My decision to pursue a career in international teaching is hardly surprising: my mother has taught at an international school for more than 30 years; it’s one of the three different schools in three different countries I attended. Although it seemed my destiny to follow in her footsteps, I tried for years to deny it--even after successfully teaching children from diverse backgrounds.
My first teaching assignment was teaching Spanish to grades 1-5. With 600 different students and 600 different ability levels, my classes demanded that I adapt to each child’s needs and learning style as well as range of ability. I loved it. Because of my bilingual experiences, I was drawn to bilingual and ESOL teaching. After earning my bilingual and ESOL certifications, I worked in public schools for five years in Louisiana and Texas, where I wrote curriculum and developed after-school enrichment programs. But after six years teaching in public schools, I wanted to do something else. I was having a mid-life crisis in my 20s!
This drive to do something more led me into a successful career in local publishing. Despite my success, I was still restless and found myself drawn back to the international environment. I returned to Guatemala. In retrospect, I can see that I never really abandoned my love of cross-cultural and teaching experiences. Whenever possible, I was teaching information to adults, just as I had earlier taught children about English. I finally realized my hunger for the classroom could no longer be suppressed.
This journey of self-discovery makes me uniquely qualified to be able to help my students understand their own journeys, whatever age they are. Third-culture children of any age know they are somehow different. I was that grade-school child who wasn’t sure where she belonged. Through my experiences of embracing my differences and finding my own way, I have found within myself strategies and techniques which I am eager to guide my students to find within themselves. Whatever age, children respond to this kind of scaffolding to help them make sense of the world around them. I know how to nurture and foster student self-awareness and achievement.
I was thrilled to accept my first overseas teaching position two and a half years ago and eagerly moved to Istanbul. Since arriving here in Turkey, I have been personally experiencing the dynamics and challenges of learning a strange new language and have been able to relate to the struggles of my students. During this process, I have reflected on my instructional strategies and adapted my lesson plans to meet the unique challenges of my students.
As a life-long learner, I keep up-to-date with pedagogies and theories about learning. I know that children succeed in many different ways. I am acutely aware of the diverse ways children learn, and I believe strongly in the application of multiple intelligences and different instructional strategies. By working with children’s strengths, I foster their abilities to overcome weaknesses and meet challenges. By involving them in planning, I help them learn to assess their own learning and accept the challenges of improvement.
My first teaching assignment was teaching Spanish to grades 1-5. With 600 different students and 600 different ability levels, my classes demanded that I adapt to each child’s needs and learning style as well as range of ability. I loved it. Because of my bilingual experiences, I was drawn to bilingual and ESOL teaching. After earning my bilingual and ESOL certifications, I worked in public schools for five years in Louisiana and Texas, where I wrote curriculum and developed after-school enrichment programs. But after six years teaching in public schools, I wanted to do something else. I was having a mid-life crisis in my 20s!
This drive to do something more led me into a successful career in local publishing. Despite my success, I was still restless and found myself drawn back to the international environment. I returned to Guatemala. In retrospect, I can see that I never really abandoned my love of cross-cultural and teaching experiences. Whenever possible, I was teaching information to adults, just as I had earlier taught children about English. I finally realized my hunger for the classroom could no longer be suppressed.
This journey of self-discovery makes me uniquely qualified to be able to help my students understand their own journeys, whatever age they are. Third-culture children of any age know they are somehow different. I was that grade-school child who wasn’t sure where she belonged. Through my experiences of embracing my differences and finding my own way, I have found within myself strategies and techniques which I am eager to guide my students to find within themselves. Whatever age, children respond to this kind of scaffolding to help them make sense of the world around them. I know how to nurture and foster student self-awareness and achievement.
I was thrilled to accept my first overseas teaching position two and a half years ago and eagerly moved to Istanbul. Since arriving here in Turkey, I have been personally experiencing the dynamics and challenges of learning a strange new language and have been able to relate to the struggles of my students. During this process, I have reflected on my instructional strategies and adapted my lesson plans to meet the unique challenges of my students.
As a life-long learner, I keep up-to-date with pedagogies and theories about learning. I know that children succeed in many different ways. I am acutely aware of the diverse ways children learn, and I believe strongly in the application of multiple intelligences and different instructional strategies. By working with children’s strengths, I foster their abilities to overcome weaknesses and meet challenges. By involving them in planning, I help them learn to assess their own learning and accept the challenges of improvement.