Job Discussion Forums

[AussieDave]

Hey,
been working for a school here in Krakow since september. It has been an enjoyable experience for the most part but was just wanting to compare
procedures of my school with others....
-we have monthly 'mandatory' meetings to discuss issues - basically stuff that could be emailed to us
-end of term procedures include full evaluations of every student (is this the same at other schools?)

[bje]

I've never worked at a language school, college or university where such procedures were not standard, although that's not to say they're universal.

In my current organisation there are weekly meetings. Student-teacher evaluations occur every semester- again, standard practice. I fail to see any particular problem or inconvenience stemming from either.

[ayahyaha]

If your school is reputable (e.g. long-standing business, legal) you'll probably have to deal with meetings and evaluations. It is usually part of working for a "nicer" school. But then, you probably have a resource library, a computer or two to work on, a copy machine, etc.

These extra duties are slightly irritating, especially when they feel like a time-suck (and are basically unpaid time spent), but they are generally a trade-off for job security and teacher support, in my opinion.

If you are working for a school that is a) slightly dodgy and/or b) of average or below quality, you probably won't have to deal with these things.

But then, you might have heaps of other problems, such as getting paid, tax deductions, job security, general teacher support, and so on.

[scottie1113]

I do these at my school in Gdansk. We have occasional meetings to discuss relevant issues pertinent to all teachers, and these are followed by a workshop conducted by one of our teachers. Our DOS doesn't waste our time, and the workshops are great for personal development. I enjoy them and have learned a lot from them.

It's the end of the semester for most classes at my school. We prepare certificates for the students-for them its a tangible symbol of their achievement and consequently very important to them- and we do 1:1 tutorials with students to discuss why they were rated in every area. It's a frank discussion of how the semester went and where they think they need to improve and what I should do to help them improve.

Interestingly enough, so far every student has told me the same areas where I thought they needed to do more. Students appreciate this, and I appreciate their feedback. It's valuable for all of us.

Unpaid work? I'm on a contract and it's part of the job. My students expect this sort of thing, and I owe it to them. I don't take myself very seriously, but I take what I do very seriously. All the other native and non-native speakers at my school look at this in the same way, which is part of the reason my school has such a good reputation here.