Story or Narrative of non-Filipino teacher in other Countries
At the heart of any story are the people and their lives. I have been incredibly fortunate to
be welcomed into three international teachers’ lives for this research: Richard, Elaine and Kate. It
is through their stories that we can learn from their experiences. Richard, Elaine and Kate
gracefully opened their classrooms and spent time talking with me over dinner, coffee and even
on shopping trips. I have a history with these three teachers. Ten years ago, they were my
international teaching colleagues. I moved back to the United States and didn’t keep in touch with
any of them for 6 years. When I started this research project I contacted Richard and Elaine who
generously agreed to participate. The first day I visited the American School of China, I had lunch
in the faculty lounge with Kate. She enthusiastically volunteered to participate as well. Without
these three teachers’ willingness to take a risk and trust me with their stories and lives, I would
never have been able to start this project. Before sharing their stories, though, it is essential that I
share my own.
Background
From the time I was born to age 6, my family moved 4 times in 3 different states.
My father, a steel salesman, relocated our family to new territories on a fairly regular basis. Around
my 6th birthday, our family moved to Bettendorf, Iowa where I grew up. It was a quiet town with
biking paths, a celebrated state-championship high school football team and a school system that
emphasized independent learning. I chose a small liberal arts college for my undergraduate work
because it offered opportunities to study abroad. I had a desire to go places. To see new things. To
meet new people. While at school, I studied for 5 months in The Netherlands and I realized I had
found my niche. Living overseas was where I wanted to be.
Elementary Teaching History
I have a story that I have told over and over again when asked about my 11 years of teaching
in elementary schools. It involves four different countries, four different schools and two different
grade levels. My first teaching job was in Bahrain in the Middle East. The fall after graduating
from college, I moved to this small island country in the Persian Gulf to teach third grade in a
bilingual Bahraini school. It was the year after the first Gulf War ended. When I first moved there,
I knew absolutely nothing about the Middle East or Islam. The kids were from wealthy Bahraini
families, many of them were royalty, and I was highly respected as a teacher. I spent my free time
jet skiing on the Persian Gulf, learning about the local culture and history and camping in the
desert. I loved it. On vacations I travelled around the Middle East and even got my scuba diving
license. After a couple years I left, not because I had a change of heart, but because I was fearful
that I may end up never leaving! I returned to the U.S. and got a job over the phone to teach 3rd
grade in Houston, TX. I hated it. This particular school was oppressive and treated the teachers
with an assumption of incompetence. The students were highly controlled and monitored, not
unlike a prison. Although while working at this school I had great colleagues, the students were
wonderful to work with, the overall tone of the school was not a fit for me. By February I had gone
to an international teaching job fair and a secured a job for the following school year in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. I had heard KL was a great place to live from teachers I knew in Bahrain. I
was more than ready to go. I taught first grade for 4 years in Malaysia. While it wasn’t the most
well known of the international schools in town, it was certainly the most progressive. It was brand
new and the teachers were celebrated, highly trusted, and valued as knowledgeable professionals.
My classroom would easily have 12-14 different nationalities with multiple languages spoken at
home. The school philosophy was student centered and inquiry based. Once again, I loved it. KL
is a fabulous place to live. There were weekly hash runs in the jungle, biking across town, and a
mix of Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures in this liberal Muslim country. I embraced the tropical
weather, the food, the travel around Southeast Asia, vacations on undeveloped islands, rainforest
treks and the overall laid back lifestyle. After living and working in Malaysia for 4 years I decided
to once again seek out a new place to work, so I returned to the U.S. for another international
teaching job fair. I was very fortunate. I was offered jobs in Turkey, Laos, China and Mexico. I
remember being very uncertain about what to do, and spoke with a former colleague from Bahrain
at the job fair. He recommended China. So, off I went…Life in China was very different than my
other experiences. Instead of living in local neighborhoods as I did in Bahrain and Malaysia, the
school housed us in an expensive and elite living community. The school was well funded, paid
teachers well, and had every resource imaginable. While working there, I studied Chinese and
spent time exploring the less easily accessible parts of the country and the city. Over the four years
of living in China, the cosmopolitan aspect of city life boomed. When I arrived it could be a
challenge to find particular western foods, like cheese in the grocery store. After 4 years, there was
a Starbucks every two blocks in the heart of the city. I left because even though it was highly
beneficial for me financially to live there, I felt that the experience was more than a little colonialist
and I questioned gated living. However, I had embraced the experience of living in a large, bustling
cosmopolitan city, far different than the Iowan town where I grew up. My decision to leave was
difficult but after living in Asia for 8 years, I was ready for another challenge and returned to live
in the U.S.
Noticeably, my short work autobiography includes snippets of my personal life. Like
students, who teachers are outside of school comes into the classroom. International teachers
change countries, not just the state they live in, to do their jobs. My story, the story I live by, tells
of travel, play and work. It highlights what I value in professional environments and a personal
sense of adventure to explore the sea and rainforests. It also touches on considerations of not only
where but how I want to live and be in the world. After I left China, I continued to reflect on my
international living and teaching experiences for years. As a graduate student, in class after class,
I kept returning to my lived experiences. What stories still perplex me as an educator and
researcher? What can I learn from those experiences? Throughout my dissertation I refer to stories
that I have written about experiences I had while I taught and lived overseas. These are stories that
I wrote prior and during my trip to China as part of my research process in my researcher diary. I
realized that I am passionate about being a storyteller myself, and I was encouraged to pursue
narrative, inquiry-based research. Clandinin and Connelly (2000).
