The best work life balance for a teacher

Published on 5th December, 2017 by Gemma McSweeney. Published in For Candidates / TIC News

Adam Ferns is a Primary teacher from the UK. He is currently in his first year teaching at Colegio Inglés Zaragoza in Spain. Here Adam talks about fantastic weather, great international school, chance to learn a new language and his initial impressions of the city of Zaragoza, and his new school:

“I wanted to teach at an international school in Spain so that I could learn a new language. Spanish was my ideal choice, so I didn’t think twice about moving to Zaragoza. I also wanted to learn about a new culture and of course the amazing weather was a bonus!

A great city to learn the Spanish language

My experiences of the city and school so far have been great! Zaragoza has a lot going for it; good bars and places to eat, especially for tapas! The people are very friendly, and it’s not very touristy compared to other places in Spain. Not that many people speak English so it’s a good place to come if you want to learn the Spanish language, as you have plenty of chances to practice speaking. There are also lots of opportunities for travel here, as Zaragoza is situated in a great place to get to other major cities. I’ve already visited Barcelona, San Sebastián and Bilbao.

A better work life balance

The school I’m working in is very friendly and the staff are incredibly welcoming. The students are intelligent and really eager to learn. It is quite different teaching here compared to England. I’ve never taken books home here, and I’m not expected to do much work at home at all. This is a huge bonus in terms of achieving a good work/life balance.

The school days are longer but we have breaks in the day, during which the school provides food for the teachers. As I am living in the city centre, the school supplies transport for both teachers and children, which is great. I now wake up at 8am instead of 6am like I did back at home for work, which is another massive bonus!

All in all, I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Zaragoza so far. I would definitely recommend teaching in Spain to those considering teaching internationally.”

Register for free with TIC now and you could be enjoying such work life balance while you’re teaching this time next year!

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Gemma McSweeney

Gemma is our Associate Director, having joined TIC in 2009. With over 15 years experience of recruitment and selection methods, she specialises in matching teachers and leaders with our international school partners. She has attended many international education conferences and has visited a number of international schools over the years. She uses this experience to best advise our teachers, leaders and schools and manage our team and UK operations.