An Elephant Came Into School Today
Taking a group of pupils into the rainforest, monkeys suddenly scampering on the school roof, an elephant spontaneously visiting the school yard, and making use of the Red Square as an art studio. They may sound alarming to you but they are just part of the everyday experiences for teachers working in international schools around the globe.
Contrary to expectations, it is not for young and single teachers only. Rudi Powell from Penarth, South Wales reached retirement before heading off first in Vienna and then in Rotterdam. ”How I wish that I had made the move early in my career. I would certainly do it again,” he says. Married couple Kevin and Lorna Gallagher also enjoyed the knowledge of teaching jobs abroad. After a successful teaching career in South Korea and Poland, the couple currently reside in Italy because they are teaching at the International School of Bologna.
Teaching Jobs Overseas
A number of teachers take their whole families with them. Jeff Burt, a Physics teacher from London says, “travelling with our young children was very easy. We’ve grown as a family discovering how to deal with international life; it has become a satisfying and positive experience, providing both our girls a very global, mature, and compassionate outlook in life.” He has taught and resided in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and in Turkey while bringing along his two daughters and wife. For single mothers or fathers it works too: “I knew I wanted to work in an international school and waited for what I thought was the right time for my children,” explains Janice Ireland who taught in international schools in Kuwait, Cairo, Libya and The Netherlands for twelve years. “My son was in university at the time and my daughter tagged along with me and did her A-levels in the same school as I worked. She really loved it! As a single working woman, I cannot even compare the differences to life back home. It’s been a really good thing for me and my family and I would absolutely recommend it.”
He currently holds the position of Director in an organisation that specialises in recruiting teachers for International schools – Teachers International Consultancy.
He says, “Having teaching jobs abroad meant I get to work in some fantastic schools in Colombia, Austria, and Germany, and even journey to some amazing places.”
“We decided to have a go at teaching overseas for a couple of years, but loved it so much that we kept working abroad for 16 years!
Both our kids were born during our overseas stint and it did not create a problem at all. The truth is that it has given our entire family a sense of adventure, a bigger outlook of the world, and greater confidence in travelling.”
Working abroad, Andrew says that the only trouble was finding a new job. “Angie and I and a number of our work colleagues disliked the cattle-market style of the big recruitment fairs and when looking for a job by ourselves it was difficult to find out which schools were the most reputable and exactly what paperwork was required. There were also stories circulating about teachers who had been let down by schools that were undependable and unaccredited. That’s the rationale why we used recruitment consultancies, they gave a much more special service.”
