Job Discussion Forums

simon_porter00 · Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 505 Location: Warsaw, Poland

Genuinely don't know what a "scheme of work" or a "PDP" is. Can someone enlighten me?

I'm happy by the fact that you're banging the drum for the full time issue, but you'll never ever win this. Even in the BC you don't get paid for prep hours and yet you're expected to use all the interactive white boards and prep all lessons which inevitably takes 50-70% more time then you're paid for.

If you want to earn money for the exact hours you work (generally speaking) then find one to ones that you can just walk in at the beginning, have a damn good chat and correct language as you go along, using your massive and ready at hand knowledge/material base to deal with grammar issue when and if they arise and then bug out at the end of the hour.

Not everyone likes to do that/can do that/thinks it's a good idea. You certainly won't be able to do this in a school.

The 'let's fight the schools' attitude (which is doomed to failure from the very outset) is similar to the teachers who say "why do teachers in Poland never get together to form a union/body/share students/whatever/" and the answer is that teachers are too bloody lazy to get themselves organised. I was one of the more militant teachers at the BC when I was there and was regularly amazed at other freelancers apathy and laziness.

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

mdm15 · Joined: 20 Jun 2012 Posts: 10 Location: Poland

Thanks for the above information it does makes sense.

All im saying is that its no harm to just take the power back. Bell school puts alot of demands on teachers and I wonder why new teachers dont negotiate terms. If I had a umowa o dzieło to have bartek build me a wall, I would say "when do you think you could have this all done then B?" he would then say "maybe 50 hours for 1000 zlotes". he is the one that has to build the wall so he should at least have some say.

In Bell world what they do is say "hey, check out this fulltime employment contract - just like all the others isnt it? If you dont like the terms then piss off."

If they simply EXPLAINED to people what exactly the type of contract it is then people would feel more empowered to take control.

And by the way - schools not explaining the above are acting against the law.

Any views on why no one ever gets a PIT form on time, or in bell's case never? another breach of law.

This is all just typical of migrants being taking advantage of in systems they dont fully understand. Makes me a little sick to see this school acting as one of the most respected schools around, whilst also breaking multiple laws.

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

[quote="mdm15"]

Any views on why no one ever gets a PIT form on time, or in bell's case never? another breach of law.

I've gotten my PIT on time every year for five years and you know that I work at Bell Gdansk. I can't speak about any other schools but this does surprise me.

Off topic. I enjoy split shifts, as I've been a morning person all my life. After classes in the the am, I have plenty of free time to run errands, take a nap or whatever.

PDP's have made me a better teacher. They make me think about what I want to improve in the next year and I think they've helped me a lot. They're my goals, not the school's. Schemes of work are a PITA. They're a plan for the whole year and, as we all know, things change. Nobody looks at them once they're completed but you can always use one from a previous years, assuming you're using the same coursebook.

mdm15 · Joined: 20 Jun 2012 Posts: 10 Location: Poland

[/quote mdm15]Dont get me wrong, i dont expect to have ZUS paid for me if im on a "sales contract" or however it is best to describe a umowa o dzieło. My issue is that teachers are exploited - made to believe its a full time job and so made to feel obliged to meet all the conditions on the contract. if its outside of the hours - dont do it! that is in the nature of the umowa o dzieło.

[/quote delphian-domine]Actually - you're not right here. The whole point of umowa o dzielo is that it is a specific contract for a specific piece of work done. It doesn't matter if the work takes you 10 hours or 40 hours - you have no protection in the law from this.

delphian-domine I think you may have been confused by what I mean. My contract stated 680 for 9 months plus 10 hours a week on site. This means that everything has to be done in 10 hours to prepare for my teaching?? If this is the case then i can leave once those 10 hours are up for extra work which is not teaching. i dont have to work 40 + hours a week.

scottie for sure PDPs are very useful, but just as the above explains, only if its in my prep hours. re the tax, like I and i think someone else said on here, no one was given NIPs and I had to hassle my useless director of school for a PIT - no one else was given one. Maybe Gdansk is different.

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

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

[quote="mdm15"][/quote mdm15 My issue is that teachers are exploited

How many times have I heard this? Lots, and usually from young teachers who have no other work experience before teaching. It really doesn't merit any further comment.

My contract stated 680 for 9 months plus 10 hours a week on site.

As does mine. Preparing lessons takes far more than 10 hours a week. It's called professionalism and it's part of the job. I prefer to prepare at school rather than at home and I don't view this as an inconvenience at all. I enjoy the work ethic and the atmosphere in the teachers room- the camaraderie, the exchange of ideas and the opportunity to practice my still limited Polish.

Maybe Gdansk is different.

Obviously it is and I'm very happy here.

mdm15, where did you work? I'm not being contentious here nor trying to refute anything you've said. I just have a hard time trying to compare your experiences with mine.

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

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

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

Due to 'cash flow problems' Bell Warsaw are now paying two months in arrears. So you would, in theory, get paid in July for work done in May.

However, I've spoken to teachers who say Bell isn't even making good on this promise now. There are also teachers who have yet to be paid for work done in summer 2012.

You've been warned.

simon_porter00 · Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 505 Location: Warsaw, Poland

I know you're pally with the teachers at Bell, I've met them on a few occasions and they seem like a good bunch. Why haven't they made the jump to the BC?

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

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

dragonpiwo · Joined: 04 Mar 2013 Posts: 1650 Location: Berlin

A wise soul Wink

predicted 'the end of the road for ELT Poland' some years ago I believe.

simon_porter00 · Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 505 Location: Warsaw, Poland

nowhere near the end of the road for ELT in Poland and won't be for another 20 odd years. Some schools closing because their owners followed stupid business models does not necessarily mean that there's a deficit in demand.

As was pointed out the kids market will be huge - read HUGE - for the next 10-15 years. This is why the BC are going hell for leather down this road and spreading out on these lines across Poland with affiliates/other partnership or combinations.

What is dead is the "let's bang a school in the middle of town, pay an expensive rent, expect our classes to be full and make s**t loads of money" approach.