Job Discussion Forums

[Tracye]

On the newbie board, I posted a question regarding the best countries to live in, but just as important a question is, "Which employers are really great?" If you're working for an excellent employer (one who pays you well, treats you with respect, and is coming through on everything offered), post their name here.

[Boy Wonder]

I've been doing this gig for 9 years now.
In my experience TEFL employers are all great.
Considerate, kind, understanding , accommodating and wonderful at bringing the best out of talented teachers....I can't fault any of them.

[basiltherat]

I wouldn't go so far as to use the word 'love' but they have been extremely helpful, considerate, understanding and have never failed to live up to their side of the agreement. One thing I've noticed here is if you are willing to go the extra mile, they will at some time, do likewise. I have no complaints. I cant recall having a really wicked employer and I've been doing this gig also for comin on 30 years.
I think one thing that has to be said is that most employers tend to treat their instructors as they themselves are treated. If the instructor is a compulsive moaner, cheater, slacker and tries to take advantage, then the employer is likely to behave similarly. I've never tried to get one over on my employer. Why should it be necessary ?
There are 2 sides to every story.
best
basil

[tedkarma]

I've taught in Saudi, Taiwan, Korea (twice) and Thailand (approaching twice) - and only one or two employers have been a bit flakey. As you can guess - it was usually the poorest payers. Most were fair, paid to the penny, on the day it was due - and left you alone to do what you were hired to do.

Don't forget - more than anything else in this career - that REALLY you work for yourself. That means that you do the best job you can - every day - but also that you expect NO ONE ELSE to look out for you or take care of you.

Don't count on any one employer to assure your future. A good friend, after about ten years of faithful and good service at a university - will be leaving next year - after they adopted a limit to the number of years one could stay there. This included cutting out a French teacher who had been there for twelve years and a German teacher with similar years of service.

[basiltherat]

[Glenski]

[Spinoza]

[ls650]

[thelmadatter]

I like my employer as well. Im paid decently and Im respected. I dare say that Ive been more freedom in this job than any I would have gotten in the States, and my politics dont matter (yes... I wasnt liberal enough for college campuses in the States.)

Ditto the comment about "working for yourself." Its a business arrangement, nothing more. Folks who think that employers "owe" them anything more than their contract and/or the law states are kidding themselves.

[RyanS]

Its the teachers who bring all the wealth into the school, they are the ones that teach the students. All the employer does is own things. The employer owes every last cent of profit to the employees actually. The teachers can still teach and run a business without the employer the employer cannot. And I'm not talking about managers because they usually recieve a wage.

[thelmadatter]

ROFL Bibel

The teachers do not bring all the wealth into the school. Many teachers (myself included) do not have the ability (or desire) to market themselves. How many of us could attract a class of 30 to meet a a particular hour? Not very many, I would imagine.

The business is an organization run by the owners... owners start a business to make money.

As a "private contractor," I sell my work to that company. Im a supplier. A school doesnt owe me its profits any more than a grocery store owes a portion of its profits to the company who supplies it with milk. It is the responsibility of the guy selling the milk to make sure he makes a fair profit... not that of the grocery store.... if the grocery store is in a position to make a significant profit (because of location, brand name or whatever), it doesnt mean anything to the supplier... the location and brand name belong to the grocery store, not the milk guy.

Tec makes money off of me... no doubt... maybe a couple times more than they pay me (course I dont have to pay for overhead stuff like electricity, etc.). But that doesnt mean they have to pay me everything they make off of my work. If that were the case, they would not hire me because they would not make money. The company has a right to their profit margin, as I dont own any part of the company.

[ls650]

[Justin Trullinger]

Ryans- I agree with you that teachers are important and often undervalued. I post regularly to that effect.

But "all the profits?"?! Well, I figure I need to pay the secretary, don't I? She doesn't teach, and therefore doesn't "bring all the wealth into the school," but she has an essential support role, and deserves a decent salary for it. You wouldn't want to try to answer the phone while you're teaching, now would you? I could say the same for the computer tech, the accountant, the librarian, the messenger, the security guard, the cleaning staff, and heck, ME! Anybody who's tried to run a school knows that it doesn't run on teaching alone. Where do you get all the students? I know, cause I've been on the phone, online, and on the street for the last year, recruiting them. And who organises a teachers schedule. Usually, it's NOT the teacher. Teacher training? And if you get up for your early morning class, and discover that you're sick, well, I imagine that soembody is going to have to sort out class cover for you. Will you hesitate to phone your director at 6:00 am when that happens? My teachers don't. And they shouldn't. It's my job, just as teaching is theirs. The list goes on and on...

I agree with your socialist values, Ryans. Probably, that's why I work in a non-profit org, even though the salary is less than a for-profit school would pay me for what I do. As for the school "owners," who merely invest capital, then rake in the cash, well, I'm not interested in investing my time, energy, and expertise for their benefit.

So I'm sorry if this sounds like a rant. But in my career, I've run across a fair number of teachers who seem to think that they rule the roost because they bring in the money. It takes a team to do anything worth doing. The contributions of all team members are deserving of respect. And teachers are valuable team members. But there are far more people involved in making a good school work than many seem to imagine.


Regards,
Justin

[Tracye]

It's good to hear that most people have had good experiences (in one case, so much fun it led to termination, I see! ). Do any of you feel comfortable actually giving the names of your employers? That's actually what I had in mind at first. Is there an unwritten rule against this in ESL circles? I can imagine that sharing the names of good employers might be a kind of "gold" only given to close friends. Is this the case?

[tedkarma]