by | Jun 7, 2013 | Blog, Disconnect[ed]

$5.00.  That’s the average expense for my mobile phone per month while living in the Philippines.  As you might easily guess, unlike most of my students I don’t have a fancy smartphone.  Not that there is anything wrong with iPhones or any of the other various pieces of technology many of us use to “stay connected.”  Nowadays, if you’re working at a tech-savvy school you’re expected to know your way around an iPad, laptop, smartboard, maybe even an Apple TV.  In fact in some international and independent schools, in addition to being allocated classroom keys, teachers are given new laptops, iPads, and other devices, which for many have become the tools of the trade.  Many schools have clearly embraced technology, moving beyond the days of computer class as the sole opportunity for utilizing IT. Of course it wasn’t always like this.  I remember just a few years ago, when the cool kids (and drug dealers) had beepers.  Once students started bringing phones to school, as teachers we were supposed to crack down on phone use like prison guards confiscating toothbrush shivs.  Then came iPods and MP3 players, texting, and then, for many of us we gave into trying to regulate, because heck…we wanted to check our smartphones too. Clearly technology is revolutionizing the way we do pretty much everything (just step into a bathroom in Japan and you know it’s everywhere), and as educators we must embrace this wave or be swept away.  Yet, I wonder if in our willingness to accept and embrace change, we missed something. Today, no one can deny that we must be equipping our...

Universal Tuition Benefits: The Answer to All our Problems?

by | Apr 16, 2013 | Blog

If you ask any international or independent school educator about the benefits of teaching at their school, you’re likely to hear about free tuition for dependents.  Before I had any kids myself I thought little about this benefit for obvious reasons, but also because I’ve taken for granted the relatively great education I received in US public schools.  It wasn’t until I started working at a K-12 international school that I realized the enormous benefit of working at a great school with excellent teachers who would one day teach my children. If you’re like me, a product of the US public school system, then you grew up in the same classroom as the children of the school’s secretary, principal, and custodian.  However, in international schools this isn’t as a common.  Instead of extending tuition benefits to all employee’s dependents they are often only extended to the faculty.  Even in many NAIS schools you’re unlikely to find the custodian or lunch personnel receiving this benefit.  In a recent conversation with an independent school administrator, he laughed (and cringed), at the feeling that his children had been providing the social economic diversity to a school filled with much wealthier students. This isn’t to say that there aren’t good reasons to limit tuition benefits.  For many schools, allowing even one or two students per staff member could balloon the school population by hundreds.  In international schools the difference between host culture curriculum and international school curriculum could cause some major hiccups in the school learning environment.  Furthermore, universal tuition benefits could lead to great divides and more cliques in the school.  Not...

To Sleep or Not To Sleep

by | Mar 12, 2013 | Blog, Teacher's Corner

…that is the question.  If you spend any amount of time around teenagers, like I do, you’re probably familiar with their ever-present sleepy look.  In class, in the hallway, in the library, almost everywhere one looks you’ll see at least one teenager on the verge of falling asleep.  When asked why, students will often respond by saying “I was up late doing homework.”  Being a teacher I’m familiar with the homework demands placed on students, and as a former teenager I remember the added exhaustion that comes with sports, activities, relationships, and working a part-time job (a experience many of our international students aren’t familiar with).  Of course most teachers won’t standby and let students sleep in their class, and I would argue that if they’re trying to you might want to rethink some of the teaching strategies being used in your classroom.  However, what about the other spaces in the school?  Should students be allowed a place in school to rest during study hall?  How about a quick nap over lunch in the quiet library?  Is this ok? At the risk of sharing a “when I was your age story”, I don’t remember many teachers allowing students the liberty to find a comfy corner to sleep when I was a student.  Yet, I know there is a lot of research about the benefits of napping, and as a fan of quick-naps to boost productivity, I often wish we’d encourage this practice more in the workplace.  After all don’t all those cutting edge companies in Silicon Valley providing napping rooms, video game consoles, and other non-work distractions. The truth...
Leaping into the Abyss

Leaping into the Abyss

by | Feb 8, 2013 | Blog

You’ve polished your resume, attended a recruitment fair, interviewed with some great schools, but you still don’t have a job offer for next year.  Now what?  Join the club.  The recruitment process in international education must be one of the oddest of any industry.  You must first decide whether you want to stay or go at your current position, often before you know if there is a suitable opening at a different school, and if there is, there is no telling whether that position will still be available when the recruitment fair begins.  I suppose the positive side to all of this is that at many of our schools we tell our students to be risk takers, and we undoubtedly model that trait in the recruitment season. For those of you who are trying to make the leap from teaching to admin, the recruitment process is even more risky.  Should you take another teaching position if you can’t step into a leadership role this time and postpone your leadership move for a few more years?  The irony of the whole thing is that as a budding school leader you’re probably perfectly qualified for teaching positions at schools you would have jumped to be at last time you went through the recruitment wringer. As I have had the opportunity to speak with a number of school leaders, as well as interview for a number of leadership positions, I keep hearing the same thing “Don’t give up, it’ll happen.”  Logically, this is likely true, since the more times one applies and the more experience one gets in the meantime, the more...
Just Say No–To Bake Sales!

Just Say No–To Bake Sales!

by | Dec 10, 2012 | Blog

No I’m not on a diet nor do I have anything against baked goods–although I’ve never liked cake brownies.  My harsh words about bake sales have nothing to do with the goods being sold, but the missed opportunities to teach students tangible skills through the event.  Now before you send the president of the PTA after me, give me a chance to explain myself. If your school is anything like the one I teach at, your mission and vision statement says something like “our students are globally minded international learners who are prepared for environmentally responsible international globalization.” Okay I’ll admit that sounds a little sarcastic, and it’s not because I don’t think we have a responsibility to provide our students with opportunities to impact their local and global community.  We do.  Yet so often we fail as educators to allow learning to guide our impact.  A bake sale is a perfect example of misguided giving with little impact on learning.  Sure the intentions are good; sell baked goods to raise money for some kind of charitable need in the local community, while simultaneously fulfilling service learning requirements for National Honor Society, IB, or some other program.  It’s quick and easy, but often the results are superficial and temporary. Whenever there is bake sale at school I’m always solicited to buy something (again no cake brownies please).  However, instead of giving into their demands I like to ask a few questions first.  For example, this week when an enthusiastic 11th grader asked, “buy a brownie?” I replied “sure, but first what were your input costs for these brownies?”  Unfortunately...
Learning from the Worst

Learning from the Worst

by | Nov 19, 2012 | Blog

Even though It seems like the school year just started, somehow it’s already November, which also means it’s recruitment season.  As someone who is officially looking to move on and find a new admin position, it can sometimes feel a little overwhelming.  For some it can be even more difficult to make the decision to leave since when you say goodbye to your current position there is no guarantee you’ll even find a job.  For others the not-knowing that comes with the recruitment season is what makes it exciting. I’m guessing that when you think about your next school you imagine a place where, in the words of Garrison Keillor, “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”  However, when the recruitment season ends some of us will find ourselves moving to schools where the character of the community is far from that of residents of Lake Wobegon (ok, I promise I’m done referencing A Prairie Home Companion…I am from MN don’t ya know). The other week I was talking with an international school recruiter who explained to me that “when you’re starting off in administration you have no choice but to go to whatever school is willing to take you.”  Now although I don’t disagree with his premise that new admin have less to offer in experience, I do argue that since we talk so much about ‘fit’ these days we need to challenge administrators to question experience over fit (says the newbie).  However, the concept of fit vs. experience is not what this blog is about.  What I’d...