International Teaching As A Stepping Stone To Development Work

http://educ.queensu.ca/careers/torf

I thought I would post a quick note inspired by the Queen's TORF event I attended last weekend. This is an annual event organized by the Faculty of Education at Queen's University. Various varieties of International, American, and International Baccalaureate schools from all over the world attend this event to hire teachers. I was blown away by how smooth, well organized and informative the weekend was.

While your typical international school may not directly offer the development opportunities that TWB members are looking for, it was a logical choice for me. I'm young enough, indebted enough, and poor enough, that I can't really afford to walk away from a pay cheque, let alone pay my way to volunteer opportunities like those offered by TWB Canada.

So what is a internationally-minded teacher, somewhat frustrated by the public education system, to do? Unwilling to put off my plans to see the world until I can afford them, seeking out an opportunity to live in another country and still draw a decent pay cheque seemed to be a good choice.

Let's be clear: there were plenty of teachers there who were looking for (and who received) big Dubai pay cheques, or jobs in easy-going tropical environments. There were plenty of people there willing to consider ANY opportunity, given the sad state of education job market in Ontario. People were there for all kinds of reasons both selfish and altruistic.

But personally, I interviewed with schools in Peru, Tanzania, Egypt, and eventually accepted a job for next September in Guatemala City. The school I'll be working at serves both expats and locals, but obviously not the neediest population in the country.

I look at it in a couple of different ways. First, for a country to develop, it needs strong, educated, and productive middle and upper classes. The students I work with will attend international universities, and will hopefully go on to contribute to Guatemala's development. Secondly, in considering my choice of schools, I looked for one that had a strong philosophy of public service, reaching outside of the campus to elevate the conditions of the whole country. Thirdly, by continuing to get paid, and getting rid of my debts, I hope that I will eventually have more freedom to devote more of my life to development work.

So, if you want to travel, do good work, and still need to get paid, perhaps an international school is a good first step. I hope so! Ask me again in September!

Michael Peters
Gandatsetiagon PS, Durham District School Board
American School of Guatemala, Guatemala City (September 2009)