You love traveling…you love teaching…and you’ve heard there might be a way to do both. You’re right! Teaching in international schools can be an amazing experience and a wonderful way to see the world. It can also be a very difficult and less-than amazing experience. I’ve had many questions about the subject through the years and have decided to put all those Q & A in one place for easy reference. So, if you have any interest in teaching overseas, or wonder how to go about getting a job and what it’s like living and working overseas, read on…
Q- How did you get started teaching overseas? A-I have a very dear old friend in England who I went to visit on a few occasions. Once we were driving down a road and I saw a large sign that said “American Community School.” I said, “Hey! What’s *that*?” and found out it was a school for American expats. The next day I called the school and asked them where they got their teachers. They informed me they hired American teachers like me and to write and apply in the spring, which I did. I was interviewed and hired over the phone for the next school year! And that was all it took back in the innocent, pre-internet, pre-job fair industry days of 1989. That has all changed now!
Q-What are the schools? Are they all part of one big international school system? A-The schools are all very different and have absolutely no connection with one another, other than sometimes belonging to a consortium of other international schools in the same region. So you interview and get hired by an individual school, then you resign and interview and get hired by a different school. There is no “transferring” to another school. The schools can run the gamut of being state-of-the art, excellent places of learning that hire the very best teachers and teach children from as many as 50 nations, to small local schools needing a native English speaker and whose only connection to the word “international” is the sign in front of the building.
Q-What are international schools like? A-First I need to qualify my answer. I have been very blessed in my career--I have only worked in top-tier international schools, generally affiliated with the American Embassy. All of them have had a very high standard of education (IB Diploma), had beautiful facilities (indoor pools, purpose built theatres, etc.), and have taken very good care of their teachers. The salaries have been about the same as they would be in Texas, except they are tax-free and accommodation is often provided. So the potential for savings is far greater than it would be at home. I say “potential”, because not all schools provide accommodation. The general rule of thumb is the less desirable the location, the greater the perks. Perks often include trips home and trips to other countries for conferences and training. I am off to Dubai for professional development this year, plan to go to a conference in Poland next year, with another possibility of a workshop in Lithuania.
Q-What are the kids like? A-The kids are the very best part about the job! They are usually very well-behaved, motivated students who come to school ready to learn. They are generally very well-travelled global citizens, and might come from any of 30+ nations. They can often converse fluently in 2, 3, and 4 languages and know a smattering of others. They tend to be very caring kids—when something like the tsunami in Japan happens, they often have friends there (or in the classroom) so it puts a whole new awareness on world events. Because they have often been “the new kid” they tend to be very accepting and welcoming of others. Class sizes are small—I’ve had anything from 12-22. My current school caps classes at 18, so you get to know one another very well. And you get to leave behind “no child left behind” and exhaustive standardized-testing!
Q- Wow! It sounds so great! Why isn’t everyone doing it? A- Living overseas is not for everyone. No matter how wonderful you may find a country you have visited, visiting it and living in it are two *very*different things. Things you find charming and interesting on a visit can become annoying and grating in everyday life. Getting around in another language can be one of the fun challenges on a visit, but it can wear you down having to do it day after day after day. We tend to live like kings in America, with washers and dryers and giant refrigerators that dispense ice out the door. You probably won’t have the dryer, you definitely won’t have the giant ice-spitting fridge, and the washers can take a whole day to do one load of clothes! You can also say goodbye to walk-in closets, central air conditioning, and drive-through anything. So long, gas grill and backyard pool. Not to mention barbeque and decent Mexican food! Say goodbye to all your furniture and collections too, because shipping allowances for international schools tend to be fairly small. Mine have ranged from 2 suitcases to 4 cubic meters. And never take for granted the amount of “elbow room” you have in the States! Get used to crowds overseas.
So, you can see there are some definite benefits to working overseas, but some definite drawbacks, too. In my next entry I’ll tell how to actually go about getting an overseas teaching job, and some ways to avoid some of the pitfalls.
Q- How did you get started teaching overseas? A-I have a very dear old friend in England who I went to visit on a few occasions. Once we were driving down a road and I saw a large sign that said “American Community School.” I said, “Hey! What’s *that*?” and found out it was a school for American expats. The next day I called the school and asked them where they got their teachers. They informed me they hired American teachers like me and to write and apply in the spring, which I did. I was interviewed and hired over the phone for the next school year! And that was all it took back in the innocent, pre-internet, pre-job fair industry days of 1989. That has all changed now!
Q-What are the schools? Are they all part of one big international school system? A-The schools are all very different and have absolutely no connection with one another, other than sometimes belonging to a consortium of other international schools in the same region. So you interview and get hired by an individual school, then you resign and interview and get hired by a different school. There is no “transferring” to another school. The schools can run the gamut of being state-of-the art, excellent places of learning that hire the very best teachers and teach children from as many as 50 nations, to small local schools needing a native English speaker and whose only connection to the word “international” is the sign in front of the building.
Q-What are international schools like? A-First I need to qualify my answer. I have been very blessed in my career--I have only worked in top-tier international schools, generally affiliated with the American Embassy. All of them have had a very high standard of education (IB Diploma), had beautiful facilities (indoor pools, purpose built theatres, etc.), and have taken very good care of their teachers. The salaries have been about the same as they would be in Texas, except they are tax-free and accommodation is often provided. So the potential for savings is far greater than it would be at home. I say “potential”, because not all schools provide accommodation. The general rule of thumb is the less desirable the location, the greater the perks. Perks often include trips home and trips to other countries for conferences and training. I am off to Dubai for professional development this year, plan to go to a conference in Poland next year, with another possibility of a workshop in Lithuania.
Q-What are the kids like? A-The kids are the very best part about the job! They are usually very well-behaved, motivated students who come to school ready to learn. They are generally very well-travelled global citizens, and might come from any of 30+ nations. They can often converse fluently in 2, 3, and 4 languages and know a smattering of others. They tend to be very caring kids—when something like the tsunami in Japan happens, they often have friends there (or in the classroom) so it puts a whole new awareness on world events. Because they have often been “the new kid” they tend to be very accepting and welcoming of others. Class sizes are small—I’ve had anything from 12-22. My current school caps classes at 18, so you get to know one another very well. And you get to leave behind “no child left behind” and exhaustive standardized-testing!
Q- Wow! It sounds so great! Why isn’t everyone doing it? A- Living overseas is not for everyone. No matter how wonderful you may find a country you have visited, visiting it and living in it are two *very*different things. Things you find charming and interesting on a visit can become annoying and grating in everyday life. Getting around in another language can be one of the fun challenges on a visit, but it can wear you down having to do it day after day after day. We tend to live like kings in America, with washers and dryers and giant refrigerators that dispense ice out the door. You probably won’t have the dryer, you definitely won’t have the giant ice-spitting fridge, and the washers can take a whole day to do one load of clothes! You can also say goodbye to walk-in closets, central air conditioning, and drive-through anything. So long, gas grill and backyard pool. Not to mention barbeque and decent Mexican food! Say goodbye to all your furniture and collections too, because shipping allowances for international schools tend to be fairly small. Mine have ranged from 2 suitcases to 4 cubic meters. And never take for granted the amount of “elbow room” you have in the States! Get used to crowds overseas.
So, you can see there are some definite benefits to working overseas, but some definite drawbacks, too. In my next entry I’ll tell how to actually go about getting an overseas teaching job, and some ways to avoid some of the pitfalls.
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