{"id":160,"date":"2012-06-13T14:12:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T13:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/?p=160"},"modified":"2024-07-26T22:50:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T21:50:27","slug":"the-gap-year-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/the-gap-year-myth","title":{"rendered":"The ‘gap year’ myth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a common myth that teaching abroad is seen as a gap year by some teachers. In my opinion, these teachers are narrow and lack an appreciation for their own education.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all worked with and been taught by teachers that spend their careers pottering, delivering satisfactory lessons and getting the promotions they need to retire (quite) comfortably. However, we\u2019ve all met teachers whose careers, by contrast, are truly<\/em> inspirational!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I am not saying that to be an inspirational teacher you have<\/em> to teach abroad but I am saying you have to do inspiring things to learn and become an inspirational teacher<\/strong>. You have to mix things up a bit \u2013 such as teach in a challenging school, introduce a unique club to a school, take on a new role, lead an exciting trip and challenge yourself (and your pupils) to do something outside your comfort zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Travelling
A change of location can offer new perspectives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So what has this got to do with teaching overseas? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Teaching overseas is just one of these things, and of course it\u2019s not for everyone. But it certainly is not a \u2018Gap Year\u2019 as it\u2019s a challenge both personally and professionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily more and more teachers worldwide are recognising the value of teaching abroad. You learn new ideas from your international co-workers. You get to travel to other schools in neighbouring countries for inspiring training courses on new curricula like the IB. \u00a0(How can teaching the world\u2019s most rigorous curriculum be a gap year?!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most of all you push yourself into new situations and challenges \u2013 whether you\u2019re having to explain what ADHD is to a concerned Chinese mother or asking the price of a mango in Swahili in your local market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fruit
Fruit market in Kenya!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What are forward thinking educational leaders are looking for in teachers?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Inspiring people who are open minded, have plenty of initiative and are up for a challenge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you are a teacher who\u2019s concerned that by teaching abroad you will struggle to get a job back home one day, highlight the value of the experiences you\u2019ve had and how they make you a great teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Teacher
Teaching in Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This applies as much to writing covering letters and application form as it does to face to face interviews. Be proud of all the things you\u2019ve done, the mistakes you\u2019ve made and what you\u2019ve learnt along the way.<\/strong> You\u2019ll give yourself the best chance of getting the job (and being an inspiring teacher for the students!) And if they look at you like you\u2019re mad, then you can breathe a sigh of relief  – and tell them you\u2019re going to take another \u2018Gap Year\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a common myth that teaching abroad is seen as a gap year by some teachers. In my opinion, these teachers are narrow and lack an appreciation for their own education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":9645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[875],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/kid-circus-7vSlK_9gHWA-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Krhd-2A","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15346,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions\/15346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}