Teachers – Want a Private Education For Your Children But You Cannot Afford It?

You need to teach overseas! Pick a country, any country, and there will be at least one international school there. International Schools offer private education for expatriate’s children worldwide. And, while most of the parents have to pay school fees, one of the conditions nearly always included in the contracts of international teachers is free education for the teachers’ children. There are over 4000 international schools worldwide, all requiring teachers to staff them, many of them offering excellent quality private education.

Picking a school that suits both your children’s needs and yours can be challenging, but it is possible. In a recent interview I conducted with international teachers, Maggie Hos-McGrane, an international teacher of 19 years experience said that after she had completed her research she’d found only 30 of the more than 4000 international schools suited both her and her children. If you have children, here are some things you should consider when applying for teaching posts abroad in international schools.

Is the school a profit making enterprise?

There are a number of different kinds of international schools to choose from, some are run by a board and are not designed to make a profit, and others are run by an individual or company in order to make a profit.

As a teacher you will be concerned that the school’s educational philosophy matches your own. As a parent you want to insure that your children’s education is the priority of the school, rather than the amount of money spent on educational materials and the effect that will have on the school’s owner’s profit.

There are some directors or owners of international schools that may be more interested in the financial benefits of running a school than the education benefits to the students. Be aware, both as a prospective employee and as a parent.

Is the school accredited?

International schools can become accredited by an organization that sets educational and operational standards for international education institutions. One such organization is the Council of International Schools (CIS). In order for an international school to become accredited by CIS, they must go through a rigorous appraisal process which looks at the staff and management, the facilities and, the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

If an international school is accredited, then you can be confident that the quality of education provided by the school is high. Most schools that are accredited by an organization like CIS advertise their status on their webpage, brochures and stationery.

Other organizations that offer accreditation for international schools are NEASC, COBISEC, ISCIS and the Association of Christian Schools International, to name a few.

How many students are in the school?

This is particularly of concern for parents of high school aged children as the number of students in a school may affect the number of subject choices offered at higher levels. For example, if there are only 30 students in the graduating class, then the school will have to limit the number of subjects being offered to make it cost effective. This can often affect profit and non-profit making schools alike.

Additionally, the number of students in the school can affect the number and type of extra curricular activities offered, and therefore your child’s opportunities to experience team sports and other activities that are usually run after school.

When a school has a large number of students, this can also mean that the school is more likely to have a well-stocked library, well equipped laboratories, up-to-date computer equipment and outdoor activity areas. This is usually true of larger schools simply because there is a larger pot of money to fund these facilities from.

On the other hand a school that has thousands of students, while usually offering a wide variety of subjects and activities for students, can often be an anonymous place for children. It is up to you to decide what a good balance is for you and your family.

Which curricula do the schools subscribe to?

There are international schools abroad that offer what is essentially a national curriculum. In fact, in the case of many British schools abroad, it’s even called the National Curriculum.

You can find international schools that are running the national curriculum from America, the UK, Australia, Canada, France (usually taught in French), and so on. Securing a teaching contract in an international school that offers the national curriculum that you and your children are used to will help ease the transition. However, you are not limited by the curricula that you have taught in the past, international schools are generally looking for good teachers and realize that teachers can adapt and teach any curriculum.

When you are looking for a good school for your children, you may run up against some curricula that you haven’t come across before. For example, there is the school wide system offered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The IBO offers the Primary Years Programme up to Year 6, the Middle Years Programme from Years 7 to 11, and the Diploma Years Programme for Years 12 and 13.

Which examinations will your children be working towards?

There are a number of examinations available for international school students, and you will need to understand the options before making any decisions about accepting an employment contract.

I mentioned the IBO previously as being a school wide programme. However many schools adopt bits and pieces of the programme. You may find that an international school offers the Diploma for the upper two years but offers the British IGCSE for Years 10 and 11. IGCSE is an examination based qualification, and the IBO Middle Years Programme has no formal examination assessment, students get a certificate and a record of achievement. Some international schools have a mix and match attitude to the curricula offered.

International schools that run national curricula tend to prepare students for the related national exams. American schools overseas run a mixture of state curricula and AP courses.

In this article I have listed just a few of the factors you’ll need to consider if you would like to get a private education for your children by teaching overseas. While I don’t have any children of my own, many of my colleagues do, and they believe that the education their children are receiving abroad is better than what they could get back home, wherever home may be.

Circumcision For All Baby Boys!

Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Circumcision met to finalize the organization’s new policy on circumcision – which could recommend circumcision for all baby boys. Circumcision is a decision and it is not an easy one for parents to do thinking of the actual act, but pain itself cannot be remembered; even by adults, only the experiences associated with pain can be recalled in later life if other traumas were added to the specific child, such as physical and emotional abuse…

That is why babies don’t remember the pain, and with a good Mohel/Rabby they don’t even feel the immediate pain, or they get some numbing medication or wine or water mixed with sugar to numb the nerve as well as distracting the infants mind from the pain… Remember our brain produce enough of the good hormone during the circumcision, because the mother or close family are helping to increase the levels of the feel-good hormone, known as Serotonin… We also have the Oxytocin, which is another feel good hormone also known as the “Cuddle Hormone”.

Oxytocin is released when we feel love, trust and comfort. It can be even more powerful than serotonin.

However, circumcision has many great benefits. It can prevent urinary tract infections, phimosis, paraphimosis, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. For example, in a randomized control trial, circumcision reduced the risk of acquiring HIV infection by 53%.

I have helped training mothers with natural child birth using hypnosis, and part of the conflict most of the natural child practitioners have is with this specific sensitive subject, some are against circumcision and therefore they are not so respectful and understanding, while they area trying to reinforce their personal opinion on parents during the natural child birth education, and this disturb me, since I believe they should never be allowed to take an advantage of this situation.

In my opinion, I think it is unethical for individual practitioners to allow themselves to educate moms for natural child birth while trying to use the same practice to make parents guilty with their personal decision, and I have herd story’s and not once that during their natural child birth practice, they are tolled not to allow circumstance due to the fact that it is not their baby’s choice. Unfortunately this kind of opinion can reinforce some negative impact on the expecting parents, especially mothers, it can leave them with a huge angr, fear and guilt, and as a result marital argument between the couple trying to convince the other partner to follow their natural child birth educator advice, also can trigger post traumatic stress disorder. Again, in my opinion, it’s not our business as child birth educator to reinforce our ideas or opinions; we need to remember to respect others with their life long decisions!

Even though circumcision has lots of benefits, parents are often still reluctant toward the procedure, where I was asked to care for the baby and to get him ready for the procedure, I have even asked to hold the baby during and after their circumcision, and from my experience, the job was done and the celebration was total blessing to all. On the other hand, many parents choose to circumcise their sons based on their religious, cultural, and ethnical beliefs and once again, in my opinion, this traditions needs to be respected.

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/

Continuing Education for Insurance Agents

Insurance professionals must complete a minimum number of insurance continuing education hours every 1-2 years. Insurance agents must check with their state to see when they are due and how many hours are required. The requirement differs from state to state. The classes an agent must take also differ depending on the license(s) they hold. The most common licenses agents hold are health, life, and property and casualty. Each license allows a producer to sell a different line of insurance depending on their clients needs. Usually, for each license the producer must complete different continuing education requirements depending where they live and do business. Life and health is usually bundled, but property and casualty is selling to a completely different audience.

Insurance educational training is a great way for agents to keep current with industry trends and also learn about new and upcoming products. Many agents have been licensed for 10+ years now and of course rules and regulations have changed. An agent may be committing insurance fraud or a crime and not even know it! Continuing education requirements are meant to benefit the insurance agency, the insurance agent and of course the consumer. The agency knows the agent is being ethical when selling policies to clients. The agent is current with all laws and new products available to their client and the client knows they are getting the best product possible. It is a win/win situation for all parties involved.

Continuing education for insurance agents is very important because the state can revoke your license if you do not stay in compliance. Every agent should know exactly when their continuing education credits are due and how many hours they need to complete to avoid any fines. To find out how many credits you need and when they are due you should contact your state authority or an approved provider. An approved provider will be able to look up your information with the state and help you select online courses to take. Online continuing education is usually the fastest and easiest way to complete your insurance education, especially if you are nearing your compliance deadline. Just confirm with your state that online continuing education is an option. Some states require you complete your education in a classroom. The only real benefit of completing your education requirements in a classroom is there is no exam at the end of the class. The drawback is sitting in a classroom for up to 24 hours!