ITP - 140: From TEFL to International School Leadership

JP: Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the International Teacher Podcast. I am riding solo today. I don’t know if Greg will be showing up, and it’ll be a happy surprise if he does. But right now I am joined with Ken. Ken Bence is calling us in from Budapest, Hungary. Good morning. Hi, Ken.

Ken: Good morning, good afternoon Jacqueline. It’s great to be here, and thank you for having me on.

JP: Awesome. So Ken, I can already tell that you don’t come from the US or Canada. Can you tell us a little bit about where you come from and how you learned about international teaching?

Ken: So I’m from Liverpool originally, and I come from a family of educators. They told me many times in my teens and through university that I should become a teacher.

Ken: Because I was a petulant teenager, that was the last thing I decided I wanted to do. In my last year of university, a poster went up for a company called Flying Cows, and it said “Teach in South Korea.”

Ken: I thought that sounded cool. I signed up, listened to the presentation, and then graduated. I was working in Spain over the summer, and then I got a call asking if I wanted to go work in South Korea.

Ken: Being 21, I said yes without knowing much else. About two weeks later, I landed in a tiny town in the south of Korea called Miryang, and I was working in a public middle school.

Ken: It was a great experience. After two weeks, I had that realization that everyone was right, and this is what I wanted to do.

Ken: From that point on, I decided to take it seriously and figure out how to make it my career. That was over 18 years ago now, nearly 20 years.

JP: So was that part of the EPIC program or something separate?

Ken: I think if I’m remembering right, there was EPIK and then GEPIK. I was in the south, so I was GEPIK. But it’s essentially the same. You work for the local education board.

JP: That sounds similar to the JET program in Japan. You’re not in an international school system, but you are living internationally.

JP: Can you tell us about your first impressions or culture shock when you arrived?

Ken: It was a long journey. I flew with two other guys who used the same company. We transferred in Seoul, then flew over Busan.

Ken: All you saw were neon lights. If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, that’s what you imagined East Asia to look like. That was my first “wow” moment.

Ken: Then I met my co-teacher, an older guy close to retirement who was incredibly hospitable and proud of his country.

Ken: He invited me to a jimjilbang, which is a bathhouse. I showed up wearing swimming trunks and was quickly told that wasn’t allowed.

Ken: So I ended up in a steam room with my coworker. Then he went and brought in three other colleagues, including the vice principal.

Ken: The first time I met some of my colleagues, we were all without clothes. That was definitely a culture shock.

JP: Talk about being thrown into the deep end.

JP: And how long were you there?

Ken: I did two years. Then I decided to take things seriously, went back and did my PGCE, and returned to South Korea, this time to Busan, for another two years.

Ken: After that, I wanted to use what I had learned, so I got a job in Shanghai at a brand new school.

Ken: We started with four grade one classes and grew very quickly.

Ken: It was an American curriculum school. I went from teaching English as a foreign language into teaching full Common Core—math, science, everything.

JP: So you went from TEFL into full classroom teaching across subjects.

Ken: Exactly. And then as the school grew, people came and went, and I started to take on more responsibility.

Ken: My first role was something called Head Liaison. Because it was a bilingual school, I had meetings with the Chinese leadership and then worked with the expat staff to implement those decisions.

Ken: Around that time, Common Core became more widely adopted, and I was asked to help implement standards across the school.

Ken: We went from using state standards to introducing Common Core and NGSS from grade one all the way up to grade 12.

JP: And the school expanded really quickly.

Ken: Very quickly. We went from grade one in the first year to grade one through eight in the second year, and then all the way to grade 12 in the third year.

JP: That’s a massive expansion. Were you involved in hiring all that staff?

Ken: Yes. I got asked one day if I could interview candidates, and I said yes.

Ken: I still remember my first interview. I told the candidate I was figuring it out as I went along.

Ken: That’s shaped how I interview ever since. I keep it conversational and relaxed so candidates can show who they really are.

JP: That’s a much better experience for candidates as well.

Ken: It is. In international schools, your colleagues become your first friends. So you’re building a team, not just hiring for a role.

JP: So you were there for four years, but it sounds like a much longer experience with everything you were doing.

Ken: I was still a homeroom teacher at the same time, so I was doing all of this on top of teaching.

Ken: Looking back, I think I was probably burnt out by the end. But we had built strong systems, and I felt comfortable stepping away.

Ken: I wanted to continue in leadership but also experience a full IB school, so I moved to Kuwait.

JP: Kuwait isn’t always on people’s radar.

Ken: It wasn’t on mine either, but I kept an open mind and ended up loving it.

Ken: I started as a grade one PYP homeroom teacher and then became a K–12 instructional coach.

JP: That’s a big shift, especially being new to IB.

Ken: It was. But the school wanted to introduce Common Core alongside IB, and I had experience doing that.

Ken: I was hesitant at first, but my principals encouraged me and became great mentors.

Ken: With primary teachers, it was easier because they already knew me. With others, it was about helping them understand what coaching was.

Ken: Over time, I worked with middle school, TOK teachers, and even college counseling.

Ken: It became a true partnership—teachers brought subject expertise, and I supported the learning side.

JP: And that experience in Kuwait sounds like a major turning point.

Ken: It really was. I learned a lot there.

JP: And how did you move on from Kuwait?

Ken: I signed up for Search Associates for the first time and went to a leadership fair in Bangkok.

Ken: It was intense, but in a good way. Interview after interview, then second interviews the next day. I ended up with nine offers.

JP: Nine offers?

Ken: Yeah. Most were coaching roles, but there were also leadership positions, including a vice head of primary role in Shenzhen.

Ken: I spoke with my mentors in Kuwait, and they both said they could see me more in the vice head role. So that’s the path I took.

JP: And then you landed in China right as COVID was happening.

Ken: Exactly. I left England during lockdown and arrived in China where it felt like COVID barely existed.

Ken: Shenzhen was very different from Shanghai. It’s newer, cleaner, more modern, and right next to Hong Kong.

Ken: It felt like a completely different version of China.

JP: And from there, you moved into a principal role.

Ken: Yes. I was part of a network of schools, and after about a year and a half, I was asked to interview for a principal role in Chengdu.

Ken: I took that role and spent about two years there, working as a primary and early childhood principal.

JP: What was that experience like compared to Shenzhen?

Ken: It was different. Chengdu is still a big city, but my school was more removed from the center.

Ken: I was also doing a doctorate at the time, so my focus was more on work and study than exploring the city.

Ken: It suited that phase of my life, especially during COVID when travel was limited.

JP: And then from there, you moved to Budapest.

Ken: Yes. I wasn’t actively looking, but a role came up at a British curriculum school.

Ken: It was closer to home, and after COVID, that was appealing. I also hadn’t worked in a full UK curriculum before.

Ken: They brought me in as an interim senior director to help stabilize the school during a period of change.

JP: And that’s where you are now.

Ken: Yes, but only for a short time. I’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks before the winter break.

JP: So what’s next?

Ken: I’m looking for a July or August start now. I want to find a longer-term position, ideally in divisional leadership as a principal.

Ken: I’m being more intentional this time about choosing the right fit.

JP: That makes sense, especially after such a varied career.

Ken: Exactly. I want the next step to be something I can really commit to long term.

JP: Before we wrap up, what are three things you always bring with you when you move?

Ken: Spices for cooking, good bedding, and a folder of notes and cards from students and family.

JP: That’s a great combination.

Ken: It keeps me grounded wherever I go.

JP: Any police stories?

Ken: Honestly, no. I’ve been pretty boring in that regard.

Ken: The only thing is I always seem to get pulled aside for extra checks at airports.

JP: That happens to more people than you’d think.

Ken: Yeah, I must look suspicious or something.

JP: Final thoughts?

Ken: Just that this career has given me incredible opportunities, and I’m grateful for all of it.

JP: Well, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Ken: Thank you for having me.

JP: And thank you everyone for listening. We’ll see you next time.

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