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sammysez
Joined: 20 Nov 2016
Posts: 119
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 Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 6:42 pm Post subject: Instructors' contracts not renewed for students talking |
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CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE and politely asking students not to talk or play on their cellphones during class time.
I guess student enrollment is down, maybe that's why I know three instructors in ESL that have lost their jobs or not had their contracts "renewed" to put it politely.
All three were released from different language schools, where they made an average of $14 to $18 per hour, no benefits etc...no prep time pay, for politely asking students to "be quiet" or to not use their cellphones.
This shows how disposable ESL teachers are and of course the $ is worth more than the integrity of the class.
Have others run into this same situation? And how did you handle it?
All three ended up going overseas to teach because of this. |
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natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Chongqing, China
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| Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 1:46 am Post subject: |
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I've only worked at one private language school, and the academic coordinator and the director would have sided (and did) with the teacher on this. The director could be scary (if she wanted), and would be looking out for the best for the most students, and recognized that teachers needed some autonomy in how they run their classes. She would ask to see the student (if they were not complying) when these issues arose.
So, I don't have any experience with this situation (not saying it doesn't happen, I'm sure it does).
Just matching anecdote for anecdotes, here. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| sammysez wrote: |
CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE and politely asking students not to talk or play on their cellphones during class time.
....
Have others run into this same situation? And how did you handle it? |
Reputable private language schools have a written policy in place that addresses student responsibilities and classroom behavior. In fact, that was always the case even when I taught abroad; teachers were required to go over these rules on day one when explaining the course agenda and learning expectations. I often had the students establish the classroom rules themselves with my guidance. They "owned" the rules and were more likely to enforce them by keeping each other in check. |
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natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Chongqing, China
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| Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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As nomad is suggesting, this should be a problem that is addressed before it happens. I've also established/had the students establish "class rules"; that's your cover for the rare times you may need to bump the issue up to admin.
I believe most students (definitely adult students) are as annoyed by unnecessary interruptions as we are. |
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sammysez
Joined: 20 Nov 2016
Posts: 119
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| Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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Some of you are missing the point.
The issue was bumped up and all three instructors were released from their jobs because admin would not side against a paying student. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| sammysez wrote: |
I guess student enrollment is down, maybe that's why I know three instructors in ESL that have lost their jobs or not had their contracts "renewed" to put it politely.
....
Some of you are missing the point.
The issue was bumped up and all three instructors were released from their jobs because admin would not side against a paying student. |
Yet, there also were paying students who expected to learn without the distractions from discourteous classmates. But if you're asking how to handle this type of class management problem in the absence of a clear school policy, I suggest the teacher defer to administration for guidance.
It's odd that this same situation happened to teachers working in different language schools. We don't have the specifics (e.g., the names of these businesses), so this is essentially spotty second-hand info. Additionally, since enrollments are down in much of the US, those teachers' contracts could have simply been non-renewed due to economics and not for the reasons they think. Plus, most states recognize at-will employment. |
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natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Chongqing, China
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| Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| sammysez wrote: |
Some of you are missing the point.
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Well, two of us.
There must be more to each of these stories, and we just don't know what that is. NS and I are pointing out that in our experience this is generally an issue that admin is aware of, and most schools have policies in place for both cell phone use and acceptable/recommended teacher interventions when it becomes a problem.
Three separate cases of "polite" intervention resulting in getting sacked (and being forced to leave the country because of it) doesn't quite make sense without knowing further details. |
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