I have just finished school and am looking for an international experience.
I have a son who is six years old. He should be starting second grade next year. I’d like to take him to Taiwan for a year or two, but am really concerned about where he should go to school and emergency health. If I go, I’ll be teaching English, so I won’t have enough to pay for one of the American or British schools. He adapts quickly to new places but I’m worried that sending him to a public school might be too upsetting as he doesn’t speak the language. I would teach him on my own, but then I have the problem of what to do with him when I’m at work.
If there are any single parents in Taiwan, please share your experiences.
You need to read Michael Turton’s web page at http://users2.ev1.net/~turton/teach_index.html. He’s a good dad and a serious person, and has a lot of good advice on the issues you’re concerned with.
You could always homeschool and then when you’re at work, leave him with a responsible caregiver. I’d try to find someone who was willing to do things with him, arts and crafts, park, sports, etc. If you’re planning on teaching English, then you’ll probably have a part time schedule that will still allow plenty of time for the two of you together. Good luck. Your son is very lucky to have an adventurous mom like you.
Most adult English teaching is at night, so I agree with braxtonhicks that you’d have plenty of time during the day to homeschool your son and leave him with a sitter for a few hours in the evenings.
Also, don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do anything because you have a child. I’m sure some criticism is bound to pop up in this thread.
Look at it this way, your kid will be getting an education in Chinese while the kids back home are learning how to scribble pictures of turkeys and bunnies. Which is more likely to be useful?