5 Questions with Terrena Young-Davis

Jamaican educator Terrena Young-Davis shares her journey from minimum-wage jobs to international teaching in the UAE. She discusses the differences in teaching in Jamaica and the UAE, including challenges and rewards, as well as how her faith has influenced her teaching approach. Terrena also talks about her YouTube channel, which provides advice to aspiring international teachers, and shares the skills and qualities she believes are necessary for success as an international teacher, including flexibility, adaptability, good interpersonal skills, and a changed mindset.

What inspired you to pursue a career in teaching, and how has your educational journey shaped your approach to teaching?

Becoming a teacher was never part of my plans. However, after years of doing different types of minimum-wage jobs, my fiancé at the time encouraged me to become a teacher. I consider myself a late bloomer, and when I started my educational journey, it was as if I was on a quest to achieve all I could quickly. I enrolled at St. Joseph’s Teachers College in September 2010. At the end of my tenure, I obtained a primary education diploma with a reading major. In 2014, I started studying for a bachelor’s degree in primary education at the International University of the Caribbean. I taught in Jamaica for 4 years before I started looking into the possibilities of teaching overseas. I simultaneously started my international teaching journey and pursued my Master’s degree in Primary Education, specializing in Reading and Literacy, in August 2017.

My educational journey has shaped my approach to teaching in a significant way. I believe every child or student can achieve their fullest potential, no matter where or how late they start in life. So with each new batch of students that I receive, I ask myself, "What value can I add to their academic growth or life while they are in my care or class?" For our time together is short.

Can you describe your experience teaching in Jamaica compared to your international teaching experience in the UAE? What were some of the biggest challenges and rewards?

Comparing my teaching experience in Abu Dhabi to my time spent in Jamaica is like comparing day and night. The experience is completely different and surprisingly unique. Teaching in Abu Dhabi is like being told that there’s a prize awaiting you behind a closed door, and you can only win it if you’re willing to unlearn things or skills that have helped to mould you or define you as an educator. Teaching in Abu Dhabi for almost six years, I’ve been fortunate to work in three different school environments that were supportive and resourceful, which is one of the biggest rewards.

Other mentionable rewards as an international teacher that I’ve received are a tax-free salary and living in a city that is rated as the safest city in the world. This gives peace of mind like no other. I struggled financially while working in Jamaica, and wanting more for myself and my family fueled my desire to seek opportunities elsewhere. As I mentioned earlier, the schools in Abu Dhabi are very resourceful. Classrooms are equipped with state-of-the-art technological teaching and learning devices, unlike those in Jamaica. Some of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced as an international teacher are language and cultural differences and adapting to new ways of teaching.

As a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, how has your faith influenced your approach to teaching and working with students from diverse cultural backgrounds?

As a teacher who is a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, living and teaching in an Islamic nation has strengthened my faith in God tremendously. My faith has influenced my approach to teaching and working with students from diverse cultural backgrounds in many ways. Faith has taught me to accept everyone for who they are and treat them well, as I would want to be treated. I can’t talk about my faith or share my beliefs with my students, so the only way I can reflect on Christ is in how I treat them daily. I try my very best to create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and also one that nurtures and caters to the holistic development of all my students.

Could you tell us more about your YouTube channel and the content you create for aspiring international teachers? What advice would you give to those who want to pursue a career in teaching abroad?

In March 2021, I started my YouTube channel, T.E.R. Teachers Consultancy. I create content for aspiring international teachers who need to be steered in the right direction. When I started my research into becoming an international teacher, there weren’t many channels to get information from, and if there were, I couldn’t relate to them. I consider myself the virtual go-to person for aspiring international teachers, especially Jamaicans who need answers to questions and the assurance that they are on the right track.

I’m an advocate for teaching abroad. I would encourage teachers to step out of their comfort zones and grab the opportunity to teach abroad with both hands. The benefits that you will receive go far beyond monetary rewards. It may open doors to opportunities to grow both professionally and personally, gain a wealth of knowledge about pedagogy, and expose you to diverse lifestyles and cultures.

What are some of the most important skills or qualities that you believe are necessary for success as an international teacher, and how have you developed or refined these skills throughout your career?

To become a successful international teacher, one must possess the following skills and qualities: flexibility, adaptability, good interpersonal skills, and a changed mindset. Throughout my career, I’ve both developed and refined these skills by staying focused on my goals. If having these skills will help me achieve my goals, then that is what I’ll work on. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t possess these skills and qualities. As teachers, we have to be flexible and ready to adapt to any situation that is thrown at us. Achieving this is not easy, but with the right mindset, it is achievable. During my first year in the UAE, I honed this self-assuring motto: "Teach my classes and make it to the end of the day". If I keep this in mind, I will always make it because, no matter how challenging the day is, when my last class ends, the day ends too. Having a positive or changed mindset plays a crucial role in the career of a successful international teacher. This will make or break you. I would like to advise all teachers who don’t possess this quality to seek the knowledge to do so and to be open-minded to the transformation that comes with it. Aspiring international teachers should also be confident, bold, and brave because this journey is for those who can endure to the end.