One of the most important things you can do for your own career as an educator is to grow, learn, and inspire yourself - so you can inspire others, and be an informed, global teacher. Have I got a resource for you in this area - a website called Teaching Traveling, created by Lillie Marshall (we've shared her work on Around the World L here on Wandering Educators).  Teaching Traveling is an invaluable resource for teachers - inspiring, facilitating, and creating a community for like-minded global ambassadors.

WE: Please tell us about your site, Teaching Traveling...

LM: The mission of TeachingTraveling.com is to inspire and assist more teachers to travel and more travelers to teach!  The experience of each is enhanced by the other, and that positively impacts both the teacher-traveler and the students and world with which the glowing teacher-traveler interacts.

Lillie Marshall

WE:  What was the genesis of your site?

LM: When I returned to teaching in the Boston Public Schools after 9 months traveling around the world (documented in www.AroundTheWorldL.com), so many people said, “I wish I could travel like that, too, but I can’t because I don’t have enough money/time/help/opportunity.”  This struck me as both false and depressing.  I decided to start TeachingTraveling.com to highlight the fact that most of us CAN make our travel dreams a reality if we connect with the opportunities that are out there.  Further, TeachingTraveling.com seeks to highlight that traveling is both far more affordable than people think (often cheaper than staying at home!) and EXTREMELY important for our development as teachers.  Words cannot express what an improved teacher I am after having a year of perspective and international interaction.  I truly believe that an excellent way to revitalize and enrich our teaching force is to encourage teachers to step away from their home classrooms for even a short time and peek at what the rest of the world is up to!

WE: What can readers find here?

LM: The bulk of TeachingTraveling.com is real-life profiles of teacher-travelers.  One of the best ways to get inspiration and assistance about how to make your dreams a reality is to get the straight scoop on how others achieved theirs.  In addition to teacher-traveler profiles, TeachingTraveling.com also periodically announces opportunities, scholarships, links, and contests pertinent to teacher-travelers.  My goal is that visitors to the site will exclaim: “Wow, I didn’t realize that opportunity existed!  Now I realize that I DO have the chance to travel, myself, because this “normal” person like me did it!”

WE: How can teachers contribute to Teaching Traveling?

LM: I am always seeking teacher-travelers (in ANY sense of the word) to profile for the site!  If you are a teacher who has done any sort of travel that has enhanced you as a person and educator (even a wild, “non-educational” vacation in Mexico!), or if you are a traveler who has done any sort of teaching (even a one-day volunteer lesson), you have a story with tips and resources that can inspire and assist aspiring teacher-travelers, and you would make a great article!  Feel free to contact me at TeachingTraveling [at] gmail to get the profile guidelines. 

Further, if you know of any opportunities, contests, or connections that would be useful to aspiring teacher-travelers, please send those my way as well so I can share them with our community.

Finally, if you are an aspiring teacher-traveler who is looking for inspiration and assistance in making your teaching-traveling dreams a reality, please come on down to TeachingTraveling.com and browse the advice and links throughout the site, and do leave comments and questions!

WE: How can teaching/traveling change lives?

LM: Reader, please realize what a precious, precious resource you are!  You have the power and skills to impact so many lives, simply by putting yourself in a new area.  If you volunteer for even a week in another country, you will make a huge impression on the students in that country, and they will make an impression on you.  When you return to your home classroom, you will bring a newness and fresh perspective to your students, creating a sparkling web of positive impact... all thanks to travel!

WE: If someone wanted to teach overseas, where would you suggest they start?

LM: The reason I’ve structured TeachingTraveling.com around real-life stories is because asking around is a great way to explore the zillion ways to make your dreams a reality.  There are SO MANY pathways to begin teaching overseas, so by hearing what’s possible, you can start to figure out your preferences and then begin applying.  Where in the world do you want to be?  Fancy international school or locally-run classroom?  Kids or adults?  Locals or expats?  City or countryside?  Structured or informal?  Short term or long-term?  Paid or unpaid?  Once you’ve identified a few preferences (both placement agencies and individual schools), reach out and apply to a bunch.  One will eventually come through!  To go straight to the teacher-traveler profiles with links to placement services, click here: http://www.teachingtraveling.com/tag/web-resources/ .

WE: What resources are available for teachers wishing to expand their curriculum?

LM: There are fantastic free international education resources teachers can access from the comfort of their home-country internet!  There has been a lot of talk on TeachingTraveling.com about the wonders of ProjectExplorer.org , a treasure-trove of international education curriculum.  TeachingTraveling.com also has a growing pool of recommendations for Curriculum here: http://www.teachingtraveling.com/category/curriculum/ .

WE:  Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

LM: Join me in proclaiming: we educators are SO COOL!  I am so proud to be in this great profession with such smart, exciting, hard-working people.  Let’s get out into the world and share our amazingness, and open our hearts and minds to the amazingness of the world as well!

And - we're running a Teaching Traveling Inspiration Night, in Boston -

Join us in Boston at 6:30pm on 3/31 for: Teaching Traveling Inspiration Night!

An event to inspire & assist more teachers to travel, and more travelers to teach!

During this event, you will:

* Connect with aspiring Teacher-Travelers, expert Teacher-Travelers, and representatives from Teacher-Travel organizations who can help you GO! We will discuss all types of Teacher-Travel, from short-term to long term, from educational to "non-educational."

* Be empowered to travel by learning secrets of cheap travel from a diverse, interactive panel of expert Teacher-Travelers. Yes, we will have speakers who talk about balancing travel with raising kids, dealing with a small bank account, and having no time!

* Get excited by competing in a trivia challenge for prizes!

* Take away concrete strategies to make your Teaching-Traveling dreams come true!

WE:  Thanks so much, Lillie. I keep referring educators to your site - it's an extraordinary resource for global educators!

For more information, please see:

http://www.teachingtraveling.com

All photos courtesy of Lillie Marshall