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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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 Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 1:23 am Post subject: |
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| Untrained volunteering is inexperienced free labor, but as much as it saves the employer money, you and your students are both guinea pigs. You admitted that this was a test venture, before you could decide whether you wanted to put some effort into it, right? |
Everyone is being so hard on the workingnomad for wanting to volunteer without training. That is no worse than the people who just say go get a CELTA or TEFL certificate. A bunch of abstract theories will not necessarily make someone a good teacher, especially someone who has never been in the classroom. I think volunteer at a local community center that teaches English to immigrants while doing a CELTA would be the best. If you can teach at the same time you will be able to see how certain concepts learned on your CELTA course apply to real life situations. You will also have an opportunity to notice some of the c rap that your teacher is also teaching. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 1:25 am Post subject: |
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| My observation is that volunteers mean well, but unless they have previous teaching experience and/or training, they don't really know what they're doing. |
Do people earn MBA's without previous work experience? Why would someone want to be trained blindly when they have no teaching experience? |
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workingnomad
Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: SE Asia
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 9:04 am Post subject: |
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| Everyone is being so hard on the workingnomad for wanting to volunteer without training. |
Perhaps some people here have been undercut and have issues with volunteers?
Anyway thanks for all the great advice.
I don't think employers will see my as a sucker particularly if I don't tell them about the volunteering. I certainly would n't allow myself to be exploited by one anyway.
Yes my target market would be the EU. I've had enough of Asia for now to be honest despite knowing there is a lot of work out there. Europe might be tougher but I am hoping that being legal will give me some small advantage.
I am currently living in an area with a lot of migrants, indeed the highest number outside London so I should n't have an issue finding voluntary work if I chose to stay around here.
Having said that it would be nice to get away and try some volunteering somewhere more exotic than Eastern England!  |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:49 am Post subject: |
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| workingnomad wrote: |
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| Everyone is being so hard on the workingnomad for wanting to volunteer without training. |
Perhaps some people here have been undercut and have issues with volunteers?
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Not really - just being frank.
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa (1989 to 1991) - and I do believe in service to humanity and volunteering. It was an incredible experience and truly changed my life. I haven't lived back in the States since then - I found the big wide world too interesting!
Just be aware of the purpose of the program and what you are being used for - and if it is real or just a "feel good" adventure. |
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leosmith
Joined: 25 May 2007
Posts: 54
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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| tedkarma wrote: |
| I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa (1989 to 1991) |
Cool. What country (if it's not a secret)? I was in Tanzania 1999-2002.
To the OP. If you don't want to volunteer locally, you may save money by just jumping into a cert program instead. Short term volunteering can be expensive, but perhaps that's not your primary concern. Good luck whatever you decide. |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| leosmith wrote: |
| tedkarma wrote: |
| I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa (1989 to 1991) |
Cool. What country (if it's not a secret)? I was in Tanzania 1999-2002.
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Botswana.
I was in Francistown - about 80km from the Zimbabwe border. I had an unusal role: managed and trained the management team of a textile manufacturing company (owned by the women who worked there) - Marothodi (Pty) Ltd.
We bought a new piece of land, built a much larger new factory and increased our profits by six-fold over the two years I was there. We had no choice, they were getting kicked off and out of the government land and buildings they had been in for ten years.
That was why I was there - to grow the company and get it out on its own and off the government's teat.
It was a frustrating and difficult couple years - but did change my life 100%. |
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coffeedrinker
Joined: 30 Jul 2006
Posts: 149
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| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 12:23 am Post subject: |
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I think it's important to consider the context you'd be volunteering in. It's sad that so many people consider volunteering simply working for free. Yes, there are companies set up to make money off this, and there are efl employers who do whatever they can to avoid paying people - but it's also possible to teach English to people who could not afford classes otherwise.
Refugees and immigrants in your own country are generally an example of this. And there are organizations abroad that actually help provide classes for people who realize how important English is to their lives and aren't rich enough to pay for private lessons. idealist.org is one place to start looking and while you almost definitely will not find organizations willing to pay for your flight and you may have to pay basic living costs, there are some which are not an organized holiday where you pay a large fee. But you have to be quite proactive in searching and making arrangements yourself. Pick a country, contact international ngo's or local organizations and ask them for contacts. |
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leosmith
Joined: 25 May 2007
Posts: 54
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| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, what an interesting job. I was a secondary math/physics teacher. It was a great experience. |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| leosmith wrote: |
Wow, what an interesting job. I was a secondary math/physics teacher. It was a great experience. |
I would LOVE to teach physics and math, particularly at secondary or lower tertiary levels (not smart enough to go beyond that!).
The PC was a defining event in my life - kind of Chapter 3 as the second chapter of my adulthood - I do see my life as a before and after - and I am about to embark on Chapter 4 . . . |
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kazron
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 2
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 5:48 am Post subject: World Teach |
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Hi First post here, so excuse the newbness-
http://www.worldteach.org/ is an interesting program. If i were to get accepted into something like Teach for America I think World Teach might satisfy my desire to experience a new and interesting culture for a year(+).
The only downside- most programs cost money. Only the Marshall Islands Yearlong program and one other are no cost ($1500 refunded deposit, for airfare and beauracratic stuff as a rep. explained).
Anyhow, just thought i'd let the OP know about this opportunity, seems like an interesting one. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| If you want to do something interesting for a year go to Korea or China and get paid for it. If you go to Korean you can come back with $12,000 US in the bank and still have an interesting year. You may not love it but I am sure that you will have stories to tell. |
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Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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| If you want to do something interesting for a year go to Korea or China and get paid for it. If you go to Korean you can come back with $12,000 US in the bank and still have an interesting year. You may not love it but I am sure that you will have stories to tell |
Certainly an option. And one I may be looking into if my student loan payments get too heavy.
But you may be missing out on one of the key reasons behind volunteering- doing something good for others. My impression is that in Korea, most jobs are private sector, teaching those who can afford it for your own benefit, and for the much greater benefit of a school owner. As I said- if the student loan burden gets to be too much for me on an Ecuadorian salary, I might go for it. But, to be honest, only for the money. And when the loans were paid, I'd be back to doing something that I'd do for free. (I get a salary, but that's not what I'm here for.)
Best,
Justin |
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