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]

[MELEE]

Leaving early and leaving the school in a lurch are two different things.
If you come and tell me, look, I just can't adust here and the thought of staying through to the end of my contract is hell. I will understand. I live and work in an enviroment that is not for everyone--though I try my darnest to make that clear before you arrive!!! It usually takes at least 4 weeks to get a replacement, because we are off the beaten path and don't have applicants just popping in. And it seems that when you know you only have to stick it out 4 more weeks, rather than 4 more months, then you tend to feel a sense of relief and can almost enjoy those last few weeks. If you slip a note under my office door and leave in the night (this has happened) or just slip out of town without telling anyone (this has also happened) that is wrong. Like others have said, you've screwed the students more than you've screwed me. And in our case you've also screwed yourself because Mexican law requires we give a fairly generous payout of unused benefits when you leave.

Of course other things also come up. One teacher's father had a heart attack two weeks after she arrived. We also had one teacher arrive unaware of the fact that she was newly pregnant! Another went home for her sister's wedding and meet the love of her life at the reception. She came back to work for six weeks, then went off to marry him!

Actually we offer an intial six month contract just to give both sides an easy out if the teacher is not working out. If both parties are happy, it is automatically renewed another six months. At the end of the year, if both parties are still happy, you are recommended for tenure.

[Wasabi Bomb]

I think it's certainly ok to break a contract if the employer already has. But oftentimes, the employer doesn't break the contract but simply treats their teachers with no respect, as though they are a product being sold rather than a human being who has valuable experience and ideas. The biggest chain school in Japan is like that (am I allowed to type "NOVA" here?) so teachers break their contracts left, right, and center. It kind of screws the students over, but hopefully if the students have any brains they will put pressure on the company to improve the quality of service. That requires the company to fight teacher turnover by improving working conditions and the company culture.

But I would be very hesitant to break a contract if I were going to look for a new job in a place where my previous employer was not well-known, because I would be assumed to be in the wrong. If however, you apply to a company that knows your previous employer is shady, you may be able to justify your early departure. I know several people who broke their contracts at Nova in Japan and then were hired by my current company (ECC).

[Gordon]

[ls650]

When I taught in Asia, the school was known for making things VERY difficult for teachers who left early. Midnight runs were done simply to avoid being shafted by the school management.

When I worked there, I had had enough after about 8 or 9 months and felt like leaving, but I also needed my plane fare reimbursement and wanted to be able to use the school as a reference, so I toughed it out those last few months.

[stillnosheep]

Teachers have no moral duty to remain with a bad employer. If the employer cared about the students they would treat their teachers better so that they stayed longer, thus ensuring more continuity for their students.

The teacher's contract is with the employer. The employer has contracts with the students. If more teacher's left bad employers sooner then those employers would be forced either to improve or to have to face their customers and explain why they were unable to hang on to good teachers.

Employers have no qualms about getting rid of teachers. Neither should teachers have qualms about leaving unsatisfactory employers.

[dolmie]

Sure, but teachers don't only leave crappy schools, teachers leave students. Some teachers walk out of kindergarten classes and high school classes, or classes with business people with specific learning targets. Sorry, mate, morality in education starts with us... There are some acceptable reasons for walking out of a gig, but who picks up the slack--your other downtrodden colleagues?
A job action is one thing, a strike, standing up for oneself are all necessary, but for career teachers, there has to be a dignity to the profession--there are reasons for that, and good ones.