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jwbhomer
Joined: 14 Dec 2003
Posts: 876
Location: CANADA
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 Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:11 pm Post subject: ESL teacher heaven |
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An English teacher was visited by angels and told what teacher heaven would be like when he dies. Lots of harps and people sitting around on fluffy clouds.
The teacher finally dies, gets to the pearly gates, and all he finds is people gnashing their teeth in hell, lots of flames and brimstone. He finds the head angel he spoke to, and insists he was promised x, y and z when he died.
The head angel says, "Yesterday before you died you were a recruit...Today you are staff." |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:54 pm Post subject: Re: ESL teacher heaven |
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| jwbhomer wrote: |
| "Yesterday before you died you were a recruit...Today you are staff." |
Sounds exactly like the last job I took - and the last job I will ever take . . . But, I confess - it was an editor position and not a TEFL job. |
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John Hall
Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Posts: 452
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
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| Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 3:51 pm Post subject: Re: ESL teacher heaven |
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| jwbhomer wrote: |
| The teacher finally dies, gets to the pearly gates, and all he finds is people gnashing their teeth in hell, lots of flames and brimstone. He finds the head angel he spoke to, and insists he was promised x, y and z when he died. |
That's to be expected when you accept employment from people that you don't know. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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I try so hard to tell the newbies headed to Europe that you can't land the best jobs from abroad!  |
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John Hall
Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Posts: 452
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
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| Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Same situation here in Costa Rica! |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
| I try so hard to tell the newbies headed to Europe that you can't land the best jobs from abroad! |
Generally speaking this is true for language school jobs.
But for some of the very best jobs - many universities and upper tier international schools, they DO tend to hire from overseas rather than locally, and getting hired locally often gets you far worse contractual terms than being hired from abroad.
I'll hedge that and say that I believe it to be true for many countries, but I certainly can't say for all!
Yes though, at entry and mid-level, TEFL jobs are best sought locally.
It is a daunting task for the newbie though, some who have never even been out of their home country, to consider heading across the world to a country where they don't know the language - or even their way around - to hunt down a job AND to have even the slightest inkling, while in the midst of culture shock, of how to sort out a dodgy school from a decent one.
I don't have a solution, just the observation. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:51 am Post subject: |
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In my experience, you're right, tedkarma, about specialist positions being obtainable (at least sometimes) from abroad.
But newbies starting out in private language schools are better off to take risk and go there. That's one of the great advantages of taking your cert course in the country where you want to start...
But the thread's about heaven, right? |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
| That's one of the great advantages of taking your cert course in the country where you want to start... |
Absolutely true. |
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Teejay
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 59
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:57 am Post subject: Re: ESL teacher heaven |
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| jwbhomer wrote: |
An English teacher was visited by angels and told what teacher heaven would be like when he dies. Lots of harps and people sitting around on fluffy clouds.
The teacher finally dies, gets to the pearly gates, and all he finds is people gnashing their teeth in hell, lots of flames and brimstone. He finds the head angel he spoke to, and insists he was promised x, y and z when he died.
The head angel says, "Yesterday before you died you were a recruit...Today you are staff." |
This is scary. I plan to teach overseas after the CELTA course. How would I know if the employers are committed to their promises? |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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If you take your CELTA in the country where you want to start working (and where you can do so legally!  ) the contacts you make while on the course can be invaluable in helping you find reputable language schools. |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
| If you take your CELTA in the country where you want to start working (and where you can do so legally! ) the contacts you make while on the course can be invaluable in helping you find reputable language schools. |
Spot on.
When I was doing teacher training - most of the teacher trainers had worked in the country for years - and often as much as half the trainees had worked in the country for at least a few months - the collective knowledge of the good and bad schools was truly a great resource.
Once a trainer has taught for a few years and met a few hundred trainees about half of whom had taught for a while (and communicates with the other trainers) - you get a very good database in your head of where to send graduates and what places they should avoid.
You just won't get that kind of knowledge base anywhere else. Certainly not in America or the UK. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| You just won't get that kind of knowledge base anywhere else. Certainly not in America or the UK. |
Very true...and that database isn't just in one's head. A good course provider will have solid and up-to-date information on good and bad schools in their region, and maintain that database with constant communication and research.
Some online resources are hard-working in this respect too. One I read often is TEFL Watch at www.teflwatch.org though it's mostly focused on Thailand it seems. |
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