Job Discussion Forums

[Nomad212]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about teaching English in a foreign country. FWIW, I'm leaning towards Latin America but am still open to other parts of the world. I've been researching this possibility, including by reading through existing posts here. Thanks to all of you for your contributions!

One question remains, however. Do language schools tend to list the names of their teachers on their websites? Do they tend to have pages on Facebook and require their teachers to be visible there? In general, is it possible to teach English abroad without having information about where one lives and works plastered all over the Internet? Is it socially unacceptable to refuse to use Facebook?

Unfortunately, there are some specific reasons for this concern. It's not just that I have old-fashioned ideas about privacy, although I do. Rather, there are some abusive people who I'm trying to leave in the past. These people are nasty enough to try to interfere with someone's job and/or visa.

Thanks in advance!

[denise]

I've had jobs (including my current one) that do list the names of their teachers. I do not have a photo posted and have minimal background data included. My contact email is the school's email. I have a very unique name (I'm the only one of me on facebook), but otherwise I wouldn't worry about people tracking me down--all they can see is a name and a generic email address based on my name. If you're a John Smith or the like, how would anyone know it was you?

I've never had jobs require facebook participation, though.


edit: Crap! I just searched for myself on facebook and all of a sudden there's ANOTHER one! Hyphenated married name, but still, I kinda liked being unique!


d

[jpvanderwerf2001]

At my school, we have pictures and bios of all of our teachers on our web site. This is of course good promotion for the school (especially since native speakers are a rarity in these parts). However, if a teacher requested that their picture, etc not be put on the site, I'd have no problem with it.

[markcmc]

I've taught for a long time and never had my picture on a school website. Don't let this put you off teaching overseas.

[Serious_Fun]

[Nomad212]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! My apologies for the late reply - some personal stuff came up.

It's just generally good to know what is realistic and possible.

@Serious_Fun: I'd actually agree with your advice in most cases. However, in my case, the people I'm concerned about aren't creditors or the like. And you can't just "tie up any loose ends" with people who are nasty, abusive and even violent. Some relationships just need to be left in the past. But that by itself often offends people.

A lot of people I used to know either resent me for actually doing something with my life more interesting than manual labor. Doing menial labor to appease them isn't an option. A lot of them are also xenophobic enough to lash out at someone who decided to try living in another country. But I'm not staying here just to appease them, especially when my realistic options for staying here are limited. Sometimes, it's better to just move on and watch your back.

[Sashadroogie]

Crikey! Who are these people you were running with? I'd keep running from them, to be sure...

[Nomad212]

@Sashadroogie: Long story short, they're basically the kind of people who try to even the score by dragging people down to their level.

I was determined to get ahead by going to university. Most of my friends weren't university-bound, so there was a lot of resentment. I went ahead and got a four-year degree anyway. Unfortunately, the job I got was a professional dead-end despite being nominally in my field. It was the best I could do given that university educated white-collar types where I lived were a homogeneous lot who didn't consider me good enough for them.

I moved to NYC the first chance I got. That offended people I used to know even more. Many people in the USA outside the "coastal cities" despise NYC. While the economy was better, I was able to find work. Lately, not so much.

I think I'd enjoy teaching. In fact, I'd probably prefer it to the career I went to university for. Thing is, it's very difficult to get hired as a public school teacher in the USA nowadays. So in that sense, going abroad actually gets me closer to my career goals.

Also, I've spent several months in Latin America already. Shockingly, the quality of life was higher than in the part of the USA where I used to live.

It's unfortunate that I need to go abroad to use my education and skills. There, at least I can teach people the language I know. Here, I'm looking at getting sucked back into working menial jobs while living in an undesirable area.

My philosophy about "running from" is that sometimes you really do have to run from something. You solve the problems that can be solved. But for the ones that can't, running from them may be the only real alternative.

In any case, it's usually a false construct because we're always choosing the best option out of several choices. If someone would rather have job/location/lifestyle combination A then job/location/lifestyle combination B, they'll choose A. It doesn't matter (except possibly in borderline cases) whether choosing A is sticking with what one already has or actively seeking out a new path.

[Isla Guapa]

[Nomad212]

@Isla Guapa:

[Sashadroogie]

Wow. That's quite a story. The very best of luck to you. It sounds more like you are running to something better, though, than from problems. This nearly always has better results. Well, for me at least...

[fladude]

I'm always amazed when people say that you should not run from things. What do they mean? Are they serious?

When Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt, guess what? They were running from the something (the Pharo's army). Does that mean they were doing the wrong thing? Should have they disobeyed the Lord? I ask this, and I am not even religious, but simply wanted to point this obvious example out (whether it be truth or fiction).

And what about fleeing the Khmer Rouge, or Fleeing Nazis, or rabid dogs or zombies? Should you have not run?

Ok on more concrete matters, if your finances are totally destroyed in America and show no sign of ever recovering then lets face it, running may well be a realistic answer to your problems. Its true that your life overseas might not turn out all that great but its unlikely that your life in America is going to go all that well either. I've met plenty of street people and I've visited several prisons. None of the people I met on the street or in a prison seemed to have a great life. I think they all would have been better off if they had made the decision to run from their home city. At the very least they wouldn't be any worse off overseas.

[denise]

When people talk about running/not running from things, they're generally not referring to armies/zombies or the like...

People who have more personal problems--bad relationships, etc.--and then run from them might just end up finding that they have the same sorts of relationship problems in their new environment, compounded by the whole culture shock thing. Is the risk of repeating past mistakes so great that you shouldn't give it a try? Well, that's quite a personal decision, but it's wise not to assume that a change of scenery will automatically solve all problems.

d

[Sashadroogie]

[Nomad212]

@Sashadroogie: Thanks for the kind words!

As for it being worse abroad, doesn't it depend on which country you're coming from? Even the poorest people in the Commonwealth countries and Western Europe at least have access to basic social services. In the USA, even this isn't a given.

@denise: That's a good point. There's a risk of repeating bad behavior patterns from the past.

Moving to a better environment can actually improve the situation because:

(a) The people you knew in your old environment expect you to continue your existing behavior patterns. With people in a new place, you have a blank slate.

(b) The old environments may have put constraints on you which don't exist in the new place.

But to actually benefit from being in a new environment, you actually have to start exhibiting the new behaviors which are now possible.

In my case, I've generally gotten along with people in the last two North American cities I've lived in and while backpacking through Latin America. It's just that the place I lived prior to that had a weird, backward social environment which I didn't fit into. Now, just because I've been able to build meaningful friendships since doesn't change the fact that there are specific people from the past who want to see me fail.

@fladude: I agree with you. Having lurked here for a while, I'm aware of your situation. I wish you the best of luck.