The Tipping Point

I thought, as I have recently passed my half way point of my contract, it would be fitting to have a half-time team talk. Or you may like to refer to it as a “time to take stock and reflect” on what I believe has been a ‘tipping point’ in my life.

The above reference to a tipping point comes from the factual book written by Malcolm Gladwell. In short, and my own words, it documents real-life scenarios/situations where things have dramatically changed, either for the good or the bad, by something (in retrospect) very small.

I have recently been looking into my next ‘port of call’. I had no idea the countless and endless opportunities that are now open to me. I can pretty much teach in any of the 190 odd countries that make up the earth we stand upon. Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, New Mexico, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland. Basically, any country that has children, businessmen and umm human beings and the desire to know our globally desired language would be willing to give me a job of some sort.

With a years experience safely tucked under my belt, I can now go to ‘any’ of the countries mentioned without too much hassle. On deciding to leave London and start teaching English as a second language I was, unknowingly, opening myself to a lifetime of free travel and an abundance of unbeatable experiences.

So I conclude that I believe that the tipping point of my life was at the moment I posted my resume on the Hi-Teacher.com website. That was the moment my life changed, for the good. If there are any umm’ers and rrrrr-ers out there, unsure of their next travel plan or travelling adventure, then take stock for a moment and think what teaching could do for you.

OK, something a little lighter on the reading eyes. Here is a sample of my 8 year olds writing. We were reading a story in class. In the story a guy called Lee lost his cat. I asked to kids to answer: ‘Where did the cat go?’. This was Emily’s answer. Un-edited.

“Flora want to make lee suprize. So she went out. When she finsh gave birth to four kittens, she back to home. Flora was right. He (Lee) suprize…..! This is my anser.

The image you see above is of some street advertising outside a gentlemen’s clothing store, which is adjacent to my apartment block. It made me wonder 'How powerful this type of advertising is?' We, or should I say the worldly brands, spend hundreds of thousands on extravagant advertising campaigns, whether they’re on TV or on billboards – etc etc etc. I think this is a genuinely attractive campaign. It even shows how the suit remains sophistically smart, even in windy conditions. I’m yet to purchase a suit from this outlet, but it does cross my mind once a day.