There and back again…? Venturing into international teaching.

It seems apt ‘to begin at the beginning’. I am unapologetically proud to be working class and whilst this may seem somewhat unrelated to the focus of international teaching, it has a perfect synergy with the ‘unexpected life’ I have. Neither of my parents went to university, I was the second in my immediate family to go but with a few teachers in my extended family and some photographic evidence of stern-looking teachers propped up against a schoolhouse wall in Carrick Fergus, Ireland (my roots are all celtic, minus 15%) perhaps my journey into education which has become my borderless ‘home’, was meant to be.

It’s important to start with the foundation of why I ‘went international’. I love teaching and teenagers, the more complex the better (I do). When my first month’s wages arrived I could not believe my luck, I remember the feeling to this day. It was probably joy, joy that I was loving being a teacher and was actually being paid for it as well and I’ve heard the very same thing from other teachers over the years. In my third year of teaching I decided to take a risk which changed the course of my life, this is how it started and with recruitment as my key priority as an international Headteacher, I hope to offer some ‘top tips’ if you are considering taking the plunge, leap, free-fall or calculated journey overseas.

I was 24, enjoying my job in a large comprehensive school in the north of England with challenging (some), grounded students, the most supportive, hilarious ‘senior teachers’ I’d ever met before (or since) and a leadership responsibility I had taken on due to a maternity leave which was coming to an end. As I scanned the staff room one afternoon, it must have been raining and I must have been writing reports, I realised that if I wasn’t careful I could be sitting in the very same seat in twenty years time. I had no responsibilities and nothing to lose by seeing what could be ‘out there’ and I didn’t want ‘more of the same’ in a place that would be too hard to leave. I was not well traveled at all, coming from Wales, studying in England and Scotland and teaching ‘up north’ was as close to ‘exotic’ as I had ‘wandered’ but I was looking to change my life for ‘two years’, to do what I enjoyed and have an adventure and now having spent over half of my life in international education and having waved off my second child to university, I have no regrets and many fabulous and ‘unbelievable’ stories and memories.

In the ‘olden days’ the TES was a bulky newspaper that sat in all staff rooms and rarely remained intact, strewn, circled and photocopied. It was the ‘rosetta stone’, the one stop shop for all things education in those days. Back then, job adverts were refreshed on a Friday and the copy I was wading through on this particular day, pausing at the small ‘international’ section was pristine because few teachers ever left this school. An advert with ‘History Teacher’ in bold caught my attention, it wasn’t promising beach holidays or business class flights, it was inviting teachers to become part of something innovative. Even though it was in a country I’d never heard of, that night on my ‘word processor’ (yes remember those?) I crafted and re-drafted my application many times over. Email was the emerging chatGPT of the 90s and once I pressed ‘send’ I forgot about my application until an interview invitation appeared in my inbox later that week.

Fast forward a few days and I am on a train to London wondering what my Year 11 ‘set 4’ (in those days) History class is doing or not doing and trying to remember where wikipedia said this school and country actually was. Off the train and navigating the tube I surfaced excitedly to see the flags of the rather grand hotel swaying in the breeze. I was here and this was it! I stepped into a beige room near Marble Arch and was welcomed with a broad smile from the recruiter and a nod from the Head of School. The Head happened to be a History teacher and for an hour some lively debate ensued about teaching and teaching history in a completely different context, what was universally important and what was irrelevant. When the interview ended and pleasantries were exchanged, I was certain I was not going to be offered the job but energized by it all the same and was prepared to chalk it up as a quirky ‘experience’, a trip ‘down south’ with an hour at the Tower of London ( a favourite ‘haunt’ to this day). Two days later I am called to the Heads office in my school, which was very unusual. What had I done or not done to be here? He looked at me and said “I’ve had a call and they asked me about you…” I responded with a thank you for giving the time to the call but was quickly interrupted, “I told the Head, do not give her a job!” he said whilst frowning. As I was about to apologise for the waste of time this was turning out to be, I was met by a bemused face and then a hearty laugh, “ I said no such thing, though I don’t want you to go and I told them that, they are going to offer the job”.

Dusting off my passport, the filling in of forms began. “Where are you actually going?” My parents and friends were pleased for me but perplexed. “To the far east!”, was my response. My mantra was and in honesty it probably still is, “if this doesn’t work, I’ll go home and teach”. The plan ( as flimsy as it was) was to do something different, be part of something new, have an adventure before stepping back into a leadership role again. My flights were booked, I was ‘off’ in June. Making the decision to move overseas is rarely straight-forward. In the April my father died suddenly, it was and still is the most defining moment of my life, the driver maybe of why I do what I do and the outlook I have. I very nearly stayed in the UK, it was my slightly fierce sister who said “ you had better go…”.

I’m on the plane, I’ve arrived. The humidity hits my senses. I could be in a tumble dryer and it would be more settling than this. Welcomed at the airport by an excitable ‘dry humored’ scotsman from the school who ushered me through immigration, swooping up my passport and shrieking at the weight of my cases ( books!) an hour later I am sitting in an apartment, with chandeliers sparkling wondering what’s coming next. The darting geckos, the monkeys grooming each other at the supermarket (outside not in), the monsoon rains which saw cars floating down the street and the sheer friendliness and welcome of everyone I met at school, I was acutely aware that I had started a ‘new chapter’. My international career has and continues to teach me many things, certainly opening my eyes, heart and soul to travel, culture and the currency that laughter and respect have in overcoming language barriers. From the beginning I was intoxicated by the ability to be creative in my teaching, challenged to think differently and inspired by the diversity of the students I was teaching.

Since my ‘first tango’ with teaching internationally over 25 years ago, rather a lot has happened, six countries in and with different leadership roles and ‘firsts’ to reflect on and two now adult ‘intercultural and international’ children having ‘flown the nest’, I’ve seen, heard, experienced and been privileged to indulge in a ‘rich’ life. Now in my third headship and as a very seasoned recruiter I offer my 5 ( seems like a good number, there could be at least 100) ‘top tips’ on considerations if you are thinking about teaching or leading internationally.

1. Be prepared to work equally hard internationally. Expectations are high (quite rightly) and so is parental engagement. All international schools worth their salt are invested in you. Being an excellent teacher needs to be accompanied with making a contribution to the full life of the school beyond ‘lessons’ and ‘going the extra mile’ to support students. Seize every opportunity to experience school and community life to ‘grow’.
   
   
2. Do your homework. What can you find out about the school from credible sources? Make sure that the school and country are going to be a ‘fit’ for you and your values and in applications demonstrate ‘why’ you want to join the school community and what you will bring. Generic letters lacking in ‘depth’ and authenticity won’t make the cut.
   
   
3. Welcome the ‘edge of chaos’ or the ‘eye of the storm’ (do note dramatic effect to keep you interested) whichever you prefer. You’ll need to be open to change, comfortable with discomfort as you settle in your new home and context and be very open-minded. You get to keep the great aspects, excellent teaching is universally excellent! But there’ll be new ways of doing things, some relief of less administration possibly and similar new systems to learn. Remember that you took the risk, made the leap for something different. No matter how incredible the HR department will be in helping your transition to your new life, be prepared to ‘let everything fall into place” and understand that you are ‘guest’ in your new country, be respectful and adhere to the law.
   
   
4. Silence the career monster. International schools are naturally more transient meaning opportunities for career progression are actually more likely than remaining ‘at home’ and as accreditation and review are healthy features of all quality international schools you’ll certainly be invited, encouraged or lured to getting involved in development. Drink up opportunities for professional learning, which in a good school, will be available in spades and volunteer! Or as I like to say, be ready to ‘sweep the sheds’.
   
   
5. Ensure the move works for the whole family. If you have children before venturing overseas, make sure the school and country complement their needs especially if they are complex. Some schools have provision and depending on where you live may have good services. The older the children, the more challenging moves are, peers mean everything so involve them in the decision making process and do all you can to help them transit, make friends and settle. Sometimes as parents we over-worry, children are more resilient than we think but watch and support. If your partner has a blossoming career outside education, ensure if possible that they can continue their careers as well and recognise this may look different for them for a while too if they can’t work in the new country. If you are moving solo do appreciate that living away from family can be challenging and this is a ‘cost’ of the international life though there are many ways to compensate for this, holidays in your country of work being one for loved ones and appreciate that it’s quite impossible for people ‘back home’ to relate to your lifestyle at times.

Whilst not all teachers who make the move to international teaching and leadership stay overseas long-term and for very good reasons, in my experience most do. There will be challenges and a whole host of opportunity too. But, with one life to live my own barometer is to ‘just do it and see what happens’ and not live with regrets.

 

 

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