About Bridge School Online
Hi, I'm Jacob!
The first year of my story in educational leadership began in 2010, when I spent the year teaching, training, and coaching English to students from the ages of two to 70+. It was chaos. A company in Beijing brought a group of foreign college grads to "Teach English in China, Travel, Learn, and Explore." For most of the group, it was a fun escape. For me—and it's my own fault—for saying, "I'll go," it was a lesson in immigration, putting your nose to the grindstone, and building real relationships with real people.
Out of the 100 people in my training group, I was one of two who were sent to Jiangsu province in southern China. They sent me to Suzhou, the other had already been sent to Nanjing. The first lesson I learned was that regional differences are as complex between people as they are between the way government agencies work.
Suddenly the Beijing-based advisors were unable to help in the most fundamental situations. It was "normal" to work with a Travel, Student, or Business Visa, and safe in Beijing—but not in Suzhou. My company lacked the right relationships to smooth my transfer to the south.
When I received notice that they were unable to provide the promised working visa I flew to Beijing, made a deal to terminate our contract at the end of the fall semester, and returned to Suzhou with the imperative to find another company that could provide the legally required work papers—with luck and hard work, I did.
This "year in China" was a lifechanging experience. My worldview was shaped by the way I learned to live with uncertainly and ambiguity day-to-day. It was changed by the wonderful people I met, who helped me become established in Suzhou.
At the end of the year I went to Hong Kong, changed from a Work to a Travel Visa, and traveled by train—alone—to the Chinese border with Pakistan, Tashkurgan. All because a random man on the Shanghai streets asked if I were a "Weegwarren." This is how I wrote the word in my journal. A Chinese friend helped me understand that he was asking if I were a Uighur, from Xinjiang.
It changed my life, from career track to understanding of the world. From the people I sat with on the train, to those who welcomed me to eat polo (a Uighur rice and lamb dish) with them in a hole in Gaochang city's old wall, to the spice traders waiting to cross the border—I was changed.
Bridge School Online began as a way to build bridges between people and cultures in Asia. It has since grown into an internationally minded organization to support educational development and online training worldwide.
I have been teaching since 2010, with a two-year break to work in a hospital while completing a master's degree. Since then, I have taught 24,750+ classes for VIPKID, and over 7,000 under Bridge School Online, spoken at three major international conferences, and helped grow English At The Ready into what it is today. Building bridges more than just prevents conflict, it creates space for dialogue, strengthens social cohesion, and ensures that people have the opportunity to take part in global society.
I look forward to meeting you!
