Member spotlight #4: Noah Bohnen

Each month International School Community will highlight one of our members. This month we interviewed Noah Bohnen:

Tell us about your background. Where are you from?
I am Canadian, born in Toronto Ontario. I have been teaching for 13 years, mostly MS, mostly math/science.

How did you get started in the international teaching community?
I had taught for 4 years in Peterborough, Ontario and my wife, who is also an international teacher, suggested that we do a stint overseas. We loved the travel and adventure so much that we are still on the road 9 years later.

Which international schools have you worked at? Please share some aspects of the schools that made them unique and fun places in which to work.
The Columbus School, Medellin Colombia. Colombia is truly a gem. Having traveled to over 50 countries, there is no place quite like it. When we were there, there were still very few tourists and you really felt like you were on a cultural frontier. The people are some of the kindest and happiest on the planet. I still have very close Colombian friends with whom I keep in contact. The school itself is one the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen. It is on top of a mountain, with views of the city. Its facilities are incredible. The staff is young and a lot of fun. The teaching can be challenging, but the workload is very manageable.

The Lincoln School, Buenos Aires. This is the type of school where people typically stay 6+ years. A true international school where English is the lingua franca. The school is a lovely place to teach and work. Resources are good and the kids are keen to learn. Buenos Aires is a very nice place to live and raise a family with a ton to do, and abundant clean food, air and water. The travel opportunities in Argentina are excellent, particularly if you are a fan of the outdoors.

Describe your latest cultural encounter in your current placement, one that put a smile on your face.
I was supervising a school dance and when I started teasing some Latino 7th graders about which girl they were going to dance with, they calmly told me 4 or 5 names and added, “Meester, we aren’t Canadian, so we aren’t afraid to dance with girls.” Lost that one!

What are some important things that you look for when you are searching for a new position at an international school?
1. Living situation. Housing, safety, medical, services for families, etc.
2. Opportunity for professional growth
3. Is it a true international school?
4. Potential savings

In exactly 5 words, how would you describe the international school teaching experience?
1. Rewarding
2. Different
3. Adventurous
4. Dynamic
5. Unpredictable

Thanks Noah! If you are a member of International School Community and would like to be our next member spotlight, contact us here. If we choose to highlight you, you will get a coupon code to receive 6 months free of premium access to our website!

To stare or not to stare, that is the question!

Of course, if people look physically different from you and your own culture group, stare. It’s natural, right? Everyone does it, no matter where you live or where you are from….I think. However, some culture groups have made a choice to believe that staring is not culturally acceptable and frown upon their people who stare.

On the other hand, some culture groups LOVE to stare and go as far as to interact with the person they are staring at to take a picture with them. How strange it is to want to take a picture with a complete stranger? (I think I’ve done it 1000s of times.)

The fun part is the more people that you are around, the easier it is to stare at them. How cool it would be to get to know what everyone in the group is thinking. Maybe that is why we stare. It’s because we want to know more about them. How embarrassing though when the person you are staring at looks back at you?? Most times you just look away as fast as you can like you were never staring, but they know you were. People never say anything though, especially if you are staring at someone while you are traveling in a foreign country. That’s what happened to me with this woman in Belgium.

There is one person you can stare at though, and it is a baby. They are the masters of staring. I don’t know why, but they sure enjoy staring at me specifically, and not always with a smile on their face. I feel very comfortable to stare back.

Let’s just admit it. All people everywhere must stare. So, don’t get so worked up when you get on a bus in India and there are 100s of eyes on you. Soon, you will be the one staring at the locals when you get off and walk into the spice market. I mean who wouldn’t stare at this couple dancing in the park?

Go ahead and share your staring stories.

Great website – The International School Teacher

My friend told me about this relatively new website back in November 2010. It is called The International School Teacher.

It is a forum/social networking/information gathering website designed for the international school teaching community.

Parts of the website I like:

International Schools
How can one increase their chances of getting a job?
Get married… and to someone who’s not only good looking, but also teaches! No really, if you happen to be what is referred to as a teaching couple, then you are indeed much more marketable. If a professional club were to sign a striker and get a defender in the mix… Schools do indeed kill two birds with one stone when hiring couples. Also, for many schools in cities where housing is an issue, they simply can’t afford to provide single teachers with their own housing.

As much as I don’t like to constantly hear people and schools say this, it just might actually be true. A school does “save” money by hiring a teaching couple, and they do kill two birds with one stone. I don’t really believe though that married couples are more “stable” I’ve seen many couples leave after 2 years (even 1 year one time) at schools I’ve worked at. One reason they leave early is because they find out their salary is sometimes not covering all their expenses (I’m referring to a school on the Mediterranean for example). Sometimes, one member of the couple is not completely satisfied working at the school because the school really wanted to only hire their partner and have placed the other member in a position they don’t 100% enjoy or find fulfilling.

What you really love about your host country
I really appreciate this section because it highlights the positive aspects of our lives as international school teachers, something International School Community strives to do as well. No matter where you are living in the world, there are always things that you enjoy and reminding yourself of those things is a very good idea sometimes (especially when you go through all the different stages of culture shock). Here is an excerpt of one of the member’s reasons for why they like living in Cyprus:

– I can drive forty minutes from my house in one direction and be in the beach. I can drive forty minutes in another and be in snow.
– Large, luscious lemon trees in my yard
– Ottoman, Greco-Roman, and Venetian architecture

Check out the rest of the website here.

Types of International Schools – Do you know how many there are?

Check out this article about all the different colours and varieties of international schools.

Types of international schools that are listed in the article:

original expatriate
broadly international
local international
bilingual
state school teaching

Highlights of the article:

– “We often find that teachers considering working abroad get quite confused by the breadth and range of international opportunities out there. It’s hard enough to consider working in another country in another culture, but it’s complicated further by the fact that there are different types of schools serving different populations. When you are at home, you know instinctively which is a posh, academic school versus one that serves, say, children with special educational needs. Internationally its not so easy.”

– “You are unlikely, for instance, to get an invite to attend a local wedding when working at one of these schools.”

– “We find these schools in areas with a high influx of foreigners such as the UAE, Singapore and China and these schools are more of a melting pot.”

– “At most of these schools you will still get a mix of children but more than half will be locals.”

What a great resource for information related to international school teaching – http://www.teachanywhere.com/default.aspx

IS Community Blog

Choosing the Right International School: Advice for Your First Move Abroad (Part 1)

Is Your International School Pension Enough? 5 Ways to Build for Your Future

Comparing the Schools and Comments: Working in Kuala Lumpur (2026)

Rules for Counting Countries You’ve Been To

Categories

Member spotlight #4: Noah Bohnen

To stare or not to stare, that is the question!

Types of International Schools – Do you know how many there are?

School info - directly to your inbox