Teacher Exchange

A teacher exchange is when two teachers from another area of their own country or from somewhere in the world agree to exchange teaching jobs, classrooms and usually homes for up to a year. Most teachers go on exchange because they are looking for something different. The weather will be different, so will the housing, shopping, friends you make, the school, and even your lifestyle. That is why you need to be flexible. You are going to experience an exciting year of change, you will travel, overcome challenges and be a better person for it and you will spend more money then you might normally spend. Enjoy your experience with a positive attitude and a sense of humor.

It was after school one cold windy October day. I was exhausted after a particularly trying day at school and heaps of planning awaited me before I could go home. Thankfully I had an inservice for the next two days and a sub would take over for me.

That is when my mind drifted off imaging what it would be like to teach on some south sea island near a beach. Away from the cold and the teaching routine I had become accustomed to.

Little did I realize, that in just over a year this thought would become reality.

The next morning as I walked into an inservice on class management I was absolutely not prepared for the what lay ahead. There was the usual ice breakers, then the leader broke us into groups of two. I was matched with someone in our school district wearing a nametag with Marie. The spark to my future was cast. As we discussed our teaching assignments I learned Marie was involved with teacher exchanges. I hadn't realized that there was such a thing.

She explained that teachers could exchange jobs, houses and sometimes vehicles with teachers from other parts of our country or from overseas for up to a year. Further, as an exchange teacher I would be paid by my home school district, maintain my salary, be credited with my experience and pensionable service when I taught somewhere else. As I represented our school district in a classroom somewhere else, I could also write off my moving expenses.

A few days later I obtained a teacher exchange application. Usually plan about a year to 16 months from the time you decide to go on an exchange to when you actually leave. I applied in October and received my first offer of an exchange in March to Washington State to start in September. This proposal was not accepted by the Yakima Washington teacher. A few weeks later I received another proposal to Colorado. The teacher exchange partner from Fort Collins had already made other plans so did not accept. I than received a third proposal to Perth Australia in early June , this was accepted in early July and we finally were on the plane to Australia January 3. It probably is unrealistic to think that you can apply for an exchange in June and be in another part of the country or world by September of the same year.

As you can see, not all proposals are accepted. As an exchange teacher, you have control as to which county, provinces or states you wish to exchange but as someone else does the actual matching based on your teaching assignment, experience, size of your family, (they wouldn't match a family of 5 with a teacher who owns a one bedroom apartment), you don't have a choice as to specific school or city.

Getting the teacher exchange application:

The first step to a teaching exchange is your application, references and resume. You want to sell yourself to a potential exchange school and you want to sell your community, home and school to your potential exchange partner. You obtain these through your school district or department of education.

The same application you fill out at home gets seen by education authorities, superintendents, principals, vice-principals, department heads and finally by the your potential exchange partner. An impressive application is to your benefit.

Some teachers try arranging exchanges independently. Although few of these independently arranged exchanges have been successful, almost all fall through because of visa difficulties. The challenge with any teaching exchange is that it needs approval from your school administrator, your school superintendent and school board, then must meet the approval of your education department so that a temporary teacher license can be issued. Then you will need to be approved by your exchange partners school, school district and board. Once you clear these steps you need a visa to work as a teacher in another country. All countries require a sponsorship to issue a visa. The process of trying to find an independent exchange is long and frustrating. If you work through your department of education or their representative, they will do all the arranging for you and the process is much easier.

Once you agree on an exchange:

When you receive an offer of exchange, your application has been approved by the other teachers principal, school jurisdiction and education department. The only thing left is the approval of the exchange by the other teacher.

In July I accepted our partners exchange proposal which included their teaching assignment 6th grade, same as my assignment, photos of their school and home and contact information. Over the next few months my wife and I planned our trip. We exchanged letters with our partners, answered heaps of questions and learned about their home and lifestyle. We also agreed to swap houses as well as cars. Some teachers don't swap cars, but as our swap was overseas, this was practical.

The Australian school year is different to ours. School in Australia starts around February 1 and ends about December 15. They teach for 6 to 8 weeks then get two weeks vacation in between rather than a two month break like we have. When my partner came here, he started in my classroom January 5. I started in his class Feb 1.

On January 3 we were on our way to Western Australia with stops in Hong Kong and Bali. We were met at the Perth airport by his parents who took us to his villa, a three bedroom home.

The first week was spent getting oriented to driving on the left side of the road. We also traveled in the area and relaxed on the back yard hammock, with parrots flying above. Our partners home was 3 blocks from Scarborough Beach.

I am use to coming into my classroom and preparing for the school yar a few weeks before school starts. This opportunity didn't happen at the school I was assigned to. A building was closed until the first day. When I arrived at 8 am, I learned where my classroom was and improvised for the first full day. Kids arrived at 8:30 and left at 3:10. More amazing, teachers left by 3:20. The teacher parking lot was empty and the office closed by 3:30.

Other than Australian kids wear uniforms, they are much the same as kids in any North American school. The nice kids are really nice and the challenging kids just as challenging. The teacher work load is similar to ours at home, except most planning and marking is completed at home.

Through out our year we me heaps of new people, many are still wonderful friends. Much of our free time was spent visiting other exchange teachers, there were 75 teachers on exchange to Western Australia from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Switzerland, Japan and other areas of Australia.

There were many singles, some couples about to retire and several families on teacher exchange. Many families exchanged to homes with swimming pools. Some couples both were teachers while others like ourselves had only one person teaching. My wife relaxed and also started her own business while I was at school.

A year long exchange has advantages, write offs and lifetime memories but can be expensive with much more traveling just to see things.

For those that want to try an exchange before venturing on a year long venture, vacation home swaps are available at 4homex.com. Trading homes for vacations provides free travel accommodation. Global Home Exchange.