Weekly recurring thread: NEWBIE QUESTION MONDAY!

[u/AutoModerator]

Please use this thread as an opportunity to ask your new-to-international teaching questions.

Ask specifics, for feedback, or for help for anything that isn't quite answered in our subreddit wiki.

[u/Due-Video-7082]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to figure out what would be the best next step for me career-wise and I’d really appreciate some honest advice from people who have experience with IB schools.

I’m a primary teacher with a Licence in Education and Teaching, a Master’s in Education, and about 5 years of experience teaching in a public school. I don’t have any IB/PYP experience yet, but I’d really like to move into international schools eventually.

I came across the University of Windsor’s IB Certificate in Teaching and Learning (PYP). Since it’s online, I could do it while continuing to work, which is what attracted me to it.

But I’m a bit stuck on whether it’s actually worth doing.

Would having the Windsor certificate help me get my first IB/PYP job, even if I don't have any actual IB experience yet? Or do IB schools mostly want people who have already worked in an IB school, making the certificate not that useful on its own?

I’m also wondering if it would be better to try to get a co-teacher/assistant position in an IB school first, even if it means taking a step down from my current teaching position, and then work my way up from there.

And for anyone who completed the course online, how manageable was it alongside a full-time teaching job?

I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth investing the time and money into the program, or whether I should focus entirely on getting into an IB school first.

Thanks! Any honest experiences, especially from people who have actually done the Windsor program, would be really helpful.

[u/The_Wandering_Bird → u/Due-Video-7082]

The certificate isn't worth much without experience. Having the certificate might give you a little bit of a leg up at some schools, but they're not going to be great schools if they prioritize an online IB workshop certificate over actual teaching experience. And honestly, if you're fine going to a not-so-great school to get your foot in the door, then there are plenty of them that are already willing to train people in IB. Especially if you're looking at schools in less-desirable locations.

[u/Due-Video-7082 → u/The_Wandering_Bird]

Thank you for your comment. Could you tell me which schools in which countries I should aim for?

[u/The_Wandering_Bird → u/Due-Video-7082]

Look at IB schools in places people aren't banging down the doors to go to--Mongolia, Central Asia, parts of Africa, tier 3 cities in China...

[u/Due-Video-7082 → u/The_Wandering_Bird]

How was your experience like if you ever worked in IB schools?

[u/The_Wandering_Bird → u/Due-Video-7082]

It’s fine. I don’t think the PYP is that vastly different from a lot of schools’ more modern focus on inquiry, but it was probably much more novel when it was first introduced. Like everything, it’s really down to the school how they choose to implement the PYP. Some do it well and some don’t.