Dear Dr. Spilchuk

My husband and I are considering leaving our positions before the end of our contracts. However, we are not sure if we should let our administration know before we are safely back in our home country. We are afraid that they may impose all sorts of conditions, and that they might start treating us badly (worse) until the end of our contract.

My biggest fear is about the financial consequences of our decision. Although we intend to pay all the fees required by our contracts, I wonder to what extend the school could require that we pay other fees not included in the contract. I have heard of teachers that could not leave the country unless they paid a certain amount of money for items not included in the contract such as housing. I would not want to be stranded in this country without a job. I also fear that they might withhold our pay checks and add extra unjustified fees. I fear that we could not even get recourse in front of the law as the justice system here is known to be corrupt. I understand that a lot of our board members are lawyers and feel that we might not have a lot of power in the matter. There are many reasons why this International placement is not adequate for us and I hope we can get out of this with some dignity (professional), and in the agreed upon financial terms.

We would definitely prefer letting the school know ahead of time so they can use the recruiting fairs to replace us. However, previous exiting teachers have had experiences that let us think that that might not be the best idea. We don't feel we can talk to our general director as he is exiting the school. We certainly can't talk with our principal as he is one of the big reasons why we are leaving. We love our colleagues and would not want to leave them in a bind. We are therefore somewhat confused. We would appreciate your input.

Thank you so much,

Laura

Dr. Spilchuk's Reply:

Dear Laura,

Where are you located? Let's work through your problem together. It would help if I knew which country you were in. Some are worse than others in dealing with their teachers.

The problem with simply walking out in June is that you can find yourself blackballed by recruiting agencies representing International Schools. This will make it difficult for you to find another international position in the future. You do have a chance at not having this occur if you can work out an agreeable solution with the school. Without telling anyone you are planning on leaving, I think you should sit down with the director and explain what is bothering you and at that time propose a solution to the problem. Unless you make an effort to resolve the situation in this manner I don't think you can justify walking out on your contract.

I do highly recommend you examine your reasons for leaving the school before doing anything. In the eyes of the recruiting agencies there are few, if any, legitimate reasons to break your contracts. I know people that broke their contracts only because they didn't find the host country to their liking. This is not a legitimate reason and any rational adult would wonder why you didn't do your homework before signing the contract. On the other hand, there are legitimate reasons to break a contract and you will have to determine for yourself if yours are well founded.

A young male teacher recently gave his school notice he would be leaving at the end of the year. He felt he was acting responsibly by letting the director know of his intentions to break his contract. He reasoned that he was allowing the director an opportunity to find a replacement at the upcoming fairs. The director, a vindictive sort, rewarded this teacher's sense of conscience by having him blackballed at every recruiting agencies he could, and then docking his pay to the tune of almost $4000 dollars. These were strictly acts of revenge. Although the director had misrepresented the school, the country, the pay, and the housing, the recruiting agencies blindly sided with the school. In retrospect, this teacher reports he would have been far better off just going home for the summer, collecting all that was due him and then settling up on what he fairly owed the school for breaking his contract. This young fellow was so devastated by the retaliation of the director that he simply collected his paycheck for the month he had completed and flew home one Monday morning, telling no one of his plans.

The blackballing and retaliation scenario seems to be a familiar theme in some International Schools. Apparently, there are schools/directors that conduct their business in a fashion that appears to be without integrity or honesty. Annulling signed contracts upon a teacher's arrival into a country, reducing housing allowances, retracting international insurance plans and other underhanded moves are justifiable in the eyes of some directors. Unfortunately, recruiting agencies will usually support these people, claiming they "were not there to know what happened". No recruiter is going to bite the hand that feeds them and it's the schools that put the "big meal" on the table for the agencies. I have heard of Search Associates dropping schools that repeatedly treat teachers badly. This is the exception to the rule.

Keep in mind that bringing in a teacher from overseas poses considerable expenses for a school. Air fare, shipping allowance, insurance plan, visa, etc., etc. When a teacher walks out on a position the biggest problem is not the money but how to replace that person. The expenses and predicament created by a teacher walking out should be enough to motivate a legitimate school to sit down and work things out with you. A school that sees teachers as a disposable commodity in a money-making diploma mill will have little incentive to work things out with a dissatisfied teacher. When dealing with people that are systematically taking advantage of you, it may be that your only way out is to walk.

Your situation is a difficult one and I can't tell you exactly what to do. This is a decision you must make on your own and based on what your conscience tells you is the right thing to do. If it looks as though the only way you might get out of the country is to simply leave in June, then you might just have to do that. You must look after yourself first, while understanding the job consequences. I do recommend you submit a review to International Schools Review and warn other teachers of what might be waiting for them after signing a contract at this particular school.

All the best and please keep me up-to-date on your decision,

Barb