Monday, October 29, 2007

International Schools and Extra Curricular Activities

Do you have children who are heavily involved in extra curricular activities? Are you concerned that moving your teaching career overseas could result in them missing out?

Here's how you can assess what each prospective new job teaching abroad can offer you and your child in terms of sports, music, drama, etc.

Smaller international schools may be a pleasant change from working in a national public system, but the downside is that there may be only limited opportunities for your children to take part in extra-curricular activities.

Check schools’ websites to see what sports are offered. If there is no obvious link, you can always look at the pictures to see if there are any sports or music related ones.

If your children are dedicated sports players you can inquire about regional sporting competitions and what sports take part in them.

Other activities to find out about, depending on the interests of your children, are Model United Nations, Amnesty International, International Youth Awards (similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Award), orchestra, choir, drama productions, etc.

Most international schools will expect teachers to offer an extra curricular activity for the students. Some ideas for you are:

  • natural history club,
  • needlework club,
  • roller blading club,
  • scuba diving (if you have the appropriate certification)
  • and all kinds of drop in lab to support students with their homework and projects.

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