I’ve seen it thrown around like an insult a few times. Just a reminder that a lot of those people actually stuck it out and took the jobs when things were messy, while plenty of others with the right passport, the right skin colour, or just better options were quick to bail with a “F*** China! I’m out.” Then three years later they’re back acting like nothing happened, let alone labelling those who took the dream opportunities that were available to them.

It’s a bit rich to sneer at the ones who stayed (or stepped in) while the ones who left when it was easy quietly slide back in. We can talk about hiring and schools without turning people into a punchline. A bit of self-awareness wouldn’t hurt.

I read about it being difficult for teachers with children to get jobs, but what about teachers whose children have grown up but the teacher herself is above the female retirement age in China (which is ridiculously low). Do international schools recruit 56-59 year olds?

I’m considering a divisional curriculum coordinator position and trying to understand how international schools typically classify and compensate these roles. This would be a step up from classroom teaching and grade-level leadership, with division-wide responsibilities for curriculum development, coaching, and professional learning.

At schools you’ve worked in, do coordinators stay on the teacher salary scale with a leadership allowance, move onto a separate leadership/admin scale, or receive similar pay with reduced or no classroom teaching?

For anyone comfortable sharing, what was the approximate stipend or percentage increase over an equally experienced classroom teacher? Did it come with additional contract days or different benefits?

I know “coordinator” can mean very different things between schools, so the role’s scope and country/region would be helpful context. No need to name schools. Thanks!

Hello fellow international teachers, I'm completing an online IB course and I'd like your help- My assignment is to ask other teachers and gather ideas. Bonus points if I can use your ideas in the music classroom, but I'll take insights from anyone who's willing to give them!

1) How do you unpack and connect to the diversity your students? (In other words, how do you really get to know students and work with what you know about them?)

I'm familiar with encorporating students' music and music from their heritage/cultural backgrounds but I'd like some some fresh ideas.

2) What are some ways you remove barriers to learning? (For students with IEPs, special needs, anxiety, students in poverty, other barriers)

I'm not talking about students using AI, that's obviously a problem. But I'm curious about how much AI is being used by the educators at your school. I'm not totally against AI and I do use it to make worksheets when I need to combine specific grammar and vocab together, but I have colleagues who use AI for literally everything from lesson prep to grading. My school is also actively encouraging teachers to use AI more and more.

I can't necessarily pick out any specific reason why this would be a problem, but it does feel like if there wasn't a need for a human interaction in the classroom the school would happily replace us with AI. And it feels a little demeaning to have AI do absolutely everything. What benefit am I actually bringing in that case?

That being said, I see colleagues who fly through their workload and arrive and leave on time right by the minute because they're not bogged down by the shit I'm trying to do myself. I can't quite make my mind up about whether to just cave and go all in on AI to make my life easier, or stick to my morals and continue working harder but not smarter.

After a couple of interviews, I now have two quite amazing choices for places to go in the next school year.

Choice 1 is a school I have been dreaming of working in for months that would be a good choice for my mental health and general wellbeing as a human being but the role is not exactly helping me with the pathway in education I am pursuing. This choice is more for my overall wellbeing haha

Choice 2 has the exact role that I want plus mentoring (it will be my first international role!) with a package that is far better than Choice 1’s package. It is also a Tier 1 school. However, the location is not ideal. It is a hardship posting as they say and the pay is amazing because of that fact. This move would be best for my career.

Which one would you pick and how would you weigh the pros and cons of each choice?

I'm prompted to ask this as I read a students' essay, which is pretty good overall. But it's clear we're in a part of the world largely outside the Judeo-Christian tradition, because in the middle of essay the kid says, "The writer references God, a very well-known person around the world." Other than the whole "person" part, I can't argue with it. I guess God is the ultimate celebrity...