Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

Hi all. I read so much advice here being given to newbies asking questions about this job or that and they seem to get all sorts of advice (some good, some not so good), that I thought it would be interesting to find out where all this experience comes from. We are past the end of our most recent contract and some of us will stay on with our current gig (like me) while others will be moving on to what they hope will be greener pastures. So let's hear about your most recent job and what you liked (or didn't like) about it:

My school day starts at 8:35 AM but I generally try to get there about 45 minutes before to work on grading and making sure I have all my materials I'll need for the day. Teachers are asked to be in their classrooms about 15-20 minutes before their first class. Most in our department have first period but sometimes the kids are off to music class or PE so the teacher gets a break that day. I teach 3 periods on Monday and 4 periods the rest of the week - 40 minutes each day. 3 out of the 5 days have my periods back to back to back (all in the morning, before lunch) with 10 minutes between each class. However, I teach in the same classroom so I'm not rushing here and there trying to make it in 10 minutes. At one point in the morning, there is an exercise and eye exercise break, so I get 20 minutes between two of my classes. I, like all of the teachers, are required to stay in the classroom after lunchtime, before the first afternoon class - - from about 12:30 to 1:20. This gives me the opportunity to work one-on-one with students or call them to my desk when I have questions about their work. If I have no afternoon classes, I'm free to go at 1:20. Sometimes I'll have the first class in the afternoon, which ends at 2:00 - - then I'm usually gone by 2:30.

The classes are small, no more than 25 students and since we have a lot of international students, some will leave throughout the school year based on parents' job situation. I had 22 students this year. I think about 15 of those I've taught since 1st grade. I teach Math, Language Arts, Science, World Geography, and an occasional art project thrown in there. Next year I'll pick up a computer class. Just general ed. stuff, primary. It's a good gig, the hours are just right, the workload is not too tough, I have my own classroom, my own computer with internet in the classroom, my own desk, storage space, plenty of Math and Science tools and other resources, and the pay and benefits are great. Not to say that everything is always perfect, but it's about 80/20 in terms of good/bad - - and that's not TOO bad!!

I get frustrated at last minute schedule changes (or maybe not last minute, maybe just haven't been told), lazy students that get passed on from year to year because their parents are "VIP"s, my Chinese co-teacher (sometimes), and other, really, minor things that crop up from time to time. Otherwise I'm generally happy. The school pays for a nice off-campus apartment for me, right across the street - all utilities paid as well. And I guess that's it. Hope to hear from more of you about your job.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

A typical day:

I get into work at 4:40 and begin immediately. The class is usually full-- about 35 students.

The book is already opened to the lesson I have to do, and I tell the students to get a pen and their notebook.

Then I write a word on the white board and have the kids write it ten times, reading it as they write.

After about 5-8 words, I check to see if they remembered the words. If they have, I continue on. If not, we do it all over again until they are memorized.

Then I write the passage on the white board and have them read it. Then I erase some of the words, and have them read it again, and in full.

This is continued until they memorize the entire story.

Students who speak out or play, talk, mess around, get sent to the boss. The boss punishes them with a long rubber stick to the hand.

I do this from 4:40pm until 8:40pm and then go home.

Weekends, it's from 1 pm until 5 pm and then 6 pm until 8 pm.

No mornings for me...

This is what the boss wants, and I teach according to how the boss instructs. No flexibility, no happy children, no smiles.

but the pay is very good.

[johntpartee]

[Yes, Ma'am]

Sounds nice Kev.

[nickpellatt]

TGWOW - That sounds horrendous!

Anyway. My last job was in a private language college/training centre. I chose this job because of the location, because of small class sizes, and I wanted to teach adults. I also had a close friend who had worked there and so I knew that the employer paid on time and as promised, and FT's had nothing to fear or worry about in terms of contracts, students and hours etc.

All contracts are offered with a choice of hours, 15 or 25 per week. I had 15.

My typical day involved a ten minute walk from the provided apartment to school, for a class starting at 10.20. This would be a lower-int class of 6 adults, and I would teach from Face 2 Face, New Interchange or a Guardian Weekly lesson. Generally, the lesson centred on oral activities.

This lesson would finish at 12.00, and I would have lunch at school which meant sharing a table and a selection of 7 dishes with 6 adult students. This was my choice and not a contracted obligation.

Afternoon class (in the summer) begins at 15.00, and I would then have another 90 min lesson, this time with an upper int class, and I would teach from similar material, graded to ability. That lesson finishes at 16.40.

Teaching schedule was lesson 1 (08.30-10.10) 2 (10.20-12.00) 3 (15.00-16.40). Actual schedule was sent out each friday and rotated each week. Taking a 15 hours per week option would always be two lessons per day, and generally the schedule would allow 2 afternoons off per week when timetabled to teach lesson 1 and 2. I have written a typical day as based on lesson 2 and 3, but of course, it was just as likely to be 1 and 2, or 1 and 3.

Things I liked

Adult students, small motivated classes
Light workload
No evenings or weekends
No office hours
Excellent communication with Edu Dept regarding holidays, schedules etc
Good social program (optional activities)
Lots of contact hours with same group of students (also a bad thing sometimes)

Things I didnt like

Absence of long, paid holidays
5 x 90 min lessons a week with same students means a continual search for materials.
No set syllabus to follow which means it can take a while to find the right teaching groove and material
Standard of teaching from other FT's can be frustrating (classes are shared in teams of 3 teachers so it can affect students and classes)

[tin man]

I feel sorry for the sad children in class. I have never been to China and have an offer to teach at a uni. Certainly something can be done to cheer up the situation.

[Lobster]

A Middle School I taught at this year proudly displayed the motto, "Three Years of Suffering for a Better Future." That's the spirit!

Now I teach 4 days a week, about 4 hours per day. All adult classes. I drive over on my scooter, which takes about 10 minutes. Grab a coffee at SBUX and watch the girls go by. Show up in the classroom 10 minutes before class starts. The room's generally packed. The book is good for about 15-20 minutes, then I start using my own materials.

Likes: nice students; pay on time; friendly office staff; freedom to do my own thing; close to home; no office hours

Dislikes: the inevitable last-minute schedule changes; so-so pay; complete lack of academic planning or organization; crappy text; poor assessment methods; drop-in format

After the highly-organized and set structure I worked under last year, this is quite a switch, and sometimes I find it hard to take it seriously. Still, I see my students making good progress and am satisfied. I'm paying the bills and not working very hard. I'll probably stay another year and see if things shape up a bit. I really enjoy materials design and trying new things, so although I eat up a lot of prep time, I still accumulate things I can use over and over.

RED