I'd be interested to hear from those who are contemplating (or who alredy have gone) going home. We've been out long enough we have money in the bank and have seen a good chunk of the world; we are thinking of trying life Stateside. We will, of course, wait until the economy is in a better place. We find we miss the football games, seasonal celebrations and the myriad of family celebrations.
We think we can go home and then if it's not as wonderful as we imagine always go back out again. This might be easier said than done.
Thoughts?
Going home
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vincentchase
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:34 pm
- Location: Between 1960-69
Returning Home
I have a couple issues with returning home:
1) Ive been out of the public school system so long now, and havent kept up on changes in laws regarding curriculum, special ed, assessment, for me going back would almost be like going back as a new teacher again.
2) My classroom management skills havent really been needed. Id maybe have one problem a month tops. My kids in the past have all benn motivated to learn. Not that i couldnt find that back in the USA but a public school would be tough.
3) Ive gotten use to the lifestyle and the money. I dont have a house of my own back in the sattes, and dont even have a car. When i think about registering it, and trying to explain to an insurance agent, why I havent carried liability insurance for 5 years thats not a conversation i want to have. Public schools are paying right around $50K a year and private schools around $35K a year, thats a pretty big cut once you start factoring in housing allowances, etc.
4) The respect and feeling like im part of a noble profession would vanish. Being an educator is values where Ive been, the USA doesnt respect the profession anymore. Attitudes towards teachers back in the states are toxic.
5) I do like the idea of being closer to my family, I havent had thanksgiving dinner with my family in almost a decade, and its been years since I spent Christmas. That would be nice. I also miss mass back home, that would be nice to get back into doing.
Voting would be easier, but I wouldnt miss actually having to do my taxes anymore. If your a big sports fan (outside football, sorry soccer), I could see how making due with televised games when you can would get boring. Its nothing like sitting in the stands at an actual game.
Things I miss about the States, sounds like a new thread
1) Ive been out of the public school system so long now, and havent kept up on changes in laws regarding curriculum, special ed, assessment, for me going back would almost be like going back as a new teacher again.
2) My classroom management skills havent really been needed. Id maybe have one problem a month tops. My kids in the past have all benn motivated to learn. Not that i couldnt find that back in the USA but a public school would be tough.
3) Ive gotten use to the lifestyle and the money. I dont have a house of my own back in the sattes, and dont even have a car. When i think about registering it, and trying to explain to an insurance agent, why I havent carried liability insurance for 5 years thats not a conversation i want to have. Public schools are paying right around $50K a year and private schools around $35K a year, thats a pretty big cut once you start factoring in housing allowances, etc.
4) The respect and feeling like im part of a noble profession would vanish. Being an educator is values where Ive been, the USA doesnt respect the profession anymore. Attitudes towards teachers back in the states are toxic.
5) I do like the idea of being closer to my family, I havent had thanksgiving dinner with my family in almost a decade, and its been years since I spent Christmas. That would be nice. I also miss mass back home, that would be nice to get back into doing.
Voting would be easier, but I wouldnt miss actually having to do my taxes anymore. If your a big sports fan (outside football, sorry soccer), I could see how making due with televised games when you can would get boring. Its nothing like sitting in the stands at an actual game.
Things I miss about the States, sounds like a new thread
Coming home is a brand new adventure. It is amazing how, even though, family will tell you how much they want you back, they will have moved on with their own, busy routines that don't include you. Even our own parents! It is a great ego check. It took for sure two years to work our way back into lives of both friends and family. My wife has couple of close friends that moved on without her and they still are not close, despite her trying. We'd find out about gatherings and outings that we used to be included in after the fact. We both felt like outcasts. It was a weird time. My wife took it hard. I didn't take it personally, but my wife did. She wanted to turn around and go back after our first year. I focused on all of the good----blue sky, green space and parks for the kids, bike rides and running on the nature trails near our house, a modern vehicle, clean, fresh produce, etc---and felt the rest would return in due time.
The classroom back here was rough, much harder than I thought it would be. It was difficult to relate to students who didn't care about school again. We both had awful classes our first year. Classroom management began to trump content. And now, after six years back here the students are still very challenging, but we have a presence in the school now and that makes a difference. Our first year, none of our students knew us from a hole in the ground and with no personal connection coming in, they had no reservations about pushing the boundaries at every turn. I went from regular and frequent contact with keen parents to a parent teacher interview evening where not a single parent turned out! Having said all of that, I have been pretty happy teaching here overall, there are a few good aspects and hang your hat on those. I will say this about the kids, they are real and when they are nice to you it isn't because they are looking for something in return.
Your point about football is spot on. I also really missed the hype surrounding college and even high school sports. Tailgating and going to games again has been awesome. You can't really be on top of the football, bball, baseball sports scene without actually being here and I've enjoyed that again thoroughly.
Good luck!
The classroom back here was rough, much harder than I thought it would be. It was difficult to relate to students who didn't care about school again. We both had awful classes our first year. Classroom management began to trump content. And now, after six years back here the students are still very challenging, but we have a presence in the school now and that makes a difference. Our first year, none of our students knew us from a hole in the ground and with no personal connection coming in, they had no reservations about pushing the boundaries at every turn. I went from regular and frequent contact with keen parents to a parent teacher interview evening where not a single parent turned out! Having said all of that, I have been pretty happy teaching here overall, there are a few good aspects and hang your hat on those. I will say this about the kids, they are real and when they are nice to you it isn't because they are looking for something in return.
Your point about football is spot on. I also really missed the hype surrounding college and even high school sports. Tailgating and going to games again has been awesome. You can't really be on top of the football, bball, baseball sports scene without actually being here and I've enjoyed that again thoroughly.
Good luck!
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overseasvet2
- Posts: 191
- Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:50 pm
thanks for responses
Very interesting to read each person's perspective. I went home; I would look for work outside of teaching. Gipper - totally relate to the family issues. We already feel irrelevant to extended family...we've missed out on 15 years of bonding.
6 months for every year out....yikes, I'll be ancient! Might not be worth it!!
6 months for every year out....yikes, I'll be ancient! Might not be worth it!!
Wow...this is EXACTLY what we've been thinking about...excellent thread.
We are now down to 3 interviews (internationally) and 2 are "good" schools (KL and Beijing) and 1 in a startup school in Shanghai (with all the problems that come with that) and we've seriously thought about "going home". The family issue is the biggest as my mom has missed out on 12 years of one daughter and 4 years of the other (though we see her every summer and even a Christmas or two in the past 14 years). As we would be going back to NYC aream the public school wages would be a bit higher, but not much (we saw around 65,000 for NYC for a Masters +10 or so), but we would want to find a private school for many reasons.
6 months...that makes 7 years to re-acclimate???? Hmmmm...Beijing and KL are looking a lot better now...maybe even Shanghai!
We are now down to 3 interviews (internationally) and 2 are "good" schools (KL and Beijing) and 1 in a startup school in Shanghai (with all the problems that come with that) and we've seriously thought about "going home". The family issue is the biggest as my mom has missed out on 12 years of one daughter and 4 years of the other (though we see her every summer and even a Christmas or two in the past 14 years). As we would be going back to NYC aream the public school wages would be a bit higher, but not much (we saw around 65,000 for NYC for a Masters +10 or so), but we would want to find a private school for many reasons.
6 months...that makes 7 years to re-acclimate???? Hmmmm...Beijing and KL are looking a lot better now...maybe even Shanghai!
Humm
6 months per year, i wonder if there is a curve to that? I can see if youve been gone 2 years and it taking a year to acclimate, but does it really take 5 years if youve been gone a decade? If youve been gone 2 decades does it really take a decade? Ive got to think that moving back home, would be just like your first trip moving overseas, it takes 6 months to get settled, and after 2 years you have friends, and know your way around the land. I cant really think of an overseas post that would take 5 years to get acclimated (the deeper intricacies of japanese culture exempted).
Expect all your friends to have moved on. It is awkward for families to hang out with singles, and doesn't really happen unless it's a huge gathering of friends. And they make new friends with more similarly minded people.
As international educators, we have seen and learnt much more. It's hard for many to relate to us. I suppose we should set up our own tax free haven to retire on and make entry requirements 30 years on the circuit.
As international educators, we have seen and learnt much more. It's hard for many to relate to us. I suppose we should set up our own tax free haven to retire on and make entry requirements 30 years on the circuit.
Slide Show
None of your friends really want to hear about your trip, or see pictures. They will say how lucky you are, and then move on to the next topic, because they dont want to be reminded that they dont get to travel. They will REALLY get tired if you keep bringing up stories and situations about how another culture solves the problem so easily. Especially other teachers, they dont want to hear how great your kids are, or how much easier things are, etc, etc.