Job Discussion Forums

[Gold Rush]

What is the quickest/easiest way to get fired from an ESL language center in Asia?

My friend wants to know how to get booted from a 1 year standard contract.

[JZer]

Is it possible to get booted from an ESL job? It seems like you would have to try very hard.

[Gold Rush]

Thus the reason for the post. I'm sure somebody has been fired on this forum. Come on, share your story. There are others who wanna get canned too.

[dmb]

Why would your friend want to get fired? Why not just hand in their notice?

[Gold Rush]

he doesn't want to pay the termination of contract fee. I know in China, it's equal to one month's pay. Perhaps, it's best for him to just RUN.

[Deconstructor]

Do a kickass job.

Care about your students' progress.

Be well read about ESL/EFL methodology.

Be original.

Be interesting.

Be funny.

Speak your mind.

IF the above don't work:

Show up for class sober.

Sleep with one of your students then fail her.

Make a pass at the DOS.

Tell the DOS how lame he/she really is.

Fart during a meeting and blame it on the DOS.

[Moore]

Now I think about it, I've NEVER seen a teacher get fired from a language school in the ten years I've been teaching (although possibly that says a lot about the schools I've been teaching in...)

[dmb]

are probation periods now a thing of the past? i have had to 'let people go' because they couldn't teach. Is this an alien concept in the asian EFL market.

[Justin Trullinger]

Hmmm. Am I the only person who finds this a bit reprehensible? If you're friend's in a bad work environment (you don't really say) maybe he is justified in doing a runner...but if not, trying to find ways to break your contract without the contract breaking penalty seems a little off to me. If you meant to break the contract, and didn't like the penalty, why sign it? Losing a teacher mid contract is a big pain to admin, colleagues, students, and everybody. Getting fired to avoid taking responsibility for your decision to leave strikes me as childish, unless, as I mentioned, your employer is guilty of some misconduct you haven't mentioned here.

But, here goes: I have seen teachers fired for lateness, unprofessional dress, innapropriate sexual contact with students, failure to prepare classes properly, and unwillingness to restrict drinking to non work hours. Also once for shtupping the bosses wife.

I have never had to fire a teacher, although I had to let one go once due to the loss of a major client and corresponding drop in hours. (Did help this one find a new job, where she is doing well now...) But I've never fired a teacher for cause. I don't think it should come up very often in a good school. Most people don't want to be fired, and if you hire good people, and offer goof monitoring and support when improvement is needed, most people respond well. So far anyway.

And many of the firings I've seen in other schools seem to me to be a result of problems which, had they been addressed early and effectively, never would have come to that point.

Another for anyone who's considering getting the sack on purpose- I'd be unlikely to fire a teacher for much less than gross negligence or gross misconduct. Now if somebody was guilty of one of those...I also might put the word round to the other institutes in town... So if you're looking for an easy way to break your contract, you should know that it may make it harder to work in that area again. At the very least, it sort of rules out a good letter of reference.

Regards, and happy sacking,
Justin

[Glenski]

"Asia" is a pretty big area. Just what country is your friend working in?

A termination fee is pretty lame for an employer to charge. "Hey, teacher, if you want to quit, you have to PAY!" Gimme a break. Give notice (usually 2 weeks is sufficient), then leave. No employer is going to waste time or money suing you for any termination fee. Another foreigner is chomping at the bit to take the job anyway.

[Boy Wonder]

Ways to get fired.....

These were the reasons that people I worked with or knew all got their marching orders...

1)Turning up for work unshaven and in shabby Oxfam clothes.
2)Giving their students the finger.
3)Not passing all their students in exams.
4)Groping teenage female students.
5)Using too many phtocopied handouts.
6)Being the wrong religion.
7)Not succumbing to the 'yes sir', nodding dog syndrome.
8)Bringing callgirls back to their school accommodation.
9)Having a Northern English accent.
10)Being so drunk at work they fell over repeatedly.
11)Selling drugs to their students.
12)Arguing with other teachers in front of students
13)Sleeping with male teenage students 25 years their junior.
14)Consistently not turning up to work.
15)Stealing money fom other teachers.

Admittedly it isn't easy to get the push but it is possible as demonstrated above.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Follow these steps:

1. Turn off all electrical power in the school

2. Throw a bag of squirrels with lit sparklers tied to their tails into the DOS's office during a meeting and hold the door shut (standing on the outside, obviously) so nobody can get out.

[Dragonlady]

deleted

[erinyes]

Most contracts say if you can't go back to work for one month then they can let you go.

How about if he told the school he was really sick? Acted really sick and pied a Chinese doctor a bit of money to recommend that he takes a 2 month leave of absence.

[JZer]

Has anyone seen someone get fired for not being able to teach? Is it possible and how can one even quantify not being able to teach? It is one thing if you just play games in class but if you attempt to teach what is in the book I don't see how one can be fired.

There are also plenty of tenured professors in the west that can't teach a lick.