Job Discussion Forums

[dolmie]

Someone brought this up on the Singapore link, so I wanted to bring it up more publicly.

It's to do with hanging in there on a contract when things are going badly. I have a feeling that a lot of people will respond to this. We are all over the world and thus governed by different contract law, so let's not talk law.

I don't know if new teachers know this, but breaking a contract at any school is not particulaly respected by anybody in education (teachers and admin). Even at bad schools (Your pain is my pain--been there, done that).

We had several teachers walk off the job this year at my bad international school--not only did they walk away from F- management, but they also walked away from innocent young people. It's hard, you know, the morality in education is driven by the teachers, bottom towards the top.

On the itinerant international teaching gig, occasionally you end up in a very bad situation that is harmful or personally damaging to you. There are ways out of it--serious illness (dyssentery, malaria, etc.), pregnancy, death in the family, not being paid (and therefore unable to afford that country)--but that's about it.

If it's a purely ESL/EFL school and classes are of mixed ages, and for shorter periods of time, it's doable, of course.

To be perfectly candid, "it was hurting me," "I was getting depressed," while valid reasons, do not help win respect in education nor another job in teaching. This is not meant to judge others, but talk about my perception as a teacher who has worked in a lot of countries and systems.

[Glenski]

If it's a bad job (carpentry, teaching, molecular biology, gas station attendant, etc.), walk away.

Explain to the next employer that you simply had a difference in viewpoints on how to conduct business. Never bad mouth a previous employer if you can help it.

[denise]

Interesting topic.

I think it depends on how and why it's done. If you just disappear/pull a runner, the school is left scrambling to cover your classes, other teachers have to pick up the extra hours, the students are stuck without a permanent teacher, etc. Future teachers who are hired might be viewed with mistrust. If you give the school proper notice, though (which will vary according to country/contract), they should be able to hire a replacement.

Ultimately, teachers who are unhappy and are thinking of leaving should ask themselves how serious the situation really is. If the school is breaking the terms of the contract--not paying on time, changing the number of teaching hours, withholding other benefits, etc., and if this has been a pattern (one way to tell could be by figuring out how many other teachers there have broken contracts), then by all means, get out. You're being exploited. There are better jobs out there. Breaking a contract will still cause problems, but you've got to value your own happiness.

If, on the other hand, the problem is more internal, like the teacher is just having trouble adjusting (again, look around--are the other teachers disappearing, or are they happy?), then I'd say at least stick it out until the end of the term, out of respect for the students and your colleagues. Of course, this requires that teachers not automatically blame the school and the country for their problems!

NOTE: I mean a general "you" in this post, not you personally, dolmie!

d

[Sonnet]

Other than for something like a family bereavement, I don't think there's ever a "good" reason to break a contract. Think of all the trouble that it puts one heck of a lot of other people in, most of whom are probably innocent of anything that's making you unhappy. ESL contracts are generally short-term; you read the contract before you sign it, you know what you're expecting, and if life isn't all wine & roses then, really, get on with it. You'll be leaving soon enough anyway.

Unless your employer's already broken their side of the contract anyway, in which case you're perfectly entitled to leave. A teacher should never be the first to break their contract, though; to do so is being remarkably childish & selfish.

[coffeedrinker]

It is an interesting topic - and I think most of us will agree that if the school breaks its part of the contract, its not wrong to leave.

The tricky thing though is that it can be hard to convey this to a future employer without badmouthing the school. I agree that it's never a good idea to badmouth the employer...but I don't know if saying you had differences about something without going into detail may not be enough to convince that future employer that you had good reason to leave - even though you did.

I worked at a reputable school that changed the contract in the middle of the year - they tried to do it responsibly and everything, but still, people made decisions to work there based on this lengthy contract they presented before. And I think when employers are considering applicants...they don't know all the details and something like leaving a contract early can count against a teacher before an interview even happens.

I don't really know what the answer is - but unfortunately I think it does often hurt the teacher more than the school and students when a teacher breaks a contract - and this works to the advantage of sketchy schools, which is not cool.

[naturegirl321]

It's not the best, but I can understand why it's done. here where I work, FT average about three months on a year contract. The reason? Too much paperwork, they cancel classes left and right, pressure for grades, kids can re.take exams until the pass, re-.do papers. all of this is extra work for the teacher and not fair either. If you fail, you fail, you shouldn't get to retake it.

[denise]

[Gordon]

A problem lies in what a contract means. In many places I have been, a contract is a starting point, not taken seriously by employers. Whereas for most of us, a contract is sacred, not to be changed in any way for any reason. Employers in Asia don't see it like that. Contracts are flexible and easily changed. They don't understand when we balk at them for "breaking" a contract. I have never had a contract upheld completely, it is up to me to decide if their transgression is worth quitting or complaining about.

[denise]