Why Teach Abroad?

 

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

We all know that being a teacher has its own (mostly non-monetized) rewards—knowing that what you say and do matters (even if the kiddos are mimicking you), that what lessons you teach today will impact tomorrow (your retirement is in their hands), and that each day had purpose no matter how challenging it was (that dumpster fire drama might be turned into a sitcom someday). But did you know that choosing to teach internationally, away from your own home and comfort zone (you don’t actually need a Starbucks on every corner and a Walmart in every town to survive) has its own benefits? First, it allows you to fully embrace a world perspective as you discover the world as experienced by others who may have a drastically different way of relating to the world that you never knew existed; like did you know that some countries insist on an hour, or even two, for lunch? For real. Living and working abroad is far more immersive than a quick jaunt to a beach resort located in a distant land as it enables you to see the authentic parts of living in that place. Having taught both internationally and in my own home state of California has made me appreciate the unexpected benefits of working abroad such as actually being able to make friends with people who want to connect with others (others who also sacrificed home ties in order to connect with strangers). 

South African Rand

Abroad, there is a work-life balance that comes from the desire to want to explore a new place being prioritized over work deadlines; how many times have I spent my three day weekends in the USA working on report cards rather than being mindful of the reason behind the holiday?  Working at schools that actually want to maintain their relevancy by investing in professional development opportunities for their  teachers upgrades the quality of colleagues you will work with there in turn encouraging you to be better as well. Most significantly, teaching internationally actually earns you enough money to pay your bills, travel every vacation, and even save for the future. Teaching abroad - where you get paid to do what you love most - travel and learn. So what are you waiting for? Go abroad!

The Vault - My International School Profile Tracker

When trying to locate your dream job abroad, a lot of research is required to decide which school to apply for, what to discuss during interviews, and what to consider when being offered jobs.

Use the Google Form, I lovingly call "The Vault," to quickly evaluate a school's profile and website and enter the data that you are most interested in evaluating. The form will create a spreadsheet under the "Responses" tab that can then be organized according to your priorities; an example of my top 8 priorities out of the over 50 data points represented on "The Vault" is located below.

When Applying - This spreadsheet helps you keep track of the valuable contact information, due dates, and vacancies available, especially if you don't have time to apply to that school immediately.

When Interviewing - This spreadsheet helps keeps track of vital information so you don't confuse one school's curriculum program for another, or address the principal by the wrong name. Keeping "The Vault" handy during interviews also allows me to look up specific questions I wanted to ask during the interview that came up during my research. All because of the tricky time zone issues, I recently had three interviews in one day starting at 5:30am, another one at midday, and the last one occurred well past my bedtime at 10:30pm. Throughout them all, I had "The Vault" open in a separate tab that ensured that I didn't scramble my questions as much as my brain felt by the end of the night.

When Considering Offers - When trying to choose which offer to accept, you can rearrange the columns - placing the priorities first - giving you a more relevant snapshot of what your options are. You can even rank the offers based on values such as savings potentials, location, or package offerings to help make a more informed choice.

After downloading "The Vault," keep these things in mind:

1. There is no need to fill out all of the categories/questions when evaluating each school, but I have included an expansive list of helpful things to consider because my needs have changed over time and each person will have unique needs as well. 
2. In addition, you could enter the data you are finding directly onto the spreadsheet rather than using the Google form, but I find using the drop downs provide more consistency in my data recording. I often go back to fill in the spreadsheet more thoroughly once I start researching and interviewing with a school and discover more information.

Download your copy of the "The Vault - My International School Profile Tracker" now.

Headshot Debacle - Bobble Head vs. Winged Warrior

While updating my professional profiles in order to have
greater success getting the job of my dreams, I decided to try out the awesome new AI functions my favorite app, Photo Director, offers. The results were far from what I had hoped to receive.  

First of all, never ever, even in my wildest dreams, had I expected to see a version of myself represented as Bobble Head, but now I cannot unsee what that version of me looks like.  It has taken me decades to get over the fact that my nose is pretty enormous, but this new me as Ms. Bobblehead has given me a greater appreciation for my rather large nose.  

The surprise didn't stop there.  No, no, no...instead my next batch of AI produced style shots revealed my inner Winged Warrior, but in tweed for all the world to see.  Who knew that my style closely resembled that of winged upholstery?  

However, now that I have witnessed all the ways my wings can be represented, I feel that my next steps are to write my own fictional fantasy story, much like my favorite Maas characters in the Court of Thorns and Roses series, but to make sure that I feature in it as the newest heroine who also fancies tweed.

I am curious to know, who actually wears pinecones on their suit jackets; could this be the upcoming Christmas trend this year?  If so, it looks like my holiday card picture is sorted.

Those of you more familiar with using AI tools, might be thinking that the problem lies with the photo I submitted to the app, and you would be correct, at least partially.  Although it is true that the original photo had me posing in front of a very sparkly gemstone display in an attempt to appear more angelic during my recent birthday vacay trip. 

Even though I had used a background removal tool to get rid of the unnecessary appendages, but apparently my Photo Director AI recognized the other AI tool and utilized the original photo to create these lovely winged versions of myself.         

Yet, as my goal for this project was focused on helping me beef up my professional profiles on such platforms as LinkedIn and my candidate applications on international job agencies, the pinecones, the wings, and the overlarge head just won't do. 

I would love to see which version of myself you think will be most effective in securing me the most professional job suited to my unique talents - which unfortunately have more to do with educating others, though keeping them entertained is a large part of that in this highly distractable world.  Therefore, please take the
Ms. Bobble Head vs. Ms. Winged Warrior Poll.