings during the run-up of tube chaos, terrorism, immigration and bus strikes, the games have run like clockwork, a few empty ‘grace and favour’ seats aside. I’ve been so proud of the organisers for their hard work.

 Please don’t hate me for it, but I have managed to get some tickets to the games. I’m usually not lucky but somehow managed to win a few in the ticket lottery back in February so last weekend saw Judo.  I’m not actually a Judo fan but my husband and aforementioned mountain climbing son are. Ironically my son is almost to the top of Kilimanjaro as I write this, so my sister gratefully took his ticket and I went along. I really enjoyed watching men and women from the various countries we work with competing – Kazakhstan v Mongolia, Egypt v UAE, Spain v South Korea, Portugal (she was one scary Judo fighting woman) v China etc. And even countries we don’t work with such as North Korea (!) were there to represent their countries and the vibe inside the arena was fantastic – fans supporting their own countries as well as others. (OK, maybe not North Korea but the rest, yes.) Unlike the Badminton players, all the Judo athletes played by the rules and respected each other and the games.

The rules for teaching abroad however, unlike those set by the IOC, are often gray, selectively enforced and changeable and I thought I would update you on some recent changes and trends which are affecting lots of teachers because they are in very popular locations – China and the UAE.

China this year has been really enforcing their 2 year post-qualification experience requirement and this means that teachers who have less than 2 years experience are shut out of international schools in most of the region now.  Even teachers with significant pre-qualification experience are not being approved by the Chinese Ministry.  So if you are interested in the Far East or Southeast Asia teaching in international or bilingual schools (rather than TEFL schools or as a Language Assistant- rules are different there) and don’t have 2 years post-qualification teaching experience at the time you start your new job then it’s highly unlikely we can find you work in this part of the world. If you are having trouble finding teaching work in your home country then I recommend you look first to the Middle East or Africa, then jumping over to the Far East/SE Asia once you have got your experience sorted.

On the UAE front, for all but ADEC Licensed Teacher posts, the Ministry is now (mostly) enforcing rules that had previously been enforced only selectively/rarely regarding educational requirements. Similar to the ‘no child left behind’ requirements in the USA and current MOE rules in Kuwait, teachers who want to work in the UAE (including Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi as well as other emirates) need to have a first degree and teacher training that matches their teaching subject. This means that secondary teachers with a Geography degree who have a PGCE in English and 15 years of experience teaching English cannot be approved as English teachers. At the primary (elementary) level, the Ministry is now looking at teachers’ first degree and if not in Education, it must usually be in something relevant to what you are teaching. This means that primary teachers with Business degrees, Theology or Sports Management (etc) cannot be approved.   Teachers with these degree issues should look at countries nearby who do not have this requirement such as Qatar, Oman and Egypt.

Like the Olympics themselves, international requirements are always growing and morphing which is why many teachers like to work with a reputable agency like Teachanywhere whose business is to stay on top of such things. With our scale and breadth of interaction with schools and ministries around the world we are able to give you up to date guidance on where you will be considered/approved, saving you frustration and wasted effort.  If you have any questions you should definitely pick up the phone to your consultant or email us at teacher@teachanywhere.com.

Wishing you and yours Olympic glory,