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Leaving International Education – A Guide

September 9, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Exploring Pathways Beyond International Teaching

Deciding to leave international education can feel overwhelming. This guide offers one approach to help you plan for and feel more in control of the process. Before diving into practical steps, it’s essential to reflect deeply on your distinctive experience as an international educator (IE). This understanding will help you plan effectively and transition smoothly into the next chapter of your life.

What Does It Mean to Be an International Educator?

Being an IE is about far more than just teaching—it’s an enriching, multifaceted journey and lifestyle that shapes both your professional skills and personal growth. To better appreciate what you may be leaving behind, take a moment to consider your experiences from multiple angles.

In-School Experiences: What International Educators Commonly Encounter

  • Diverse Student Populations: While it’s no longer accurate to assume all international schools have globally mixed student bodies, many still serve a blend of host country nationals and international students, each bringing varied cultural perspectives that enrich your teaching.
  • Student Motivation & Parental Support: Generally, students at international schools tend to be motivated learners, backed by families who appreciate and support educators.
  • Professional Development: Many international schools invest heavily in teacher growth through workshops, expert-led presentations and small group work, and individually funded professional development opportunities.
  • Leadership & Collaboration: Whether it’s committee work, curriculum design, or stepping into leadership roles, international schools offer ample chances to broaden your professional scope.
  • Co-curricular Programs: From arts and athletics to academic clubs and community service, there’s a vibrant array of activities that engage students—and teachers—beyond the classroom.
  • Experiential Learning & Travel: Outdoor education and travel programs expose you and your student to learning adventures both within the host country and abroad.
  • Wellness Initiatives: A growing emphasis on wellness supports both students and staff, helping to create a healthy and balanced environment.

Out-of-School Experiences: Life as an International Educator Beyond the Classroom

  • Cultural Exploration: You gain firsthand exposure to new languages, cuisines, arts, music, and customs, developing a broader global perspective.
  • Global Awareness: Living abroad enriches your understanding of social, political, and economic issues from multiple viewpoints.
  • Travel Opportunities: Whether exploring your host country or venturing internationally, travel becomes a natural part of your lifestyle.
  • Financial and Lifestyle Benefits: Many international educators enjoy a lower cost of living, housing stipends, competitive health insurance, and other financial perks.

Community: A Special Blend of Professional and Personal Connections

  • School as a Social Hub: International schools often serve as epicenters of community life.
  • Close Colleague Relationships: Your colleagues often become like family, as professional and social lives intertwine.
  • Weekend Engagement: From coaching sports teams to supporting student performances, weekends frequently involve deep community engagement with families and staff.
  • Shared Celebrations: Sporting events, concerts, plays—and more—are moments where school families and educators come together and celebrate.

Resources to For Reflection

As you contemplate this important transition, consider tapping into our podcasts, blog posts, and videos dedicated to the international education experience. These resources can provide invaluable perspectives on what makes the role so transformative—and how to pivot thoughtfully to what comes next.

Podcasts

  • Foundational Series of Episodes – This list provides links to all the Foundational Series of podcast episodes which outline many of the special characteristics of teaching internationally. 
  • What Does It Mean to be An International Educator? (Episode 39) – We interviewed Sandy Sheppard about her article on this topic. 
  • After the Bell: Co-Curricular Activities Unpacked, With Nick DeForest of the Globetrottin’ ADs (Episode 56) – Nick paints the picture of how special co-curricular activities can be in international schools. 
  • Tales From a Trio of Intrepid Educators: Adventures and “Lessons Learned” as Told by a Panel of Veteran International Educators (Episode 66) – Our panel describes life as international teachers. 
  • Service and Outdoor Learning – Integrating Outdoor Education and Learning Outcomes with Zack Beaty (Episode 22) and Fostering Global Learning (Episode 71) with LeeAnne Lavender – Zack and LeeAnne share how special programming outside of the regular curriculum abounds in some international schools. 
  • Get Well Soon(ish)! Laying the Groundwork for Much-Needed, Sustainable, Holistic Wellness Programs (Episode 75) – Alison Leathwood connects to the growing trend of wellness programming. 
  • Getting to the Art of the Matter: A Discussion With a Panel of Experts in the Arts (Episode 78) – The panel reminds us of the richness of arts programming in international schools. 
  • Changing Schools? What factors will you prioritize? Carefully Consider Criteria with Our Panel of Vets! (Episode 85) – The panel provides insights on some of the criteria that made their international teaching experiences so valuable. 

Blog Posts

Videos

Didn’t I say that being an international teacher is a lot more than just teaching!

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A Few Pathways Out of International Education

It’s important to recognize that there are many different pathways for transitioning out of international teaching. Some common options include:

  • Returning to Your Home Country to Work: Continuing your teaching career or pursuing new opportunities in your home country.
  • Remaining International but Shifting Roles: Continuing to work abroad, either staying within education as a consultant, trainer, or exploring a new career outside traditional teaching. Another possibility is long-term subbing being ready to jump from country to country. 
  • Retiring: Choosing retirement either back in your home country or settling in a foreign country of your choice.
  • Gradual Transition: Slowly exiting international teaching by scaling back your workload, moving into part-time roles, or if with a partner shifting careers while the partner continues working internationally.
  • Pursuing Further Education or Professional Development: Taking time to upskill, earn advanced degrees, or gain certifications while teaching to prepare for a new career path.
  • Entrepreneurship or Freelancing: Leveraging your skills to start a business, consultancy, or freelance work that may or may not be education-related.
  • Combining Multiple Paths: For example, balancing part-time work with semi-retirement, or transitioning between sectors over time.

Recognizing these varied pathways can help you consider the best fit for your goals, lifestyle, and circumstances as you plan your next chapter.

Resources to Ponder Various Pathways: 

Podcasts

  • Pivoting Out of International Education (Episode 34) – Audrey and David share their experiences transitioning to the next stage of their lives. 
  • Going “Unglobal”: More Stories From Our Trio of Vets – Transitioning Out of International Education (Episode 72) – This show fits in both the pathways and transitioning categories.

Blog Posts

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Transitions

International educators are no strangers to transitions and the accompanying feelings of change and loss. Moving out of international teaching often involves a significant geographical and professional shift, frequently returning to one’s home country. This transition can bring a profound sense of loss—not just of a job, but also of cherished work and life identities that were deeply intertwined with the international education experience.

Recognizing and addressing these feelings is essential for a healthy adjustment. Understanding what you valued most from your journey as an IE can help you plan a fulfilling next phase. This guide begins by encouraging deeper reflection on your experiences, identities, and sources of fulfillment as an international educator.

Understanding Loss in Career Transitions

Leaving an international educator role means stepping away from a unique professional identity shaped by diverse student populations, cultural exploration, community connections, and a meaningful lifestyle. It is normal to experience emotions such as grief, anxiety, apprehension, and self-doubt during this process. Acknowledging these feelings without judgment is an important step in managing them effectively.

The identity of an international educator often blends professional roles with personal growth and a strong sense of belonging. Transitioning away from this identity can feel like losing a part of oneself, a form of grief that requires time and space to process.

Successfully moving on involves honoring what you are leaving behind while embracing change as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery. Through mindful reflection and supportive strategies, you can move forward with confidence and purpose beyond your international educator identity.

Resources to Track Your Transition

Podcasts

  • Transitions Happen! Audrey and Mark Forgeron, Veteran International Educators, Share Their Tips (Episode 64)
  • Going “Unglobal”: More Stories From Our Trio of Vets – Transitioning Out of International Education (Episode 72) – This show fits in both the pathways and transitioning categories. 
  • Chapters of Our International Careers and What They Teach Us: Meet Long-Term Veteran Mark Lewis (Episode 76)
  • Finding Our Way Forward Through Tough Transitions, The SPAN Program with Amy Shuflin and Lina Paumgarten (Episode 89)

Blog Posts

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A Positive Psychology PERMAH Profile

Guiding Question: How can Positive Psychology serve as a framework to deepen my self-knowledge and enhance my understanding of who I am?

After reflecting on what it means to be an international educator, the next important step is to organize your insights using a structured framework to create a PERMAH Profile. Educators are no strangers to frameworks—especially those connected to instruction, such as Understanding by Design, Teaching for Understanding , and Making Thinking Visible.

For this phase of the guide, I will introduce a powerful and well-regarded framework from Positive Psychology: the PERMAH model, which also incorporates the 24 Character Strengths. This framework offers a meaningful way to deepen and structure your understanding of your international teaching experience. With this foundation, you can design a clear pivot plan—a roadmap for envisioning and cultivating the life you want beyond international education.

If Positive Psychology is new to you, here’s a brief introduction to help build your understanding. Positive Psychology is often described in various ways, but its core purpose can be summarized as follows: “Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living… with a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, building the good life instead of repairing the bad, and taking the lives of average people up to ‘great’ instead of focusing solely on moving those who are struggling up to normal.” (Peterson, 2008). 

Positive psychology’s aim is to help individuals thrive and flourish by focusing on strengths, meaning, and well-being rather than merely pursuing happiness as a fleeting emotion. While it does encompass aspects related to happiness, its broader goal is to promote optimal functioning, resilience, and a meaningful life beyond just feeling happy.

Dr. Martin Seligman, one of the pioneers of Positive Psychology, developed the five core elements of psychological well-being and happiness, summarized in the PERMA model. Dr. Seligman believes that these five elements help people achieve fulfillment and meaning when they are present. In other words, we can increase our opportunity to flourish by engaging within each of the PERMA pillars in our lives. These five elements—Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—are foundational aspects that, when present, contribute to a fulfilling and meaningful life. Recognizing the vital role of health, “H” was later added, expanding the model to PERMAH.

To better understand human virtues and strengths across cultures, Dr. Seligman and his team at the University of Pennsylvania studied world religions, philosophies, and interviewed people worldwide. Their research identified 24 Character Strengths grouped under six universal values, providing a comprehensive classification system to help individuals recognize and cultivate their best qualities.

Note: I capitalize “PERMAH Pillars”, “Character Strengths” and “Personal Profile” for emphasis.

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Building Your Current PERMAH Profile

Guiding Question: Who am I now?  

Now, let’s get started to take the steps to construct your PERMAH Profile! The following exercises will take some dedicated time, but consider the profound change you are about to experience as you transition away from your identity and experiences as an international educator. This effort is truly worthwhile. Remember, this process is not only about planning your next steps but also about deepening your self-knowledge while actively engaging your Character Strengths within the PERMAH Pillars.

You will construct your Permah Profile based on the PERMAH model and the Character Strengths framework. Your goal is to identify the actions and activities that help you draw on a variety of Character Strengths within each PERMAH Pillar. Later, you will use this profile to design your pivot plan—envisioning who you want to become as you move into the next phase of your life.

Step 1: Map Your Current Activities

Create a chart or copy this template with the following headers:

  • Regular School Day
  • After School & School Weekends
  • Living Locally
  • Travel

Under each column, list as many actions and activities as you can that relate distinctly to teaching and living internationally.

Step 2A: Align Activities with PERMAH Pillars

Next, create a chart or copy this template and organize your activities by listing them under the PERMAH pillars as the headers knowing some will fit under multiple pillars:

  • Positive Emotion
  • Engagement
  • Relationships
  • Meaning
  • Achievement
  • Health

Step 2B: Connect Activities to Character Strengths

Review the 24 Character Strengths and identify which strengths you are exercising through each action and activity. Add these Character Strengths connected to each activity to your PERMAH Pillars chart.

Reasoning for This Task

Let’s pause to think about why you are creating this profile based on Positive Psychology. 

The activities you identify are linked to your Character Strengths and the PERMAH pillars, which represent essential dimensions of well-being. These connections are transferable and serve as a bridge, enabling you to discover and develop new actions and experiences in the next chapter of your life. Essentially, this profile helps you recreate, as closely as possible, the sources of fulfillment and growth that sustained you during your time overseas, guiding you toward ongoing well-being and success in new environments.

Additional Tips:

  • Again, some actions may fit under multiple pillars. 
  • For Health, think broadly about activities that support your physical and mental well-being.
  • Seek input from close friends, family, and colleagues—they may recognize strengths and actions that you might overlook.
  • Consider using other self-assessment tools like the CliftonStrengths for a listing of strengths. You can incorporate these insights alongside the Character Strengths under each PERMAH pillar.
  • You can take the Character Strengths VIA inventory free of charge, whereas the CliftonStrengths assessment requires a fee. Both assessments provide personalized insights into the strengths you naturally express most. While these results are valuable, as you consider which strengths to apply in the next phase of your life, be sure to look beyond the assessments to explore and develop your less frequently used strengths through new experiences.

By completing this work, you create a personalized profile based on a well-researched framework, giving you clear insight into your current life as an international educator. To deepen your understanding, consider rating each pillar on a scale of 1 to 5 to self-assess how engaged and fulfilled you feel in each area.

A powerful side benefit of this reflective process is that you will naturally engage a variety of Character Strengths—such as Gratitude, Judgement, and Perspective—while strengthening your experience of Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, and Achievement.

Finally, this profile can be actively used right now. You can consciously increase your engagement in specific PERMAH Pillars and intentionally cultivate certain Character Strengths to support your well-being and help you flourish in your current life as you prepare for what’s next.

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Building Your New PERMAH Profile

Guiding Question: What do I want the next stage in my life to look like? 

To create your new PERMAH Profile for the next stage of your life, we will work backward, starting with your current profile and adapting it to reflect your future plans and priorities.

Step 1: Duplicate Your PERMAH Profile

Make a copy of your existing PERMAH Profile to create a working version for your next stage of life.

Step 2: Reflect on Strengths and Priorities

  • Review your Character Strengths and CliftonStrengths. Identify which strengths you want to dial down or remove based on your new life goals, and consider adding strengths you are not currently expressing but want to develop.
  • Using the PERMAH (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment, Health) framework, rate your intended level of engagement for each pillar on a scale from 1 to 5. For example, if you are retiring, you might reduce focus on Achievement but increase Engagement through new hobbies or relationships.

Step 3: Remove Irrelevant Actions and Activities

Delete actions and activities from your profile that are unlikely or no longer relevant in the next phase of your life.

Step 4: Add Actions and Activities

  • Insert new activities and goals that align with your desired life stage. Remember, this is an evolving profile—you will continue to add and adjust as you gain new experiences after your pivot.
  • Connect these new actions to your chosen Character Strengths and possibly the CliftonStrengths within the PERMAH pillars to ensure a holistic and positive transition.

The goal is to smoothly transition the thriving PERMAH and Character Strength pattern you built as an international educator into a fulfilling, meaningful pattern for your next stage of life.

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Putting a Pivot Plan Together

Guiding Questions: How do I make my new profile a reality? How do I continue to thrive? 

As an international educator, you likely have significant experience working in committees and designing action plans. You can create your own plan or use the template I’ve prepared to simplify this process. The template helps you clarify your vision, identify key strengths, prioritize engagement within the PERMAH pillars, and define specific actions and milestones. It also supports you in anticipating challenges and gathering the resources you’ll need.

The essential goal is to outline concrete steps that enable you to pivot successfully toward your next life stage while continuing to live a full, meaningful, and vibrant life—just as you have as an international educator.

Your new PERMAH Profile is the foundation for this plan, guiding you to choose activities and priorities that align with your strengths and well-being.

Wishing you every success as you move to the final step of launching your pivot out of international education!

 

Image AI Generated

A New Literacy?

May 17, 2025 / / 0 Comments

John Mikton recently posted about helping students and parents understand how AI gathers data on them. He listed several resources (provided below) to further understand this process. I made a connection to the multiple literacies of Information and Communication Literacies (ICL) that I often write about.

This led me to consider using the term “data literacy” within the ICL framework. However, what doesn’t quite fit is that the literacies or fluencies of ICL deal with the user seeking, analyzing, creating, and communicating information.

Data collection by AI and other sources, such as social networking apps, is the opposite. These technologies gather information from the user to create and communicate advertisements back to the user, among other uses.

This makes me wonder if data literacy, which perhaps should be called “data collection/gathering literacy” since analyzing data is a separate field, might fit better under “digital wellness” or possibly “(digital) citizenship.”

John’s resources on AI and data collection>

Privacy Concerns in the Age of AI-Driven Education
https://lnkd.in/eqggEm9J

A guide for school leaders on managing student data in AI-enhanced learning environments.
AI and Data Privacy in Schools
https://lnkd.in/dVN8yAdS

An educator-focused overview of why student privacy matters when using AI tools.
Check Point Research AI Security Report 2025
https://lnkd.in/deB7vGvB

A broader tech-sector view of emerging AI security risks and trends, with implications for schools. (Thank you to Garland H. Green, Jr for sharing and highlighting this resource )
Addressing AI Security Concerns in Education
https://lnkd.in/d2hkDQGc

Practical strategies for integrating AI safely into school systems and instructional practices.

CIDDl Toolkit: Safe, Ethical, and Equitable AI
https://lnkd.in/d25hzHWt A toolkit supporting school leaders in making thoughtful decisions about AI in classrooms.

AI and the Law: What Educators Need to Know
https://lnkd.in/dkMMFiVh
A plain-language breakdown of current legal considerations for AI use in schools.

AI Privacy in the Classroom –
https://lnkd.in/dXATpax5
Outlines key privacy and security concerns specific to student data in AI-supported instruction.

Privacy and Security in Generative AI
https://lnkd.in/dTitHUTq
Summarizes security and privacy risks associated with generative AI and large language models.
The EU AI Act and What it Means for Schools

An Overview of the Legislation and Its Implications for Different School Departments
https://lnkd.in/djq3MRDz

Strength Check-Ins

April 14, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I have written several posts and strategies about what I call “self” strength spotting, also known as strength check-ins. My hope for this strategy is that it becomes habitual and a mindfulness practice.

One approach to this strategy involves stepping back to reflect on which character strengths you are engaging at the moment, with an eye on your signature strengths and how present or absent they are. You also assess which other character strengths are in play. The mental cue could be, “I am practicing my strength(s) of —- at this moment.” The next step would be to evaluate your current wellness state to determine whether you are thriving or dealing with a challenge.

In either case, evaluate the strengths to see whether they are working well on their own or if you need to draw from your wellness toolkit for supplementation or possibly replace them with other character strengths.

The mindfulness and habit formation come into play as this strategy becomes second nature, with regular pauses during your day to take a character strength check-in.

Photo by Larissa Gies on Unsplash

Educators Going Global Learning Hub & Podcast

September 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

The Educators Going Global Learning Hub & Podcast continues to grow in followers as we post new resources to our library and interviews to our podcast feed. Audrey and I recently discussed resources non-international and international educators will find interesting. Two themes of the resources were teacher burnout and transitions.  

Here is the episode link.

Leaving Life as an Educator

March 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

If you are a listener to our Educators Going Global podcast, I hope you are feeling informed. Audrey and I work to bring you leaders in international education to provide our listeners with insights and helpful strategies, whether you are considering becoming an international educator or you are a veteran of the going global lifestyle.

We occasionally do episodes with just the two of us. A recent one connects to one of the themes of my blog, as we discussed using Positive Psychology to guide one’s pivot out of international education. The reality is that the strategies provided apply to any educator retiring from teaching.

Here is the episode for your review.

Professional Learning: Improving Your Wellness Program

July 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

How well is your elementary wellness program succeeding in helping your students construct their wellness toolkits to exercise their character strengths within the PERMAH pillars? In addition, where are your students regarding personal growth and thriving? Designing a wellness program is a vast task, with implementation being a vital component. Another critical aspect of program building and implementation that schools sometimes fail with is the follow-through to measure the effects upon the stakeholders.

Accountability, thus, is central to the success of the program. One way to pull in the lessons learned from the program rollout is to periodically have staff reflect, share and create together to improve your wellness curriculum.

The following is one approach for an elementary staff workshop to start the improvement process for your wellness program that you can possibly adapt for your staff as they strive to integrate the character strengths and PERMAH pillars into the culture of their classrooms. Measuring how effective your wellness program is for your students is another aspect of accountability. A future blog post will cover this most important topic.

Wellness Integration Reflection and Improvement Workshop

If your number of staff members is not too large, set up six tables where you usually do your professional learning workshops. If your staff is large, you need to set up two or more sets of six tables.

Let’s go with a smaller staff for this workshop description – one with a set of six tables and your staff divided into six groups. It is up to you to decide the parameters of the group makeup. Do you go with current grade level teams accompanied by specialists teachers, or do you mix things up by assigning group members from each grade level? An additional criterion could be to try and get a diverse mix of skills and character strengths within each group.

The first stage is to review the current PRIME integration strategies (the ones that work for most character strengths). The goal is to improve your instruction bringing the strengths into the culture of your classrooms. The teams also review the character strengths integration strategies specific to particular strengths (e.g., creativity). Each table has posters listing each PRIME and specific character strengths integration strategies. The teams at each table first rate each strategy for effectiveness, giving them a green for working well, a yellow for working so-so, and a red for not working.

The next step is to improve each strategy focusing on those receiving the yellow and red designations. The group works to improve each strategy writing their improved approaches to the strategy listings on the poster papers. Teams delist red strategies that cannot be improved.

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The second stage is the round-robin aspect of the workshop. Each table will be home to one PERMAH pillar listed on poster paper. You will need to assess how long stage one will take to decide whether to try and tackle this second stage after your work on the first stage or save this activity until another day. The goal is to review how individual character strengths can be applied within each PERMAH pillar. With your staff already having implemented your wellness program by first teaching the character strengths followed by teaching the PERMAH pillars and how character strengths can be exercised with each pillar, your staff should have enough experience to now reflect and improve upon their efforts.

Each team spends a designated amount of time at each PERMAH table, focusing on each specific pillar. The facilitator can predetermine how much time is spent at each table or assess how much time each team needs per table once the process begins. An example is one group working at the Relationships table. The first step is to share and record on the poster paper which strengths and how each group member is teaching them to their students to engage within the pillar. The next step is to collectively comment upon and refine the instructional techniques that are being shared. The final step is to discuss character strengths not listed by anyone that their students could exercise to enhance their engagement within their assigned PERMAH pillar. Strategies to teach these new strengths into the pillar also would be written on the poster paper. Once this work is completed, each group moves to another PERMAH pillar table to follow the same multi-stage procedure.

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The final stage is to regroup by grade level and assign specialists to grade-level teams in which they teach many of their students. You will need to assess how long stages one and two take to decide whether to try and tackle this third stage or save this activity until another day. The goal of this stage is to have each team spend time to devise new character strength integration strategies to use in their classrooms. The strategies can be PRIME in that they will work for most, if not all, of the character strengths, or they can be specific to individual character strengths. Team members present their new strategies to be refined by the team to be written on the provided “New Strength Integration Strategies” poster paper if the majority feel the strategy is doable and on par or better than current integration activities.

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The wellness coach and wellness team meet later to review the workshop(s) outcomes. Further refinements are made, if needed, to the information on the poster papers. The final listing of improved and new strategies is then added to your web portal. I am guessing you have some website or online resource that lists the PRIME integration and those specific to the individual strengths, like my Wellness@ES website.

Image Source

Community Wellness Program – Wellness Ambassadors

April 18, 2023 / / 0 Comments

A ways back I listed a few ideas to consider when designing and implementing a community wellness program. I stressed the importance of involving parents throughout the process. Thus, one aspect of the program would be finding ways to gather ideas and share information with parents. As my diagram above points out, a community has multiple levels, from the macro community to the micro level of individuals in which to engage.

One way schools can connect with and share information with parents is through parent workshops. I intentionally choose the term “workshop” rather than presentation. Workshops encompass teaching but also bring in insights and perspectives from the parents. Another aspect of workshops is that parents work on processing, analyzing, and sharing their learning. An example of this is my workshop entitled Parenting in the Digital Age.

As we advance the community wellness program, I see myself reaching out to interested parents to form an advisory group to help me further grow the program. As mentioned in my wellness program design blog post, I would gather insights from parents on the most critical issues and topics they see for their families. I would also get their feedback on my initiatives and plans in response to what they share.

Back to parent workshops, I would work with this advisory group to design a series of workshops on wellness and parenting topics of their choosing. Zeroing in on wellness, I would ask for volunteers to be “wellness ambassadors” to help me with wellness workshops and supporting our community’s wellness. I suggest a few roles they could fill. Here are some that come to mind.

  • An essential partner in this process is the parent-teacher organization. I would start with their leadership team to get the ball rolling.
  • A sounding board for topic generation.
  • Unpacking topics for more profound understanding through the various cultural lenses of the community members.
  • Have them be my practice audience once I design the workshops. They could give me feedback to fine-tune the material before I work with the greater parent community.
  • They could work as table facilitators when we do the workshops with the greater parent community.
  • They give me feedback after the workshops on how they ran and what they learned from their table groups.
  • I advocate for their voices to be heard as we grow our wellness program.

I probably would not have these ambassadors engage in “how to parent-style” workshops. It could be uncomfortable putting them in the role of facilitating table discussions on parenting which can be a very personal and sometimes emotional topic to discuss. It makes more sense to have administrators and other instructional coaches who have experience working with parents help facilitate table discussions on parenting. 🙂

OK, here I go again, sharing some ideas I have yet to try and have not proven effective. I have written a few times with other ideas, such as constructing a parent portal to build community while supporting one’s parents. Hopefully, the ideas presented here make sense, and they elicit lateral thinking connecting to your experiences and plans to support your parent community.

The Educators Going Global Information Hub and Podcast

April 18, 2023 / / 0 Comments

If you are an international educator or looking to become one, I have a website and podcast to help you connect and better understand what is happening with international schooling. Audrey Forgeron and I are now many months into adding information to the Educators Going Global Information Hub while doing many podcast interviews.

Here is more information about our efforts!

We just started a new enterprise with multiple channels organized around school life, recruiting, transitions, finances, and travel. 

The central portal of our endeavor is the Educators Going Global (EGG) website. There you will find a podcast, a blog, a resource library, and links to our YouTube videos where international educators share their “Going Global Stories.” We also have a Facebook group where we post resources and crowdsource questions on topics such as potential guests, questions we need help with and lots more. 

Have a question about finances or your upcoming transition to a new school? Visit our site to select “Finances” or “Transitions” to see podcast episodes, blog posts, books, and website resources for your review. We hope you will see our website as an additional tool for your international teaching toolkit. 

At the same time, you can subscribe to the Educators Going Global podcast on your device using your favorite podcasting app to listen to our shows. We have posted 25+ shows, and many more are in the works. Our guests have been interesting and informative, and there is something there for everyone, whether you are new to International Education or a long-time veteran like ourselves.

We will share with you how to travel, teach and connect!

That should cover What Educators Going Global is. Now, here’s the Who! We are Audrey Forgeron and David Carpenter.  

Audrey is a thirty-year international teaching veteran of seven international schools on four continents. She has variously taught Health and Physical Education, Social Studies, French, Film and Design Technology in grades three through twelve and has been an instructional technology educator. She is now a trailing spouse and mother of two grown Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs) and is currently training to become a life coach.

David is also a long-time international educator, having worked in ten international schools for over 30 years. He has worn many hats, from Social Studies teacher to Counselor to Curriculum Designer to Instructional Technologist to Instructional Coach for Wellness. David is now semi-retired, wearing his dad hat whenever possible to support and learn from his adult sons, Maxwell and Samuel. 

So Why are we keen to share our insights and the expertise of our guests? We want to give back to the community of educators that gave each of us so much. We see our effort as a public service. 

Our mission is to inform veteran and aspiring international educators about working overseas. We do this via targeted podcast episodes that include informational interviews and personal vignettes related to these five Ws of international education. What it’s like and how it’s changing, Where to find more information, Why “going global” is so attractive, and How and When to work through the recruiting process.

We work to tell the whole story so you are really in the know about international schools. Our motto is Eyes wide open!

The bottom line is that, just like when we worked in international schools, we want to build community and be of service. Please connect with us as we go global together!

The Wellness Coach (Counselor) – Instructional Technologist Partnership

December 21, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I have written a lot about what I see as the wellness coach and instructional technologist overlap of areas of services to our school community.

We describe (digital) citizenship as the purview of instructional technologists. As an instructional coach for wellness, I use the term “digital wellness” to describe the domain where I support students, staff, and parents in their lives. I need to find out where conventional guidance counselors generally stand in supporting citizenship or digital wellness. As usual, I am speaking about my experiences and ideation.

The question can arise of the difference between digital citizenship and digital wellness. One way to understand the difference between (digital) citizenship and digital wellness is that most citizenship curricula teach students to think about how their actions affect others. Digital wellness looks inward to help us think about how our use of technology affects our well-being.

Remember that a guiding principle of digital wellness is to engage the Character Strength of proactivity to help us take charge of how we use technology to support our interests, values, and wellness. 🙂

When teachers or the instructional technologist are teaching citizenship skills, instances of digital wellness also come into play. The reverse is true for teachers and wellness coaches teaching digital wellness when citizenship is a part of the learning. With all this said, it makes sense to me that the wellness coach and instructional technologist should have a strong partnership to help each other design their programs including professional learning opportunities for staff.

My focus on elementary students means building the foundational understanding that they are in charge of the tools – not the other way around. They learn how to use technology for learning and, yes, for entertainment and fun. The wellness program naturally grows student self-awareness to help them understand technology’s positive and negative influence on their lives, especially their well-being.

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Wellness Program Implementation in the Elementary

December 21, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I went big with my post, listing many ideas for implementing a comprehensive school wellness program. Let’s now focus on the elementary.

One primary goal of a wellness program is to help our students THRIVE! To reach this goal, here are six potential steps to follow>

Step 1: Introduction Lessons – What is wellness? What is character? What are Character Strengths?

Step 2: Teachers then teach students the individual Character Strengths that scientific research shows we all have. One approach is for the wellness coach and grade-level teachers to design the scope and sequence of when you will teach each of the strengths. Perhaps in early childhood, only a handful of strengths are introduced, such as emotional and social intelligences, honesty, kindness, and self-control. Teach additional Character Strengths each year so that all the strengths are in place by, say, Grade 3.

Step 3: Teachers then apply the PRIME integration and Secondary strategies listed on this website for each Character Strength to offer many opportunities to practice using the strengths during the year. As students learn each of the strengths, they will grow their understanding by “exercising” them.

Step 4: Teachers then teach students Positive Psychology’s six “pillars.” We use the acronym PERMAH to describe them. Each pillar is a significant category of how we live our lives. Again, it is through scientific research that psychologists concluded that living well within each pillar helps us thrive. The wellness coach works with the grade-level teams to decide the scope and sequence of when individual pillars will be taught. You could start with relationships and aspects of health in the early years, adding on pillars from there.

Step 5: Each student creates a personal wellness plan that lists how they will exercise the Character Strengths within each PERMAH pillar to live more fully and flourish. The wellness plan contains action steps to help students engage with the Character Strengths and PERMAH pillars as a regular part of their lives. It can also be helpful to have students add intentional practices and habits to engage further within each pillar.

Step 6: Once you complete steps 1-5 to bring wellness practices into the lives of our students, we start using the term “wellness toolkit” as an ongoing integration practice. At this point, students develop a language of wellness, further embedding the tenets of Positive Psychology into their life practices and habits.

We use language and references such as

  • Which tools can you use from your wellness toolkit to help with….?

  • In planning for our field trip this week, which tools from your wellness toolkits can help us prepare for and make the most of our experience?

  • Let’s look at your wellness plans to see how you are all doing. Let’s do some self-reflection on our efforts. Which tools from your wellness toolkits are you using most frequently?

  • Let’s drill down into your toolkits with the pillar of H for Health. Which tools, as in strengths and practices like diet, sleep, and exercising, are you engaging in? Which habits are helping you engage with this PERMAH pillar?

Additional Step: The Character Strengths are organized into six classes of virtues: Courage | Humanity | Justice | Temperance | Transcendence | Wisdom. In your second year, you could design age-appropriate lessons on values clarification to build on your work from the previous year.

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Pulling from the comprehensive school wellness post, here are a few ideas to further onboard new students, parents, and staff into the program annually.

-New students and parents need to be onboarded annually into the wellness program. The same goes for new staff before their arrival in August for the normal orientation and onboarding program. Providing online tutorials, FAQs, webinars, and other resources through the wellness web portal can help with the process. Design wellness workshops as part of your orientation program for new students before the first day of school. Provide a series of workshops for parents for face to face meetings and for online attendees.

-Design wellness learning opportunities for your parents working with the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). The PTA can help with the onboarding process for new parents for wellness and other aspects of the school and community culture. If you have a community center on campus, support your PTA in offering book clubs, workshops, small group discussions, etc., on wellness, parenting, and other topics of interest.

-I can say again from experience that the onboarding needs to be scheduled and promoted at the start of the year to continue on a monthly offering new staff and parents opportunities to grow their knowledge of PosPsych with built-in activities to support their living and embedding of wellness principles into their lives.

-The same, of course, needs to happen for students. Schools often offer a start-of-the-year orientation program for new students. Possibly have more than one day of orientation in which you introduce your wellness program. Find ways for your ES homerooms and MS and HS advisory to have start-of-the-year wellness foundational learning opportunities to build foundational knowledge of PosPsych so that the new students can feel comfortable as teachers integrate the Character Strengths and PERMAH in their regular curricula . And just as with the parents, look to have some follow-up orientation get-togethers with your new students to discuss wellness and other topics to help them transition to your school.

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