Job Discussion Forums

PierogiMonster · Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 148

And from the Venice of the north ... Krakow, advertised (rather more accurately) as the Florence of the north, by York School.

I've never taught there, although I came periously close last autumn. Just have a couple of chats with the owner and you'll have enough material for a Psychology doctorate, majoring in pathology.

Caveat emptor!

scottie1113 · Joined: 25 Oct 2004 Posts: 375 Location: Gdansk

After seeing your post, I read their ad. What a joke.

lundjstuart · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 211 Location: Warsaw, Poland

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS:
B.A. / M.A. Diploma
TEFL Certificate or Diploma (Cambridge CELTA, Trinity or equivalents i.e. min.80 hours & 6 hours observed TP - native speakers)
preferably minimum one year teaching experience
motivation, commitment and enthusiasm

The ideal candidate is reliable, responsible, highly motivated and flexible (being able to work with all age groups and course specializations) articulate and willing to work closely with students, management and the staff. Artistic talents will be appreciated.

TEACHER'S PROFILE:
General English / Conversation at all levels and age groups from beginners to proficiency levels A1-C2
Cambridge ESOL exams: IELTS, First Certificate in English FCE at level B2, Advanced Cerificate CAE at C1, Certificate of Proficiency in English at C2 - Council of Europe Global Scale - reference: Common European Framework of Reference for Language
Business English, also preparation for ESOL BEC and LCCI exams
Young Learners - age 7-10 & 11-12 at 5 levels of English
Young Teenagers - 13-15 at 6 levels
Teenagers -16-19 at 9 levels of English
Adults 19+ at 10 levels from beginners to post-proficiency
one-to-one
in company training

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

Teachers' Manual, York Diary and Welcome package
free accommodation 3 days on arrival & assistance in finding a flat when necessary
minimum 9 months full-time (average 24 hours a week) renewable employment contract
competitive local salary paid monthly
paid overtime available for tutorials, substitutes, clubs or running workshops
end of the year flexibility & performance bonus
accident insurance
Polish retirement and medical insurance (ZUS) on request
free in-house teacher training sessions, workshops & conferences
and last but not least... friendly & professional working environment
preference for EU citizens

Master Shake · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA

I don't know much about York, but I've been in the Polish EFL business a while. For the noobs, allow me to explain what I'm pretty sure they mean by 'flexibility bonus':

'The teacher will work split shifts and Saturdays. The teacher will spend hours upon hours each week travelling to/from in-company lessons way out in BFE which start at the crack of dawn (or before). Should said teacher decline to mention the gross unfairness and the lack of compensation for doing this, the school will throw him/her a few hundred zloty at the end of the contract and act like they've just cured said teacher of leprosy '

sharter · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 878 Location: All over the place

And you can't live on that salary.

john123 · Joined: 29 Jan 2012 Posts: 83

Yes, after paying your rent a whopping 1400-1500 zl to play with in Krakow per month.

john123 · Joined: 29 Jan 2012 Posts: 83

Let's break these terms and conditions down, from my own personal experience:

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

Teachers' Manual, York Diary and Welcome package [i.e. a pathological briefing by the owner, and a bungled hand-shaking session with the quite rightly grumpy secretaries]

free accommodation 3 days on arrival & assistance in finding a flat when necessary [I'll concede this one]

minimum 9 months full-time (average 24 hours a week) renewable employment contract [average 8 hours a week for some people/renewable if sufficient numbers of students haven't cottoned on to the way the school is run or how batty E.W. is and therefore there will be enough hours to satisfy the dwindling number of natives]

competitive local salary paid monthly [absolutely subsistence level for Krakow, after you have paid your rent]

paid overtime available for tutorials, substitutes, clubs or running workshops [whopping pay here for minding the kiddies/no teacher development whatsoever so don't know about those workshops Pani Ew]

end of the year flexibility & performance bonus [not a chance]

accident insurance [fishy]

Polish retirement and medical insurance (ZUS) on request [who got ZUS?]

free in-house teacher training sessions, workshops & conferences [NEVER, NEVER AND NEVER. IF YOU CALL THEM WORKSHOPS, THEY WERE TYRANNICAL BROADSIDES BY THE OWNER]

and last but not least... friendly & professional working environment [the atmosphere is better in a morgue/the secretaries were overworked and quite rightly grumpy]

preference for EU citizens [TRUE!!]

THANKS. I HAD TO GO TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE.

delphian-domine · Joined: 11 Mar 2011 Posts: 674

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

oipivo · Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 163 Location: Poland

"...but no way would I want to jump from a group of 7 year olds to a business exec to a CPE to - god knows."

This is pretty much the modus operandi of the ESL industry in plenty of countries. I'm not saying it's the best route by any means, but I've been teaching like this since I started in Prague nearly four years ago. Of course some people excel in certain areas, but as an ESL teacher you have to know how to make anything work and do it effectively. I personally enjoy the variety. I think that I'm quite good at teaching kids and enjoy doing so, but if I had to do it every day all day I would throw myself off of a bridge. Since I began my teaching career this way, I don't think it's ridiculous at all for people to claim that they can effectively teach adults, children, CEOS, exams, and more. A lot of us actually have experience teaching all of these subjects to some degree at least. It seems especially that newer teachers have to deal with this.

I don't believe that this is the best structure for teachers at all (but lord knows I'm adaptable now) and it seems to be a quality of small schools with a small staff or large unorganized schools.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I started in Prague almost 15 years ago - but with exclusively businesspeople. The levels ranged all the way from beginner to advanced, but there were few test courses and no kiddies.
The market may have changed, of course - and I've moved into university work (upgraded quals) and am probably out of touch.
Hats off to those of you who can juggle so many kinds of classes!
I'm happier delving more deeply into a more limited range of stuff.

sparks · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 632

It's not that hard to avoid kids, I burned out on teaching the little buggers and have vowed, never again. Only general and business Eng. to adults. I've got more hours on offer than I can handle and don't teach past 18:30 every evening. Set your rules, teach good, and stick to it. You can get what you want.

Master Shake · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

john123 · Joined: 29 Jan 2012 Posts: 83

Sparks is absolutely correct - cut out the middle man/tyrants/sandwich short of picnic types (in relation to our beloved York School language-expert turned-flog-holidays-in-the-classroom travel agent owner), and set your own rules. I had one private gig with two spoilt kids at the start of the school year because it paid ok, but there's no way I'd ever go near them again for less than 90zl for 60 mins.