Without a doubt, education is one of the key components to the development of a country. Volunteer teachers fulfill the important role of stepping in where developing nations have a shortage of qualified staff and resources.
Although there’s a common misconception that programs for volunteer teaching are limited to primary school, they actually offer positions at all levels, up to university, with the aim of improving educational quality and opportunities for the local students. Volunteers also organize events, help with homework, contribute to forming a support network with contacts to their home countries and generally get involved in the betterment of these communities.
You probably already knew when you chose this career that teaching is an important service to society as it gives you the chance to guide younger generation towards a brighter future. By partaking in an educational volunteering program abroad, you get to live your dream of making a difference and share your passion for this calling with the kids that need it the most.
You Play a Part in Changing the World for the Better
The goal of any volunteering project, regardless of the field, is to make a lasting, positive impact. Sometimes this impact will be immediate and tangible, like helping to renovate a school or taking the kids out and clean a beach. Other times these efforts will yield results in the long run, like teaching them English which gets them a sponsorship to continue their studies or contributing to forming relationships with charity organization which will donate the resources needed to improve infrastructure.
You, along with the other volunteers, will play your role in assisting these communities reach their goal of giving their younger generations a better life.
You Get to Visit Places You Wouldn’t Normally See and Have Enough Time to Really Explore Them
This shouldn’t be your sole motivation but it’s an obvious benefit. How many chances do you get to spend months in Thailand, teach right along the monks, visit temples and truly understand their meaning to the Thai people?
Or go to India, partake in festivals, try authentic Indian food and learn the differences in customs between, for example Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil and Telegu people. You don’t get to that level of understanding by spending a few days on the beaches of Goa and taking a tour of the Taj Mahal.
The list could go on but you get the general idea: volunteering abroad gives you an unique opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture and form bonds with locals.
You’ll Get out of Your Comfort Zones and Gain a Deeper Understanding of Yourself and the World Around You
Ok, at first you might experience a bit of a culture shock from the vast differences between the host country and everything you’re used to from back home. But that’s kind of the point of travelling somewhere else, and it’s precisely these differences that will take you out of your routine and allow you the mind space to gain a better understanding of who you are and what moves you.
You’ll also have the support of the other volunteers who will be going through the same thing. You’ll have the rare chance to meet likeminded people from all over the world and form meaningful relationships with them that, if nurtured, could last a lifetime.
You’ll Become a Better Teacher
If you’re still a student or just at the beginning of your teaching career, volunteering will give you practical experience. You’ll go beyond making a lesson plan and learn how to keep students engaged. You’ll know when to get creative by using classroom music to make the lessons more interactive and the information stick.
Once your back home and applying for jobs, this will make your CV stand out and you’ll have plenty of new skills to talk about during the interview. Your future employers will appreciate the fact that you’re already comfortable standing in front of a classroom and, in our age of globalization, knowing how to interact and find common ground with people from all over the world is an invaluable skill.
Volunteering abroad will also allow you to work alongside more experienced teachers from different parts of the world and you’ll be able to learn methods from their countries. The contacts you make can open further opportunities.
Improves Empathy Skills
Empathy is a vital when it comes to teaching. If you’re volunteering as an English teacher, you’ll inevitably have to deal with language barriers and this will push you to pay more attention to body language, to read facial expressions and express your thoughts and feeling without putting them into words.
Simply helping others is empathy in action. You go there in part to understand what life is like for these communities, how they perceive the world around them and how this shapes their dreams for the future.
