Job Discussion Forums

[Phil_K]

Having had limited success with my own venture, I was surprised and flattered to be offered the job of Academic Coordinator with a new school (in-house classes). The person involved in this project has made a massive investment and I'm confident in the future of the school. Being an important piece of the project, I wish to use the few weeks before I have to begin giving the teacher training (our method - not teaching how to teach!) to research the job thoroughly. I therefore humbly ask if anyone knows of any material, preferably online, that can help me in my preparation.

[El Gallo]

Phil, congratulations.
Many private school owners like to use their coordinators to play "good guy, bad guy" Teachers can see through this. You will be in tough spot between the needs and academic ideals of teachers and the hard business realities of the owners.

My most important advice is don't berate or scold teachers in front of their peers, students or parents. In this culture, this undermines the teacher's credibility more than anything else.

One coordinator I worked for agreed with or gave permission for solutions to problems we encountered. When the owner flew into a hissy fit over the decision, the coordinator was no where to be found to support the mutual decision I made with her. Needless to say, this coordinator had no credibility with me or the other teachers and we always went to the owner to be sure the decisions wouldn't bite us in the butt later.

Another coordinator I worked for constantly complained how corrupt the owner was but when it came to backing up teachers to get paid on time or keeping the hours they were promised, he had about as much backbone as a soft tortilla.

[TheLongWayHome]

Ahh, the impossible task of keeping everyone happy whilst taking all the flak! I found it akin to plate spinning.

Things I liked:

Not teaching for a while.
Reviewing stuff for publishing houses.
Getting free stuff.

Things I didn't like:

Firing people.
Reprimanding drunk teachers/teachers with hangovers.
Being a BS filter.

I hate to say it but the most respected/best coordinators I've worked for/with seem to be straight up b�tches - and like that to everyone. If you're going to work the b�tch angle, you have to be consistent.