Should I stop working?

International schools are weird. You get jobs months before they begin and everyone thinks you are about to move somewhere even though you aren't leaving for almost a year. That happened to me recently when I got the job in Cairo. Now I just have to wait in Shanghai for nine months. It's great though, since you have no real worries, and can just relax. Oh course, you have to keep working but some teachers really do shut down in the last few months of the school year. I don't think I will be one of those teachers. I came to school 90 minutes early today to prepare for the four classes that I had to teach. Then I pulled a whole day of work. So should I just quit working and relax for nine months? I don't think I should. The kids would hate it, my colleagues would think I am a loser and I would probably go nuts waiting for something to do.

Got it!

I am really excited. I was offered a job with Cairo American College the other night and I accepted. Now I just have to finish the year here in Shanghai. Overall this is a pretty good place, so I cannot complain. However, I know as the temperature starts to drop, I will be happier and happier with my decision. I have never really been a big fan of winter, even if the one here isn't really that cold. The apartments here seem to suck in the cold weather and I am always freezing. So that is my exciting news. I still don't know what I will be teaching, but I am okay with that. I am just happy and excited to be going to such a great school. When I visited there, there were many people who had been there for 20 years. I would love to be at a school that long. Really get to be part of the community. Well, next school year: Cairo, Egypt!!!

Cairo American College

Well I had my interview with Cairo American College (CAC) the other night and I think it went pretty well. I spoke to three principals and the head of school. It is a place that I have been interested in working for forever. I think it was one of the first schools I ever knew about way back when I really wanted to go to the Middle East but didn't really know much about it. I thought Cairo could be an interesting place to visit, and perhaps live. So hopefully, I will now get a chance. That being said, I am still waiting. Fingers crossed.

International Schools

It is difficult to judge schools but there are ways that this is done in the international community. We don't have grades like students but some are definitely better than others. My current school, Shanghai Community International School, is actually quite good. I would give it an overall B in the international community. Shanghai American School is one of our big rivals and it probably is an A school based on its reputation. I have known a lot of people who have taught there, however, and they weren't anything too special, so reputation is key for a school. The school were I was before Shanghai, the American International School of Kuwait, was probably a C level school when I arrived, but it improved every year I was there. We had pretty good administrators and the community was mostly interested in education. We did have a fair bit of problems, however, as all schools do, so I would say our grade would have still be in the B minus range when I left. Still it was a great place to work, and I hope it keeps improving. My first international school was the New School of Collaborative Learning. It was small (only about 80 students) but everyone worked really hard to make it work. For effort we would definitely have gotten an A, but the quality of life in Beijing was low, the material needs for the teachers were never met and the pay was just awful (and got worse after I left). Unfortunately that school never had a chance to get better, and it ended up going out of business a few years after I left. I would say it was a C school, that never quite had a chance to improve. I write all of these reflections today, because I have just applied to what I consider an A school, The Cairo American College in Egypt. I have an interview on Wednesday and am super-excited. I interviewed with them last year, but didn't make the cut. Hopefully, this year will be a little better. Their enrollment has fallen a bit because of the Arab Spring and the recent overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood president of Egypt, but I think it might be a great time to get to Cairo to see what is going on there on the ground. Insha'allah I will get the job. Wish me luck.