I am currently looking for a new job for the next semester. Most of the schools I know of ask applicants to do demos. I only have one little problem with this. My understanding is that if the FAP were to raid the school while I was doing a demo, I could be in a lot of trouble 
! I know the chances of this happening at the exact moment I happen to be at the school are about the same as being struck by lightning, but lightning does strike. I would like others insight into what would be the best course of action in the unlikely event that it does happen. Forewarned is forearmed. I do think it is best these days to be a little cautious with reagard to these matters. I know the chances of this happening are unlikely, but it is still best to do what you can to be safe.
Better safe than sorry! :marge:
Probably the best course of action is not to do a demo if youâre so concerned, but if you must, scope out the school first. Are there escape routes available if the police come that you could run out? Think about where they are likely to come from and where you could run. If they catch you, donât sign anything you donât understand, even if the school says it will be okay. They do not have your interests at heart, as you will be the one deported and they will pay a fine at worst.
Your caution is right on the money.
Too often we see threads on here that go âHelp, Iâm being deported, I was only doing a demo!â
Unfortunately, your school will probably not understand why you donât want to break the law.
[quote=âboblâ]Your caution is right on the money.
Too often we see threads on here that go âHelp, Iâm being deported, I was only doing a demo!â
Unfortunately, your school will probably not understand why you donât want to break the law.[/quote]
Thatâs it in a nutshell. If you want the job youâll most likely need to do a demo. Catch 22. At least youâre already aware of the possible consequences of this, so all you can really do is minimize the risk to yourself. Most important is that you do not trust ANYTHING the school says in this regard and do not sign ANYTHING the police give you should you get caught, no matter what they say. As superemma noted, they DO NOT have your interests at heart.
Itâs kind of a bummer to know that your boss is dishonest right from the get-go, but its the nature of the game.
Of course, you COULD always tell the school that youâll need to check with the foreign affairs police before you agree to do a demo, but all that would happen then is that the school will say: âThanks. Weâll call you if we need you.â
[quote=âsandmanâ][quote=âboblâ]Your caution is right on the money.
Too often we see threads on here that go âHelp, Iâm being deported, I was only doing a demo!â
Unfortunately, your school will probably not understand why you donât want to break the law.[/quote]
Thatâs it in a nutshell. If you want the job youâll most likely need to do a demo. Catch 22. At least youâre already aware of the possible consequences of this, so all you can really do is minimize the risk to yourself. Most important is that you do not trust ANYTHING the school says in this regard and do not sign ANYTHING the police give you should you get caught, no matter what they say. As superemma noted, they DO NOT have your interests at heart.
Itâs kind of a bummer to know that your boss is dishonest right from the get-go, but its the nature of the game.
Of course, you COULD always tell the school that youâll need to check with the foreign affairs police before you agree to do a demo, but all that would happen then is that the school will say: âThanks. Weâll call you if we need you.â[/quote]
Such is the unfortunate nature of this business. I think the odds are against such a thing happening while I am doing a demo at the school. But with all of the foreigners working in Taiwan it is bound to happen to some unfortunate soul. 
And if you refuse to do a demo, the school will just hire somebody who will. I wonder if there is somebody out there who has a suggestion on refusing to do a demo and still having a chance to get the job.
Actually I think demos are becoming passe anyway. There have been times when teachers have given demos that were outstanding and they turned out to be lousy teachers. :homer: And if you are applying from abroad you likely have less experience than somebody who is already here, yet you do not have to do a demo while teachers who are already here and have proven themselves do! :ohreally:
What an odd game it is!
Whoops! I left the itallics on there! :homer:
Digging into the depths of My Brain⢠I seem to remember that doing a demo in front of students is illegal, coz youâre effectively teaching them. But it might be ok if thereâs no students in the room.
(Any facts from My Brain⢠are not guaranteed and are at userâs risk)
[quote=âBig Fluffy Matthewâ]Digging into the depths of My Brain⢠I seem to remember that doing a demo in front of students is illegal, because youâre effectively teaching them. But it might be ok if thereâs no students in the room.
(Any facts from My Brain⢠are not guaranteed and are at userâs risk)
[/quote]
Is it different for teaching adults?
How would you do a demo with no students? 
[quote=âButtercupâ]Is it different for teaching adults?
How would you do a demo with no students? [/quote]Iâve not idea, but youâll just to, other teachers pretending to be students maybe ? It seems My Brain⢠is right:
taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ ⌠2003215434
If they insist you do a demo with real students theyâre asking you to break the law. Which means theyâll give the job to someone whoâs willing the break the law.
[quote=âButtercupâ][quote=âBig Fluffy Matthewâ]Digging into the depths of My Brain⢠I seem to remember that doing a demo in front of students is illegal, because youâre effectively teaching them. But it might be ok if thereâs no students in the room.
(Any facts from My Brain⢠are not guaranteed and are at userâs risk)
[/quote]
Is it different for teaching adults?
How would you do a demo with no students? [/quote]
You would pitch the lesson at your potential boss.
I once took MrsHill to a demo and taught her.
Iâm against illegal demoâs too.
When I did a demo at Davidâs English School I did the demo for staff members. When I was studying in my education classes in college we often used classmates to play the role of students. It doesnât show much about how you control a class, though. So there are limitations to this approach if the school you are demoing for focuses on young children.
I guess another option is to make a demo video. If you are still teaching you could get permission from your boss. Or, you could invite some local kids over and give them a free 20 minute lesson so that you could tape it yourself.
You could then burn a VCD and use that as part of your application.
According to my friends in education classes the best part was when you got picked to roleplay âthe bad kidâ in the class, but youâre right, this still doesnât equal children. As for the second part, if you want to be strictly technical in legality it sounds an awful lot like unauthorized volunteeringâŚ
You mean giving a free class to some locals to make a demo video? I donât think that would count. I expect for it to count as âillegal volunteeringâ youâd have to be working for an organization or an event that had a structure that you could report to.
Anyone able to give a definite answer to that question?
⌠I expect for it to count as âillegal volunteeringâ youâd have to be working for an organization or an event that had a structure that you could report to.
Anyone able to give a definite answer to that question?[/quote]
Would it matter if someone here could? If I stand on a street corner and start selling onions I bought at a market, Iâm working. Even though Iâm not working for an organisation etcâŚ
I feel the point is âwhat could it look like?â - and against that, definite favourable knowledge of the technicalities might not be helpful unless you have the capacity to force the law to be applied accordingly⌠Perhaps Iâm too cynical⌠And many of the posters here are far more experienced and esteemed than me!
Actually, I hear that technically you canât even be on school premises if you donât have your ARC punched through there. This means you could be in trouble if the school is raided and you arenât doing a demo. :loco:
That probably comes from the people who âjust happened to be at a school for an interviewâ but it turns out that they âjust happened to be alone in a classroom full of kidsâ and then they finally admit that âyeah I was teaching but it was just a demo!â and then when it is pointed out that it doesnât make sense to be demoing if there is no one else in the room observing, it turns out that they were actually subbing for a friend. I really doubt anyone has been deported who wasnât even in a classroom.
You would pitch the lesson at your potential boss.
I once took MrsHill to a demo and taught her.
Iâm against illegal demoâs too.[/quote]
I had an interview in January and I demoed for the bosses. It was actually much harder than with students.
In any event, I hate it when schools here ask anyone to break the law.