Leaving a teaching job can be heartbreaking

I had a post pretty much ready to go yesterday, but I’ve decided to write something brand-spanking-new and publish it one day later than normal because it was my last day working at one of the schools I teach at. I’ve been there for six months exactly and I have met some of the most incredible kids, the best colleagues and possibly the most awesome boss I’ve ever had in my varied employment history.

I had the go ahead from management that I could effectively have a Friday Fun-day, and the kids have been begging me for weeks about making our own slime (gak in the US, flubber in the UK, generally rubbery slimy gooey clean fun!). So I spent a ridiculous amount of time in the supermarket on Thursday looking for the appropriate chemical ingredient in certain washing detergents. Seriously, I wouldn’t be surprised if people thought I was just ultra-picky about what I wash my clothes in! I was googling ferociously and looking up alternatives to Borax and whether Clorox would have the correct chemical properties to form the bond (incidentally, it doesn’t).

Anyway, when I arrived in the classroom, I had a collection of handmade cards and presents waiting for me on my little table. I had all the kids swarm around telling me which one was theirs and which ones to open first. I got given a really cute little necklace from one of my girls and a tub of pistachios which I shared with the class. I pulled the three bottles of glitter glue and liquid starch out of my bag to an amazing collective shriek of delight. I sent the kids off to change into their old clothes so their uniform wouldn’t get messy as I contemplated opening the cards and messages without tearing up in front of my 8-year-olds.

As a teacher, you shouldn’t have favourites, but as a friend of mine said to me not so long ago, as a person, you like and get on with some people straight away, and it takes time with others. So when I received this message from one of my most adorable little monsters, it really made me feel awesome and upset all at the same time.

Dear Teacher Deena,

I love you Teacher because when I don’t understand you teach me to understand.

Kids are truly incredible. They say it how it is and haven’t yet fathomed how to hide their emotions which makes them both a joy and a pain to teach. In the few short months I have spent with these awesome little humans, we’ve learned about superheroes and villains, we’ve had birthday cake fights, drawing competitions, spelling tests, and poetry classes. I’ve taught them about the four seasons and floating and sinking, parts of a plant and Greek mythology and Fairy Stories. We’ve done Art projects using chalk, salt dough, pipecleaners (yes, I found pipecleaners in Siem Reap!). We’ve learned and tried to do a Zorba the Greek dance, looked at music from all over the world and decided that One Direction is everyone’s favourite pop group!

But I think I’ve learned more than all the kids put together. I’ve learned that I have the patience, the enthusiasm and inclination to educate others, but the extra time that needs to be put in for planning, gathering appropriate resources from the vast information sources online, the time required to grade papers, to set homework and maintain who has and hasn’t completed it [on time], the parent-teacher conferences, report cards and the relentless questions and kids vying for attention has put me off. It takes a better person than me to do this full-time. If you asked me last week, I would have said that I will never teach a whole class again. This morning though? I don’t know. Is it worth it? For messages like these? Knowing that you made a difference? I don’t know; I’m completely undecided.

Finding a job is like waiting for a bus…

You wait for ages and then two or three turn up at once. Or they do for me, whenever I’m on a job-hunt.

I should probably explain why I decided on Siem Reap, Cambodia to live for a few months. For those of you who have read MinionTravels from its humble beginnings a while ago, I’ve been to a fair few places in SE Asia, so how did I make the massive decision as to where I was going to plant myself? Well, I have a friend who made the move a few years ago who I actually know from school. I sent him a message, months ago, asking for advice on how to pack up your life to go teach English as a Foreign Language. I’d already taken the plunge and got myself enrolled on a TEFL course in Summer 2015, when I was tearing my hair out in a highly stressful and deadline centric job in the UK, but I wanted some more practical advice from someone who had already done it. And where does this friend live now? You guessed it, Siem Reap. Secondary question, what does this friend do in Siem Reap? He runs an English School. Well that’s handy, I hear you say… So there you go, that’s why I decided to settle in Siem Reap.

On arrival, my focus was finding a place to stay. Once that was sorted, I needed to find something to do with my time, and finding a job took longer than I expected. Admittedly, I was being really picky since actually living in SE Asia is mega cheap. I’d saved up a fair chunk of cash from the afore-mentioned and hated job back home, and as soon as I’d worked my notice there, I’d managed to get part time work at a wonderful restaurant in my hometown over the Christmas period. This was purely in an effort to pick up some hospitality skills, should my teaching abilities be found lacking whilst travelling our wonderful planet. So yeah, finding paid work immediately wasn’t a major financial concern, it was more that I was getting bored without a routine and something specific to do. Idle hands and all that.

So I put word out that a) I was a native English speaker, which is very important in SE Asia for an English teacher, b) that I was available to start working immediately, and c) that I was only available for about 5-6 months. I think that was the bit that made it really difficult to secure work quickly. You see, the schools that I wanted to teach at were those that only employed trained teachers, not just backpackers looking for a quick buck so they could make it to the next city. These schools wanted staff to stay for closer to a year, rather than a few months, which is fair enough, but that seemed to be the primary reason that some schools and I weren’t a right fit. The other type of school I encountered were not bothered about my qualifications at all, nor were they concerned that I only wanted to stay for six months, max . They just wanted to make sure I could start immediately.

After a few weeks passed, each with a visit to a school, an incredibly informal interview and trial lesson, a few friends suggested that I embellish the truth, or bend it slightly in my favour. Maybe omit to mention my personal timeline, or say that I wasn’t sure when I wanted to leave Cambodia. Unfortunately, as the good British girl I am, this didn’t quite sit right with me. I’d had enough personal experience with colleagues in the UK leaving even when working their notice, and I’d heard stories from my education-management friends in Cambodia that they were caught short-staffed because a member of their faculty decided to just book a flight and leave. I knew from the moment that I left the UK that I wanted to be in Australia by July ‘16, and August at the very latest. The reason being that I only have this one opportunity in my life to spend up to a whole year in Aus with the visa I’ve secured. And, I have a wedding to attend in July of 2017 back home in the UK, so of course I want to make the most of my year in Australia, therefore… if I extend my stay in Cambodia, I feel like I’m cheating myself out of valuable time down under!

Anyway, the more time I was spending in Cambodia, the more I was experiencing these two different types of school. Furthermore, on each “interview” or demo lesson I turned up at, I got very strange looks. I cottoned on pretty quick, that whilst I speak with a very British accent (every Brit I’ve met has made some quip about the Queen’s English or RP or that I must be from the posh part of England…), I do not look the part. Especially after a couple of months in the SE Asian sun… I look much more Indian now than ever before! A few Cambodian people had simply assumed that I was a local, which incidentally has happened in other countries too, but that’s a story for another day. Seems that you can’t escape White Privilege no matter what corner of the world you find yourself in.

I managed to find out, from a friend of a friend, about a very forward-thinking Primary School that was actually only 10-15 minutes walking distance from my awesome new home… BONUS! They were following the British curriculum, there was a vacancy for a Year 3 teacher, there were literally a handful of really sweet kids in the class and I would be teaching Maths, Science, Art, Music and PE as well as English. Sounds perfect, and after a demo lesson with Pre-K to understand the attitude and culture of the school, they sent me on my way with a promise to call back soon.

At the same time, another friend had put me in touch with the guy running an American English High School in town. I was invited in for an informal chat, but I had to take a teacher proficiency test, plus a grammar test of my own. I did the tests in the morning, and passed them (hooray!), was asked to return for a trial lesson that evening so went home for a few hours to prepare my class. In the three or four hours between my tests and my lesson, the Primary School called me! They actually wanted to offer me the Year 1 class and invited me back for another demo/trial with “my” class in the morning. Oh man, what to do??

My lesson planning doesn’t usually look so tidy… must be the minion’s influence

 

In the end, I went to the trial class at the High School, being very open with the guy running things there and telling him about my predicament. He came to observe my lesson, was impressed enough to offer me the job, but I told him I would go to the Primary School the following day and then make my decision. And so off I went to the Primary School first thing in the morning, I fell even more in love with the place and the awesome little kids, and I knew that my mind was made up. Check this out and see if you can spot yours truly!

Two of my little angels!

 

So what about the third job? I was also approached to be a private tutor with my friend’s school. I tutor a lovely Korean girl twice a week now. Oh yeah, and I’m currently covering a class at that school for a couple of weeks either side of the Khmer New Year break. So, I’ve officially been “Teacher Deena” since Wednesday 23^rd March, which means it took me 7 weeks exactly since I set foot back in Cambodia to secure paid work. And there’s no rest for the wicked!