Are you tempted by teaching abroad? Should you stay or should you go? This may be exactly the question you are asking yourself right now as you are entering the world of teaching or even if you are a seasoned professional. We’ve connected with Mikey who is based in exotic Cambodia to find out about his experiences first time teaching abroad.
“I finished my degree at a beautiful campus university in London before completing my NQT year in the South West of the City. It had long been a dream to travel but saving in the capital is almost impossible, even on a decent teacher salary. So, the next logical step was to leave the UK and move to South East Asia, because that’s totally normal! I was lucky enough to know a friend who had just secured a job in Siem Reap through Teacher Horizons and, following an email, a Skype chat and roughly four days later, me and my partner where planning and packing ready to move.
Now, I’ve moved around a lot and lived all over England and the Midlands so I was pretty excited to take on a new challenge. However, my partner, who is considerably closer to her family than I am with mine, was a little more anxious. Together, and with the support of her family, we put any worries or concerns we had on the back burner and waited for the time to come. In fact, our biggest concern really came about when making sure we had all of our jabs and injections up to date and ensuring we could manage a previous existing medical condition. Turns out, everything’s been fine although I have been relieved on a couple of occasions to say that I’ve had my tetanus and rabies jabs!
So, really all that was left was to pack the bags, which actually meant throwing away or selling two thirds of our property and making list, after list, after list (not my idea!). Realistically though, short of the essentials (clothes, medication, first aid kits, etc.) there wouldn’t be anything I would have liked to pack that I didn’t. Maybe the greedy part of me would have stuffed in some treats from home but other than that, everything else is readily available.
There are many, many differences to living at home and living abroad of which I can only be specific about my one experience. But when it comes to work, do I miss having 30 children? Do I miss the threat of Ofsted? Do I miss taking books home at the weekend and passing up on a social life? No! Do I miss seasons? Wrapping up in front of a fire? A 25°C summer? Walking into a supermarket? Oh yes! But that’s it; the creature comforts and a cold Christmas! I certainly don’t miss the social expectations, the being in a rush, the deadlines or the lack of life. And, from a teaching perspective, I feel like I’ve flourished. Now, I have time to spend actually with children, building up their confidence and levels. I have time for personal and professional development and trust me, a school without a Local Authority to answer to are much more welcoming to new ideas. There’s time to try new approaches and actually look, in some detail at what worked, what didn’t and what to do next. For now, I can actually be a reflective practitioner…even from a hammock.”
We’ll be happy to help you make your next career move to an exciting new destination. Contact our friendly team of advisers who will be able to make the perfect match between your teaching skills and suitable international schools.
