Shifting Our Schools: Season 3
Transition and change can be a large part of one’s life as an international educator. Taking the first step to leave one’s home country to live and teach in another country leads to many more steps of transition. International schools vary in how fast paced they are and how much change is going on at any one time. But change is often a common theme with new teachers and administrators coming and going bringing new ideas and energy to their schools.
I bring up this topic of transition and change because my wife and I made the decision that after many years in Asia, we wanted to make our next move to a small school either in north Africa or Europe. Morocco had been on our radar so we made the leap to Casablanca American School this past August.
It has not been an easy transition to a developing nation especially balancing the needs of our two middle school sons with our new jobs, housing, transportation, etc. efforts. I am teaching IB history for the first time which offers a pretty steep learning curve especially coming from a very constructivist, technology integrated curriculum at my last school.
Thankfully we are settled in now and finding ourselves in a very close and supportive teaching community. The wonders of Morocco are now accessible as we get to enjoy incredible travel and cultural opportunities.
I mention these topics because they are what Jeff and I will be talking about in the first three episodes of the Shifting Our Schools podcast as we kick off our third season. We will continue to have guests who bring their expertise to the essential questions that drive our discussions. We also hope to expand the conversation by having listeners call in.
Here is the schedule hopefully starting at 8:00 PM Bangkok time for each episode:
Episode 28: November 18
EQ> From Morocco to Bangkok: How goes it?
Episode 29: December 2
EQ> How can the IB curriculum be shifted?
Episode 30: December 16
EQ> How to recruit to be an international educator?
In a blog post that I wrote about international recruiting, one of the big questions for readers who contacted me was about taking their children overseas not only to new countries but new schools. I plan to share our family experiences in the November 18th show and hope to have listeners call in to share their insights. With IB being so new to me, we definitely will need listeners from IB schools to add to the conversation about their experiences. As it is the start of recruiting season, we hope to provide some insights for those new to international teaching and maybe to veterans who have not recruited in some time.
We have several ideas for our shows in 2010 but welcome listener questions and guest requests. Please let us know what you are thinking.
I would love to be a part of this. Currently in Switzerland, having just left Bangkok in the summer. At an IB World School with all 3 IB programmes. Have just moved here with my 16 year old daughter so I understand the challenges your family has faced. The real problem is the time difference – 8pm in Thailand is 2pm here in Switzerland and I will be right in the middle of teaching at that time. Will listen to the podcast later though – looking forward to it.
Hi Maggie,
Shoot… we would love to hear your insights on both topics. Do let us know if there is anyway you could get class coverage to join us for either the IB or recruiting shows. And I have been only thinking about the diploma program forgetting all about the middle and elementary. Thanks for highlighting all three programs.
David,
I love the topics coming up on the SOS Podcast episodes. Another resource for some of your listeners is a blog post I wrote about awhile back about the recruiting process. It was the most common questions I received at NECC: How do you get to work in an international school? http://www.sometechsense.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=89
We too may be on the brink of moving on to another international location and I understand everything that you and your family are experiencing. As you’ve discovered again, that supportive international community and environment is the cornerstone of taking our families overseas!
We will need to add your international recruiting post to our Links of the Week when we do the show. It is an excellent resource as newcomers and veterans look to recruit this year. Let me know if you are headed anywhere near N. Africa. We are starting to learn about other schools in the region.
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RT @jutecht: Shifting Our Schools: Season 3 http://bit.ly/4wNlap Excited to hear that one of my favourite podcasts is starting up again.Quote