Please, before calling this a final
draft, try working with some of the established int'l
agencies, like CIS, ISS, IB, etc, consult some lawyers,
get some prominent school leadership types to work on
it, etc... In its current state, it is hopeless, starting
with the first section. In some countries, there is a
legal requirement that the only legal contract be in
the host country language. Schools work around this by
providing an English version, but there is no way that
these schools can say there is no other contract. They'd
be lying.
ISR Replies- Please note, we have made mention
and provision for the fact that some countries require
a contract in the host language.
Other aspects may not apply to all schools and contracts. Stating
that if broken, the school will provide flight and goods' shipment
home? What if that was never in the original contract? What
if the staff member was a local hire? If this is a statement
of rights, everything in it must apply to all teachers in any
int'l school anywhere. A fair bit of what you have does apply
to everyone, or could with some wordsmithing, but the statement
must be adjusted before it is ready.
ISR Replies - Local hires would not receive this
benefit because, as you say, their home is the host country.
What about schools' rights? Every story has two sides, and
every right has a responsibility. Contracts cover many of schools'
rights, but not all, and not to the extreme that this statement
does for teachers. Stating that if any part of the statement
is broken, the teacher gets to quit, end of story, with a golden
handshake? Where's the part where the school gets to do that
to a teacher, as in send them away with nothing if the teacher
has misrepresented themselves at all, or fails to live up to
expectation in any way? To be fair, this statement must be
fair to both sides. As written, it's very arbitrary, and could
be interpreted contrary to its intent. A school can't prevent
students from trying to bully teachers, for example, nor stop
parents behaving badly. They can deal with such situations
appropriately, but not prevent them entirely.
ISR Replies - With,
or without, a written statement
guaranteeing schools such rights,
it appears more than a hand-full
have fired and expelled teachers
on a whim or a personality conflict.
We see no reason to enhance an
already misused power by recognizing
it in a Bill of Rights for
Teachers. Remember, this document
is intended to protect teachers
from just such actions.
Other things, like housing and neighborhood meeting basic standards
of safety, are just impossible to interpret. Just one example,
Doha and Dubai are basically large construction sites. Some
teachers I know consider it unsafe to live across the street
from a building site--too many scary workers (racist, I know,
but the statement as written does not define what safe means,
and some teachers are scared), too much construction equipment,
fences that children could get through if sent out to play
by themselves. This is all normal for these cities, and there's
almost nowhere to live that doesn't have such issues. The housing
itself is fine, but the neighborhood? How can schools control
that? Putting people in a slum is not ok, of course not, with
the loose terminology you've got, teachers could claim a school
violated their rights by putting them near a construction site
or a fast highway.
ISR Replies - You are absolutely right, one man's
trash is another man's treasure. However, with today's
technology it would certainly be easy to snap a series
of digital photos or create a Power Point presentation
to be shown at recruiting time. Unless, of course, there
is something to hide. We assume any school would be willing
to make such a minor effort to ensure they have the right
candidate for the position. After all, we're talking
about making a two-year commitment.
Another thing to consider would be a statement of responsibilities
for int'l teachers. Things like taking responsibility for asking
questions before they come regarding things which are important
to them. Things like not misrepresenting their background to
get a job. (No, you don't have IB training if you attended
a one-hour session at an ECIS conference.) Things like having
done research into the vicissitudes and realities of living
overseas, and careful consideration as to whether they have
the personality for it. Things like never saying 'that's not
the way it's done in the US/UK/Canada.' Things like not expecting
all students to be fluent in English or subjecting them to
a grade 3 unit about 'winter wonderland' when they live in
a hot desert. This may sound tongue in cheek, but if you want
this idea to be accepted, adding a statement of responsibilities
might be a good idea.
ISR Replies - We
are not aware of teachers misrepresenting
themselves and have always understood
that ISS, Search and the rest of the
Recruiters are guaranteeing a teacher's
credentials to prospective employers.
The high fees charged to teaching candidates
surely can't just be to book fancy 5-star
hotels and buff out recruiters with food
and other benefits. We are hard pressed
to believe bogus resumes are slipping
by the scrutiny of any recruiting agency,
and it seems you are asking teachers
to do the schools' home work as well
as their own. By the same token, accreditation
agencies appear to be willing to grant
U.S. accreditation to ANY school that
will pay their fees and sponsor a trip
for the "team". All the more
reason for an IT Bill of Rights.
As a school administrator and teacher with international experience
of 15 years, I like the idea of the statement, but it is tragically
flawed at the moment. It could never reasonably be used in
any of the schools I've worked in, for different reasons by
each school, and those were overall good schools (bar one)
who behaved ethically with staff. That tells me that the document
is not talking about universal rights, but about preferences
and desires.
ISR Replies - We're sorry to hear you feel that
way. You are obviously missing the point, or wish to
ignore it. It sounds like you have forgotten your teaching-roots
and now see things from the point of view of an administrator
who needs to be reminded of your teachers' needs.
The way it is written, the document looks
as if it is supposed to be signed by schools and presented
to teachers. That means that schools would have to adopt
it. If you want that to happen, you'll have to get them
involved in developing it. Doing that could help to ameliorate
the sometimes antagonistic relationship that ISR has with
schools.
ISR Replies - Actually, schools
endorsing fair treatment of teachers would sign the document
and display it at recruiting time as well as place the
Logo (under development) in their ads. They would also
give a signed copy to candidates and teachers. Attesting
to forthright and appropriate behavior shouldn't require
any consideration.
Before you take it to schools, try tightening
it up yourselves. Schools will take it more seriously if
it has already fixed things like I've mentioned, things
that can't possibly work as universal rights/truths. If
you leave it as is, I regretfully predict it will be doomed
to failure. Schools can't adopt it as is, vague, over-reaching
and one-sided. It would be a shame to see such a good idea
lost....
ISR Replies - We
don't know how to make statements such
as, "contracts will be honored without
exception" any more specific. From
our point of view, schools that won't
take a positive stand on such basic concepts
are the ones doomed to failure. See our
current article: International
Teaching -Candidate Shortage Solved.
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I would like to see the document edited for content and stripped
of much of the detail included in this current "contractual" form.
As it stands, it is NOT an affirmation of rights but a laundry
list of complaints from disgruntled (even if rightly so)
teachers. There is no school admin perspective.
ISR Replies - The entire document is from the
perspective of a school administration that supports
its teachers. Have a second look!
I find this version amateurish and would
grade this a "C" - at a middle school level.
Besides this, ISR does not have the right to represent
this as something that ALL teachers want or desire and
to hold schools "hostage" to the juvenile-worded
demands of a few is ridiculous.
ISR Replies - The people being
held hostage are teachers who find themselves at schools
that have required them to sign disadvantagous, replacement
contracts upon arrival. Going so far as to call the tenets
of the document juvenile is rather telling!
Robert Hulse, educator
Concordia International School Shanghai
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The Bill of Rights is a good idea but must be agreed
with all the major international school associations (ECIS,CIS,
NAIS, etc. etc.) otherwise it might become a 'wish list' of absurd
demands that school owners, etc. can simply ignore.
ISR Replies - We welcome all contributions
and have not heard from any of these groups.
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I believe that this is an interesting endeavor, but I don't have
any faith in it. Directors will do whatever they want to
do, seeking whatever means they deem expedient to interact
with employees as there are no legal or ethical constraints
on them (and this 'bill of rights' will not change undermine
director power). Due process is something, I have discovered,
that US (or British, or other nationality) directors/heads,
happily left behind in their home countries. I have heard
several directors, principals, and/or heads verbalize how
they are 'so glad' to have rid their lives of unions and
legal constraints. As long as school boards do not fully
realize how demoralizing unethical practices are on the teachers
who work daily with their children and as long as school
board members do not hold heads'/directors' feet to the fire
to uphold 'fair and professional' contractual obligations--I
believe I represent the voice of a 15-year international
teaching realist--no substantive changes will be made. Any
bill of rights is simply a futile exercise by the 'underdogs'
to wrest power from the upper hand. Personally--I will work
to pursue unionizing movements under the auspices of the
ILO or any other entity when I have nothing to left to lose
(e.g. when I retire). In the 4 international schools in which
I have worked as a teacher, there has been only one ethical
administrator (and he was an assistant director without direct
power to change the director's decision). What is the difference
between being unjustly fired and unjustly 'non-renewed'?
A bill of rights is only as good as the legal apparatus to
enforce it.
ISR Replies - Please refer to our
article, You
Can Sue Your School and Director. Here's
How.
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