The ‘Sense of Adventure’ Guiding Christopher Scott’s Education Career
Published: | by Alex Skov
“I didn’t want to lead — ever,” Christopher Scott said. “That’s not my thing. I literally just wanted to be in my zone, working with kids, working within PE [and] sport. I love that.”
It really was that simple. Ever since he was a kid, Scott wanted to work in education and follow in his family’s footsteps.
“My grandmother was a special education teacher. My mother was a PE teacher by trade, too,” he shared, “so that was kind of what got me into it. That’s all I wanted to do since I was like 9, [or] 10 years old.”
After beginning his teaching career in the United Kingdom in 2003, Scott moved overseas in 2009 to become the director of sport at the British International School of Houston, spending the next six years in Texas. With nearly a decade of experience at that point, Scott was ready to shake things up.
“Eventually, I kind of just wanted to have a bit more influence and just be able to enact a little bit more change,” he said. “So with that, you’ve got to grow yourself and you’ve got to move into roles that allow you to have more influence.”
He’d already gone from physical education teacher to head of PE and athletic director. A transition into administration seemed like a natural next step, so when he was offered a formal leadership role at an international school in China, he embraced the responsibilities — and the learning opportunities — that came with it.
“China was really formative for me. I thought I had my career on lock. I thought it was so easy [and] I had it all figured out,” Scott remembered. “Then within a few weeks of landing in China, you kind of get to know that you don’t. You don’t know the language, you’re well out of your comfort zone, and you just really have to start from scratch.”
But it was Scott’s second international move to pursue his passion; he was used to searching out growth experiences.
“Taking yourself out of your comfort zone… is just really great for you as a person and it just allows you to just develop yourself in so many ways,” he said.
Over the next five years, as Scott got comfortable with his new surroundings, he also gained firsthand insight and understanding about the expectations school leaders face.
“I realized, ‘Look, I kind of need to know a little bit more. I need to have a bit more credibility. I need to have a bit more grasp on a lot more things — leading people, leading learning, leading change, communications — particularly if I’m having influence on a [whole] school and having a wider influence in general,” Scott said. “So that led me to a master’s.”
His time in China also led to the next step in his career path: serving as an assistant principal in Cambodia.
A New Country, a New Master’s Degree
Looking to level up his skills and add a formal leadership credential to his resume, Scott enrolled in Moreland University’s fully online Master’s in Educational Leadership program. He initially thought completing a master’s was required for his new role, and while that turned out not to be the case, he still found (and continues to find) value in the new strategies and strengths he added to his skill set thanks to the program.
“It was really great because there’s so much practical experience, so much practical application you can get from it, particularly in the position I was in,” he said. “You’re exposed to so many different things that you can practically use at the same time, so I thought it was a bit of a gift, really. It was a perfect time and a perfect opportunity to take on that additional kind of learning and the M.Ed. was a great experience for me.”
Earning an advanced degree while working as an assistant principal became a springboard for Scott, who left Cambodia after four years to become the head of secondary at an international school in the United Arab Emirates with an enrollment of about 2,000 students. It’s a role he thrived in for two years before looking to challenge himself once again.
‘A Sense of Adventure’ in International Education
This summer, Scott and his family will move to Fiji as he prepares to take on a senior leadership role that will require a new approach.
“The school we’re moving to in Fiji is a lot smaller, but at the same time, the challenge is real because you’ve got to know everyone there,” Scott said, comparing his next chapter with his most recent position in the UAE. “You’ve got to have some deeper relationships and really know what you’re doing.”
While adding new experience to his resume motivates him to keep growing professionally, Scott notes that other factors have been important to determining his career trajectory, both on paper and geographically.
“I think one of the first things really is just kind of being happy and comfortable with what you’re doing now, and kind of knowing where you want go, what you want to do next,” Scott said. “A lot of folks just don’t know. I think I know that just having been connected with a lot of colleagues from around the world in my career, and a lot of the commonality there is, ‘I don’t really know what I want next, but I know what I love now,’ right? And I don’t really think there’s a lot of difference.”
So, other than education, sport, and helping students grow, what does Scott love that’s helped keep him going?
“For me, it was a sense of adventure, and that’s never really left me,” he reflected. “Moving to the U.S. was [about] family because my brother lives in Houston, so that was easy. But from there, the need to travel was the itch I couldn’t scratch, so that’s what took me to China and then Cambodia and then obviously to the UAE, and across to Fiji.”
Traveling, discovering, and adventuring. Scott has done plenty of each during his career, and there’s still more to look forward to.
“20 years later, it’s a bit nuts, but we’re excited,” he laughed. “You know, coral reefs and mangroves and beaches — this is the way, right?”
Moreland is ready to support you and your goals as an educator. Complete your free application to our 100% online 9-month TEACH-NOW Teacher Certificate Preparation Program or one of our 12-month master’s degree programs today. It takes less than 15 minutes to take this important step and set yourself up for the next stage of your teaching journey.
