{"id":6721,"date":"2018-03-21T06:48:06","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T06:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=6721"},"modified":"2018-03-21T06:48:45","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T06:48:45","slug":"the-impossible-trinity-when-teaching-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-impossible-trinity-when-teaching-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impossible “Trinity\u201d When Teaching Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was more than ten years into my international teaching career when a colleague said to me, \u2019You never get all three \u2013 the school, the location and the package\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Teaching<\/p>\n

That was nearly two years ago, but I have returned to that idea many times since. In fact, I wonder if doesn\u2019t explain many an international school career, my own included: are some of us looking for something which, in the end, we can\u2019t really have?<\/p>\n

My first international school provided a first class professional experience. Coming from an unremarkable UK comprehensive school, suddenly I had not one, but two, well-appointed classrooms for my own individual use as we taught different Secondary sections on different floors. Suddenly, no class had more than twenty students. At first, I used to sometimes catch myself wondering where \u2018the others\u2019 were. Suddenly, every student had their own personal textbook (\u2026this was<\/i> the \u201890s!). No more sharing and photocopying. The students were polite, pleasant, keen to learn \u2013 everything, in fact, that I had sometimes wished for during that last period on a Friday back in the UK.<\/p>\n

\"Teaching<\/p>\n

As if this wasn\u2019t enough, my take-home pay doubled. Was this too good to be true? A fantasy? Would I wake up with a jolt and find it was all a dream? Well, if I did wake up with a jolt in my first few weeks it was because of the unfamiliar sound of the call to prayer echoing across a walled compound. Yes, I was in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Like anywhere, the Kingdom has its fans and its detractors. While my classroom experience was excellent, and rekindled my enthusiasm for teaching, working in Saudi Arabia, for me, was not the problem. Rather, not<\/i> working was, in that I found life outside work, while initially interesting, not for me. To go back to the idea of the \u2018the school, the package and the location\u2019, I had two out of three and, after completing my two-year contract, moved on.<\/p>\n

\"Teaching<\/p>\n

Looking for something completely different, I resolved to forget about earning and saving for a few years and just to go somewhere \u2018for the experience\u2019, adjusting my priorities. Therefore I was staggered when, in Latin America, I found myself saving nearly as much money as in Saudi and experiencing an, at times, overwhelmingly different culture, one I\u2019m not sure I made the most of in part perhaps because of the two years that had come before. After the Kingdom, all that reckless hedonism may well have been wasted on me. Three years on, I made another move. Yes, you guessed it: once again I felt I had two out of three and made another move, adjusting my priorities once again.<\/p>\n

It would be neat and predictable if I got two out of three again but, unfortunately for me, the next time it was only one. One more move followed, and it was two out of three again. Perhaps subconsciously influenced by the idea of \u2018The Impossible Trinity\u2019, I am into my fifth year at my current school, the one where I have been happiest. Whether the school is that much different from those that came before or whether I am, I reckon I have a creditable 2.5 right now. Is that as good as it gets? Maybe. Is there anyone who has found their perfect fit, with their school, country and remuneration all ticking the box? You tell me, I\u2019d love to know!<\/p>\n

\"Teaching<\/p>\n

This article was submit by an ISC member. If you are interested in submitting an article as a guest author on our blog, contact us here. Once your article is submitted, you will receive one free year of premium\u00a0membership to our website.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was more than ten years into my international teaching career when a colleague said to me, \u2019You never get all three \u2013 the school, the location and the package\u2019. That was nearly two years ago, but I have returned to that idea many times since. In fact, I wonder if doesn\u2019t explain many an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6723,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[2507,2506,885,60,2505,2510,2509,2508],"class_list":["post-6721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlighted-articles","tag-first-international-school","tag-international-teaching-career","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-teaching-abroad","tag-the-impossible-trinity","tag-the-location","tag-the-package","tag-the-school"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/luggage-1149289_640.jpg?fit=640%2C426&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-1Kp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4024,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/expanding-opportunities-work-international-schools-prepare-teach-abroad\/","url_meta":{"origin":6721,"position":0},"title":"Expanding opportunities to work at international schools: prepare yourself to teach abroad!","author":"ISCommunity","date":"November 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Who wouldn\u2019t like a life of world travel, acquiring new languages and learning firsthand about new cultures? \u00a0Many teachers find the opportunity of working at an international school too hard to pass up! 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Not so for Physics teacher Gerry Young who is enjoying the sunshine in Bangkok and loving his work. Four years ago, Gerry was in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highlighted Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Highlighted Articles","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/highlighted-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/img_0019.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1406,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/tic-teachers-international-consultancy-article-this-time-next-year-teachers-get-planning-for-international-opportunities\/","url_meta":{"origin":6721,"position":4},"title":"TIC (Teachers International Consultancy) article: This time next year\u2026.teachers get planning for international opportunities","author":"ISCommunity","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s not an easy time of year for teachers. 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