Job Discussion Forums

[outwardbound]

Let me tell you my situation....I�d like someones opinion. Is there any other school like this in Turkey.? This school, is a very professional, very strict and no nonsense school with high expectations. The director is a real pedagogue and perfectionist. I�m the only foreign teacher (the director of the school teaches grammar and does proficiency testing). I�m expected to work from 8:30 in the morning to 10:00 at night, 6 days a week...... writing up detailed lesson plans for 6 classes of different levels, 10-15 students per class, writing up test papers (every 2 units and then a big one every 4 units), marking these test papers, and marking workbooks and homework. All this work requires all day, everyday and it still isn�t enough to get everything done. I only get salary at 26 teaching hours, but I indicated that the workload was overwhelming especially since he wants everything done in meticulous detail......he checks for every undotted i ......and this is no kidding. So he cut back my teaching hours to 20....less teaching hours ; less money, because now I just get the hourly rate....but it hasn't diminished the workload .....Herr Director just finds more creative ways to increase the workload.....so I still work 50 hours a week in the office. Money is not the issue with me but the expectations to do all this work and to do it promptly, efficiently and competently while I�m being rushed to do this and that on a certain schedule is a definite problem. I�m no slouch, but if I can�t complete all this work in 50 hours maybe it is just too much for one person.....things move fairly quickly and I can barely keep up. I frequently get writers cramp and marking workbooks and tests are very tedious tasks. Also, all the quizes and exams I must prepare is something only I will be required to do, since the teachers who follow me will only have to go to the file and photocopy them. I challenged Herr Director to give me the name of any other English school in Turkey that requires the teacher to work 50 hours on top of teaching hours...Being chained to a desk all day isn�t a job....it�s a prison term of solitary confinement.... Is this kind of work schedule common for schools in Turkey?

[FGT]

Gecmis olsun! No, I don't think that's normal.

To compare your points with my school:

Professional, strict, no nonsense. Yes.
High expectations. Yes.
Only foreign teacher. No. We have a team of 15 who all support one another.
8.30-10.00. No. It's not unusual to have two long days (9.00-9.00) but the others are easier.
6 days a week. No, two consecutive days off.
Writing up detailed lesson plans. Yes.
6 classes at different levels. Possible but usually some overlap.
10-15 students per class. 8-14 with us so essentially the same.
Writing up test papers. No, it's been done for us though they are revised by the Academic Committee from time to time.
Marking workbooks and homework. Yes, but frequently using peer correction or self correction.
Salary for 26 hours teaching only. 6 classes would equate to 27 hours salary with us.

It sounds like you're being worked into the ground. Is it a new school? Is he deliberately using you to set up the systems? At least you've reduced your teaching hours, can't you also reduce the admin. time?

If I were you, I'd look around for another job with a less strenuous schedule. You don't say where you are. Are there other schools nearby?
I'm sure you'll get another job easily. GOOD LUCK and let us know how you get on.

[dmb]

Absolutely not normal. Are you working in a Lise, Dershane or Kolej? Irrelevant question. Still too much.

The hardest I ever had to work in turkey was when I was responsible for about 70 teachers and 1500 students. I was supposed to be on a 40 hour week but in reality it was nearer 70.(no overtime) This was a one off though. The ironic thing is it was probably the most enjoyable job I had so I didn't mind.

The norm for Turkey,no matter where you work, should be between 20-30 hours contact hours a week+ prep time

[Anitata]

No, thats not normal at all. No one works form 8:30-10:00 pm even if you are teaching in Japan (for its famous over time working culture). Here at this private college in Istanbul, I am one of the two foreign teachers at school. I teach for 27 hours a week and need to be here from 8:30-6:00 five days a week and I have already think it is over time.....perhaps youd should get out of there ASAP, since you only get paid for the 20 hours and plus it is not good for you. I bet you are tired and feel stress all the time.There are plenty of schools here in Turkey. The school you work is "abnormal".

[Otterman Ollie]

I think the previous posters have understated your situation somewhat without wishing to sound harsh you are being turned over BİGTİME . It doesn't really matter how much you are been paid there is no amount of money available in this country that could induce me to do what you are having to put up with ,either you are completly and totally unaware of this gross explotation of yourself or you and this excuse for a human being have a lot more in common than just the work place ,I mean do you enjoy this DRUDGERY??? For the love of Allah get out from under this mans control ,he does not have your best interests at heart and once you are no longer any use to him he will throw you away like yesterdays newspaper . Has any of this REGİSTERED ??
I don't know how long you have been working there but one day more is too long ,give your notice NOW, I mean once you have read this post , go to a notary get them to witness your resignation and then stick it under this tossers nose and tell him in no uncertain terms where to stick his job . Naturally if there is even a thread odf decency he will try to persaude you to stay and may even offer you more money a free place to live unlimited coffee breaks he will lie through through his teeth inorder to make you stay . But this is not a normal person and he will smile at you and say "OK GO " just like that, you will be dismissed like a child take it as a blessing finding a better job will be a walk in thepark after that HELLHOLE . GO NOW !!!

[yaramaz]

I second that motion, Ollie. I refuse to teach more than 25 hours and am currently quite peaceful at 18. I will prepare some extra materials but jeeeze, why reinvent the wheel? There are so many good books and websites and other resources out there already. Tell yer stinkin', lazy, no good salak boss to buy a few books and pay you extra for your voluntary curriculum development.

[J.B. Clamence]

No, not normal. However, is it different from what you signed up for? What does your contract say about your expected duties? What did you agree upon with the director before you started the job?

[Otterman Ollie]

Well so far you haven't responded to the comments we made and there are a number of questions in there that deserve an answer. Are you still that overworked that you don't have time to reply I think we deserve some feedback .

[ghost]

If you are still there, the whole story might not be revealed.

Those hours are crazy, and the concomitant rewards do not match.

There are plenty of language schools throughout Turkey where you can work a relatively easy schedule of around 24 hours a week and make enough to live decently and save, when accommodation is provided or a rent allowance.

It is really a 'teacher's market' because there are more jobs than qualified teachers available throughout Turkey, and many of the jobs are not advertised...so say if you fancy living in a city like Mersin...you will find a job there if you throw your c.v. around and attend a few perfunctory interviews.

In Antalya, for example, one can work at the "Amerika Kultur Dernegi" and get paid just for the hours one works. One was offered 15.million per hour there.

The good thing about Amerika Kultur is that you can arrange to work just afternoon and eve. hours and attend Tomer in the morning to get proficiency in Turkish language. The monthly Turkish courses are 4 hours every morning.

Don't get screwed - there is absolutely no need for it. You are the one who calls the shots, since you have the "skills."

[outwardbound]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the feedback. And yes I am too busy and tired to reply right away. I know that around 24 teaching hours are fairly standard everywhere ....but what I really want to know is how much prep time or office time most schools in Turkey require, on top of teaching time. I've been teaching overseas for 5 years and I've never been expected to work over 40 hours total ( even in Japan) which is a standard work week. If a school didn�t have enough teaching hours to give me then I did more office hours and prepared test papers, but I always got full salary. It took me a few weeks in this job to realize that the amount of work was too much for one person to adequately accomplish and also do 26 hours of teaching. When I signed the contract I was lead to believe that there would be 2 teachers sharing the workload. And it wasn�t long after that, I found out that I was going to be the only one doing all of this work. There is a real contradiction here, For example; Everything must be done in precise detail and done just so, according to Herr Directors� guidelines which takes a lot of time to prepare. That would be fine if lesson plans were the only thing I had to do, but I have a lot of other duties which require my immediate attention. So I must rush to do everything. Afterall students need their workbooks back promptly and they would like to have their test papers marked before they write the next one.....that�s valid....so I have to rush, rush, everything.....every minute of the day is accounted for.....Am I a Machine?! If I am creating a test paper, then I obviously can�t mark workbooks at the same time. I hand in a test to Herr Director to check,.......over a week prior to the date I have to give it and he hands it back to me the day of the test with revisions, deletions and additions. I ask him why he is deleting this question when there really wasn�t anything wrong with the one I had written....he tells me that there�s a better one. Well there is always something better, when you have the time and resources to look for it! Since he wants me to time out my lesson plans to every 5 minutes, I thought I should also time out my varies duties. I don�t have the luxury of time to spend all day seeking out the best possible question, especially when I have 5-6 books as a source and he has a small library of books in his LOCKED office. I obviously need to get on with my other tasks......which are also time consuming. How interesting is marking workbooks for 4 hours? Or an 8 page exam, for 10 hours, with an essay of convoluted English included? He says other teachers have done it with no complaints and I think that is just plain b****t. The contract is such that I have so many things I have to do, I couldn�t possibly accomplish all that, and the way in which he wants me to do it, and teach 26 hours and make a salary. This is of course all laughed off......I�m too slow and incompetent. Well I have already given my notice and I am refusing to do more work. He has the arrogance to feel that it should be a pleasure and honour to work in the best school in Turkey.......sure! on my back........well it will be a pleasure and honor to leave this trudgery and b****t behind.

[FGT]

A) You've given notice. Good. Where are you going from here?

B) It is demonstrably NOT the best school in Turkey (may even rank as one of the worst, and that's saying something). Once you are well clear, could you publish the name and location of the school so others don't fall into the same trap?

[Otterman Ollie]

Silly girl you are still there ,trying to be nice ,professional doing the right thing ,thinking of the kids ,your image as an ambassador of your country,you're thinking logically just like someone from a civilized country . WRONG,WRONG, WRONG!!!
Go NOW ! Get a sick note tell the doctor you will murder someone if you spend another hour,minute ,second, in the presence of your x boss,he is a *beep* of the first order and you are going to regret it if you don't pack up your stuff and LEAVE NOW .[/b]

[FGT]

Dear Mr Otterman,
How do you know outwardbound is a girl? I could have sworn he was a bloke.
What do you know that we don't?

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi FGT
That would be telling ,why don't you tell me a bit more about a certain place where friends of yours work first ?

[FGT]

I have friends in many places. Was it somewhere specific you had in mind?