ITP - 36: Supporting New Teachers and Recruiting Season Begins

Kent: Ha ha, welcome to the International Teacher Podcast. Wait a minute—what’s your name? International Teacher Podcast? Okay, let’s try that again. Take two.

Welcome to the International Teacher Podcast. I am Kent, the cat guy, and with me tonight we have a full house. With me is Matt, the family guy, and Greg, the single guy. Bring it up at the end of this introduction. Everyone who knows me knows I’m an outro guy, not an intro guy.

Greg: I was a little bit mad. I don’t know about you, but I’m a little bit upset because Kent usually has some kind of great outro. I thought there was going to be something special for the intro tonight, and that’s why I let him do it. We’ve got our first clip right there.

Matt: I don’t know about you. I thought that was pretty borderline. I was disappointed. I had high hopes for the start of the show. This is a family program there, cat guy. Stay tuned.

Kent: Okay, let me tone it down a little bit. So, Kent, tell us about the two topics that we’re going to do tonight—this evening, this podcast.

All right, boys. Tonight we’ve got two topics. Number one, here we are six weeks into our school year, and we are talking about how to support and bring on board all the new teachers who have joined us this year.

Our second topic is recruiting season. I know—recruiting season, even before Halloween. Some of our coworkers might be out recruiting at the fairs, so it’s time we had a chat about that. And any police stories that might have happened since our last discussion—we haven’t done one of those in a while.

Greg: That’s true. I haven’t had anything really strong, but there’s a new record. I did get three speeding tickets last week when we went to Bahrain.

Kent: Three?

Greg: Yeah. Two of them were on the way back and one was on the way there. None of them were from getting pulled over. The speed cameras got me—one on the bridge, one coming off the bridge, and one on the highway.

Kent: So we might have a little bit more exciting podcast next time.

Matt: Did they pull you over?

Greg: No, but it’s a police story, and that’s what you asked.

Matt: Stay tuned for when the police show up to pay those tickets.

Greg: We’re just really hitting high marks with tonight’s show already. We’ve got a solid intro, very unexciting police action. I like this episode, and I think our viewers do too. We’ve got about 8,700 hits now on our show overall for the past year plus that we’ve been on. I’d like to thank our listeners for hanging in there and listening to us. Maybe they’re learning something. Maybe it’s just that we added Kent to the show.

Matt: Kent definitely adds a certain level of appeal.

Kent: I’ll take that.

Greg: All right, Kent, let’s get going. I want to hear how you support some of the new staff that have been coming into school. You’ve been here for quite a while at this current school and before that in Yemen. What’s one of the ways you help out in those first couple of months?

Kent: The best advice I ever got as a new teacher was from a veteran teacher at both of my jobs. When I was a first-year teacher in Yemen and a first-year teacher here, I received the best advice you can give a new teacher.

When I first arrived, I was working my tail off. I was trying to impress. I had a lot of pep in my step. Finally, one of the veteran teachers took me aside and said, “Take it back a notch. You already got the job.”

So I like to tell our new teachers: take a breath, take it all in. You’re a first-year teacher for only one year. Sit back and enjoy it.

Greg: That’s really good advice. I had someone say that to me too—that I was working too hard and making everyone else look bad.

Matt: I’ll follow up on that. I’ve seen teachers give tons and tons of advice to newer teachers, and we forget that in international teaching, it’s not like domestic schools where someone might be brand new. Most teachers already have experience. They might need support, but they don’t need someone telling them how to do their job.

For me, I check in, see how they’re doing, answer questions, have some fun—but I avoid the information dump. You know that information dump where someone just starts talking about 12 different things? In education, most of it isn’t that exciting, and getting it all at once is too much.

Greg: Context matters too. Think about different schools. Some expect you to jump right in—clubs, coaching, everything from day one. Others give you time.

Matt: Exactly. When I got here, it was jump in right away—coaching duties, clubs, everything. But in other places, like South America, it was more gradual. It depends on the school, size, and leadership.

Kent: I’m the kind of person who jumps in right away. I don’t like watching others do all the work.

Greg: Did you feel like people needed to step in and help you, or were you comfortable figuring things out on your own?

Matt: Professionally, it was easy for me. The bigger challenge was the social side—hobbies, routines, life outside school. The paperwork and bureaucracy—what I call bureaucratic ping-pong—was frustrating. You go to one office, they send you to another, and then back again.

Greg: That bureaucratic ping-pong is real.

Kent: It’s part of the experience.

Greg: From my perspective, I try to be the person who can help new teachers find answers quickly. Even if I don’t know the answer, I know who does. Every school has that person—the one who can get things done. I try to connect new teachers with those people.

Kent: That makes a big difference.

Greg: It does. And sometimes it’s not about teaching—it’s about life. Housing, pets, routines—those little things matter.

Kent: I remember coming from a domestic school and thinking I couldn’t leave my classroom to go to the bathroom because I had to supervise students. Then someone told me, “Just go.” That was a big adjustment.

Greg: You don’t know what you don’t know when you first arrive. New teachers often don’t realize how much is happening—new country, systems, routines.

Kent: And you don’t even know what questions to ask at first.

Matt: Timing matters when offering help. Everyone helps at the beginning, but a few weeks in, that’s when it gets tough.

Greg: That’s when homesickness kicks in.

Kent: That’s when veteran teachers should check back in.

Matt: And if you’re the new teacher, don’t just wait. Knock on doors, ask questions.

Greg: Meet people halfway.

Kent: You’re also going to have time alone. That surprises people.

Greg: That’s important time—reflection, hobbies, reconnecting.

Matt: It’s part of the process.

Greg: Those experiences—even the frustrating ones—become your best stories. I remember when I moved to Kuwait. I got in a taxi, went downtown, and had no idea how to get back. I didn’t know the address, building name—nothing. We drove around for over an hour trying to find it.

Kent: That sounds stressful.

Greg: It was, but now it’s a great story.

Matt: Those are the moments you remember.

Greg: Exactly.

Kent: Let’s shift to recruiting season. We’re seeing it start even before Halloween.

Greg: It’s getting earlier every year. Schools ask sooner if you’re coming back.

Matt: We’ll see a mix of virtual and in-person recruiting.

Kent: In-person is hard to replace.

Greg: You can look great on paper, but in-person interviews matter.

Matt: Don’t rely on one method. Use everything—applications, networking, job fairs.

Greg: Start early. You’re planting seeds.

Matt: I sent tons of emails early and heard nothing. Later, those connections paid off.

Greg: That’s how it works.

Kent: Do your homework before job fairs.

Matt: Make sure schools you want are there—and hiring.

Greg: Treat job fairs as the final step, not the first.

Kent: That makes sense.

Greg: Networking is huge.

Matt: Your network is incredibly valuable.

Greg: Build relationships before you need them.

Kent: If you’re thinking about recruiting, start now.

Greg: Use resources like TIE Online and International School Community.

Kent: That saves time.

Matt: LinkedIn is useful too.

Greg: It’s about visibility.

Kent: Position yourself.

Matt: Build relationships over time.

Greg: Recruiting timelines are getting earlier—even leadership roles years in advance.

Kent: That’s wild.

Greg: Be proactive.

Matt: Don’t panic if you’re late—there are always openings.

Greg: There’s a range.

Kent: No perfect timeline.

Greg: Earlier preparation gives more options.

Matt: And think about what you offer, not just what you get.

Greg: Build mutual relationships.

Kent: All right, let’s wrap it up.

Greg: Good discussion.

Matt: Hopefully helpful.

Kent: Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time.

Greg: We’ll see you the next time the bell rings.