Search found 92 matches

by nathan61
Tue Dec 13, 2022 1:50 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Morals and Contracts
Replies: 48
Views: 203241

Re: Morals and Contracts

Please don't take any offense. I am merely responding to the situation as described by the OP, which is the common dilemma of "do I accept this job offer or wait for something better?" We all struggle with this, and since contracts are basically worthless, accepting a job basically amounts to a gentleman's agreement. People have been arguing about the moral dimensions of promises for thousands of years so it is interesting.

Since this is a forum, presumable read by many, I am making a case that it is a terrible idea to accept a job with the intention of finding another better position. Any decent school will have spent many hours interviewing candidates. They will have passed on other candidates. They will have contacted your references and it is not unlikely that they will send your references a note saying "remember that teacher for whom you gave a glowing recommendation? They signed a contract, said they wanted to be part of our school, and then backed out." You would want to have a good solid excuse for that, better than "I found a job I like better."
by nathan61
Mon Dec 12, 2022 1:38 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Morals and Contracts
Replies: 48
Views: 203241

Re: Morals and Contracts

You can keep breaking contracts everytime a better job opportunity pops up. But this is opportunistic freeriding. It only works to your advantage because everybody else is signing one contract that they intend to honor. So you will end up with a better job not because you are a better teacher or leader or a more charismatic person, but because you were willing to cheat and lie. If everybody did this then you would lose your advantage, and schools would come up with systems to avoid this behavior.

There are not many highly desirable international schools, and nobody likes a cheater, so there is a big risk of ruining your reputation by behaving like this. I took a job two weeks ago, and just today I saw my dream job pop up, and I didn't even consider applying for it. I've already signed a contract, and the people at both schools probably know each other, so aside from the moral aspects I'd run a risk of losing out on both positions by merely applying.
by nathan61
Sun Dec 11, 2022 12:06 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Morals and Contracts
Replies: 48
Views: 203241

Re: Morals and Contracts

@ cms989

In my experience schools interview several candidates and offer the position to their preferred candidate. If they don't accept the position, schools offer it to the second choice. Often the candidates are interviewing with multiple schools. So when someone accepts a position in bad faith, the second-choice candidates also get screwed. Maybe it was their dream job, and it would have been offered to them, but they lost out because you took the job as a placeholder/fall back while you searched for another job.

So I see this behavior as damaging to more than just the schools. Schools may be cut-throat, but they don't keep interviewing candidates and then renege on contracts because they found someone they like even better than the person they offered the contract to. At least I've never heard of this.
by nathan61
Sun Dec 11, 2022 5:38 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Morals and Contracts
Replies: 48
Views: 203241

Re: Morals and Contracts

the op asked "Are there morals when it comes to signing a contract and then reneging on it?"

Yes, morals are a social construct, and most people would agree that signing a contract in bad faith is immoral. The gist of the original question was something to the tune of "can I sign a backup contract and then keep interviewing at preferred schools." Most people would see this as super shady and totally opportunistic behavior. If everybody did this then recruiting would be an absolute mess. But very few people do this because they have this ingrained moral sense that their word is worth something. Someone else may be coveting that job, and they will have to move on to their third choice because you accepted the job as nothing more than a fallback. It sets off a chain reaction where other people lose out.

There are some shady schools, I am sure, but after more than 15 years overseas (at non profits) I have encountered mostly good honest behavior from schools. Most people who reneg on contracts do it because of unforeseen events, and not because they continued applying for jobs.
by nathan61
Wed Nov 30, 2022 9:20 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Morals and Contracts
Replies: 48
Views: 203241

Re: Morals and Contracts

Maybe I am "old school," but I only sign a contract if I mean to honor it. It sounds like the OP wants to sign a "safety" or fallback contract and then pursue other job offers. Does anyone really need to ask if that is "moral?" Aren't contracts a form of promise? Deliberately signing one that you don't intend to honor is akin to lying for your own opportunistic gains.

Finding a job overseas can be very stressful because schools have different recruiting schedules. Some places will offer you a job early in the recruiting season and you may regret passing on it. The vast majority of teachers are honoring their contracts, and if you have to go on a forum to ask if it is cool to lie and sign multiple contracts then you are not somebody who should be educating the next generation.

As others have said, if there are extenuating circumstances then that is a different story.
by nathan61
Fri Feb 04, 2022 5:21 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Update From a Recuirter Regarding China
Replies: 22
Views: 37505

Re: Update From a Recuirter Regarding China

Great post. Thanks for sharing. This kind of information is what keeps me coming back to the forum. It would be interesting to hear from others who are in China. I heard some schools were offering contracts to teachers who agreed not to leave China for two years straight.
by nathan61
Sun Oct 31, 2021 8:03 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Vaccination and other issues.
Replies: 54
Views: 169288

Re: Vaccination and other issues.

Illiane_Blues wrote:
> Well said Thames Pirate.
>
> Interesting how nathan61 just ignores the valid points made by
> Psychometrika and Heliotrope.

> The effect of the vaccine is NOT 'so small that it has to be magnified by
> the millions to make a difference'.

The vax works and is safe, but my sense is that most people overestimate its effectiveness on an individual level.

The study shows that people who become infected with the Delta variant are less likely to pass the . to their close contacts if they have already had a COVID-19 vaccine than if they haven’t1. But that protective effect is relatively small, and dwindles alarmingly at three months after the receipt of the second shot.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02689-y

This article in the Lancet argues that 119 people need to get the Pfizer vaccine in order to prevent one covid case.
ARR is also used to derive an estimate of vaccine effectiveness, which is the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one more case of COVID-19 as 1/ARR. NNVs bring a different perspective: 81 for the Moderna–NIH, 78 for the AstraZeneca–Oxford, 108 for the Gamaleya, 84 for the J&J, and 119 for the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanm ... 0/fulltext
by nathan61
Sun Oct 31, 2021 7:56 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Vaccination and other issues.
Replies: 54
Views: 169288

Re: Vaccination and other issues.

Thames Pirate calls the vaccine-hesitant "selfish a*****e" three times in his post. It seems he has no empathy for why someone would be scared to get the vaccine. This is an arrogant and angry approach. Trying to engage with the mindset of non-vaxed is more productive because the vaccine has only been around for a matter of months, and people can always go out and get jabbed tomorrow.

Getting the covid vaccine is just one metric for measuring a person's contribution to global health. It helps to have some humility and realize that while we are calling non-vaxxed "selfish a*****e", there is a vegan anti consumptionist living is a wigwam who is just disgusted by you "selfish a*****e." We are all "selfish a*****e", and getting the job is an incredibly modest, almost meaningless contribution to global health. Certainly not worth sorting people into in-group and out-group with so much vitriol.

I take care of my health, and I went to considerable trouble to obtain the vax as soon as I could. But I also didn't like seeing some coworkers fired for not getting the vax as soon as it was available. I think more patience is generally warranted.
by nathan61
Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:05 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Vaccination and other issues.
Replies: 54
Views: 169288

Re: Vaccination and other issues.

I am addressing the issues that unvaccinated can people bring up, because if you ignore them then it is easy to make the case that there really is a conspiracy. A tenfold decrease in hospitalization....well if you are 35 your risk of death is 1 in 2,700 without the vaccine. We all have different risk tolerances, and maybe you are healthy and willing to take your chances with 1 in 2700. That is not crazy.
Breakthrough infections are increasingly common, and the goal of zero covid has long been abandoned, so the argument that unvaccinated are allowing the . to mutate is easy to dismiss. The idea that unvaccinated are more likely to infect others is a good argument, but a recent study published in Nature concluded the following:
"The study shows that people who become infected with the Delta variant are less likely to pass the v... to their close contacts if they have already had a COVID-19 vaccine than if they haven’t1. But that protective effect is relatively small, and dwindles alarmingly at three months after the receipt of the second shot."

So you add up the chances of getting covid, the chances of passing it onto someone else, the chances of that person dying or going to the ICU. Then you add in the relatively small reduction in these chances that the vaccine provides, and on an individual level avoiding the jab is not a big deal. The effect is so small that it has to be magnified by the millions to make a difference. This is where yelling FOLLOW THE SCIENCE leads. The tragedy of the commons type issues needs a different approach. Getting the jab is the agenda du jour, but we could just as easily take the moral high road on gun control or outlawing SUV's (which lead to increase in deaths).
by nathan61
Fri Oct 29, 2021 1:47 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Vaccination and other issues.
Replies: 54
Views: 169288

Re: Vaccination and other issues.

It sure feels good to ride on that moral high horse and denounce those who have yet to get that covid shot. But fifty percent of the world is not vaccinated, and if you are one of 3.8 billion who is still not vaccinated then you are not, in a statistical sense doing harm. The tragedy of the commons. If you really want to save the world then be a vegetarian, lower your carbon footprint by foregoing travel, and stop consuming things you don't absolutely need. Definitely don't have kids. Even with the Pfizer vaccine, for hospitalization, you get an absolute risk reduction of .84%. A pittance. We all take bigger risks living in developing countries.

Personally, I am all for getting vaccinated, and I think schools should be able to hire whoever they want. They can stipulate what college degrees and certifications you need, so why can't they stipulate what kind of health precautions you need to take?
by nathan61
Wed Oct 13, 2021 1:39 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: All is quiet
Replies: 12
Views: 20251

Re: All is quiet

Economic and pandemic-related uncertainty means enrollment numbers are up in the air. In some countries, visa rules keep changing, which means problems for enrollment and for welcoming new hires. There are lots of good candidates looking for jobs, so it is less advantageous for schools to hire early. Breaking contracts is less taboo, so when schools do hire early it is still a gamble for all involved.
by nathan61
Fri Aug 27, 2021 2:15 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Senior teacher with a PhD and 2 kids - could I save 50K annually?
Replies: 22
Views: 28966

Re: Senior teacher with a PhD and 2 kids - could I save 50K annually?

It really depends on which jobs are open when you are recruiting, and there are a limited number of schools that would allow for 50k in savings on one salary. But there are a lot of English teaching jobs out there, and even with two or three dependants, those gold-plated credentials will make you an absolute top candidate. But you are right to notice that the golden age of international teaching has passed. Globalization means there are droves of candidates searching for fewer and fewer jobs. The perks are fewer and the money is less. There are still great opportunities out there, but avoid moving overseas unless you have a great job offer.
by nathan61
Sat Jun 05, 2021 1:35 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How many class periods per week do you have?
Replies: 29
Views: 39639

Re: How many class periods per week do you have?

As an elementary specialist subject, student contact time is 18.6 hours per week. I prep 14 different lessons per week and teach each lesson to two groups of kids.
I'd love to hear what others are teaching, and I think this format of contact time and number of lesson plans is a clear way to compare our teaching loads.
by nathan61
Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:46 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: School is changing our contracts in the spring
Replies: 17
Views: 23284

Re: School is changing our contracts in the spring

This happens from time to time even at "good schools." But it is immoral and ungentlemanly to strong-arm employees by changing the contract in this way. Most people will take the new contract and merely complain a little because it is not worth quitting an established post just because the leaders are cowardly bullies. If they are decent leaders they should at least publicly recognize that this is not the way things should be done, or not how they were done in the good old days.