{"id":313,"date":"2011-09-14T20:02:01","date_gmt":"2011-09-14T20:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=313"},"modified":"2012-02-26T20:02:55","modified_gmt":"2012-02-26T20:02:55","slug":"international-school-community-member-spotlight-6-taylor-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/international-school-community-member-spotlight-6-taylor-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"International School Community Member Spotlight #6: Taylor Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each month International School Community<\/a> will highlight one of our members.\u00a0 This month we interviewed Taylor Smith<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Tell us about your background.\u00a0 Where are you from?<\/strong>
\nI am from Edinburgh, Scotland and am extremely proud of my roots. \u00a0A formal international swimmer, I travelled to many countries throughout the world as part of various swim teams. \u00a0However when I retired from swimming in 2006, I realised that I had been to lots of countries but in fact had never seen much more than the airport, hotel and swimming pool. \u00a0So I embarked on a career in Physical Education teaching with the dream of teaching abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
How did you get started in the international teaching community?<\/strong><\/div>\n
I was recommended a job by an old swimming friend who was already working in an international school. \u00a0The job was in Shanghai, China so without hesitation I packed my bags and made the biggest decision of my life (or so I thought at that point). \u00a0I was only in China a couple of months and I had thrown myself into work and made lots of new friends within the international teaching community. \u00a0People were all extremely helpful and made me feel as comfortable as possible in a very different environment. \u00a0In these weeks, I was also lucky enough to meet the love of my life, who two years on is now my beautiful wife. \u00a0Wow that was almost poetic!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n


\nWhich international schools have you worked at?\u00a0 Please share some aspects of the schools that made them unique and fun places in which to work.<\/strong>
\nI worked at Shanghai Rego International School<\/a> and have recently started at Garden International School<\/a> in Kuala Lumpur. \u00a0Both schools are very different, mainly due to the size. \u00a0Rego was a small school and had an intimate feel, whereas Garden has a huge number of students, which creates an incredible atmosphere. \u00a0The bulk of my teaching thus far however, has been in China, and Rego school really did feel like (excuse the awful clich\u00e9) \u201ca \u00a0family\u201d. \u00a0Teachers had an enormous amount of freedom to explore new and creative ideas and they were well supported by parents and students. \u00a0There was definitely never a feeling of having to navigate the red tape like non-international schools. \u00a0In many ways it was a development curve that I honestly believe, I would not have experienced anywhere else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Describe your latest cultural encounter in your current placement, one that put a smile on your face. <\/strong>
\nMoving to Kuala Lumpur from China brings many advantages. \u00a0Things are just a little bit more like home here I guess. \u00a0So the biggest smile on my face came when I was told I could take a loan to buy a car and it could be all done by the bank. \u00a0I was not forced to pay thousands of pounds in cash. \u00a0That is always a nice feeling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

What are some important things that you look for when you are searching for a new position at an international school?<\/strong>
\nI look for standard of living on the home front. \u00a0I think this is the most important thing to consider when living abroad. Also travel opportunity is very important, as being away from friends and family can be a strain. \u00a0Therefore it is always nice to know that it is easy to go home when you need to, and family are easily able to visit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I also look for stability and reputation of the school. \u00a0There are many, many schools and it is important to know that you will be happy to work there for at least 2 years.<\/div>\n
\n


\nIn exactly 5 words, how would you describe the international school teaching experience?<\/strong>
\nEye opening, cultural, well paid, opportunity, life changing. \u00a0(5 statements so not exactly 5 words sorry! I am a PE teacher after all).<\/p>\n

Thanks Taylor!\u00a0 If you are a member of International School Community<\/a> and would like to be our next member spotlight, contact us here<\/a>.\u00a0 If we choose to highlight you, you will get a coupon code to receive 6 months free of premium access to our website!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each month International School Community will highlight one of our members.\u00a0 This month we interviewed Taylor Smith: Tell us about your background.\u00a0 Where are you from? I am from Edinburgh, Scotland and am extremely proud of my roots. \u00a0A formal international swimmer, I travelled to many countries throughout the world as part of various swim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19],"tags":[30,187,186,267,443,36,60,104],"class_list":["post-313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-member-spotlights","tag-international-school-community","tag-international-school-educator","tag-international-school-teacher","tag-member-spotlight","tag-network","tag-review","tag-teaching-abroad","tag-teaching-overseas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-53","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/international-school-community-member-spotlight-9-annette-harvey\/","url_meta":{"origin":313,"position":0},"title":"International School Community Member Spotlight #9: Annette Harvey","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Every 1-2 monthsInternational School Community\u00a0will highlight one of our members.\u00a0 This month we interviewed Annette Harvey: Tell us about your background.\u00a0 Where are you from? I am from Cheadle, Staffordshire in England. How did you get started in the international teaching community? A long term relationship had broken up and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Member Spotlights"","block_context":{"text":"Member Spotlights","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/member-spotlights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/01\/screen-shot-2012-01-24-at-9-58-58-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":755,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/international-school-community-member-spotlight-13-anne-llewellyn-an-international-teacher-working-in-peru\/","url_meta":{"origin":313,"position":1},"title":"International School Community Member Spotlight #13: Anne Llewellyn (An international teacher working in Peru)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"May 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Every 1-2 months International School Community\u00a0will highlight one of our members in our Member Spotlight feature.\u00a0 This month we interviewed Anne Llewellyn: Tell us about your background.\u00a0 Where are you from? 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My name is David and I have been working abroad since 2005. I am originally from an area just South of London. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Member Spotlights"","block_context":{"text":"Member Spotlights","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/member-spotlights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"6239_unnamed","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/6239_unnamed.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":418,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/member-spotlight-4-noah-bohnen\/","url_meta":{"origin":313,"position":3},"title":"Member spotlight #4: Noah Bohnen","author":"ISCommunity","date":"May 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Each month International School Community will highlight one of our members.\u00a0 This month we interviewed Noah Bohnen: Tell us about your background.\u00a0 Where are you from? 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