Ive been teaching English in China since 2003. I came here with university teaching experience in the U.S. While I enjoy teaching English to Chinese students (most days), Ive had numerous problems with school administrators or training school managers. I try my best these days not to sign contracts. This is only possible for me because I have taught in one city mainly, and I have a high reputation with students. I have quit a number of jobs (contract or no contract) not because of a better opportunity but due to intolerable working conditions which I have discussed ad nauseam with school leaders prior to my departure.

Last year, after a brief return to the U.S., I made the grave mistake of accepting a position in a very different area of China (for reasons Ill spare you) at a public school. I thought I had asked all the right questions (by phone from the U.S.) -- even talking at length with the foreign teacher currently working there. However, the realities of the job, the dwelling, the classes, the small city, etc. were far from what I had expected.

The man who had hired me (whom the students felt had cheated them and their parents with guarantees of future study abroad) and the foreign teacher (who had his own agenda) had both greatly misled me about the real situation. After five weeks of serious problems with the apartment, problems with previously-agreed upon reimbursements, student load, etc., I decided to get the hell outta there! I did my first (and only, to date) runner and I dont regret it for a second!

It was obvious that nothing was going to improve there, and that remaining in such a bad situation would only be a test of my endurance and tolerance for exploitation. Sometimes running is our only option for survival (on several levels). I agree with some previous posters that argue the loyalty issue is ridiculous, because the very people that demand you be loyal are the ones who would likely be the first to jump ship for something else.

In fact, I tried to meet with the true headmaster of the school to discuss the situation, but he would not meet with me. I found out later that he was taking bribes from the guy who was charging each of my students 4000RMB to be in my classes (one class had 66 students, another had 72, and another had 78!)

Also, when I have left jobs in the past, I find that my students are usually very forgiving and supportive (from email messages I have received after departure). They often understand quite well problems we are facing with unscrupulous bosses because they have been victimized by these people as well.

Nice post, Bob. I think this guy fish referred to a deer in his previous post, and I have to say I fit that metaphor. See, deer don't just wander from patch of grass to a supposedly greener patch, they sometimes run for their lives. I see TESOL teachers as the fleeing deer. Flee when you have to, sure.

The question is would I apply at your school in the first place? It depends on the ages of your learners/"customers".

I'll say I agree 100% with you when you say that any lame-### thieves taking advantage of a school director like that should be brought to justice. Like you, I hope those dolts you speak of in your post do get taken down at the airport.

But what about the dolt directors who've reamed teachers? Do they get busted somewhere? They should. If I found myself working for one of these cats (and I HAVE), I'd definitely do a runner on his ### (and I DID). I wouldn't steal from him outright, I'd just disappear into the night (just like I did).

Also, if I'm dissatified with my job after a few months, I'm gonna start looking for a new one, contract or no contract. If I find it, well.....guess what? There's no way I'll let a great job or even a better job escape me if I want out. There are times and places for doing "the runner". My point is don't let someone convince you that it's "bad" to run in those instances.

As far as clowing goes, I've learned my lesson, thanks to my Korean Hogwan job. This was a job where I worked for a mere week. In that week I learned I don't have the patience to teach young kids. But I'm not really talking about teaching young kids when I say clown techniques are merely a last-ditch, band-aid to keep bored learners "stable" in a class for 50 minutes. I'm talking about being "required" to play the bozo role when you are teaching young adults. These "kids" are old enough to know better. They should be mature enough to know that sometimes in life, one must do "boring" things to get what he wants. If TESOL students aren't willing to do those boring things we all have to do from time to time, they should simply exit our classrooms, never to return.

So. If you have young kids at your hypothetical school, or your school is full of immature learners who need "fun and games" to keep themselves from falling asleep, I'll say you won't be hiring me. This is because I won't be applying at your school in the first place.

This post is mainly aimed at newbies, but anyone teaching TESOL presently can identify with it, I'm sure. I've noticed that there are three mindsets I've been fighting since getting into this. Mindsets that have been pestering me from day one at my TESOL mill. All I can say is "rage". Yeap, we all need to fight these if we want to banish them from TESOL. I find I have to fight them almost daily.

Anyway, on to the mindsets!

Dreaded Mindset #1:

"If you do a runner on a contract, you are EVIL."

Come on. The nature of TESOL almost REQUIRES we do runners on our contracts. If I sign a contract for a year at a school and find a better job that is a better fit for me three months later, am I going to ask that school to "hold" the job for me? Nope. I know they won't hold it, and shouldn't be expected to. I'll grab the job while the grabbing is good and do a runner on my current contract. No way will I sacrifice a good opportunity by doing the "right" thing and fulfilling my obligation. Don't buy into the mill and recruiter spewage that doing a runner is a "bad" thing. You are NOT going to burn in hell if you do a runner nor will doing a runner make you a more terrible person than Hitler.

Perhaps the reasons recruiters try to get you to buy into the notion that doing a runner is a bad thing is because you'll have to rely on their services more if your contracts end during 'non-hiring' periods. If you find a job you want, DO A RUNNER!

Dreaded Mindset #2:

"If a teacher's students are bored, it's the teacher's fault."

Yeah, right. I have students in my English classes who have had all kinds of teachers, great, terrible, and in between, and they STILL don't know jack after ten years studying this stuff. My kids get bored a LOT, and it's even boring teaching them. But this is because they won't study, won't practice, won't do homework, and won't buy dictionaries. I work my students hard, as I see this is the only way they will ever learn. But, alas, a typical Thai TESOL student will spend 500 bucks on a cell phone, yet won't spend 2 bucks on an English-Thai dictionary. They are bored because they don't really want to learn. If they DID want to learn English, they'd know a lot more than they do, especially after ten years of "study".

Dreaded Mindset #3:

"Clowning techniques are effective. Anyone who doesn't use them in his classroom is an inferior teacher."

Ahhh, this is probably my favorite mindset to bash.
Sorry, you "pro-clowners", but I know you're full of bullshit. Like I said in #2 above, my students have had all kinds of teachers, some of whom used the "fun and games" strategies some of you believe in so fervently. Guess what? I'm finding those students don't know anything. This kinda shoots down your "pro-clown" stance, does it not?

Clowning techniques are a band-aid approach pushed by mills to keep teachers in jobs longer; moreover,the clown approach is a desperation tactic to keep our students coming to our schools and paying tuition money. Considering our students don't really want to learn English, it's no surprise bozo techniques are pushed so hard in TESOL. Without clowning, TESOL has nothing else going for it at most schools. Don't buy into being a clown in your classrooms. If ya gotta be a clown, find another school. Your students don't want to learn.