Laura Fascella had a great idea for a portable career. She became an online math teacher. Read on to find out how…
Laura is an Italian math teacher who moved abroad to follow her husband. Their first assignment was in Sweden, and the main challenge she had to face was the language. Nobody in her family spoke English fluently. Laura made this her priority: Learning English enough to feel self-confident in her new life.
When she did, she contacted the International School of Stockholm, which soon offered her a full-time job as math teacher. A great satisfaction for Laura, until her husband was relocated to Bangkok, Thailand, and she had to start all over again.
There is a big international school in Bangkok, and Laura knew she could probably find a job there. She also realized that the whole process to get her to a work contract risked to be longer than the time they would actually spend in Bangkok before her husband was relocated again.
She was still absorbing the disappointment of having to quit her job in Stockholm, so she decided that for this time she would simply enjoy the expat life, made of discoveries, opportunities and encounters.
She was also partially busy with some of the students she had in Sweden: Many of them were so happy with her that they asked her to continue the lessons online. Laura got perfectly organized: She uses Skype and an iPad with a software that allows to share a luminous board, and the online lesson takes place exactly as if she was physically in a classroom.
The request for math tutors is very high in Bangkok. Asian mentality is quite competitive and pushes children to constantly improve their level. Parents always search for tutors that can complement the school programme. Laura started following some students at the international school, and when the time to leave again arrived, she tested their ability to continue online, as she has done with the ones in Stockholm. Obviously there were no problems whatsoever: These young are very much used to do everything through a screen! When Laura went back to Italy, she also packed her perfect portable job. She had become an online math teacher!
Word of mouth works wonders, and the only problem Laura faces now is to calculate well the time zone differences to always be able to connect with her students between North Europe and Asia.
Parents were a little reluctant at the beginning. They could not understand how their children could benefit from an online lesson. In fact everything takes place exactly as if Laura were sitting besides her student in person. Moreover, with her experience both in the Italian education system and the international one, Laura is able to widely respond to students’ needs. These go from generally reinforcing their level, to a real improvement when solid math knowledge is needed to go to a university faculties like economics or engineering.
Presently Laura is in Italy waiting for her husband’s next assignment abroad. When a new destination arrives, Laura will pack her portable job, too, to continue her fulfilling new career path.
Claudia Landini (Claudiaexpat)
Maggio 2018
Main pic ©LauraFascella
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