International Teacher Podcast

Ep 139 - Hosts JP Mint and Greg Lemoine reconnect with longtime international educator and MYP middle school principal Chris Irvin, whose 20+ year journey spans Canada, Venezuela and China. Chris shares how he built a sustainable international teaching career—starting in a small Venezuelan school, transitioning into leadership, and eventually moving into MYP and IB continuum leadership at a large international school in Shenzhen. T...

Two former international educators, Nick and Joy Owens, lay out what a lot of teachers secretly want to know: how to keep global education alive without staying trapped in the classroom forever. Their story runs through Taiwan, Honduras, Alaska, Arizona, and back to the U.S., and it’s packed with the real-world stuff teachers actually deal with, like credential renewal, licensure headaches, Praxis retakes, and the post-COVID classr...

ITP - 137 Kent and JP welcome Jessica and Cesar to discuss the challenges and experiences of relocating a family to Montenegro for international teaching. They explore the dynamics of public education, the job search process, cultural adaptation, and the joys of living in a new country. The conversation highlights the importance of community, the beauty of Montenegro, and the lessons learned from their journey.

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ITP -  136 brings back repeat guests Hannah and Jake Loney to share their winding international teaching journey from Brazil to Kuwait, back to the US, and now to Karachi, Pakistan. They talk candidly about teaching overseas with kids, differences in workload and respect compared to the US, small class sizes, strong school support, onboarding realities, and life on a secure campus. Along the way, they cover curriculum, travel, food...

ITP - 135 This featured Holiday 2025 episode features three of the four cohosts. Kent's been back in the USA. He catches us up on his experiences as a substitute teacher. Greg's new app developed with AI assistance and JP Mint's services are redesigned. She’s a busy retiree. Darren is off being a dad, doing dad stuff. We reflect on cultural adjustments, Thanksgiving celebrations, and our plans for future travel (or not), while also...

ITP - 134 A huge welcome to Rita Bateson of Eblana Learning, who unpacks the real-world mess and magic of AI in education. She takes listeners through her globe-trotting career from Dublin to Rome, Bermuda, Germany, and the IB, weaving in how AI is reshaping classrooms, assessment, teacher workload, academic integrity, and student habits. Rita explains the Overton Window of AI discourse, why teachers need both AI literacy and healt...

ITP - 133 Canadian educator Kelly Hogan shared how she transitioned from a career in arts and design to international teaching, spending 13 years in Taiwan where she earned her master’s through the College of New Jersey’s overseas cohort and later moved to Guatemala as a dual-language liaison at the American School of Guatemala.

We discuss how teaching abroad offers ways to grow professionally without returning home, how programs l...

ITP - 132 Tristan Reynolds beams in from Taiwan to explain how his startup school stops yappin’ about “global citizens” and actually coaches students into action. Think project-based learning with real tools. Teachers act less like wind-up lecterns and more like pit-crew chiefs. The place is young, scrappy, and cosmopolitan enough to turn a literature class into a live fire exercise on language and identity. We detour through semi...

ITP - 131 What happens when seasoned teachers step into a brand-new culture? Coreen and Subhadra reflect on challenges, strategies, and the importance of mentorship in thriving as international educators in the U.S.Order their book: Reaching Beyond Borders: The International Teachers' Guide to Migrating and Teaching in the U.S. at https://www.amazon.com/REACHING-BEYOND-BORDERS-International-Migrating/dp/B0FCDCVCKF/ref=sr_1_1?cr...

ITP - 130 Greg, JP, and Kent chat with restorative-justice pro Nicholas Bradford about why relationships—not punishments—actually fix classrooms. From hallway tardies to high-stakes cheating, they show how slowing down, listening, and handing students real responsibility changes behavior—plus a hilarious “Plug and Jug” confession story and some friendly jabs at Greg’s vocab and Kent’s Wi-Fi. Humor, heart, and practical tools—packed...

The International Teacher Podcast welcomes Nandini Shah—a self-described small-town girl from Gujarat who swapped arranged-marriage expectations for a globe-trotting teaching career. From Mumbai classrooms to snowy Russia, donkey-dotted Bulgaria, “the most boring city in Japan” (her words, not ours), and soon the Italian Riviera, Nandini shares her story of chasing adventure, fighting stereotypes about who gets to teach Shakespeare...

ITP - 128 This episode of the International Teacher Podcast was basically Kent “the Cat Guy” announcing his dramatic repatriation from Saudi Arabia to Washington State, where he’s now semi-retired, semi-confused, and fully rebranded as the “Cats Guy” (plural, because kittens). Between tales of neighbors who don’t want to party, doctors who look like they should still be in his fourth-grade class, and the realization that U.S. healt...

ITP - 127 Dr. Liam Hammer, Head of School in Zambia, joins us live from an orientation dinner. Liam shares his fascinating journey from a teenage dream of teaching in remote Papua New Guinea to leadership roles across five countries. The conversation explores the essential role of onboarding in teacher retention, the reality of navigating cultural norms, and the often-overlooked salary disparities in international schools—what Liam...

ITP 126 - If you're even thinking about teaching in Kuwait, you need to listen to this episode. Seriously. Greg sits down with Terence Tong—an international educator with 24 years of experience—and they dive into what it’s really like making the move from Canada to teaching overseas in Kuwait, South Korea, and then back to Kuwait for a second experience.. Terence opens up about the highs, the challenges, and the lessons learned alo...

Greg and Kent sit down with Aimée and Jacob—two international educators with a passion for honest conversations and creative collaboration. They dive into the story behind their own podcast, The International Staff Room, and share what drives them as educators and podcasters. Stick around to the end and learn about the meaning of the episode title.

The conversation covers a lot: from the power of partnership in teaching to tackling ...

ITP - 123 We are joined by Monique and Jimmy, two teachers who packed up their lives in the U.S. and are now gearing up for a big move to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Their story kicks off at a job fair—those hectic, slightly awkward events where life-changing decisions are made in 30-minute interviews and coffee-fueled conversations. They share the twists and turns that led them to say yes to this new chapter, and all the serendipitous m...

ITP - 122  Your hosts welcome Greg Perry, co-founder and CEO of Global Services and Education Limited, to talk about his wild, winding journey in international education. Greg doesn’t just talk about opening schools—he’s lived it, from the ground up, across countries and cultures, figuring it out as he goes. We dive into the nitty-gritty: the challenges no one warns you about, the unexpected roadblocks, the delicate dance of openin...

ITP - 121 Before you go back to your home country and retire from International Education, treat yourself to a "gap" trip. This is the advice given to our guests Eric and Tamara Wood and the advice they are taking right now. Between March 2025 and August 2025, this wonderful couple is taking a whopping 6month trip - like a couple of 20something European backpackers.

It takes planning, you will hear on this interview. It takes money...