education doesn’t necessarily make a person, wiser, smarter or kinder? Lately I’ve wondered about how education and experience change us. Or perhaps they harden the beliefs and tendencies that are already there. Maybe most of us simply see the world through a filter that focuses on and re-enforces what we already think to be true while blurring and pushing aside the contradictory.

I’m currently considering another degree in order to make a move towards teaching math. I really enjoy teaching English but I have to be realistic about my long term prospects in this field. EFL feels like it is over-crowded and it seems like it is only going to get more crowded with the passage of time.

That said, I am headed back to the Middle East after a pair of stints in Kazakhstan. I can’t speak highly enough of the students I worked with in Kazakhstan. Teaching them was one of the highlights of my teaching career. For my second stint I was working in administration which was definitely eye-opening. A lot goes on outside the classroom at any given school to keep things running smoothly, much more than I realized. Overall I was pleased with my work, especially considering my lack of experience in management.