ABOUT SCHOOL OF THE NATIONS

The School of the Nations, an internationally-oriented day school in Macau, China SAR, was founded 30 years ago to serve the local and expatriate communities. At present, over 650 students from age 3 to 18 are instructed by a professional and diverse teaching staff.

Our school is dedicated to nurturing the physical, intellectual and spiritual development of children and youth, and developing their capabilities to contribute to the well-being of their families and communities. We are constantly innovating in order to achieve this. Over the years we have been honored to be recognized with local and international awards for our programs, including the holistic Hidden Gems curriculum we developed internally, and has since been adopted by kindergartens in countries abroad. Yet we consider the qualities and attitudes we see in our students as the surest evidence of success.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

It is not uncommon for parents to say they chose our school because of our “framework” yet struggle to explain exactly this means to them. In brief, School of the Nations is a Bahá’í school, which means it aims to operate in ways that reflect the high ideals contained in the Bahá’í teachings and the latest advances in science and education.

This Bahá’í-inspired framework underscores that we are all created noble and part of one human family, that scientific and religious knowledge is progressively refined and clarified, reality encompasses both material and spiritual dimensions, and that we can only truly fulfill our purpose of developing our full potential in the context of selfless service to others. In action, this finds expression as individuals strive to being increasingly selfless in approach, open in seeking truth, collaborative in style, honest and kind in speech, trustworthy in action, humble in manner, and optimistic in disposition.

The Education Department of Macau (DSEJ), in its October 2018 report, urged schools to assist students to become “talents who are willing to serve others and build the society.”

To inspire students of Macau and this region to strive for and achieve excellence in their academic, personal and character development, so that they vigorously participate in the welfare of their community and the world society, has been, is and will continue to be our vision. Our school readily acknowledges that it still has considerable distance to traverse. We warmly invite you to become a member of our family, the School of the Nations.

WHAT MAKES A SUITABLE TEACHER?

Virtually all schools, including ours, seek educators with demonstrated teaching skills in areas including content delivery, classroom management, lesson preparation, and assessment. Further, we look for teachers with the ability to facilitate inquiry and team/project-based learning and follow differentiated strategies to serve the needs of individual learners.

Yet above this, the ability to fully engage with the life of the school and contribute to its advancement is often connected with how flexible teachers are. Specifically, being eager to understand our school environment, which has been shaped by our students and our unique philosophy and grow within it. With flexibility, teaching becomes an exciting pursuit to set aside many of the underlying assumptions about education and human nature underpinning past training and classroom experience in order to explore it from another perspective.

We constantly question, assess, and evaluate every aspect of the education we provide. Every year we continue to make progress towards realizing our vision and we welcome you to apply to join us on this thrilling journey.

WHICH TEACHERS THRIVE AT SCHOOL OF THE NATIONS?

1. Enjoy teaching. Teachers who studied educational leadership or have an itch or longing to go into school administration have rarely, if ever, been satisfied at SON. Our thriving teachers simply love teaching students.

2. Curriculum agnostic. For several important reasons we utilize multiple curricula (Kindergarten: Hidden Gems; Primary: Singapore Math, Reading Street for English; Middle School: Cambridge; Secondary: IGCSE and IB). This mix changes based on what is best for our students. This approach has been incompatible with teachers who have a strong professional attachment to one curriculum or another. Staff who thrive are those who embraced any curriculum they were called upon to teach.

3. Open to new ideas and a bumpy ride. Our school was founded 30 years ago to further the integration of academic and moral education, following a coherent Bahá’í-inspired approach. This long-term process has advanced most when teachers strive to understand this novel approach in its own terms. Further, teachers who have thrived have been those who remain upbeat and unruffled by the tumult and uncertainties of a school committed to such profound educational change.