I’m facing the looming threat of a job change and I’m considering (under protest) to go into teaching again. I really don’t want to do cram schools again, so I’m considering the title. I have lots of questions and I’m wordy, so I’ll keep it short at the top and add an * if I have too much extra to add. Sorry if any of it’s confused or weird; I’m writing a little here and there over days. I’m trying to ask all potential questions in one thread to avoid annoying anyone with follow-up questions, so apologies for the length. I’ve read every thread on public/private school teaching for the past five years, so I’ll try to keep this to any information not covered and maybe it will help someone else in the future.
Me: American, APRC, 15 years cram school experience + 3.5 years planning and writing ESL material, BA History/Poli-Sci, minor in English, Masters in an unrelated vocational field*, substitute teaching license
No TEFL/TESOL certificate.*
- When is the right time to apply?
- A small number of schools in TP/NTP are hiring now, but most are over an hour from where I live. I don’t want to wait too late, but I don’t want to take a less-good job if it’s too early.
- Teach Taiwan recruits for public schools in NTP, but I’m having trouble finding information about looking for a job in Taipei other than at those schools that post their own ads. I thought Taipei had it’s own program, or do they recruit through the nationwide TFETP?
I also found the link below which is where jobs are posted, but I don’t see any information about how to apply or if there are openings for foreign English teachers, just English teachers.
https://personnel.k12ea.gov.tw/tsn/index/JobTShow.aspx?f=FUN201003161118253V1 - If I want to work in TP/NTP, is it better to apply directly to a school or through a program like Teach Taiwan, TFETP, or other?
- Any tips on applying/interviewing?
- Public School and Registered Private Schools including international schools*
- I’m lost on whether sub licenses are accepted post 2020 for public schools. It seems like sometimes they were, but now? In Taipei? Through the TFETP program? Only in the countryside?
- Other threads have suggested that private schools are more stressful, but how? More pressure about how students perform? Too much oversight/micromanagement? Extra work/BS? Are they like cram school classes or like typical subject classes. I’ve seen some hiring for math, history, etc. Do you have to teach more than one subject?*
- For public and private, I’ve seen that both may require teachers to oversee “clubs”. Some are said to be “extracurricular”. Does this mean they are after the end of the school day, 4 or 5pm? What sort of clubs are they and what are the teachers responsibilities?
- How bad is the situation generally for after hours or weekend forced labor, either for PD, events, or other things? Do teachers have to do a lot of work at home?
- What’s the difference in terms of time spent lesson planning, grading, or other admin? How much time do you have for planning/grading in public vs. private? @nz warned about some schools expecting you to be teaching or doing extra work 40hr/wk. I don’t fancy planning 24 classes per week at home.
- I understand at some public schools there are shortish summer/winter programs and otherwise you sit in an empty room and sleep. Are private schools more likely to have them for the entire period, and for longer? Are the camps hard to plan for and/or basically shit? At every cram school, they were basically shit and I hated those classes the most.
- For public schools or crappier private ones, what’s it like dealing with the administration if you need a day off or something? Usually someone somewhere speaks English?
- Air-conditioning? Is this really a big problem, public and private? I sweat like a pig. It’s a serious problem, especially if I’m moving.
- Elementary vs. Middle vs. High School, which sucks least?
- Almost all of my experience is with elementary kids, but I prefer teaching more advanced levels. Are middle/high school students either not very advanced or too undisciplined?
- Are private elementary schools more common the middle and high schools? Seems odd that I find so many more of those.
- Dignity and Existential Angst
- AT ANY POINT, MIGHT I BE ASKED TO WEAR A COSTUME?
- I don’t care if the staff ignores me, I don’t care if the students are checked out (or I do, but I can handle it). I just don’t want to be treated like a cram school teacher (DANCE, MONKEY!) ever again. One gets to an age where being told to dress like an elf makes one feel like a living joke. I get the impression public schools barely notice you, which is fine. Private schools, I’m not sure about.
- Do public schools want to trot out the foreign oddball for special events? I get that private schools will.
- Contracts, bonuses, and airfare
- After reading the other threads, I’m confused about the contract completion bonus. Some schools seem to want to hire on an 11 month contract*, but wanting you to sign another 11 month contract with a possible bonus, though going one month without pay. If it’s 11 months, would that mean no bonus? Is there anything else a school (likely private) might do to avoid paying a bonus. Do registered private schools even give bonuses like the public schools or is it up to them?
- If I’m hired within Taiwan, do I get airfare? Do I actually have to go somewhere, or is it like a stipend? I haven’t left the country in 8 years, but I’ll go if it’s free to avoid losing the money. Is this something public schools do but private schools may not?
- Are public and private schools required to pay into the national pension for you? I don’t mean any teacher-specific pension, but the one that the companies pay into for citizens and APRC holders, 3% of your salary.
- Anything else to look out for in a contract, like penalties?
- English Village
- Is this still a thing? I’ve heard it’s awful. There’s a school that is hiring for what looks like an all EV job which other schools take classes to, so I’m hoping individual schools don’t do it anymore.
- Kang Chiao, Xindian
- I’ve read all the threads and online reviews. I know it has a bad reputation among teachers, but I’m willing to at least consider anything at this stage. Is it bad compared to other private schools, or just equally bad? Are their standards for teachers as high as they ask for? I might convince myself to take a job there if I could teach history or social studies, but not more cram school type classes. But my qualifications are as I said above.
Less important, self-indulgent ramblings:
*Me: The masters is maybe classified as vocational. It’s from a regionally accredited uni and was enough to get me a work permit for a non-teaching job that required either a masters or 2 years experience, which I didn’t have.
I’ve seen schools give higher pay to those with a masters. I’m hoping this will do the job as the salary for a BA alone may not be worth it.
A TEFL certificate seems easy to get online, a CELTA equivalent, but one requirement for non-certified teachers is that it be not fully online and from an accredited university.
*1. I’m not very confident about getting a job and wondering if I should just stick on a clown suit and go back to cram school if a non-teaching job doesn’t open up in time. I’ve haven’t not been offered any job I’ve gotten an interview at for over ten years, but this is all new and I feel I have lesser qualifications than many. I don’t see any cram school jobs offering full-time work at a salary that comes close to what I make now.
*2.
Any guess what my odds are to get a public school job in TP or NTP near TP with or without a sub-license, but with a masters (though not in English or Education)? Public FET jobs seem mostly to be in small cities or the country. I don’t love TP, but I’ve got too much stuff to move and a good and low rent apartment. And I don’t want to live in the country.
I think I’d like to teach a subject like history or social studies in a CLIL type environment. But how much control do you have over the lesson? I hated cram school classes that were too rigid or used crappy material for this type of lesson.
*5. I have an open work permit, so the length of the contract isn’t an issue in that sense.
If you read this far, wow, you were bored. I’m sure no one has all the answers, but at this point, filling in a few blanks would help a lot with making the right decision. This isn’t something I would likely consider, but with my current job becoming unstable and my family growing, I need both a job and more money. Even if another job in the same or similar industry came open in time, it will pay less as much or less. Looking at how much money teaching make, especially in public schools, it might be worth the headaches and extra work.
