Cram school gives too few hours - what are my options?

Maybe 4 then after I left and you leave. But I never taught there so maybe I don’t count :wink: Although I did sell school books, which is another gig that comes up occasionally.
These cram school bosses really take the piss , at the same level as a used car salesman here.
Again I’m left mystified why people move around the world for these jobs.

At OP - situation could work out for eventually if you add more gigs, will take time.

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The breaktime is just a transition of 10 minutes to move between classes, often if classes run long it’s less than that. Toilets in the building are for young kids, and hiding in a room makes me feel more weird than just going to the classroom early. I do believe it is paid time, because the cram school salary calculation was higher than my own…

I appreciate the advice about being assertive with the kids. In a way, both the kids and the cram school owner need to learn they can’t mess with me. :persevere:

A little anecdote from long ago in China, when the young learners ESL was burning me out. I applied for a non teaching job, security guard at a new hotel (i was security as my student job at uni). I didn’t get the job (since i was married to a Chinese, was the syrange reason given), but two week later the head guard let me know that he and all the laowai had been fired. Some people had given up their jobs in their home countries to go there, and then they just got fired. Why? :thinking:

  • Girls showing interest in the handsome guards?
  • Boss hated foreigners and just wanted to screw them over?
  • The grand opening of the hotel had been recorded, and the guards were only really there to provide face?
  • All of the above.

The moral of the story: Teaching ESL fkn sucks donkey balls, yes you are not invested in or properly utilized as an educator, but you are NEEDED. That’s important. :+1:

I got over the hump in China. I will get over this issue as well. Thanks for listening, guys! It can get dull and lonely as FT, so just venting like this is therapeutic lol :joy:

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Stop the kids now. There was a teacher I worked with once. One of the kids hit his arse and he laughed it off. That isn’t polite, Molly. He taught another day and a different kid hit his arse and he laughed it off. They are playing, I don’t want to be the angry teacher, he thought. A different day, he was going home and all the parents were waiting outside for their kids. He suddenly had five kids laughing and trying to hit his arse while parents were left thinking WTF!!!

Luckily, the parents didn’t think he was a weirdo who liked letting kids touch him. However, they did think he was useless because how could he control a class if he couldn’t even stop them hitting his arse?

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The only time I’ve ever seen a parent question the fact that a foreign teacher was allowing children to hit him was a parent from somewhere in Europe (a white woman married to a white man, family in TW temporarily for work) asking ME why the male foreign teacher of her child’s class wasn’t being assertive. She was like “um, is this really allowed in this school?” To which I said “we certainly wouldn’t allow it in our class. Any sort of hitting is strictly addressed immediately in our class, regardless of whether they think it’s ‘playing’ or not”. Yet this parent’s hands were tied — her child was having enough trouble integrating, being a blonde haired, blue eyed girl who didn’t really speak English, let alone Chinese, in a fake international school filled with monolingual in Chinese Taiwanese rich kids. What was she going to do? Move her child to another fake international school with more foreign teachers that don’t have the faintest idea of the existence of, let alone how to address child behavior problems?

But this really is a problem with TW culture. Foreign teachers are supposed to be “fun”. All behavior is supposed to be addressed by the Chinese-speaking teacher. The foreigner taking responsibility for inappropriate behavior is the foreigner taking away the fun that the children are supposed to have by being there. In every job but the last two I’ve had, I’ve been simultaneously told to ‘figure out how’ to address behavior issues while also being told ‘not to be strict’ with the kids. So the cycle continues.

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And when you’re the only foreign teacher in a Jr. High, their previous experience with a foreigner is very likely the fun and games stooge. Makes for a lot of “WTF is this shit?” from kids when I’ve tried to introduce things outside of the Pat and Jack books they’re studying in regular class.

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Hello again guys, gals,

I’ll just post a follow up here, of basically my ongoing disaster saga with the buxiban in Miaoli.

Because of a relationship, I want to move to the Taoyuan/Zhongli area in the future. I’m thinking how do I best go about finding a suitable job.

My current contract is fairly simple, it mentions “costs derived from cancellation of work permit” and refers to Taiwanese labor laws. Is it safe to move to a new employer before my contract ends? Or is it so complicated that I might have to think about finishing the year, before starting a new job?

I want to actually try out a school before I sign up next time. There’s so many things I assume are a given, that surprisingly aren’t. Like office time to prepare lessons, WiFi and printer access, supportive teaching environment, access to teaching guides, good communication, reliable work hours, and so on.

Does a 30-day probation period in a contract work both ways, that I can also reject a school? I’m sure there’s decent jobs out there, and until I’m confident I’m in one, I can’t properly teach coz I’m stressed and not given the tools I need.

How would I best go about applying to schools in Taoyuan/Zhongli area? Can they be found on Google (Maps)?

I have plenty of emails from recruiters, but I’m not sure if they’ll be helpful or disruptive. I really need to be sure it’s a good school, no upselling, pressure, etc.

I’ve been in Taiwan a few months now, so I’m more confident and less rushed to accept any job, like when I came off the plane last January. :joy:

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My rule number one in accepting a job in TW: assume anything not explicitly mentioned in your contract does not exist. If “prep hours” are not mentioned in the contract but there are obvious points in the schedule where you will not be running classes, unless they say “prep hours are during xx class time in yy room”, assume you will be responsible for the class in some way during what you thought was prep. If they do not say in your contract “the school will provide you with a laptop and Wi-Fi and printer access”, assume they do expect you to use your own computer and hotspot and print things on your own dime. If they do not say in your contract that you are allowed to drink water or have a snack in the hallway between classes, assume someone will attack everything about you and your character one day for daring to disobey this obvious rule. Etc.

Tldr: make sure EVERYTHING you need and expect to need is IN THE CONTRACT.

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That area advertises a lot for teachers. Taoyuen is generally a bit of a dump unless you’re into industrial things or plane spotting.

Yeah a few nice mountains but generally pretty ugly with bad air. The good side for you is that it has a high population density with a lot of high paid workers who want native English speakers to teach their kids English.
If you’re free and single there are some other places that are very beautiful to work at like in Hua Lian etc.

Outside of Taipei teachers are in demand , you should get compensated for working in Taoyuen. :rofl:

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My GF works at a semiconductor factory there, and we want to live together in the future. Agree it’s busy and aesthetically unappealing, but there’s a lot more amenities there too.

It’s great to hear that there’s work there. Sadly Google Maps only shows the big public schools, so I’ll have to physically search for buxiban schools in the area.

I don’t have open work rights, so I need to make sure the school is safe to work at.

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Taoyuan is okay, its more about your own setup, your job, your house is it comfortable, your relationship.

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Yeah, this is definitely a good point. When I was discussing my contract to work at a cram school years ago,I noticed one line that stated I’d be expected to come to work several times a year and not get paid. So, I asked them what they meant with “several times a year”. How many hours? They wouldn’t/couldn’t give an answer. So, finally I said to them, “look when I’m not here, you don’t pay right? Right! So, when I’m here, you pay me. Very simple.” They were in a bind and needed me more than I needed them so they quickly crossed that out. Fast forward and looking back over the years, those “several times a year” turned out to be 25 to 30 hours. That was a shit load of hours every year that they were trying to squeeze out of me. Instead, I got paid for every single one of them.

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As others here mentioned, get a network of other foreigners and find out what they are doing. Most useful resource.

In addition, before signing a contract, take it home, think it through, and make the changes on it that will benefit you. Then return upon appointment and negotiate. Although it may seem daunting to some, you will certainly get a better feel for how business is done on the ROC that you can carry with you throughout your career, refining and closer honing to perfection each time you step to that table. :beers:

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Also just because they claim it ‘refers to Taiwan labour laws’ doesn’t make it legal. It’s most likely an illegal condition and they’re just pretending it follows the law to scare you into submission.

They can’t dock your pay. You must be paid for all hours worked. If they want to take money from you, you either give it up willingly or they sue you. And they won’t sue you cos it’s too expensive and troublesome.
If they under pay you or dock your pay, take them to the labour bureau and you’ll get your money pretty quickly. Plenty of people on here have done it.

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My guaranteed minimum hours are actually not that high. In the beginning I thought that would have advantages. I can only rely on about 30k income. I was promised it was a full time job, but they’ve been underdelivering work hours from the start. Nevertheless on paper they are not in breach of agreement. It’s keeping me bound to them but unable to work full time.

I don’t have a motorbike or even a bike yet, so I’m mostly walking or using the train. That’s why a full time job at a single school is my best option right now. Buy in a busy place like Taoyuan, I could probably walk to multiple schools.

I think I need to quit the job, because I can’t search properly for a better job in Taoyuan if I’m stuck in Miaoli five days a week. This month they have drastically reduced my hours (I will likely earn less than my filipina OFW GF), and I think next payday is the right time to confront them and ask for a letter of release.

What’s a valid grounds to quit if they refuse to give a letter of release?