I just got fired from a government school for picking up an empty desk only about two inches off the floor and slamming it down in an effort to get the attention of an extraordinarily loud class of about 50 students. I've done it many times before without consequence. Some English teachers slam a large stick on a desk or on a whiteboard for the same reason. Sometimes we have to out-noise level the students to get their attention. It's a fact of life.

Well, some parents complained and said they felt their students were in some sort of physical danger and demanded a change of teachers...even with only three weeks left in the semester and final exams coming up. Piss-poor decision for a lot of reasons but mostly with regards to the best interest of the class as a whole concerning their final exams. Either way, I'm three semesters in a row at the same school, well-liked and respected campus-wide, no previous complaints whatsoever: and not so much as a warning.

I left on a Friday, told not to come back Monday. In fact, I had no idea that for a whole week that there had been several meetings and communications between the complaining parents and the school directors that took place without my involvement or knowledge. I was never asked my side of the story, I was never even asked what happened. I'm thankful for the private language school/job agency that placed me there. They have taken good care of me throughout all of this.

I was back to work at another school the very next week, barely skipped a beat. Lessons learned: we have no rights, we don't even have any say...and our fates rest solely in hands of the very students we teach. One more semester and I'm most likely out...back from whence I came! It's been a really positive experience overall, but not without it's fair share of inconveniences and setbacks, to put it politely. It's just not realistically a long-term career or life decision to stay and teach here. Just fun while it lasts.

Ray