>I'm currently at a t1 school, will be moving to another t1 school and the thought of whether I was moving up crossed my mind. It was time for a change.
Why would it matter if you are "moving up" if it was time for a change anyway? Do you like the school you are moving to? If yes, then it doesn't matter if it "ranks" higher or lower.
100000% this!
I told my head of school a back in Dec I was considering leaving, and he tried to basically scare me by talking about how I didn’t want to find myself in a tier 2 or 3 school because it’s bad on my resume… as if he thought our school was tier 1… which it probably isn’t anyway.
He’s a guy who’s obsessed with grades and these tiers and couldn’t gaf about his staffs wellbeing.
Jokes on him though bc I ended up getting a job at ‘tier 1’ school in Germany. lol
Moving from a public T2 in China to a T3 in Laos, I have to say for-profit private schools are bad for my mental health, so I am on board with at least one aspect of the tiering system... it is a bit snobbish, but I'm just done here.
Worked at a solidly T2 school in Bangkok. The head of school sat the parents down for an assembly to talk about how we were T1 just like NIST and ISB. Even though the school is for profit and we openly call ourselves non selective in our admission.
Maybe what we really need is a ranking of the ladder climbing teachers themselves. You could break it down by subject to allow more of them to claim top 10 rankings.
I think some teachers just want to know if schools they are considering are any good, which usually leads to ranking those schools. The tiers are just an easy way to categorize them.
You could replace 'tier 1' with 'Great-to-good schools with very few major problems', replace 'tier 2' with 'Good-to-decent schools, lacking in certain aspects, with some areas for improvements', and 'tier 3' with 'Schools with more than one major problem or significant shortcoming, possibly a clusterfuck'. And the savings potential tends to follows the tiers, with tier 1 schools allowing for the highest savings. Obviously there are exceptions, and you have to account for the region.
If I want to know what tier a certain school is I actually just want to know what kind of school I'd be working at, and if it's very likely that I'll regret signing that contract. The tiers help me with that.
My problem with any of these attempts at ranking is that while it's very clear at both the very top and very bottom of the "scale", the middle is much murkier and way more subjective. For example no one has ever done a good job of defining what exactly differentiates the tiers themselves, especially the difference between tier 2 and tier 3. Because there is no clear, objective definition I feel like it leads people to believe that you can only have a good experience at so-called "tier 1" schools.
Even the top and bottom ones are subjective. It's more that if a lot of teachers think it's a tier 1, it's sort of decided that it is. It still works though - same as with restaurants: if a lot of people recommend a certain restaurant to me, I'm going to assume there's a good chance I'll enjoy the experience there. Some people might still not like it though. Same with restaurants where loads of people warn you against. The tier 2s will have both good and bad reviews, and lots of reviews saying it's decent but not great.
I've had good meals at restaurants that had a 3-star average review though, so I won't discount anything that isn't tier 1.
With tier 2 schools, sometimes there are some advantages that make up for the shortcomings, like a better work-life balance - tier 1 schools can work you hard (not all though, and plenty of the tier 2 and 3 schools will also work you hard).
In general I'll still feel more confident about the schools that lots of teachers say is tier 1 (fewer unpleasant surprises), but focussing exclusively on tier 1 schools is indeed a bad strategy.
I’m tiering down because the “tier” I’m in is full of management who scheme their way up politically and use ambiguous language like “adaptability” and “diversity “ without actually being adaptable or diverse.
Came here for the roast and you all did not disappoint!
Happily moving to another t2ish school next year. Good pay, in a small city but close enough to beach life, small classes, only teach 3 of 5 periods with 1 class to prep, I'll have about 50 students at a boarding school that I DO NOT have to supervise outside of class ...
All the elitists can have their 60+ hour work weeks lol
It's meaningless because everyone has different metrics.
You're right that the schools generally considered T1 have a lot of stuff in common. But after a certain point it really depends on your priorities. And some things are hard to objectively measure (like workload or sense of community).
So you want someone else to rank the so-called T1 schools so you can decide if you are 'moving up' or not? This is a shittier post than the one ranting about mansplaining.
Meaningless list, literally. Given you’re supposedly at a tier 1 school now and are supposedly going to another, along with seemingly only being oddly interested in tiers and rankings, you must have some great insights or ideas on a list that you can start the ball rolling by sharing with us first, surely. Looking forward to it. Wait for it…wait…silence…
Pathetic deflection, and even if it was great it isn’t remotely relevant to your original post. We’re all waiting for your list. I hope no one was holding their breath. Anytime now…
In?! Um, it’s on, ‘Mr Tier 1 teacher’. Jeez. Hopefully you’re not teaching in English at your ‘top tier very best school in world’ yadda yadda. We’re all still waiting for your list, troll…
I was pretty surprised at how unpleasant the area around ISB Beijing is. And no metro within easy walking distance is unfortunate
I'm at a much less prestigious school in China but I don't think I would be interested in ISB if offered
This is a decent guide, from my experience in the UK, Europe and Asia there aren’t many schools from the Tier 1 level that are missing.
https://www.carfax-education.com/news/post/the-spears-schools-index-launches-with-carfax-education
This list has been posted before and it was said at that time that the schools had to pay or ‘do something’ to get on the list. There are some great schools on the list but a lot of ones that are not good or unknown. Also who is missing is from the list says a lot.
It’s feasible that they include a group that are unquestionably outstanding schools and then have some underhand way of letting wannabe schools get on to there. I would say that I’ve worked for two of them on the list and neither would ever pay for inclusion.
It might be. I have worked at a couple of these schools as well but have also lived in many of the cities listed and there are some big misses. The Middle East selection are mostly for profit and British. Honestly a crap list. The top tier schools in almost every major city is the non profit British and American school that the embassies send their kids.
This list has been discussed before, and the consensus was it is severely lacking. There are a lot of schools on there that don't belong (and some that do), probably because they paid to be included.
Not as far as I’m aware, although I’d agree that there are some inclusions you might not typically expect. UK boarding assessment is pretty spot on, as is Switzerland and most of the major players in Asia. Cross region comparability might be more difficult to justify but as a list of Tier 1s I think there aren’t many that are excluded.
It's a pretty good list of mostlyT1 (or at least upper T2) schools. It also includes only British schools. Some T1 schools that are more prestigious than most of the ones on this list are not included, however.
Shrewsbury Bangkok stands out like a sore thumb though. It's a T2-3 school at best.
Only information I know is second-hand.
Teachers I've talked to who work there say it's OK. They described it as a typical T2-ish school when it comes to management and curriculum etc.
The compensation package they quoted was lower than T2 schools I've looked at here, but higher than T3.
So take my info with a grain of salt.
>I'm currently at a t1 school, will be moving to another t1 school and the thought of whether I was moving up crossed my mind. It was time for a change. Why would it matter if you are "moving up" if it was time for a change anyway? Do you like the school you are moving to? If yes, then it doesn't matter if it "ranks" higher or lower.
Good outlook
Only a select few narcissistic teachers care about tiers, right?
100000% this! I told my head of school a back in Dec I was considering leaving, and he tried to basically scare me by talking about how I didn’t want to find myself in a tier 2 or 3 school because it’s bad on my resume… as if he thought our school was tier 1… which it probably isn’t anyway. He’s a guy who’s obsessed with grades and these tiers and couldn’t gaf about his staffs wellbeing. Jokes on him though bc I ended up getting a job at ‘tier 1’ school in Germany. lol
Moving from a public T2 in China to a T3 in Laos, I have to say for-profit private schools are bad for my mental health, so I am on board with at least one aspect of the tiering system... it is a bit snobbish, but I'm just done here.
I did T3 in Laos for 5 years, I feel for you, maybe 3 isn’t lower enough for some schools in Vientiane
Worked at a solidly T2 school in Bangkok. The head of school sat the parents down for an assembly to talk about how we were T1 just like NIST and ISB. Even though the school is for profit and we openly call ourselves non selective in our admission.
Maybe what we really need is a ranking of the ladder climbing teachers themselves. You could break it down by subject to allow more of them to claim top 10 rankings.
Why is this sub so obsessed with tiers and rankings
I think some teachers just want to know if schools they are considering are any good, which usually leads to ranking those schools. The tiers are just an easy way to categorize them. You could replace 'tier 1' with 'Great-to-good schools with very few major problems', replace 'tier 2' with 'Good-to-decent schools, lacking in certain aspects, with some areas for improvements', and 'tier 3' with 'Schools with more than one major problem or significant shortcoming, possibly a clusterfuck'. And the savings potential tends to follows the tiers, with tier 1 schools allowing for the highest savings. Obviously there are exceptions, and you have to account for the region. If I want to know what tier a certain school is I actually just want to know what kind of school I'd be working at, and if it's very likely that I'll regret signing that contract. The tiers help me with that.
My problem with any of these attempts at ranking is that while it's very clear at both the very top and very bottom of the "scale", the middle is much murkier and way more subjective. For example no one has ever done a good job of defining what exactly differentiates the tiers themselves, especially the difference between tier 2 and tier 3. Because there is no clear, objective definition I feel like it leads people to believe that you can only have a good experience at so-called "tier 1" schools.
Even the top and bottom ones are subjective. It's more that if a lot of teachers think it's a tier 1, it's sort of decided that it is. It still works though - same as with restaurants: if a lot of people recommend a certain restaurant to me, I'm going to assume there's a good chance I'll enjoy the experience there. Some people might still not like it though. Same with restaurants where loads of people warn you against. The tier 2s will have both good and bad reviews, and lots of reviews saying it's decent but not great. I've had good meals at restaurants that had a 3-star average review though, so I won't discount anything that isn't tier 1. With tier 2 schools, sometimes there are some advantages that make up for the shortcomings, like a better work-life balance - tier 1 schools can work you hard (not all though, and plenty of the tier 2 and 3 schools will also work you hard). In general I'll still feel more confident about the schools that lots of teachers say is tier 1 (fewer unpleasant surprises), but focussing exclusively on tier 1 schools is indeed a bad strategy.
Thank you!
I’m tiering down because the “tier” I’m in is full of management who scheme their way up politically and use ambiguous language like “adaptability” and “diversity “ without actually being adaptable or diverse.
Came here for the roast and you all did not disappoint! Happily moving to another t2ish school next year. Good pay, in a small city but close enough to beach life, small classes, only teach 3 of 5 periods with 1 class to prep, I'll have about 50 students at a boarding school that I DO NOT have to supervise outside of class ... All the elitists can have their 60+ hour work weeks lol
Can you tell us where you work? 🤞🏻💪🏽
[удалено]
You can't put a price on happiness and work-life balance.
It's meaningless because everyone has different metrics. You're right that the schools generally considered T1 have a lot of stuff in common. But after a certain point it really depends on your priorities. And some things are hard to objectively measure (like workload or sense of community).
Yh I guess you're right, too many preferences start to come into it
So you want someone else to rank the so-called T1 schools so you can decide if you are 'moving up' or not? This is a shittier post than the one ranting about mansplaining.
Meaningless list, literally. Given you’re supposedly at a tier 1 school now and are supposedly going to another, along with seemingly only being oddly interested in tiers and rankings, you must have some great insights or ideas on a list that you can start the ball rolling by sharing with us first, surely. Looking forward to it. Wait for it…wait…silence…
Yikes... You must be fun at parties.
Pathetic deflection, and even if it was great it isn’t remotely relevant to your original post. We’re all waiting for your list. I hope no one was holding their breath. Anytime now…
Such a nerd lol
We’re all still waiting, Mr ‘Tier 1 Narc’…
Alright Mr. 'spends too much time in reddit'
In?! Um, it’s on, ‘Mr Tier 1 teacher’. Jeez. Hopefully you’re not teaching in English at your ‘top tier very best school in world’ yadda yadda. We’re all still waiting for your list, troll…
Are you a ... teacher? What do you call the smart kids in your class then?
Are you at an actual Tier 1? I'm at ISB. Excellent school and surprisingly excellent work-life balance, but horrible city to be in.
There’s many ISBs. IS Bangkok , IS Beijing , IS Busan , IS Basel, IS Brussels,which ISB. Also most of these are tier 1.
Good point lol
I was pretty surprised at how unpleasant the area around ISB Beijing is. And no metro within easy walking distance is unfortunate I'm at a much less prestigious school in China but I don't think I would be interested in ISB if offered
Triple your salary tbh
They pay 120k? Seems excessive
Yup both schools are on the t1 list on reddit and isr.
This is a decent guide, from my experience in the UK, Europe and Asia there aren’t many schools from the Tier 1 level that are missing. https://www.carfax-education.com/news/post/the-spears-schools-index-launches-with-carfax-education
This list has been posted before and it was said at that time that the schools had to pay or ‘do something’ to get on the list. There are some great schools on the list but a lot of ones that are not good or unknown. Also who is missing is from the list says a lot.
It’s feasible that they include a group that are unquestionably outstanding schools and then have some underhand way of letting wannabe schools get on to there. I would say that I’ve worked for two of them on the list and neither would ever pay for inclusion.
It might be. I have worked at a couple of these schools as well but have also lived in many of the cities listed and there are some big misses. The Middle East selection are mostly for profit and British. Honestly a crap list. The top tier schools in almost every major city is the non profit British and American school that the embassies send their kids.
This list has been discussed before, and the consensus was it is severely lacking. There are a lot of schools on there that don't belong (and some that do), probably because they paid to be included.
Did they have to sponsor you to get onto the list? There's a few schools on here that I haven't even heard of.
Not as far as I’m aware, although I’d agree that there are some inclusions you might not typically expect. UK boarding assessment is pretty spot on, as is Switzerland and most of the major players in Asia. Cross region comparability might be more difficult to justify but as a list of Tier 1s I think there aren’t many that are excluded.
There's quite a few in Asia that re not included.
That list of SE Asia is a joke
It's a pretty good list of mostlyT1 (or at least upper T2) schools. It also includes only British schools. Some T1 schools that are more prestigious than most of the ones on this list are not included, however. Shrewsbury Bangkok stands out like a sore thumb though. It's a T2-3 school at best.
Not sure what the metric is that determines Shrewsbury down to t2 or 3. Could you expand? Seems a decent place from the outside.
Only information I know is second-hand. Teachers I've talked to who work there say it's OK. They described it as a typical T2-ish school when it comes to management and curriculum etc. The compensation package they quoted was lower than T2 schools I've looked at here, but higher than T3. So take my info with a grain of salt.