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Considering The Privilege of High-End International Education
Experiential Learning in Elite Settings
One thing you learn very early in a career as an educator at a so-called “tier 1” international school¹, is that you don’t generally want to talk about your life as an educator at a so-called “tier 1” international school. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is just how privileged your circumstances are. I had some idea of this before we made the move to Singapore 6 years ago, but you can’t really understand it until you are living it. There’s really no way to talk about this life, particularly with teachers who are in less-plum circumstances (which is to say basically every teacher on the planet) without sounding like you are bragging by only describing your reality as plainly as you can.
All of which is to say that what follows is going to sound very much like I’m living a privileged life. Because I am.
Interim Semester- An Illustrative Example
When I accepted my current position, I didn’t know what an Interim Semester was. It wasn’t until my first few weeks of work that it was explained to me: During Interim Semester (aka “week without walls”, etc.), students go somewhere other than school and engage in experiential learning for the week. It is not…
