Job Discussion Forums

[basiltherat]

have always felt that teacher punctuality and attendance (i.e. reliability) should rank at, or if not, close to the top of priorities wen seeking new teachers/trainers. wat good is an instructor with all the qualifications around and with years of experience if he / she is either constantly taking days off - hangover, yet more 'sickness', cat died last night etc etc - or who just cant be bothered to turn up either for some or all of the working day.

as such, getting direct recommendations/info from previous employees regarding an individual's reliabilty... to me is an absolute must. either that or through word of mouth.
besides complaining that the teacher cant teach, another b1tch that trainees have is ' where's my teacher ?' or 'Oh No ! Not another change of teacher !!'.
Anyone like to add mature comments on this aspect of our 'profession' ?
best
basil

[Mchristophermsw]

I totally agree with you.

But what can be shared has legal constriants depending on what country your in. I know in the USA, this is a big issue and a previuos employers are very limited of what kind of information they can disclose--or be at riskof being sued---deep pockets and stuff and from what I have seen the law is on the employees side in that respect.

But Dependability is a must!

[spiral78]

In teacher training programs, I have taken reliability into account when evaluating teacher trainees. Over a 30-day course, while people are usually on their best behavior, someone who doesn't really have punctuality and dependability firmly in his/her makeup usually slips up. In case of borderline pass/fail candidates, this can (and I believe should) be a deciding factor. I know this doesn't cover all potential employees by a long shot, but I think you have to question a training course that's graduated and certified a new teacher who proves to be unreliable in terms of attendance, preparation, or organization.

[Justin Trullinger]

Something I love about Ecuador, in it's glorious lack of a legal system. Employers deal with very little potential comeback for anything they say in a reference.

If I am considering hiring someone who has worked at another academy in Quito, I usually wait till the next Friday, then call their former DOS and suggest a drink...in vino, veritas.

I've found that many former employers, whether here or elsewhere, are more likely to be frank in a conversation than in writing, so if I'm in a quandary, I would tend to phone for a reference.

I've noticed that punctuality is deeply rooted in character and personality. When I've seen teachers come in late, there's always a good reason- personal situation, bad traffic, or whatever. But they always happen to the same teachers. There are others, who live as far a way, in the same city, same traffic, etc, and are NEVER late. If you make the decision that punctuality is a priority, you can always make it on time. Just my opinion.

So what have policies on this been in places you've worked? How do you deal with people who are late or unreliable?

Justin

[basiltherat]

in regards to claims of absence due to illness, personally, when i think absence is unusually frquent or too long, i wud take the person aside and get some details on exactly wats wrong and perhaps ask them to see a doctor of my choice to see wat can be done. in addition, ask the particular teacher what he / she wud suggest we do in order to keep the institution running and the classes covered; in short, try to get him / her to see the problem from the institution's point of view, too. if no ideas are forthcoming or none can be reasonably accepted, i think i'd probably prefer to send them back to their country for medical attention and find a replacement; stressing that if they are sure that their medical condition has been completely dealt with, he / she may like to be re-recruited.
best
basil

[RyanS]

This is why we need a union so you guys cannot do so!

[Justin Trullinger]

So we cannot do what, Ryans? I'm a little confused here. I didn't recommend doing anything reprehensible, did I?

I guess I did recommend trying set a standard for professional behaviour amongst EFL teachers. (Puntuality, reliability, etc) I would think that setting and maintaining a professional standard would be one of the goals of a union that hopes to attain better treatment of it's members.

And I'd be happy to join one, if such a union were around and effective. As it is, I'd say the existing teacher's unions in whatever country you're in would perhaps be a better bet.

Regards,
Justin

[basiltherat]

Hi RyanS

Thanks for yur input. Was concerned that this thread might die. So, wat would you suggest if faced with lengthy and frequent periods of absence and you were responsible for running a training centre at an optimal level both financially and academically ? Clearly its not easy and I have never worked at an institution that has identical approaches to this problem to any other
best
basil

[jr1965]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

At EF, China, my Dos was routinely late (couldn't have been because he was shacking up with a teacher??). This didn't set a good example, and when we had meetings, only I and my two roommates showed up on time. Since we all had to give workshops over the course of our contracts, the three of us always began on time, regardless of whether everyone was there or not.

Also, I don't believe a teacher would've been fired for excessive absences/tardiness, because it costs so much to recruit a new teacher. Maybe most teachers are aware of this, thus having no real motivation to care about being punctual/reliable.

[nolefan]

You have to stop and look at the state of the profession long and hard in order to make a change. One could single out two main sources for the problems:

a- The backpackers/escapees/misfits that teach English as a means to fund their worldwide treck.

b- Qualified teachers that become disillusioned with their schools/job after a few months when they realize that they are just a figurehead or a clown.

[Justin Trullinger]

And two solutions to those problems.

[gaijinalways]

I would say that for classes and teaching, it's a real time service, so unless the staff enjoy apologizing and finding subsitutes on short notice, people that are frequently tardy and don't show without a good reason for missing should be let go. One of my current jobs after 6 years has had me miss classes a handful of times due to; flu, scheduling errors (manager's), and my mistake (once, misread my schedule). I have never been late.

We often get people that are constantly late on days where other people on the same line come on time, we get people that sometimes call in sick on Saturday morning or come in later to work obviously hungover. I would say professionalism is important, and part of it is coming on time when someone is waiting for you (if it is only to do paperwork, that might be excusable). How many jobs do you see that advertise jobs 'come in anytime, whenever' except freelance work (and even that has deadlines)?

[biffinbridge]

There seem to be a lot of different isssues on this thread some of which are less complicated than others.
A good induction can sort a lot of this out.Make it clear from the beginning that lateness etc won't be tolerated.You can also have financial penalties in the contract.
As for absence, it's a much more complicated thing. Sometimes people have problems that come back again and again.I get laryngitis quite a lot,which is a real pain as it destroys the one thing that we need as teachers,ie your voice.You can avoid complications by having a good cover system with duty hours,so that lessons are never cancelled.
If any DOS wanted to dig his nose into my private medical affairs I'd tell him just where to get off.If you have a medical note from a doctor then that makes it all legal in much of the world.
Good workers should be rewarded but hey that's what happens in the real employment world;this is tefl.

[darkside1]

Perhaps I have become spoilt by working again in the public sector, but I believe that a colleague who signals that they will be off for the next day or two and leaves work for his/ her classess is acting professionally. Sure, regular latecoming will trip you up eventually, as will coming in with a hangover on a regular basis- you'll make too many mistakes and will be too lethargic to do much active teaching.

Do the same rules apply to management? In my view management exert a proportionately greater influence on the overall functioning (or not) of a school but unfortunately there seem to be just as many duds as people who inspire you with their drive and enthusiasm to do an effective job. Luckily for me (as no way am I interested in management) there is a route now in the UK that you can earn more money by staying in the classroom (in Scotland it's called the Chartered Teacher programme).