The People at the Front

Who this book is for

Chủ trung tâm và quản lý học vụ ở Việt Nam, trung tâm tiếng Anh, luyện thi, kỹ năng, tin học, năng khiếu, cùng giáo viên tự mở lớp; quy mô từ hai phòng học tới ba cơ sở.

Sound familiar?

• Teachers leave mid-course and the centre apologises to parents without a replacement.
• Hires by season, so every term has a class led by someone still learning the job.
• Pays by teaching hour, so nobody wants the work outside class: planning, marking, calling parents.
• Class quality rests entirely on who is standing at the front, and the centre only finds out when a parent complains.

Each chapter answers one question

1. Chapter 1: Teachers will leave, so why are we never ready?

   Over the past year, how many hires did I make for the same number of classes?

   With part-time teachers, turnover is normal; failing to prepare for it is what is abnormal.

2. Chapter 2: Can the best interviewee actually teach?

   How do I test a candidate's ability to teach?

   Subject expertise and teaching ability are two different things, and an interview only measures the first.

3. Chapter 3: Paying by teaching hour, who does everything else?

   Which work does my pay structure actually pay for?

   Pay only for classroom hours and every task outside them becomes work nobody wants to do.

4. Chapter 4: Who is really training my teachers right now?

   What preparation do my new teachers get before their first class?

   Every centre trains its teachers; the difference is whether it is deliberate or left to happen.

5. Chapter 5: Do parents trust the centre, or just one teacher?

   A teacher quits mid-course; what do I do over the following two weeks?

   How one departure is handled decides whether parents still trust the centre or only trusted the person who left.