From Study Abroad to 17 Years of Teaching: Alan Gregory Cheng’s Journey in Education
| by Alex Skov
When Alan Cheng first set foot in China as a study abroad student during his third year in college, he didn’t imagine that the experience would launch a teaching career spanning nearly 20 years.
“After graduation [in the U.S.], I came back here and I’ve been teaching ever since,” Cheng said.
Born and raised in California, Cheng grew up with two grandparents who worked as college professors and other family members who worked in the education profession, creating a family where learning and teaching were valued from an early age and giving him insights into the lives of educators.
Despite this familial foundation, though, Cheng initially resisted following the same path.
“I’m artistic and creative, and at times, there are some other things I’d rather be doing,” he reflected, “but I find ways to put those artistic aspects into my teaching.”
What, then, led Cheng to finally embrace education as a profession?
“In many ways, I first became a teacher because it was the most convenient position [as] an international person living in China, because I met my life partner here while I was on study abroad and then I needed to find a way to get back to be with her,” Cheng noted.
Building a Teaching Career from the Ground Up
Starting a teaching career in a foreign country presented unique challenges. Cheng faced a classic scenario that many job seekers encounter: needing experience to get a job but needing a job to gain experience.
While earning his TESOL certification and applying for jobs online after graduation, Cheng was persistent and knew that his ability to speak both English and Chinese — something he grew up doing to various degrees due to his Chinese heritage before he “refined” his bilingual skills during his time studying abroad — would help set him apart from other job applicants.
“It was a difficult situation. I guess you could say the cards just kind of fell into place,” Cheng explained. “I started off just in basic ESL [English as a Second Language] and then worked my way into college application consulting and test prep, and from there I found my way into the IB [International Baccalaureate] system where I’ve been for the last 10 years.”
As this progression implies, Cheng took an intentionally strategic approach to his career development. Rather than accepting any available position, he made moves that built upon his existing skills while taking advantage of opportunities to expand his expertise.
“Anytime that I’m looking to switch positions — which is not very often — I try to make sure it’s an upward movement, if not just a lateral, equally good opportunity,” he explained.
Pursuing Advanced Credentials and U.S. Teacher Certification
After developing an understanding of educational frameworks and how to best address student needs during his first decade of teaching, Cheng decided he was ready to pursue a master’s degree. Still working full-time, he found a two-year online program that allowed him to earn a Master’s in Education with an emphasis in teaching grades 6-12.
This proved to be one of the most challenging periods of Cheng’s career, requiring him to balance a demanding course load with his regular teaching duties. Despite the sometimes “overwhelming” nature of striking a work-life-study balance during this time, completing his master’s degree taught Cheng valuable lessons about time management and prepared him for his next educational milestone: earning a U.S. teaching license.
Looking for another program that he would be able to complete 100% online and understanding that U.S. licensure would give him a globally recognized credential, Cheng found Moreland University’s 9-month TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program.
Once enrolled, Cheng had a clear vision of how he would set up his week for optimal success within the program, starting by meeting with members of his global cohort on Sunday and gradually completing coursework over the next few days in time to turn it in on Friday and leave Saturday as a buffer day without any work or school obligations.
“It was kind of a nice way to end my week and then kind of set a target going into the following school week, like, ‘OK, this is what I’ve learned during my online meeting. Now, how am I going to apply that in the upcoming week?” Cheng said of the practical lessons from TEACH-NOW that he could immediately use in his own classroom.
At the same time, Cheng was also weaving his artistic sensibilities and creativity into his classes, as well as works of literature and film that he finds particularly meaningful.
“I kind of make a curriculum of recommended books, so I’m constantly talking about the books I’m reading. I’m asking students to share theirs, as well,” he said.
Looking for a fantasy book with real world backgrounds that might connect with middle school students? Cheng recommends Wonder by R.J. Palacio, which shows “the best of humanity in the darkest of times.”
Want something more practical for high school-aged students? Try a true story like The Freedom Writers Diary, which is about a teacher and her students overcoming adverse circumstances.
“I just try to make the lessons feel more real and less just about, say, test prep or learning language in isolation,” Cheng shared. “I try to make it as organic as possible, and I guess you could say in some ways I’m emulating the teachers that I see in these works of art. I have a notebook where I list all these inspiring fictional teachers, but also real people like Kenneth Carter from Coach Carter or Aaron Gruel from Freedom Writers.”
Looking Toward Educational Leadership
As he begins his 17th year of teaching, Cheng envisions himself shifting into a leadership role in the future. Having already served as a coordinator and helped build academic programs from the ground up, he’s taking a characteristically logical and reasonable approach, noting that he wants to “take care of teachers and actually ensure learning takes place despite how the world may seem or despite how powerless [they] might sometimes feel when an administrator is on their own channel.”
Cheng is already taking care of his fellow teachers, in a way, by encouraging aspiring international educators to embrace continuous learning, build professional networks, and integrate their own passions into their teaching practice.
“Understand you’re going to make a lot of mistakes,” he said. “You’re going to fail a lot, and I try to fail up or fail forward. So, if I’m going to make a mistake, I might as well learn something from it, and if I’m in less than ideal circumstances, I set out to try to find some benefit from it and use that to help someone avoid making the same mistakes I would.”
Similarly, Cheng continues thinking of the educators who have positively influenced his own life and career, like Moreland’s Dr. Eddie Johns (“He gave a lot of really good, concrete feedback.”), Emily Christensen (“She was so organized and very, very helpful…and she was an alumnus of the program, so she kind of provided inspiration.”), and Glenda Springer (“She was my instructor for both Module 7 and Module 8, which is the most stressful one by far, but she was like our champion throughout and I can’t put into words how much we all owe her for completing the program.”).
Cheng, too, seems to be well on his way to being a champion and inspiration for other teachers — and it’s likely that he already is.
Ready to make your international teaching dreams a reality? Moreland University is here to support you. 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 in your teaching journey.
