Job Discussion Forums

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

But, LongShiKong, he said:

Quote:
In TEFL this is even more acute as we're often away from home, employers aren't always honest about the conditions on offer and, just like any other industry, policies do change (see situation 2).

And I replied:
1. There are always other employers out there. Up to the teacher to have the skills, qualifications, reputation, and simple gumption to find a suitable one.
2. Anyone who's moved abroad without enough funds to get him/herself out of any difficult situation that may arise has been unwise. Many things can go wrong when living abroad, including but not limited to stuff connected with bad employers.
3.If your employer was dishonest about working conditions, move on, name and shame. See point 2 above; 'you' should have the funding to get yourself out of a situation - or don't go abroad in the first place.
4. If policies change, again, onus is on the teacher to move on.

If the 'teacher' hasn't got what it takes to get a reasonable job - qualifications, skill, simple personal gumption, then it is his/her responsibility to either get what s/he needs OR move into a different industry (I hear that MacDonald's takes people with a BA and you don't even need a TEFL cert - and they have unions in many places. Clearly paradise, in your books.)

The OP has written equally about some chain school in an unnamed European country (Turkey, I believe) as well as about the UK. And the US - not sure why US examples are often thrown in, but whatever.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Considering all the time and effort put into rallying of the troops, designing and printing flyers, recruiting their students for the "cause," participating in demonstrations, storming language school offices with demand letters, manning facebook pages, going on strike, yada yada---all of it unpaid labor, by the way... When, if at all, are any of these solidarity people in a classroom actually teaching? Seriously. Confused

suphanburi · Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916

But if he actually wanted to teach and was any good at it then these issues wouldn't apply.

The ONLY time I hear calls for "unionization" and "protection" are when disgruntled, inept, unqualified, self-entitled", or just plain lazy people need "protection" from employers who want to pay them what they are worth rather than what they think they are entitled to.

If they spent 1/2 the time and effort in the classroom that they spent trying to avoid it through union promotion activities then they wouldn't have an issue.

Back to my key point.
QUALIFIED AND COMPETENT teachers don't get made redundant except in unionized situations when "seniority" takes precedence over quality.

If on the odd chance they do lose their position there is no shortage of well paid work for those who are QUALIFIED AND COMPETENT and willing to move to it.

Teachers (supposedly people who are reasonably educated) who knowingly accept a bad contract have no one but themselves to blame for it. They read it and signed it.

Those who sign a contract in good faith usually have well defined, legal alternatives if it is broken (not that they would usually try to use them - it is easier to piss and moan on an ESL/EFL forum).

And in closing, EVERY TIME some small group tries to "unionize" TEFL teachers in any country I have worked in it has ALWAYS resulted in things being worse after the fact.

If you want better pay and conditions a "union" is NOT the way to go. These are not labour factories where one unskilled, warm body is as good as the next one and just as cheap.

GOOD, QUALIFIED, and COMPETENT teachers are hard to find and worth pay to keep on staff. Unionized workers are little more than a race to the bottom in skilled worker positions.

£60k per year (with wait-lists) goes a long way in SE Asia.
Why would I give that up for some "union" job at 24k.

If you want to unionize, go to McDs or Walmart or TESCO where incompetence, and ignorance are rewarded appropriately.

.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:46 pm Post subject:

Jeepers! Such a crowd of splitters and wreckers. Has nobody here never wanted to hurl a Molotov at the TEFL piggies? Haven't you ever ripped up the cobbles to usher in a glorious era of teacherly freedom?!

I sense a lack of class consciousness on this thread. Off to the re-education camps with the lot of you!

Hic!

LongShiKong · Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China

suphanburi · Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916

Sashadroogie · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:43 am Post subject:

"Unlike developing regions, it's the US that has a long history of successful labour unrest which, as we all know, has contributed to its economic implosion."

Do we know this? I always thought that the American economic woes were due entirely to Piggie shenanigans, greed, and outsourcing rather than an honest worker demanding basic rights such as a safe workplace, fixed hours and days off, an end to child labour, legal contracts etc.

LongShiKong · Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China

Jerome Baxter · Joined: 27 May 2014 Posts: 58

Jerome Baxter · Joined: 27 May 2014 Posts: 58

Suph, you didn't remotely respond to the last post I directed at you, but I did want to ask you something:

You say that employees are paid what they're worth, right?

Well in just about the entire global economy – across and within industries, in the US and in developing countries – women (and minorities) are consistently paid less for the same work and in the same jobs.

Does this mean that women, as a whole, are less valuable than men?

suphanburi · Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916

LongShiKong · Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China

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

MuscatGary · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:29 pm Post subject:

Ok, a scenario for the OP to consider:

A new British teacher arrives at the college (Government, not profit making) where I work. He has minimal qualifications, a BA and a CELTA and a couple of years experience. He's given two Foundation level groups (18-19 year old) to teach, a total of 20 hours class time p.w. in line with his contract. During the first week he complains about the number of hours, feeling it's too much. In the second week he's complaining about the number of students in his groups (20 and 22). After a few weeks to settle in he's due for an observation, he complains about this like crazy and is reassured that it's normal for all new teachers to be observed twice, the first being announced and planned, the second being an unexpected visit.

I conducted the first observation. His lesson was not consistent with the lesson plan he'd provided. When questioned by the students he could not explain the difference between 'some' and 'any' and when they should be used. However, the real problem was his board work. The board was littered with spelling mistakes, capitalization errors and the use of there for their, to for too.....and so on. He ran out of material and let the students go after 50 minutes even though it was a 2 hour class and even though he'd been told this was not allowed previously.

He obviously did not have full command of the language and therefore could not teach it at the level required. He also did not understand how to plan and execute a 2 hour class. What would you do? Let him continue and therefore disadvantage the students. Terminate before the end of the probation period? Offer him training despite the fact that he has the pieces of paper that should prove his competence already?

Sadly I have encountered these kinds of teachers every year. His pay was quite good for his qualifications by the way, about 1,700 GBP tax free plus free accommodation and a teaching load equal to 26 weeks per year.