There I was right in the backyard of the New York Times but unable to clock in the "36 Hours in New York City" ~ as their travel writers would have it.
Even if I had a few days, some nasty, wintry weather wouldn't have made for walking the Big Apple.
My limited time was spent at the Marriott ~~ or was it the Hilton? ~~ along with participants from 12 other conferences. It took a few minutes to read the electronic bulletin board in the main lobby. Amazing what they can squeeze into all those banqueting rooms.
There was the Stem Cell Research Group and a gathering of the American Luxury Leather Association. All the noise was coming from the Scandinavian 2008 exposition for New York City travel agents. Way at the end of the hallway was the annual meeting of the A.C.O.A.C. I never did figure out who they were (all women each of whom seemed to have perfume samplers).
Our little gathering of 25 people was shunted away in Gramercy A. From the top of the UP escalator to the Gramercy room was 4 minutes or 419 steps ~ I counted. The bathrooms were another 42 steps. You had to be careful with the morning coffee ~ if you get my drift.
A couple of travel victories: Hotels.com saved several hundred $$$ off the conference rate at a similar hotel two blocks away on 57th Street. And JET-BLUE is becoming my favorite domestic airline ~ free 36 channel TV ~ ample (very) leg room ~ and no change fee this morning when I switched to an earlier flight.
Nice going, everyone.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Time Out!
A number of educational systems around the world (especially in the UK and Europe) call Time Out for their students.
Better known as a Gap Year this is either a mandatory or voluntary break from the path of formal education. Other terms include bridging year, year off, deferred year and transition time.
Call it what you will ~ the Gap Year (the most popular term) ~ provides breathing room for young people to mature, relax, indulge, reflect, travel or even study in a setting different from the formal classroom.
I’ve seen a couple of different models but one in particular impressed me (in a western European country where Guinness is popular). The Gap followed Year 10 ~ the time of the national school-leaving exam. Students then had the option of ending their formal education and joining the workforce or to participate in the Gap Year.
The Gap was structured on a trimester basis with a mix of options: job experience, in depth technology training, volunteer social service, "outward-bound" fresh air activities, travel or coursework at other schools.
After the Gap Year students returned to classes ready for Years 11 and 12 and a challenging pre-college curriculum.
This week Princeton University has announced that some freshmen will have the chance to go abroad for a year of social service work. This news has caught the attention of the media and so the Gap Year concept is getting quite a bit of publicity.
Princeton’s president, Shirley Tilghman said in an interview that such a program would give students a more international perspective. She also called it a year of “cleansing the palate of high school, giving them a year to regroup.”
Oh! to be 18 again.
Better known as a Gap Year this is either a mandatory or voluntary break from the path of formal education. Other terms include bridging year, year off, deferred year and transition time.
Call it what you will ~ the Gap Year (the most popular term) ~ provides breathing room for young people to mature, relax, indulge, reflect, travel or even study in a setting different from the formal classroom.
I’ve seen a couple of different models but one in particular impressed me (in a western European country where Guinness is popular). The Gap followed Year 10 ~ the time of the national school-leaving exam. Students then had the option of ending their formal education and joining the workforce or to participate in the Gap Year.
The Gap was structured on a trimester basis with a mix of options: job experience, in depth technology training, volunteer social service, "outward-bound" fresh air activities, travel or coursework at other schools.
After the Gap Year students returned to classes ready for Years 11 and 12 and a challenging pre-college curriculum.
This week Princeton University has announced that some freshmen will have the chance to go abroad for a year of social service work. This news has caught the attention of the media and so the Gap Year concept is getting quite a bit of publicity.
Princeton’s president, Shirley Tilghman said in an interview that such a program would give students a more international perspective. She also called it a year of “cleansing the palate of high school, giving them a year to regroup.”
Oh! to be 18 again.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Recruitment Season is Here
The teacher recruitment season for international schools reaches its peak this month.
Frenzy might be a better word.
Despite the huge advances in telecommunications and the ease of reaching people these days ~~ most recruiters still want to eyeball candidates ~~ or press the flesh as it were.
Organized, professionally run recruitment fairs are the best and most practical way of interviewing and hiring candidates. Fairs now occur from December to June ~~ from Australia to Canada~~ with about 25 stops along the way. Take your pick of 1 ... or 3 ... or 5 ... or... it's not so easy these days.
Let’s do some simple math. No one knows the real numbers (including me who did this for a long time) but here is a guess:
Take 500 international schools seeking new or replacement teachers. Take 8 vacancies on average per school or 500 x 8 = 4,000 placements. That’s big business.
It also makes for big competition.
In the old days it was a gentleman’s game. Recruiters interviewed candidates Friday – Sunday. Reference checking phone calls were made Monday – Wednesday. Offers were made. Candidates were given a week to consider and weigh their options. It was all very decent, civil and orderly.
The scene now:
Hi ~ I’m Ken from Kuwait. Here’s your contract!
Good day ~ I’m Nigel from Norway. Here’s your airline ticket!
Cheers ~ I’m Carla from Chile. Here’s your apartment key!
One of the underlying principles of sound recruitment is “finding the right match” between the candidate and the school … and doing this takes time. Of course, when your competition is scooping up the field it is difficult if not downright impossible to play the gentleman’s game. It’s a fascinating process.
But more on this topic later.
Frenzy might be a better word.
Despite the huge advances in telecommunications and the ease of reaching people these days ~~ most recruiters still want to eyeball candidates ~~ or press the flesh as it were.
Organized, professionally run recruitment fairs are the best and most practical way of interviewing and hiring candidates. Fairs now occur from December to June ~~ from Australia to Canada~~ with about 25 stops along the way. Take your pick of 1 ... or 3 ... or 5 ... or... it's not so easy these days.
Let’s do some simple math. No one knows the real numbers (including me who did this for a long time) but here is a guess:
Take 500 international schools seeking new or replacement teachers. Take 8 vacancies on average per school or 500 x 8 = 4,000 placements. That’s big business.
It also makes for big competition.
In the old days it was a gentleman’s game. Recruiters interviewed candidates Friday – Sunday. Reference checking phone calls were made Monday – Wednesday. Offers were made. Candidates were given a week to consider and weigh their options. It was all very decent, civil and orderly.
The scene now:
Hi ~ I’m Ken from Kuwait. Here’s your contract!
Good day ~ I’m Nigel from Norway. Here’s your airline ticket!
Cheers ~ I’m Carla from Chile. Here’s your apartment key!
One of the underlying principles of sound recruitment is “finding the right match” between the candidate and the school … and doing this takes time. Of course, when your competition is scooping up the field it is difficult if not downright impossible to play the gentleman’s game. It’s a fascinating process.
But more on this topic later.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Puntacana and sustainability
To tell you the truth, dear Reader, I hadn’t heard of Puntacana until a month ago. So, I’ll voluntarily withdraw my self-proclaimed Very Knowledgeable World Traveler status.
In early January an unexpected opportunity came up to extend my itinerary to Santo Domingo by a few days to make a special visit. To where? To Puntacana, which as I now know, is the eastern tip of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Getting there ~~ as they always say ~~ is half the fun. Hence, the previous post about flying down to Puntacana. The first plan was a commercial flight ... then a charter ...then ... well … your basic private plane. Sorry, no further details for the curious.
There really was no flight number and the little prop job did have two green stripes across the white fuselage. There was a pilot and – presto –25 minutes after leaving Santo Domingo we swung low over the pristine white beaches and palm trees of the Caribbean to land at the local airport.
Here’s what I discovered. Puntacana is being developed in an environmentally sustainable manner. ‘Tis true. The “Grupo Puntacana” has been promoting the area since 1971 in an eco-friendly manner (1971 ~~ the first Earth Day, remember?).
Today the hotels have a special water treatment plant and an industrial laundry facility which recycles energy. The golf courses are specially maintained to save on irrigation and watering. The Group has set aside 1,500 acres for its Ecological Foundation which is promoting the Partnership for Ecologically Sustainable Coastal Areas ~~ all this in conjunction with American and European universities. At the Foundation, students demonstrate organic farming skills, the protection of wildlife habitats and the promotion of health care and education for the 1,850 employees. And yes, there is an international school as well as two others set up for the local community.
Good stuff down there on the eastern tip of Hispaniola in the place called Puntacana.
In early January an unexpected opportunity came up to extend my itinerary to Santo Domingo by a few days to make a special visit. To where? To Puntacana, which as I now know, is the eastern tip of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Getting there ~~ as they always say ~~ is half the fun. Hence, the previous post about flying down to Puntacana. The first plan was a commercial flight ... then a charter ...then ... well … your basic private plane. Sorry, no further details for the curious.
There really was no flight number and the little prop job did have two green stripes across the white fuselage. There was a pilot and – presto –25 minutes after leaving Santo Domingo we swung low over the pristine white beaches and palm trees of the Caribbean to land at the local airport.
Here’s what I discovered. Puntacana is being developed in an environmentally sustainable manner. ‘Tis true. The “Grupo Puntacana” has been promoting the area since 1971 in an eco-friendly manner (1971 ~~ the first Earth Day, remember?).
Today the hotels have a special water treatment plant and an industrial laundry facility which recycles energy. The golf courses are specially maintained to save on irrigation and watering. The Group has set aside 1,500 acres for its Ecological Foundation which is promoting the Partnership for Ecologically Sustainable Coastal Areas ~~ all this in conjunction with American and European universities. At the Foundation, students demonstrate organic farming skills, the protection of wildlife habitats and the promotion of health care and education for the 1,850 employees. And yes, there is an international school as well as two others set up for the local community.
Good stuff down there on the eastern tip of Hispaniola in the place called Puntacana.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Flying down to Puntacana
Voice: your flight is at 11 am tomorrow from the airport near Santo Domingo. Be there at 10:45
Me: 10:45? Isn’t that cutting it close? What about the 2 hour thing?
Voice: 2 hours? Don’t be silly, senor. 10 or 15 minutes is all you need here
Me: what is the flight number?
Voice: there is none - we don't do flight numbers.
Me: no flight number?
Voice: just board the small plane with 2 green stripes on its side.
Me: that’s it? Just board the small plane with 2 green stripes. Will there be a pilot?
Voice: why do you ask so many questions?
Me: Sorry. I'll be there ready to go. Green stripes you say?
Me: 10:45? Isn’t that cutting it close? What about the 2 hour thing?
Voice: 2 hours? Don’t be silly, senor. 10 or 15 minutes is all you need here
Me: what is the flight number?
Voice: there is none - we don't do flight numbers.
Me: no flight number?
Voice: just board the small plane with 2 green stripes on its side.
Me: that’s it? Just board the small plane with 2 green stripes. Will there be a pilot?
Voice: why do you ask so many questions?
Me: Sorry. I'll be there ready to go. Green stripes you say?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Super Monday, if you will
Americans are good at hyperbole. Very good. Exceptionally good. High Five Good!
For example, today we celebrate Super Sunday and in 48 hours we’ll observe Super Tuesday. That leaves tomorrow, Monday, in for a psychological blow.
The main feature of Super Sunday is the Super Bowl.
Unless you’ve just returned from a yak hunting trip to Mongolia, you know that the New York Giants will play the New England Patriots for the championship football game. This is a regional contest in that two teams in close proximity will battle it out for bragging rights ~~ just to add spice to another rivalry there ~~ that of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. There hasn’t been this much fun between the Hudson and Charles Rivers since the Mohawk Indians squared off against their cousins the Narragansetts. Super stuff.
Sleep through tonight, though, and you can still celebrate on Super Tuesday when the American primary campaign continues.
I think the number of states holding primaries is 24. Last week I blinked and several of the big name candidates dropped out. Our British friends who stopped by for lunch yesterday said that the debate between Hillary and Barack was civil – I didn’t watch it because of campaign fatigue. Super duper.
So that’s leave Monday, February 4 in a void. The Clermont Blog would like to nominate this day as Super Monday.
It is the beginning of a new work week. It is only the 35th day of the young year. On this day in history in 211 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus died and in 1902 Charles Lindbergh was born. Yours truly will drive across the sunshine state to Miami to catch a flight to Hispaniola. The Chinese New Year begins in a few hours. All in all it appears to be an honorable day. Why not?
Here’s to Super Monday and slightly more hyperbole.
For example, today we celebrate Super Sunday and in 48 hours we’ll observe Super Tuesday. That leaves tomorrow, Monday, in for a psychological blow.
The main feature of Super Sunday is the Super Bowl.
Unless you’ve just returned from a yak hunting trip to Mongolia, you know that the New York Giants will play the New England Patriots for the championship football game. This is a regional contest in that two teams in close proximity will battle it out for bragging rights ~~ just to add spice to another rivalry there ~~ that of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. There hasn’t been this much fun between the Hudson and Charles Rivers since the Mohawk Indians squared off against their cousins the Narragansetts. Super stuff.
Sleep through tonight, though, and you can still celebrate on Super Tuesday when the American primary campaign continues.
I think the number of states holding primaries is 24. Last week I blinked and several of the big name candidates dropped out. Our British friends who stopped by for lunch yesterday said that the debate between Hillary and Barack was civil – I didn’t watch it because of campaign fatigue. Super duper.
So that’s leave Monday, February 4 in a void. The Clermont Blog would like to nominate this day as Super Monday.
It is the beginning of a new work week. It is only the 35th day of the young year. On this day in history in 211 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus died and in 1902 Charles Lindbergh was born. Yours truly will drive across the sunshine state to Miami to catch a flight to Hispaniola. The Chinese New Year begins in a few hours. All in all it appears to be an honorable day. Why not?
Here’s to Super Monday and slightly more hyperbole.
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