btdt
- 2011-11-17
Generally, sierra, a contract in China won't really protect you; it's only there to protect them. However, a contract from an illegal school is useless to all concerned. Nevertheless, you seem to be in what could become a fairly dangerous situation. My advice would be to leave as quickly as possible. Normally, I wouldn't advise such a thing (although, personally, I have a standard that I go by: "one lie, goodbye."), but yours seems like a pretty dire situation. Your visa may not be legal, your employer is a shark and, worst of all, winter is fast approaching and that could make things even worse - at least from my perspective.
Don't worry about being black listed. How can an illegal school blacklist you? If the other school that wants to hire you is sincere and if they are a legitimately licensed to hire foreign teachers, they will do what they can to bring you back. Meanwhile, though, "get while the gettins good." Don't worry, Sierra, yours is unfortunately not an uncommon tale. Eventually, you'll find a job that suits you. Some lessons are harder to learn than others, but you can learn from this one.
Again, get out of there as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, solidify your relationships with those you know you can trust. Also, if you find yourself needing help from the authorities, make it clear to them that you are seeking their guidance and their help. But be careful, they very well may be in cahoots with your employers. Play it cool.
Hello all, I'm in a difficult situation and would appreciate some advice from those that have been here.
I teach at a private school in Baotou, Inner Mongolia and am having major issues with them. Among flat dishonesty and poor treatment, they are breaking the terms of my contract. I'd like to get out, but also do the right thing.
When I was hired, it was told that I would be teaching all of my classes at the school that hired me, when in reality I am basically wh*red out to anyone they can get a contract with. I teach at all kinds of schools all over the city from 9am to 9:30pm.
2 of these schools though, I like a lot and both have indicated that they would like to hire me to work for them after my contract is up, and one has even gone as far as to present terms to me. They both really want me to teach for them, and would without a doubt cancel their contracts with my school if I were to leave.
Can I void my contract and go teach at these schools on my own? Keep in mind my current school is breaching my contract. Additionally, it turns out that my school is not even legally able to hire foreign teachers, and my residence permit is from Shanghai, where I had to sign a shady lease on some apartment I've never even been to in order to prove I live there. My visa so far has cost me over 8000RMB, when I was told it would cost a fraction of that.
If I can't go teach at the schools I like in the city, what happens if I buy a plane ticket and cut my losses? Will I be blacklisted from China or something? Can I report my school to anyone for running an illegal school? Thanks very much for any help and please ask for any clarification.