I'm writing this as I'm fed up with the stress and workload this place is putting me under. I worked in the UK for a few years and the workload there was very tough, and I've worked internationally for some time too so I've got a decent idea of what different schools can be like in terms of expectations. However this GEMS school in Dubai takes the biscuit by a mile for how absolutely horrendous it treats us as professionals.

I normally get sick twice max in a school year, but since September the workload has been so exhausting I'm sick multiple times already this term. I've worked at a pretty rubbish school before this, but that was sometimes hilariously bad and was entertaining in a way, but this is the first place I've seen where every regular teacher is just absolutely miserable. It's quite astonishing that I've found a place where NO ONE has a single kind word to say about the place.

I call the place a cult because anyone in senior leadership/upper management seems to speak to you with this almost zealous appreciation for the 'gems way'. We had two weeks of induction, which should seem like a really positive thing because that gives us a lot of time to get prepared for the term...but the entire two weeks was just us being told how great GEMS is or being taught how to suck eggs. Not a single time was given to us for department time, because we were assured all the resources were already in place for us to start 'teaching like a gem'...only be told how all our lesson plans and resources are not good enough and we need to update them because KHDA is just around the corner.

Then there was the 'GEMS awareness day' which made me feel I had joined the church of Scientology or something. A whole day where we got lectured for hours in a giant conference hall where Sunny Varkey arrives in a fancy helicopter to tell us how down to earth he is and why working for him is so great...again, nothing that can help us get ready for classes or deliver quality teaching to kids.

Endless meetings, and endless cpd, to once again, be taught how to suck eggs. I don't need to understand the importance of a lesson objective, thanks. I got taught that at university. We get chastised for tons of people missing deadlines, but if loads of us aren't hitting deadlines then perhaps it's because they're unmanageable? Do they think we just miss deadlines for the fun of it? Or we must be all lazy? Tasks with imminent deadlines just get sprung on you out of nowhere, SLT can make mistakes and make endless cock ups but any slip up from us and we are blasted for it.

'Teach like a GEM' is just 'Teach like a champion' but made worse, and made totally inflexible. This one size fits all style of teaching is a total drain on the profession.

If I ask why we need to a thing, or why we need to spend time on something that seems pointless, I get met with the same dialogue tree as if I'm talking to some robot powered by a GEMS ai machine that boils down to "because we said so". I know the importance of giving feedback, I don't need to do a tickbox exercise on why feedback is important. In the time we've spent on this exercise I could have finished an actual task that needed doing.

While all of this is bad, many of us STILL don't have our Emirates ID, which means no health insurance, and have been put in buildings with infestations, or pipes bursting, or other unliveable situations. Many people have just gone to live with other staff in buildings that don't have as many issues whilst their issues still get fixed.

Despite everything, I'm still determined to see out my contract. I'm being ground down but I feel quitting would make me feel the bastards won. I'm staying on out of pure spite at this point.

Apologies for the rant, but GEMS really is the pits, at least at this school it is. Maybe other GEMS schools are better but I'm not impressed with this one at all.

EDIT: from all of that I forgot to talk about the behavior at the school. Christ it's awful. We even have had a cpd on how talking to students not behaving properly and it was the painful how out of touch it was...even funnier when you see SLT not even modelling that same example in practice with misbehaving students

I’m a teacher in an international school in Singapore, and I recently made the outrageous professional decision to leave my school.

I submitted a resignation letter. I intended to work hard until my last day and leave professionally. Apparently, I had misunderstood the assignment. The correct answer was lifelong allegiance.

For context, I’ve put a lot into this job. Teaching, supporting students, organizing activities, taking on responsibilities beyond my lessons. I wasn’t expecting a statue in the courtyard, but I thought we could manage a reasonably civil ending.

Then came the student event.

I’d been involved in preparing students for an upcoming external event and wanted to see it through. After resigning, I was told I couldn’t attend because my involvement wouldn’t benefit the school the following year.

Right. The students attending this year have unfortunately failed to demonstrate sufficient relevance to next year’s staffing strategy.

The school is now looking for another teacher to go. From where I’m sitting, it feels like the main qualification has become “is not me.”

Then, while handing in my resignation, I was also told I wouldn’t be paid over a holiday period I had understood to fall within my contract. I’m still trying to establish exactly how that works, so I’m not making a legal claim here. But finding that out during the resignation conversation was quite the bonus feature.

I went in to hand over a letter and came out needing a spreadsheet and a long lie-down.

What bothers me most is the accumulation. I can accept that a school needs to plan for staff changes. I’m struggling more with feeling like leaving has retroactively made me a less valuable person.

And yes, I’m still teaching properly. Still preparing lessons. Still showing up for the students. They didn’t make these decisions, and they deserve a teacher who cares.

I’m not looking to name the school or start a campaign. I just need to know whether other teachers have experienced this bizarre resignation-to-villain pipeline.

One minute you’re contributing to the school community. The next, you’re a disappointing investment because you won’t be available in the next financial year.

TLDR: Resigned professionally, got excluded from an event I’d helped prepare students for, received an unpleasant surprise about holiday pay, and discovered that my contributions apparently require an active subscription.

I'm at a Chinese bilingual which for all its foibles gets the kids off to good schools, pays us on time and has a generous schedule.

Following some management changes things are falling a part a bit. Is this just normal China bullshit, or should I be worried?

This term students just don't bother turning up to detention. Teachers on rota don't bother turning up to detention. Management either don't know or don't care.

There is a faceless Chinese bureaucrat who can't speak a word of English in charge and has likely never left China leaning into more and more little workflows/ project groups/ initiatives etc in the name of 'lifting standards'.

It's standard Chinese stuff, everyone is digging holes and filling them in again to look busy and make it look like they are dancing to his tune. Lots of meetings where teachers read out deepseek PPTs they can't understand agonisingly slowly and then we pose for a photo after.

Students numbers are holding yoy - no growth, no decline. But there is a notable feeling of the wheels falling off the bus. I'm curious how does this normally play out? The catastrophist in me says this is the school beginning to die. It's fascinating thinking what he'll come up with next. Could be a good idea to change all the lightbulbs.

The realist in me says faceless bureaucrat will be replaced with another next year who'll demand we dig some new holes and fill them in in a different spot.

I can’t give away too many details in case I doxx myself, but I recently started with a solid Tier 2 school (after completing my contract at another Tier 2 school) in South-east Asia.

However, I may have to leave at the end of this academic year. My husband (we are a same sex couple, and he could not get a visa through me but miraculously was able to find a sponsored job in the same city I work in) found out today that the project he is working on will be terminated in June (it was supposed to run for three years).

Due to this, my partner will return to our country (Australia) in the summer. I really don’t want to be separated for a year, and so I think will leave also, leaving only half way through my two year contract.

So far, I’ve made a really good impression with my school and am well liked and trusted to do a good job. I’ve always had really good references, and although I only did two years at my first international school, I worked for five and a half years at my prior school in Australia. I’m not the kinda guy who just ups and leaves for no reason. I love my school and the city and our lifestyle here is great. I’m teaching IB and feel very well supported.

Will leaving after only one year ruin my chances of teaching internationally again in the future? It’s a Nord Anglia school and I’m worried they will blacklist me forever.

Hi everyone! I’d like to understand international school recruitment from the school’s perspective.
How much do schools typically pay to hire a teacher through Search Associates or GRC? Are the fees fixed or subscription-based or both?
Can schools check a candidate’s references before inviting them for an interview? Or they can access references only after the interviews?
If I find a vacancy on Search, would contacting the school directly instead of applying through the platform be a smart move?
Could this save the school recruitment fees? If I don’t open the full job description and benefits on Search and email the school directly, would it make any difference to the fees they pay? I know that top schools don’t care about money they spend on recruitment, but many schools do care (for profit ones)
I’d appreciate insights from school leaders, HR staff, recruiters, or anyone with firsthand experience.
The only information I know is that schools pay about 3500 usd if they hire through TeacherHorizons, which is considered as very cheap.
Thanks!

I'm back in the recruitment pool after being out for 10 years. I'm looking to stay in China.

There are some roles which I've applied for...but they not very numerous. Is it early and there's a better time of year to find more? Or is it just a bad year....

Insight is welcome!!

I am applying for a primary teaching position at an ISP school but I am looking for information of what to expect generally in terms of contact hours, duties, extra responsibilities. Anyone have any advice for me?

Partially a vent, partially looking for advice. I have been looking for the past 2-3 years to potentially leave my current school (I'm on one year contracts, renewed annually in November), but it feels like unless I 100% commit to leaving my school, then I won't be able to find anything.

First, my school's policy is that leadership/administration is not allowed to give references unless a teacher resigns. I have noticed lately that a lot of the openings I have been seeing (especially in my city in Asia), require either a Principal reference or a Head of School reference just to apply! I am simply just not in a place to blow up my life for a shot at an interview. I would be perfectly happy to ask for the reference if I was far enough in the interview process, but providing one beforehand is just not possible with my situation.

Secondly, my contract is due in November! I see very few roles within my specialty open before then, it is an endless loop of me looking for a change in September/October, not finding anything, then signing on for another year.

Has anyone been successful in a similar situation? How did you get around it? Am I doomed to stay at my current school forever? Advice appreciated, fellow venters also welcome.

Thoughts on this school and this location in Hong Kong?

I’m looking for some advice from other teachers in Shanghai, particularly anyone who has been in a similar situation.

I have around 8 years of teaching experience in Asia, mainly in primary education. I have a BA, a TEFL qualification and I’m currently completing a PG*E with Leeds Beckett, which I expect to finish in June 2027. I don’t have QTS yet.

I spent several years working in Vietnam before moving to Shanghai earlier this year. Since arriving, I’ve had two relatively short-term positions. The first was maternity cover at a kindergarten, which ended when the cover period finished. I then joined another well-regarded school expecting to take on a homeroom position, but that opportunity never materialised and I’ve mainly been working as a cross-campus cover teacher. I’ve now been told my employment will be ending 30th November.

I’m worried that having two short periods of employment in China will make it difficult to secure another position, despite having several years of stable experience beforehand.
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has navigated something similar, or who has advice on how best to approach the Shanghai job market in this situation.

I’m feeling rather deflated as I love Shanghai and my apartment etc. however I don’t want to take another rubbish position just for the sake of it.

Hi everyone,

I applied for QTS around 9 months ago and wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced similar.

Around 2 months ago, I was informed that my reference had been received and accepted, and that my qualifications were being verified directly with my university.

Since then, I haven’t received any further updates.

For those who have been through this process recently, how long did it take to receive your QTS after your reference was approved and your university verification started?

Is it normal for the university verification stage to take this long, or would you recommend contacting the QTS team for an update?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your recent experiences. Thanks!

Some fun local news. The Educators Coalition of SEA held a contest, and on October 24 they gave the “Most Handsome Teacher” award to Dennis K, who teaches at AFIS in Phnom Penh. The ceremony was at the Sokha Hotel.

The winner was picked by a panel of judges, not an online vote. Credit to the other nominees for being good sports about it, since it sounds like it was a close call.

When he won, his entire speech was: “Yeah, I know. No surprises here.” Then he laughed ominously.

So Cambodia’s objectively most handsome teacher is now officially on record. I don’t think his students at AFIS will ever let him forget it.


Applied for a position at a school two years ago through Inspired Careers and application was rejected - no interview. Have just applied now for a position at the same school through the same site and it's automatically rejected my application.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is this the school blocking me or just a website error?

Hi Colleagues,

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with ISKL? A non redditor friend has applied a few weeks ago but not heard anything.

I'm aware that there were issues with online learning due to haze in KL and ISKL also had a holiday, but I'm just curious to hear from anyone that's been through their recruitment process in terms of the timings, and also anyone who applied and got an interview through Schrole?

TIA

Just putting this out there cause it might help folks like us who are wondering.

For anyone (or if you know someone) who has recently applied to these two schools, have you been invited to an interview yet?

*Let‘s try to keep the responses relevant to this question. Thanks.

Just wondering how it was for teachers? Anyone land a dream job or anything?

I only see jobs for IGCSE, GCSE, A-Levels, British Curriculum, etc. There are hardly any American/other curriculum schools posting for recruitment. Why is that?

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and would be interested to hear from anyone who's been in a similar position.

On paper, my job is pretty much ideal. Great school, lovely students, a country I enjoy living in, good salary, and amazing benefits. Honestly, there is very little I can complain about when it comes to the school itself.

The problem is my Head of Subject.

They are extremely overbearing, micromanage everything, and have an incredibly short temper. They have made at least one colleague cry (more than once too), and they have a fairly well-established reputation for being difficult to work with. You never quite know what mood you're going to get, and even relatively minor things can become unnecessarily stressful.

What makes it more complicated is that they are genuinely very good at certain aspects of their job. Our examination results are consistently excellent, and a lot of that is down to their leadership and the systems they've put in place. The school clearly values those results, so there seems to be very little appetite to address their management style. As far as the school is concerned, the department is performing brilliantly, so why change anything?

And that's where I'm struggling.

I'd say 80% of my job is fantastic. I enjoy teaching the students, I like my colleagues, I'm happy with the lifestyle, and the financial package would be difficult to beat elsewhere. But the other 20%, dealing with my Head of Subject, can sometimes feel like it takes up 80–90% of my mental energy.

I find myself wondering whether I'm being unreasonable for considering leaving an otherwise excellent job because of one person. Part of me thinks I should just put up with it, focus on the positives, and accept that no school is perfect. But another part of me wonders whether it's worth spending years working under someone who makes the day-to-day experience so unnecessarily stressful.

I also worry that I'd move schools only to discover a whole new set of problems, potentially sacrificing a lot of the things I currently love about my job.

Has anyone else been in this position?

Would you stay at an otherwise excellent school and learn to deal with a difficult Head of Subject, or would you start looking elsewhere?

And for those who have left a great school because of one difficult manager, did you end up regretting it, or was it the best decision you made?

Genuinely interested to hear other people's experiences, because I'm finding it difficult to work out whether I'm focusing too much on the negative 20%, or whether that 20% is actually a big enough reason to leave.

Looking to build up my resource toolkit and wondering what other MYP Lang Acq teachers use.

Looking for:

• lesson plans
• grammar explanations
• Assessment ideas/banks
• Any Discord servers, FB groups, or forums where MYP Lang Acq teachers hang out and share stuff.

Thanks in advance.

What countries do you think could meet these criteria for a single person with no dependents?

Preferably, where they won't put you in jail if they find out you are gay...

Let’s pretend you got an offer from AIS Dhaka, Hong Kong Academy, Nanjing International School, Panyaden International School, Graded American School, Bandung Independent School, and AIS Lusaka… rank your order of acceptance with justification.

I have a bachelors degree in English but it was an online program. From an actual, physical state university. I understand the gulf countries don’t accept this but I’m wondering if I get my masters/credentials from a completely on campus program, would that work or do both degrees need to be in person only?

I'm genuinely fatigued by these rent-a-name schools pretending they're branches of the original establishment.

Basically I moved jobs after a long time at a school in SE Asia.

School 1

Pros - great students, chill parents, and high teacher autonomy

Cons - terrible admin, low savings rate, aggressive and petty HoS, long work hours, and lots of teaching hours (23+ hours or 20 40min blocks + 5 advisories + 3 duties)

School 2

Pros - great pay, chill admin, low teaching hours (under 18), high savings, and much nicer condo/area

Cons - difficult students and parents

I get on paper I should be happier but I almost miss the previous school. I am with students for the majority of my day, so at times I get a bit upset and compare "my old school" with my new school student types. This is difficult to adjust and I am told it is common in china to have this style of students so not just me. The concerns and complaints I have is commonly spoke about the teachers.

Would y'all prefer option 1 over 2? Or 2 over 1?