Teaching in the Tropics: A Guide for the Displaced Northerner

Abstract

Every year it happens. As the chill wind of winter fills the air in the teachers' lounge, conversation turns to talk of tropical adventure, warm weather, and, perhaps, leaving the North behind for a professional and personal escape to an ocean island. For most, the fantasy of teaching on a remote island paradise is no more than a passing fancy. Others, those with an adventurous spirit, the will, and the cooperation of their school district, might find a year or two in the tropics on a temporary teaching assignment to be an idyllic situation. This is not to say that teaching is necessarily easy on a tropical island. Consider that the dropout rate in these districts may be as high as 50 percent and that the student reading level may be deplorable. For example, approximately 65 percent of my eighth-grade students on Guam were reading below grade level as measured by the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test. Educational problems in the tropics are real, serious, and not dissimilar to problems at stateside schools. But oh, that weather! So if a change in scenery is what you need, then a move to the tropics can be inviting, challenging, and adventurous. To plan for a smooth transition, consider the following timely advice.