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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2014 3:53:52 GMT
The Slavery of Teaching EnglishI ran across this story in the Independent when I was trying to track down some people from an English school in Rome I taught at eons ago. Even though the article is ten years old, it brought back all of the insecurities I had when I was alone and vulnerable in a foreign country. I wonder if the circumstances have changed very much; I think that, if anything, they've gotten worse.
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Post by bjd on Jul 31, 2014 6:55:16 GMT
I just posted your link on TT where there are several regular posters who teach English in Italy.
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Post by htmb on Jul 31, 2014 10:30:36 GMT
Can't imagine how they could have gotten much worse than that portrayed in the article. Pretty dismal.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2014 11:34:40 GMT
That's exactly what the conditions were when I taught English in France for a couple years about 40 years ago. It was basically considered to be an emergency job until you found something better. Quite a few expat wives also did it out of boredom. They did not care how much they earned or how few hours they were given. They would always represent about 50% of the staff and we hated them because they were automatically against any employee action to get better working conditions.
I have the oddest story about that time of life when I might have done something that could have changed the world. Definitely "a road not taken."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2014 15:07:04 GMT
I only worked there for six months, and it definitely was miserable. Yes, we may have only taught for 6 to 8 hours a day, but they were spaced out all over the place. We'd teach for two hours in Frascati, then you'd have to walk down to ESRIN (European Space Research Institute) or ENEA (National Agency for Atomic Energy) for a one hour class, then teach little kids back in Frascati for an hour, then take the train into Rome for evening classes, so you'd end up with a 14 hour day. I worked for hustlers and con artists who duped us out of money and, although a woman ran the school, the women teachers (of which I was one of two) were treated appallingly. I had a fantastic time, nonetheless. I lived in Frascati in a 19th c villa with a fountain and a lime tree in the courtyard off my bedroom, and I was in Italy! Who knows, I might still be there now if it wasn't for the fact that I caught glandular fever (mononucleosis) and had to fly back to Canada.  And, of course Kerouac, you must tell us what might have changed the world! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2014 17:37:32 GMT
I had hours scattered all over the schedule, often starting at 8am for an hour or two and then nothing until noon for maybe one hour and then perhaps 3 hours starting at 4pm -- and of course completely different schedules every day. I remember that twice a week I had to go to Porte d'Orléans and take a bus from there for about 75 minutes for two hours of courses in a farm machinery company. And of course 75 minutes back, but luckily I quickly found a student who lived in Paris and who would drive me back to the city at the end of his working day.
Okay, here is how I could have changed the world. The language school that I was working for signed a contract with the government of Iraq to teach English to the government ministers. I was chosen as the person they wanted to send, and I was ready to go. But everything was extremely chaotic, and I remember spending 3 days in the Iraqi embassy in Paris waiting for... nothing. But people would come into this giant gilded salon where I was waiting to bring me tea and biscuits from time to time. On the third day, the miracle happened, and my passport was given to me with an Iraqi visa "exempt of fees."
I was feeling uncomfortable with so much uncertainty. I filed all my waiting time at the embassy as "class hours" and this was accepted, but I still had no idea exactly of what day I was supposed to leave other than the fact that it was imminent. Naturally, I was well aware at the time (1976) that this was a tricky part of the world where anything could happen. I asked for a repatriation guarantee in case something happened and also I wanted to know what provisions had been taken for health coverage. I was told "You have your plane ticket to come back!" I was fired the next day. One of my students would have been Saddam Hussein, so who knows what weird ideas I might have put in his head? Back then he was just Foreign Minister or some such.
Just to wrap this up, I sued my employer and won something like six months of salary and all legal fees. I also heard that the person who was recruited to replace me fell seriously ill in Iraq and barely made it back to France.
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Post by htmb on Jul 31, 2014 18:39:47 GMT
What were the initial reasons they gave for firing you?
Good for you for suing, and winning. Not many young people your age, back during that time, would have followed through with such a thing, I don't think.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2014 19:08:40 GMT
That is an amazing story. Who knows, you could have ended up with a gilded apartment of your own. And good on you for suing, I never would have, but then again, I think France would be a little more amenable, seeing you're a French national. I was a Canadian working illegally for a British company in Italy. My students at the big companies were all forced to take the classes, regardless of their language proficiency, and many were bored and surly. The homework was mind-numbing to correct, but sometimes fun: Q: Is there an ashtray on the table? A: No, but there is a dangling participle. (?!) Q: Are you married? A: No. I have a girl in every port. One of the teachers taught at Johnson and Johnson and got as much baby shampoo as he could carry, but he was driven home from the far-flung class by an employee who wanted to share the extensive transexual porn that he stored in his car.  My favourite student was Sister Nuncia, who was in her sixties and was one English lesson ahead of her elementary school students. I always gave her extra help. I loved to hear her go through the verb conjugation tables. She'd close her eyes and clasp her hands and it sounded like she was praying. |
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Post by lagatta on Jul 31, 2014 19:40:59 GMT
Those are great stories. Of course, I've done it too (and also taught FSL to anglos). Remember being scolded for not being "professionally attired", as if I could afford a lawyer's wardrobe on our paltry pay.
I did meet some very interesting people though. Have sent this to a couple of colleagues. If they can find work at a Cégep (community college) or university, then they can survive, even if it is irregular.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2014 6:17:17 GMT
What were the initial reasons they gave for firing you? Good for you for suing, and winning. Not many young people your age, back during that time, would have followed through with such a thing, I don't think. They claimed that I had resigned. If I had listened to all of the people I knew back then, I would never have sued, because it's true -- just about everybody is terrified of the legal system and they have wild visions of the terrible conséquences of losing. |
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