In this collection of stories, international educators share their unique experiences, insights, and perspectives. These accounts include how some began their international school career, things to consider if you’re curious about the international teaching landscape, what they’ve learned along the way, and the unparalleled journeys on this career path.
Join us as we delve into the stories of these inspiring educators and gain a deeper understanding of the transformative power of education across borders.
TRANSCRIPT
My name is Werner Paettzold. I'm the Director of Professional Growth and Curricular Collaboration at Chadwick International in Korea. I've been in international education since September 2000 and I've only been based in Asia, which has been the limitation of my experience. Although within that experience, I've lived in five different countries: Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Korea. I think that's five countries.
And what inspired me to get involved in international education is actually, there were two elements. I was working at a wonderful school in South Africa where I taught for eight years and the school was the only school in the country that was actually addressing the economic inequities that were perpetuated by apartheid, but unfortunately, that school ran out of money. I'd always wanted to work overseas. I was always excited about living abroad. I also knew that as a South African teacher, I would never be able to afford to travel overseas on a South African teacher's salary. And so when my school was unable to pay me, I had to make a decision and my whole life changed in 10 days and I sold my car, bought a plane ticket, got a job in Taiwan, and off I went. It was an extremely exciting experience for me because I got to live in a culture that was completely different from anything I had ever known and as somebody who has always prized literacy- I'm an English teacher that was my original subject- I was suddenly in an environment where I was illiterate. I couldn't read any of the signs. I couldn't understand anything that anyone was saying to me. And I found that frustrating and thrilling at the same time- to be forced to see the world completely differently. I enjoyed the different kinds of people that I met. I got to meet many wonderful people who were interested in people from all over the world. At the same time, I discovered that there are people who will be interested in you for different reasons. One of those is because you're the token overseas person and so you look like a cool accessory and while that may feel fun because you get a lot of invitations, in the end, it's not an entirely satisfactory experience. The reason I went into education in the first place is because of the product I was a beneficiary of apartheid in South Africa and received an excellent education and I felt that it was important for me to contribute back to the community.
By leaving South Africa I felt that in some senses I was not living up to that responsibility and the obligation that I feel that anyone who benefited from apartheid has. And so what I have attempted to do in my engagement and my education is to work with students to help them understand what are the consequences of discrimination and what can we do about that and tell the stories of people who benefit from discriminatory practices and what the consequences are from those who have been deprived of opportunities all over the world. And so that has always been one of the ways in which I've engaged with my students and worked with them. This is also meant that I've primarily been involved with schools that have a clear mission. That has been very important for me to understand what kind of school I've gone to.
I quickly discovered that any school can call itself an international school. And some schools have a clear mission, and they are about developing wonderful kinds of human beings and those are usually clearly articulated in their mission statements and there are schools that are about perpetuating traditions and very antique value systems and preparing students for exams. So, for me it was important to find a school that was the right fit for me.
So that that has been my guiding that's been my guiding points throughout my journey in international education. I've found that I've made colleagues, friends and colleagues around the world who share the same perspectives. And it's been so exciting to find people who really care about helping students become better human beings and give them the tools to help make the world a better place. And that sounds terribly trite, but ultimately education isn't idealistic enterprise. And it's very encouraging to sit back and to reflect on why did I get into this enterprise in the first place. You don't go into education to make money. Although one of the advantages of international education is that because of the vagaries of global currencies, one often ends up earning in a currency that is stronger than the currency of your home country, which was very helpful for me because I was able to support my family back in South Africa. And many people go into international education in order to make a financial difference to their communities.
I have in the position that I have now, I've been able to be part of recruitment in our school and I've been very intentional in making sure that people in countries around the world who might not always get the opportunities of engaging the international education are people that we invite to work with us at our school and they've brought fantastic perspectives and life stories to our school that have made us a richer community and have deepened our humanity. And through their contributions to our schools our students have met people that would never have met in their lives and so they have communication through meeting real human beings.
As an English teacher, I've been particularly thrilled to meet English teachers from other countries who've read other books that they are passionate about. And we can speak for hours and hours about, have you read this book, and have you read that book?
This book is fantastic for teaching this issue and this concept. And that list never runs out because everyone's got a list that they're excited about. And new books are always being published. And so, you have this incredible international network of people who become a resource, a lifeline, and friends. When I visit countries around the world, I have invitations to stay with people because they have become our friends through this global network of connections. I now have friends with whom I had worked an Australian friend with whom I worked in China, who then worked in Peru, with other friends that I knew, and then moved to Mongolia. And so, all of these connections slowly start building and building until you have a network that stretches the entire globe.
What is your advice to other international educators?
Ask hard questions about the school. Make sure it's the right school for you. What is the pedagogical approach that that school values and that school supports? The school's pedagogical approach will reflect the mindset of those in authority of the school and you need to make sure that that matches your life philosophy and your educational philosophy. You don't want to go to a school that is authoritarian where students sit in rows and teachers prepare students for exams if that doesn't fit with your mindset. If you believe in giving students agency, and giving students control of their learning, and the constructivist approach to education and experiential learning, you need to find a school that will give you the support and the space to do that.
What is your advice to teachers who have not taught internationally?
Number one, make sure that you have your teaching credential. Those documents will- you will need your degrees, you will need your teaching credentials, your teaching qualifications, and you'll need those physical copies. Many countries require those to be copied and certified, so make sure you keep those. Don't get your degrees framed. You'll have to take them out of the frames. Don't-and I've seen several people do this-
If you come from a country where English isn't the dominant language of that country, sometimes people think that their teaching qualifications are insignificant. They are not.
Many international schools only require a teaching qualification, the ability to teach in the language of instruction at the school, and a degree that matches your teaching qualification. Always find out what are the requirements of the country to which you are going. Don't disqualify yourself without any information. There are ways of testing the water, as it were. It's quite possible to find a school that will welcome a volunteer for a period of time. Almost all international schools now, especially ones where you want to work, will require a child safety background check or a police check. So that's something that you would need to provide that would have to be current. But many schools welcome volunteers people that will help out in the library, support language acquisition in the classrooms, or a whole range of different things so there are ways in which you can do that those schools won't be able to provide you with a work visa so you will have to be financially independent to be able to do that. Some
schools will be able to pay you, but most countries rules don't allow that kind of system to happen for visa regulations.
What would you say to your past self about teaching internationally?
Absolutely. I've never considered going back to work in my home country as much as I would love to. The opportunity of visiting and meeting people and students from around the world is just too exciting. In fact, a few years ago, I was given an opportunity of interviewing at a school in Australia which is a country that in some ways is quite similar to my home country and I was quite excited about this opportunity but then I thought wait, that's the end of the adventure because it's too similar to being at home and I don't want to be placed in that comfort position at this stage of my life just yet.
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Werner Paettzold is the Director of Professional Growth and Curricular Collaboration at St. Chadwick International School in Incheon, South Korea.
