International School Teacher Blogs: “From the Principal’s Office” (A principal working in Sudan)
Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad and working at an international school?
Our 43rd blog that we would like to highlight is called “From the Principal’s Office.” Check out the blog entries of this international school educator who works at Khartoum International Community School in Sudan.
A few entries that we would like to highlight:
“It seems as if the further I travel, the less well trodden the paths, the more that the western so-called developed world in which I grew up becomes foreign and strange. Each person’s world-view is, of course, plastic and fluid, moulded by the environment in which we live and the experiences we undergo. Looking back to my own parochial working class Lancastrian upbringing in the late 60s and through the 70s I cannot even find the words to describe the changes that have impacted on how I now see the world. So, looking at my son and his experiences – and considering how rapidly the world is changing – I cannot even begin to comprehend how his world-view will develop in the decades to come. Multiply him by the 390+ other students in my school and the challenge of preparing young people for the future is wildly self-evident.…”
It is exciting working at an international school teaching an international curriculum as it is most likely not how most of us went to school back when we were younger.
At times, living overseas isn’t always the easiest thing and there are challenges that present themselves. On the other hand, if you keep an open mind, there are definitely some moments of enlightenment as well!
Want to read more about the guidelines of moving/living abroad? Check out our blog series called “Ten Commandments of Relocating Overseas.“
Recruitment Reflections II: London
“It is a world of carbonized paper and paper messages passed furtively from school to candidate and back again. It is a world of snap judgements and horse trading. It is a world where the relief at having survived trumps the ludicrous farce in which we all play a part.
Each year we hire more and more teachers outside the fairs. It is becoming the norm. It is only a matter of time before the fairs fall into obvious decline then pass into history. However, for as long as they are touted as the way we do business they will continue to torment thousands of teachers, bleeding hundreds of thousands of dollars from schools when that money ought to be better spent paying teachers more and serving the students in our schools...”
Now that is some real insight into the recruitment fair experience, from the administrator’s perspective.
Heading off to a recruitment fair anyway? For some helpful advice, check out our blog series called “Nine Lessons Learned Regarding International School Hiring Fairs.” As a sneak peek, lesson number one is “Bad interviews are good things.“
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Want to work for an international school in Sub-Saharan Africa like this blogger? Currently, we have 156 international schools listed in this area of the world. 57 have had comments submitted on them. Here are just a few:
• The American School of Kinshasa (Kinshasa, Congo (DRC)) – 52 Comments
• International Community School Addis Ababa (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) – 61 Comments
• Saint Andrews International High School (Blantyre, Malawi) – 41 Comments
• TLC International School (Nouakchott, Mauritania) – 43 Comments
• The International School of Dakar (Dakar, Senegal) – 30 Comments
• Khartoum International Community School (Khartoum, Sudan) – 65 Comments
• International School of Tanganyika (Dar es salaam, Tanzania) – 141 Comments
• Kampala International School (Kampala, Uganda) – 50 Comments
• American International School of Lusaka (Lusaka, Zambia) – 45 Comments
Additionally, there are 87 International School Community members who currently live in Sub Saharan Africa. Check out which ones and where they work here. Feel free to go ahead and contact them with any questions that you might have as well; nice to get first hand information about what it is like to live and work there!
* If you are an international school teacher and would like your blog highlighted on International School Community contact us here.
