Job Discussion Forums

zeke0606 · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 4:14 pm Post subject: what?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

You all are right!

And after 23 years of teaching and 60 years old --- I ain't quittin' now! And you can't make me! And I ain't goin' home either!

BTW where do I apply for one of those 'old guy gray haired exit visas.....

Zeke

tedkarma · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:55 am Post subject:

I started at 42 - am 56 now.

Great lifestyle. Don't limit yourself to just one country.

A good friend started at the same age - is still at it.

My wife stared in mid-30's is still at it.

Loads of not-so-young folks at it.

Insubordination · Joined: 07 Nov 2007 Posts: 394 Location: Sydney

I don't know whether it's an easy job. It can be exhausting to prepare and deliver 5 hours of quality lessons per day, even if the class is a dream. It's requires a lot of energy, creativity and a strong voice. You have to pretend you're OK even if you're sick or having a bad day. In some institutes, there are very few holidays and you have keep producing and producing all year. With a desk job, you can hide in the corner if you're feeling crappy or take a day off without letting a whole lot of people down. Then again, it's damn hard to sit down all day.

Even after doing it for many years, I still need a break from teaching now and then to get inspired. Preparation is a lot quicker these days because I have 6 years' experience but for a newbie teacher, it can be a shock to the system.

One thing I do love is, it's never boring. I do cringe at teachers who do no preparation and just walk in with a hangover and the same clothes they had on the previous day and chat about their night. However, some less serious students take to that kind of teacher so I guess I'm just jealous that I can't be Ferris Bueller. I've also been a DoS for the past year at it certainly made me appreciate teaching more. You only have to read these forums to see the many options available to us.

To stay on topic, I get a newletter from tefl.com and they give an average age of (new) CVs submitted. It's usually about 36.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Also, if you change schools, prep gets more difficult. I went from secondary and uni to teaching 30 primary students in a class. It's like being a newbie all over again.

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

I'm 46 years old; started this wacky round-the-world tefl adventure in 1989.

By the way, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach 8 contact hours a day.

It's a bit more than most of the younger folk can handle ...

but I try not to make them feel bad about it.

Girl Scout · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 525 Location: Inbetween worlds

I'm 40.

soapdodger · Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 203

Kent, you wouldn't have bothered me when I was younger. I had a 40 hour a week permanent, not summer, job when I was 16, and no, it wasn't cleaning chimneys!

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Easy job??? Compared to???

Kent

fancynan · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 8:32 pm Post subject:

I am about to embark on TEFL teaching and I just turned 55.

tedkarma · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:52 pm Post subject:

I don't know that TEFL is really any easier or difficult than most other careers - and I've had a few . . .

It does require some rather specific skills - like getting along in a foreign culture and flexibility and adaptability in how things are done and get done - or don't get done.

Coogar · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject: