Michael Webb, United Kingdom
"I am very happy at my school, and although it is hard to at times to adapt to a different way of doing things, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything."
Since 2004, Michael Webb has taught high school science at Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the Guilford County School District.
I suppose after 22 years teaching you sometimes get stir crazy. My solution? Leave my cosy school in rural Suffolk, United Kingdom, and teach in a city school in the USA!
Why did I choose to leave the comfort of home for the unknown? The reason I gave at the time was I needed a new challenge, but that isn't the whole reason. I also wanted to teach again! In the U.K., I was a head of subject at a successful high school but was constantly inundated with paperwork and management tasks, which took me away from the job I had started those many years earlier. Plus, my children were both more or less independent: one had finished university and one was about to start. So I was ready to start a new adventure 3,800 miles away in Greensboro, North Carolina.
I arrived at Gatwick airport for my flight to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to Raleigh, North Carolina, for Arrival Orientation. When I left Arrival Orientation, I departed for Guilford County, North Carolina. I arrived at the Guilford County Schools offices, where I met my VIF Local Advisor. After being booked into a long stay hotel, two other British teachers and I went apartment hunting. We found an apartment complex that had three single apartments that were ready for us to move into in a few days. We moved in two days later.
Life starts off at a fast pace and continues to hurtle along. All VIF teachers have to find an apartment and furnish it, go to their schools and meet the principal, get the guided tour and more importantly, get their teaching schedule.
This is what it is like when you first arrive in the USA, so far away from home: you meet new friends and settle into a new life in a new world! I have settled well in North Carolina, a beautiful place to live, and I continue to develop the friendships I have made since I first arrived.
I am very happy at my school, and although it is hard to at times to adapt to a different way of doing things, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
What has been the most worthwhile is working with such a diverse and interesting group of high school students. Of course, there are times when I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to stay at home and not have made the trip. The answer is always 'Of course it would have been easier. But it would have been boring. And I would have missed so much.'
I have had such an eye-opening experience and enjoyed the company of so many people who appreciate my being here while I share my culture and help my students. All of my experiences have made me a richer and better person.