Junior Teacher - getting into international teaching

[matiarchus]

Hi all
I would welcome some feedback on getting into international teaching.
I am a 40yr old single male with no dependents. I have 2 years of Secondary English (language and literature) teaching experience in the UK, post PGCE (so 1 year as an NQT + 1 year after). I have an M.A. in English Literature from a UK Russell Group university. I have come into teaching later in life – my previous career was in journalism and PR/marketing.
Technically I think I have the minimum credentials to apply, however I think I am a bit borderline and that is why I here for some advice. To be frank my start in teaching here in the UK has been somewhat rocky. While I enjoy many aspects of teaching I’ve struggled in the UK public education system which I find highly pressured and frequently dysfunctional. I have been teaching in inner city London schools I have found managing behaviour with little support, alog with poor admins and tick-box culture, to have really ground me down. I had to move schools during my NQT induction year as the pressure was impacting negatively on my health. Fortunately I was able to complete my induction at another school, which while dysfunctional, was at least manageable and suited my personality. I stayed on there for another year. Unfortunately that school then came under new administration, the school started to change and work then became unmanageable again and I had to resign to protect my health.
I am about to put myself into the supply circuit to keep some income up and experience some other schools while I consider my options. Long term I am concerned that working in UK public education is not sustainable (at least for me). While I have improved as a teacher I always have the feeling of fighting a losing battle. I question my ability to make a difference within the system as it currently stands and looking to the future question if it will be possible to make a real impact. I don’t feel I have built a track record of success so far, although I have qualifications.
I wonder if moving abroad to teach might give me a new lease of life? I want to feel I am making a difference. I would not aim for the top tier schools (I suspect it would not be much dissimilar to working in the UK and I don’t feel it would be rewarding for me to teach diplomat’s children and the like). I feel that a lower tier school, perhaps in a regional city in Asia might be an option. I don’t need to be anywhere especially exiting or vibrant. I’ ve thought about taking a CELTA course - but just to ad another string to my bow - I’m not sure about going down the ESL route – as people on this forum of mentioned that could be detrimental if the goal is to teach in an international school. I do fancy a bit of an adventure but I want some development as a teacher, to make a bit of a difference. My goal is not to be a teacher-tourist and while I don’t expect (or need) a high salary, I would like to earn enough to be comfortable, have a good experience and save just a little bit.
What might my options be? Would taking a CELTA course be advisable? Should I focus my efforts in trying to gain good experience in mainstream UK education for a while yet? Any thoughts on this would be welcome.

[vandsmith]

well, it doesn't hurt to try. if you have two years post-cert experience, that is the minimum. i got hired with 0 experience post-cert no problem. you might be in an area considered a 'hardship' location, and you could have behaviour problems there as well, but i would doubt it would be anything like inner london. you'd have rich, entitled kids mixed in with hard-working kids but no real violent kids - just a-holes and jerks. maybe others have seen kids get violent with teachers, but over 4 schools i haven't ever seen that happen. i have seen it back in canada though, and i'm sure you've probably seen some crazy shite in london too!

anyways, i don't think you'd need to get any of those esl qualifications if you're interested in teaching international schools, and you have your teaching qualification. as you say, someone will probably hire you and then you can plug away for a couple years and move somewhere more to your liking.

good luck!

v.

[grizzlyhare]

@vandsmith
I'm currently in the process of getting a certification and don't really want to teach in my home country. What sort of offers were you getting, and in what regions specifically were available to you? Of course feel free to omit any info that you think is too personal and whatnot. I just want to get a feel for what's out there when I'm finished with my cert. I know ME is considered a hardship region, are any others (like Central Asia,for example)? Thanks.

[vandsmith]

i got into uae into a decent school, without the two years experience, and stayed there for several years. it wasn't the best but far, far from the worst. it was in a city and i found good . scene and everything to make the region not as "hard" as some might think. yeah, it lacked for culture and was fairly vapid in many ways, but i saved money and had lots of fun - and never got ran over by a white suv! yay!

hardship locations are somewhat subjective but the threat of instantaneous widespread violence or domestic terrorism is one factor, also a high level of inflation and unrest usually due to sharp inequality are good indicators. BUT some people can go to some of these places and have no problem whatsoever, while another may go and get mugged 3 times in the same afternoon. what are you looking for? what are your priorities? what is important that you have in your new home - culturally, romantically, financially, etc??? generally, these will determine your "hardship" locations.

when you get your certification, i would suggest joining search associates, and/or TIEonline. the brits have TES but i don't really like that one. but it does have jobs on it, however sketchy!

the main point is there are options out there, but temper your expectations in terms of quality - but again, even though we have a general idea of what a quality school is, other factors will usually affect your overall happiness more.

best of luck!

v.

[grizzlyhare]

Thanks for the reply. I'm basically interested in anywhere that is not the Middle East. I'd love to know what sort of offers you got from other regions. Culturally I'm open, romantically I'm married, and financially I'd be ok with getting experience in a decent international school as long as the pay isn't extremely low or similar in scale to what I was making as an ESL teacher.

[matiarchus]

Thanks for the reply Vandsmith......

Why is ME considered a hardship location. Surely Not as hard as Central Africa and the like? Is it because they are perceived as boring culturally? UAE or Qatar, for example, strikes me as somewhat developed. I can see Saudi being tough for various reasons, but is it unsafe?

[eion_padraig]

The ME can be a hardship position because the bad schools, can be very, very poorly run and treatment of teachers can be abysmal. If you end up in a dispute with the owners of the school or even parents of students you may even find it impossible to leave the country or in extreme cases imprisoned (see Dorje Gurung) since often the owners have political connections. This can happen in other regions too, but it's more prone to happen in the ME since the money and political power is closely aligned. Add to this the challenges of accessing alcohol in some countries and regional concerns about terrorism and violence.

Do many people go to the ME and have great experiences? Certainly. However, I can count the number of people I've met on one hand who have spoken about teaching in Kuwait with enthusiasm. I've also known other people who were skeptical about going to the region who ended up staying for years and really enjoying their time there. I think a lot depends on the quality of the school.

With all these things it's a very personal decision. I really like living in China, but lots of people don't.

[whynot]

You won't know unless you try, and it's worth a try. It sounds like your heart is in the right place, and that counts for a lot. Teaching back home has its challenges, and I don't begrudge anyone who finds it difficult. At least you did it - I have met many ITs who haven't taught back in their home country systems and I find that they are the ones who have unrealistic expectations. It's a good yardstick. You will almost certainly find teaching overseas easier to manage and better for your health, while still making a difference.

Your background will be an asset. Good luck.

[PsyGuy]

The consensus on the bar to entry in IE is 2 years post credentialing experience, you have that youre an entry class IT. Theres nothing wrong with that, every IT was a career enter at some point. Why dont you believe you deserve somewhere exciting and vibrant or too be well compensated? If you will accept poo in IE there are a lot of ISs that will be all too happy to accommodate you.

An ESOL certificate (CELTA/DELTA) is worthless in IE, you would be wasting your coin and none of them are going to add anything to your PGCE and QTS.

You already have good experience in UK DE, what more do you think you would gain?

The ME has a lot of negatives. Its a restrictive, repressive region. A lot of issues with leadership that are simply business managers trying to squeeze every bit of coin out of the enterprise they can. There isnt a lot of respect for educators. Its been written about extensively on the forum. If you go to the ME you have to be focused and motivated on the coin.

@grizzlyhare

The more hardship areas of Asia (China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Mongolia, etc. ) and the ME. The low coin in much of the LCSA means many ISs in that region cant afford highly experienced ITs.

[matiarchus]

Thank you Psyguy

I guess I lack confidence. My two years in the UK state system has not done much for my confidence. I never really feel like I was making much progress with my students - it always feels like an impossible situation and I think it will be hard to talk positively in interviews etc.

[vandsmith]

i'm pretty sure you're not alone in your ideas about education being negatively affected by the UK state school system! loads of teachers wanting or wishing to leave.

anyways, to answer questions, i never thought of the ME as a hardship location. the hardest thing about it was the oven-like heat for most of the year, but there are about 3 months where it is amazing weather. i was in the UAE so i can't really comment on anywhere else except to say that many people said avoid kuwait. if i was to do it over again, i would look at oman.

and whether or not the UK broke your confidence, you still need to be able to talk about the positives and what you as a teacher want to do and how you approach the kids. use your challenges in the UK as positives and opportunities to develop your professional career...you at least have to know the jargon (wasn't that the point of teacher's college anyways? haha). depending on who you get hired by, what group you teach, and what kind of school you work at, behaviour management can be a lifesaver. as PG and eion said, there are lots of issues - organization, business culture, parents over there, and not necessarily only the locals.

these countries are largely safe, and possibly the safest countries you can find between the tropics (i could be wrong) but the point is i never felt threatened or in danger at any time. my wife felt uncomfortable often, due to staring and such but that's it.

if you're a qualified IT, then you should be making more than an ESL teacher would, unless that ESL teacher was maxed out with experience and maybe working at a university. it's pretty hard to say what offers you would get, the landscape is always changing. but in general, you'll see a lot from china and the middle east.

good luck.

v.

[PsyGuy]

@matiarchus

You are in the wrong field then. The gratification and warm fuzzy feeling you get from changing a students life usually come much (years) later. The instant gratification of making the world a better place through education are few and far between.
It is an impossible situation thats why it takes 12+ years to grow a human being into an adult, and thats every single student. We can put humans on the moon, implement a new data center for Google and design and build anything from a car to an airplane in much less time, and the projects that do take longer are much more uncommon. You have to see the forest beyond the trees to be happy in edu.

Its disingenuous to claim that you make less in ET, actually you make more in ET if you compare compensated hours. Yes, IT make more but they are also working a lot more and harder on tasking that is essentially uncompensated. In ET you are paid for when you are there, each lesson is coin. In IE you have a lot of uncompensated marking and planing that occurs outside of your duty time. ETs rarely plan anything and marking is maybe a few minutes. Add uncompensated meetings and ASPs and its a lot more contact work then the courses your the TOR for. Divide total tasking activity by coin for IE and the coin is much closer with ET making more at senior experience levels. The claim of making a lot more as an IT occurs when you get into the upper tier ISs and you have learned to create efficiencies that reduce the amount of tasking hours you have to allocate.

@vandsmith

SG is in the tropics and WAY safer than anything in the ME.