April wages paid...now what?

[BruceMangosteen]

As I'm sure occurs to many teachers here in Thailand, you go through all the motions of a contract renewal, VISA extension, and WP extension only for the purpose of getting your earned and deserved April holiday wages. Now that they are paid(I assume in most cases if not all?) a person is here with a two week window to change schools.

It is assumed:

1. The current "employer" wants to keep you for the next school year or they wouldn't have signed you up for another year...

2. The current "employer" doesn't care about the money....it comes from Bangkok, not their budget or pocket...

3. The current "employer" doesn't care about the VISA and or WP issues, they didn't ever care to be honest nor help very much...

So one (actually three) teachers should conclude:

1. They can change schools without much fanfare?

2. No one cares if they leave the current school or country for that matter?

3. Teachers with "experience" are in high demand, especially "Native English Speakers" with valid degrees and said experience in Thailand schools.

I'm asking for your opinion...should she get on with her life or just continue to be beaten down in the current system(school), poor schedules, discrimination, crap food kept at room temperature for days?, Tagalog conversations all around her, general as I say, lack of any professionalism or set of standards and expectations. Is it the same everywhere?

Edited May 2, 2016 by BruceMangosteen

[Denim]

Try teaching in Japan If you are qualified you can make a pile of money. Better food too.

[muzmurray]

If on an extension of stay, as opposed to a visa, this is the problem area when moving jobs.

[BruceMangosteen]

If on an extension of stay, as opposed to a visa, this is the problem area when moving jobs.

I've come to the educated and experienced conclusion that no one is paying any attention to the details you mention. It's regarded once again as a complaint rater than a compliance issue. Who need complaints and problems.Let the farang sort it out himself.

[Loaded]

One thing that I'm sure doesn't both you at all is that the foreign teachers you leave behind will have lives slightly worse than before.

[sanukjim]

Lets see now,you are talking about these "phony" so called international schools that are only a parents money pit, fooling them into believing that their child is getting a proper education.The same school that hires off the street on Khao San road,any one that can utter some form of the English language and that will work very cheap to be a type of baby sitters.So they hire someone that has a degree (either earned or bought on line) because of their language,it is still not an education degree.Hiring a person as an educator because he has a degree is akin to hiring a manager of a store just because he has shopped there.

[Ajahnski]

If you've already signed a contract, you break it at your own risk. A friend of mine had a contract signed, but the school never gave him a copy so that he could do his visa run. He called them 3 different times, and nobody could be bothered to return a phone call. He called one last time, telling them that he either needed the contract, or, if they didn't want him, then he'd go find a different school. No return phone call, again. In a civilized country, this would have been a breach of contract on the school's part, and allowed him to do what he needed to do in order to make arrangements for his next year of employment.

He got his new contract at a different school and did his visa run. On the first day of school, the director from the school that couldn't be bothered to return a phone call showed up with the other contract and told the director of the new school that he couldn't work there. Then, behind closed doors, he told my friend that he didn't want him as a teacher now because they 'had to go through an agency.' But, if he still wanted his new contract, the old director would let him work there if he paid him 10,000 bht/mo to cover the 'extra expenses' of going through an agency.

This is what we are dealing with here. It's a thugocracy. Beware and best of luck.

[Ajahnski]

If you're feeling demoralized get out. If the food is crap, it won't get better. The treatment won't get better either.

BTW, we aren't in demand. If we were in demand, the system would try to work with us to actually teach these kids. In my experience, that doesn't happen. The pay would be much better and the treatment would be better also, if we were really in demand. They do like pretty faces to show the parents, however. That's where you (and I) come in.

Friends I've known who have done multiple years at that same school say it rarely gets better. It only gets better if you get a new admin to work with, otherwise they tend to expect more of you and give you even less support than before. You only get used to the mistreatment. (On the plus side, if you have the same classes as the year before, you can reuse most of your old material.)

I hope I don't come off as too negative. This is just the reality that I've been forced to grudgingly acknowledge. (I wish it weren't so. I have many nieces and nephews who are stuck in this horrid system. They are my daughter's cousins. I want better for them and for my kids too. It won't happen.) I for one, am no longer willing to work in a system where I must commit fraud in order to do my job. I'm looking to leave Thailand and go someplace where I can make enough money to get my wife and kids out of here.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[ozyjon]

I'm so glad i'm not a teacher

[BruceMangosteen]

I'm so glad i'm not a teacher

I think you may have the context confused...

We are referring to teachers at Government schools, paid 20-35,000.Baht a month, unskilled, perhaps a college degree but not in the specialty, and often unable to acquire and hold a real job in their home country and/or coming from a third world country with even lower wages. These "positions" are not career positions.

So with that in mind, having some health care, some rations, decent working conditions(inside, not manual labor), and limited hours without overtime can have it's benefits. I might also mention paid holidays.

If you want and expect a real teachers job, get your degree in Education from a real University, be a Native English Speaker, and go to work in your own country or of course, get one of the "real" International jobs only offered to those fully qualified and vetted and with Masters degrees.

Others, it's what it is. A chance to excel doing something productive. Tell any Hooters girl you are a teacher and she will flood you with phone numbers, line handles, emails, Instagram photos, and all the rest which leads to a meaningful relationship at no cost to you.

[BruceMangosteen]

If you've already signed a contract, you break it at your own risk. A friend of mine had a contract signed, but the school never gave him a copy so that he could do his visa run. He called them 3 different times, and nobody could be bothered to return a phone call. He called one last time, telling them that he either needed the contract, or, if they didn't want him, then he'd go find a different school. No return phone call, again. In a civilized country, this would have been a breach of contract on the school's part, and allowed him to do what he needed to do in order to make arrangements for his next year of employment.

He got his new contract at a different school and did his visa run. On the first day of school, the director from the school that couldn't be bothered to return a phone call showed up with the other contract and told the director of the new school that he couldn't work there. Then, behind closed doors, he told my friend that he didn't want him as a teacher now because they 'had to go through an agency.' But, if he still wanted his new contract, the old director would let him work there if he paid him 10,000 bht/mo to cover the 'extra expenses' of going through an agency.

This is what we are dealing with here. It's a thugocracy. Beware and best of luck.

Thanks for the story. I'd never heard of a Director getting directly involved in the hiring and/or failing to honor a "contract". The 10,000.Baht payment doesn't make sense as you lay it out above. Who was in theory getting the 10,000.Baht per month, the current Director, the past Director, or the Agency?

[Ajahnski]

If you've already signed a contract, you break it at your own risk. A friend of mine had a contract signed, but the school never gave him a copy so that he could do his visa run. He called them 3 different times, and nobody could be bothered to return a phone call. He called one last time, telling them that he either needed the contract, or, if they didn't want him, then he'd go find a different school. No return phone call, again. In a civilized country, this would have been a breach of contract on the school's part, and allowed him to do what he needed to do in order to make arrangements for his next year of employment.

He got his new contract at a different school and did his visa run. On the first day of school, the director from the school that couldn't be bothered to return a phone call showed up with the other contract and told the director of the new school that he couldn't work there. Then, behind closed doors, he told my friend that he didn't want him as a teacher now because they 'had to go through an agency.' But, if he still wanted his new contract, the old director would let him work there if he paid him 10,000 bht/mo to cover the 'extra expenses' of going through an agency.

This is what we are dealing with here. It's a thugocracy. Beware and best of luck.

Thanks for the story. I'd never heard of a Director getting directly involved in the hiring and/or failing to honor a "contract". The 10,000.Baht payment doesn't make sense as you lay it out above. Who was in theory getting the 10,000.Baht per month, the current Director, the past Director, or the Agency?

It would have been the director of the school that never got back to my friend. The director claimed it was for extra expenses of the agency, but that is an unrealistic cost.

BTW, notice that they never tried to contact him, but, if they knew the school where he got the new contract, then they definitely knew how to contact him. The director smelled a way to line his pockets, pure and simple.

[Ajahnski]

I'm so glad i'm not a teacher

I think you may have the context confused...

We are referring to teachers at Government schools, paid 20-35,000.Baht a month, unskilled, perhaps a college degree but not in the specialty, and often unable to acquire and hold a real job in their home country and/or coming from a third world country with even lower wages. These "positions" are not career positions.

So with that in mind, having some health care, some rations, decent working conditions(inside, not manual labor), and limited hours without overtime can have it's benefits. I might also mention paid holidays.

If you want and expect a real teachers job, get your degree in Education from a real University, be a Native English Speaker, and go to work in your own country or of course, get one of the "real" International jobs only offered to those fully qualified and vetted and with Masters degrees.

Others, it's what it is. A chance to excel doing something productive. Tell any Hooters girl you are a teacher and she will flood you with phone numbers, line handles, emails, Instagram photos, and all the rest which leads to a meaningful relationship at no cost to you.

Yep, a TESOL isn't as good as a PGCE, but it's still additional qualification, and the only qualification that they require on top of a uni degree. However, you're disparagement of foreign teachers is wrong on the facts and out of line in general.

Wanna know why Thailand doesn't require more than a TESOL cert? It's because they have completely ruined their education system. Every foreign teacher I've asked has agreed that, while tesol cert information is great for teaching, the way they run things here makes it pointless. The one teacher I worked with who had an ed degree quit after one semester, despite a career teaching in some pretty remote and poor areas.

I know another teacher with an adult educator's degree who concurs that the system is entirely dysfunctional. He's only stuck around b/c his home country is falling apart, and this job allows him time to work on his other business. However, the school has said time and again that they would like him to make a career at that school.

I know of foreign teachers who have been working in Thailand for several years. That's usually because they have Thai wives. Many leave after a year or two here and go abroad b/c the money and treatment is so much better that it makes up for not being with their families.

"and go to work in your own country" This comment is just silly and stupid. I have worked with Thai teachers who have a master's degree in English that cannot speak or comprehend even simple sentences. ASEAN is here, and Thailand desperately needs to improve its English in order to compete. They cannot do that with the current teacher that they have. Thailand needs foreign teachers.

Now, the next time you want to troll, please just go find a bridge to sit under and stop wasting our time.

[johnatong]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

[Ajahnski]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

I'm sorry, but you have misunderstood. What we attempt to do is actually teach. We interact with students and desperately work to keep them engaged in a subject that most don't care about. English is one of the few subjects that students can actually fail and still pass to the next grade. (However, with the 'no fail' policy, you have to let the student make up the work until they can at least earn a 1.0 and pass. In reality, you get kids who skip every single class, literally, and then come to bother you when they fail. At that point, there is no realistic way to get the kid up to a passing level of knowledge. If we continue to fail the kid, we are seen as bad teachers and fired at the end of the year. Plus, the kids will just cheat on the extra work you give them, so they still don't learn. The only way to save your sanity is to just pass them.)

We are supposed to teach speaking and listening, but our tests must be written. That wouldn't be bad if the kids had decent written english skills, but they don't. They are rushed through material that they don't comprehend and, thus, cannot assimilate. To make it worse, there is no consistency in knowledge base even between kids in a single classroom. I've had English Program classes with a couple kids who were fluent and several who couldn't even say "I'm fine thank you, and you?" at the M5 level. How can anyone honestly teach a class of 30 kids with abilities that are that variable? The answer - you try but you don't.

To make matters worse, since the English level of the teachers is so abysmal, there is little communication to coordinate lessons. I tried to coordinate with one of my co-teachers this last year, but the material that they use is way too complex for the kids to be able to understand. The kids may be able to figure out how to answer the test questions, but that is really just them having some command over the language as a logic system and being able to function within that system. It's kind of like learning math for some kids. They learn it long enough for the test, but will never be able to use it in real life.

Language classes back home have prerequisites. You don't get into spanish II unless you pass Spanish I. That's not the case here. So, even by the time they are in M2, the ability levels are so scattered that it's impossible to teach all, or maybe even most, of these kids. The low levels are too confused and frustrated, and the higher levels are too bored, to pay attention. Then you have to try to keep a class under control when you have no discipline support from admin and over half the kids don't pay attention because they are bored or confused. To call it one giant clusterfuck is still a massive understatement. Please pardon the language, but polite words just cannot convey how messed up the system is here.

Yes, most of us just have TESOL certs, although I've met several with teaching degrees. Those with teaching degrees usually cannot last here b/c the system is too dysfunctional. Ironically, one of the teachers I met who was most successful had only a 2 year degree in music production - a completely unrelated field. He had a pretty looking diploma that he bought from BKK and a tesol. He was willing to put up with the b.s. in order to get the one year of experience he needed to go teach in Europe as a backup employment plan. (but he found a job in his field when he got to europe, so Thailand was just a waste for him.) The others who are 'successful' here just use the job for income and a visa. They know and act like it's a big joke. They do the absolute minimum with worksheets that they get from esl sites on the web that the students have little to no comprehension of. But, they don't care for the aforementioned reasons.

We should also ask 'what is a qualified teacher?' There seems to be an unspoken belief that only people with ed degrees are proper teachers. Only a tiny fraction of college level teachers have ed degrees, and they do fine. I have a friend from law school that teaches a law/sociology/civics/history course at a charter school for underprivileged kids. His kids love him and they can tell that they learn a lot from him. He has no ed degree either. Not to knock the ed degrees, I'm just pointing out that it's not the holy grail others (not you) are making it out to be.

[johnatong]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

I'm sorry, but you have misunderstood. What we attempt to do is actually teach. We interact with students and desperately work to keep them engaged in a subject that most don't care about. English is one of the few subjects that students can actually fail and still pass to the next grade. (However, with the 'no fail' policy, you have to let the student make up the work until they can at least earn a 1.0 and pass. In reality, you get kids who skip every single class, literally, and then come to bother you when they fail. At that point, there is no realistic way to get the kid up to a passing level of knowledge. If we continue to fail the kid, we are seen as bad teachers and fired at the end of the year. Plus, the kids will just cheat on the extra work you give them, so they still don't learn. The only way to save your sanity is to just pass them.)

We are supposed to teach speaking and listening, but our tests must be written. That wouldn't be bad if the kids had decent written english skills, but they don't. They are rushed through material that they don't comprehend and, thus, cannot assimilate. To make it worse, there is no consistency in knowledge base even between kids in a single classroom. I've had English Program classes with a couple kids who were fluent and several who couldn't even say "I'm fine thank you, and you?" at the M5 level. How can anyone honestly teach a class of 30 kids with abilities that are that variable? The answer - you try but you don't.

To make matters worse, since the English level of the teachers is so abysmal, there is little communication to coordinate lessons. I tried to coordinate with one of my co-teachers this last year, but the material that they use is way too complex for the kids to be able to understand. The kids may be able to figure out how to answer the test questions, but that is really just them having some command over the language as a logic system and being able to function within that system. It's kind of like learning math for some kids. They learn it long enough for the test, but will never be able to use it in real life.

Language classes back home have prerequisites. You don't get into spanish II unless you pass Spanish I. That's not the case here. So, even by the time they are in M2, the ability levels are so scattered that it's impossible to teach all, or maybe even most, of these kids. The low levels are too confused and frustrated, and the higher levels are too bored, to pay attention. Then you have to try to keep a class under control when you have no discipline support from admin and over half the kids don't pay attention because they are bored or confused. To call it one giant clusterfuck is still a massive understatement. Please pardon the language, but polite words just cannot convey how messed up the system is here.

Yes, most of us just have TESOL certs, although I've met several with teaching degrees. Those with teaching degrees usually cannot last here b/c the system is too dysfunctional. Ironically, one of the teachers I met who was most successful had only a 2 year degree in music production - a completely unrelated field. He had a pretty looking diploma that he bought from BKK and a tesol. He was willing to put up with the b.s. in order to get the one year of experience he needed to go teach in Europe as a backup employment plan. (but he found a job in his field when he got to europe, so Thailand was just a waste for him.) The others who are 'successful' here just use the job for income and a visa. They know and act like it's a big joke. They do the absolute minimum with worksheets that they get from esl sites on the web that the students have little to no comprehension of. But, they don't care for the aforementioned reasons.

We should also ask 'what is a qualified teacher?' There seems to be an unspoken belief that only people with ed degrees are proper teachers. Only a tiny fraction of college level teachers have ed degrees, and they do fine. I have a friend from law school that teaches a law/sociology/civics/history course at a charter school for underprivileged kids. His kids love him and they can tell that they learn a lot from him. He has no ed degree either. Not to knock the ed degrees, I'm just pointing out that it's not the holy grail others (not you) are making it out to be.

Are you able to secure a real Teaching post in your own country ?

A yes/no answer will suffice if coupled with a note of your qualification(s)

[Ajahnski]

"Are you able to secure a real Teaching post in your own country ?

A yes/no answer will suffice if coupled with a note of your qualification(s)"

A little background. In the US, there is a teacher shortage, so they are hiring non-ed degree holders in many districts. (That's what happens when a society insults and treats teachers as the problem for 4 decades - people don't want to be in the profession anymore. 25% of new grads leave the field within 2 years right now.) There are PGCE (post graduate certificate in education) programs to qualify people, but schools are so desperate that they are not requiring them prior to hiring in many cases. To substitute teach, you only need a bachelor's or two years college if you are currently enrolled and taking classes. I know one person who paid for their bachelor's that way, and another who paid for a graduate degree that way. There are some people who are making their living just doing sub teaching in larger cities.

As for me, I have a doctorate in law, but came here to start a family with my wife before we get too old. When I return to the States, I want to practice law and teach critical reasoning classes at the uni level part time. With a TESOL, I could easily get a job teaching esl learners (primary and secondary level) in large city districts where there is a shortage. Every community college and university also as an esl program and hires professional tutors, but don't require even a tesol cert. I'll probably use that as an angle to get hired into a college when I return to the States and then look to transfer into teaching what I really enjoy.

[DavisH]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

No, but most of your so-called qualified western teachers who can work in their own country wouldn't last a semester in a Thai government school trying to teach english.

[onlycw]

If you've already signed a contract, you break it at your own risk. A friend of mine had a contract signed, but the school never gave him a copy so that he could do his visa run. He called them 3 different times, and nobody could be bothered to return a phone call. He called one last time, telling them that he either needed the contract, or, if they didn't want him, then he'd go find a different school. No return phone call, again. In a civilized country, this would have been a breach of contract on the school's part, and allowed him to do what he needed to do in order to make arrangements for his next year of employment.

He got his new contract at a different school and did his visa run. On the first day of school, the director from the school that couldn't be bothered to return a phone call showed up with the other contract and told the director of the new school that he couldn't work there. Then, behind closed doors, he told my friend that he didn't want him as a teacher now because they 'had to go through an agency.' But, if he still wanted his new contract, the old director would let him work there if he paid him 10,000 bht/mo to cover the 'extra expenses' of going through an agency.

This is what we are dealing with here. It's a thugocracy. Beware and best of luck.

Thanks for the story. I'd never heard of a Director getting directly involved in the hiring and/or failing to honor a "contract". The 10,000.Baht payment doesn't make sense as you lay it out above. Who was in theory getting the 10,000.Baht per month, the current Director, the past Director, or the Agency?

A: the past director. It's clear AFAIK.

Someone should take note of known scams as those tend to be repeated ad nauseam.

[brewsterbudgen]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

You have misunderstood what TEFL is.

There's not a huge demand for TEFL/TESOL teachers in western countries (mostly they are needed to teach immigrants and asylum seekers) and it's not paid much more than in Thailand.

[Ajahnski]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

No, but most of your so-called qualified western teachers who can work in their own country wouldn't last a semester in a Thai government school trying to teach english.

You are correct. I worked with a lady who had something like 18 years experience between New Zealand, South Africa, and other places. One semester here was all she could handle.

In fairness though, that is more a testament to how bad the system is here than to any qualities of those teachers. I know the lady I worked with was diligent, dedicated, and sincere. She just couldn't handle the dysfunction. I totally sympathize with her.

[BruceMangosteen]

A: the past director. It's clear AFAIK.

Someone should take note of known scams as those tend to be repeated ad nauseam.

To believe this story, we have to assume...

1. The Director of the former school signed a contract with the teacher and then instructed his staff not to give a copy or supporting documents for a VISA and WP, along with an order not to talk to said teacher.

2. When the teacher took matters into his/her own hands, found another school, got a contract and supporting paperwork, and got a new VISA and WP(at least applied), said action was brought to the past Director's attention and he/she pursued the face issue with the new school Director...

3. Conspiring with the new school to scam the teacher out of a promise of 10,000.Baht per month, paid I guess monthly or via payroll deductions or cuts to said agency involved.

Too complex to believe at this level.

School starts next week. Not classes, but sign in requirement and lesson plans to be submitted for approval etc.. Have at it guys and gals.

[BruceMangosteen]

In fairness though, that is more a testament to how bad the system is here than to any qualities of those teachers. I know the lady I worked with was diligent, dedicated, and sincere. She just couldn't handle the dysfunction. I totally sympathize with her.

How can you sympathize with her? Everyone, yes everyone, know's about the "system" in Thailand. Most importantly, the Thai's don't care what you/I/anyone thinks about their system. It's not dysfunction, it just a person's ability to adjust their thinking. Beat your own head against a bathroom stall if you must, but change your thinking. You ain't in Kansas anymore.

[jadee]

School starts next week? So 'she' wants to change schools 'without much fanfare'? If she has a work permit, she is on extension of stay. If she leaves the school, they will cancel the WP and she will have 24 hours to either leave the country or sort out another arrangement.The way you leave one school certainly does matter: they can help transfer over a work permit. However, if you leave suddenly, they will likely just cancel it. I don't really see the 'two week window of opportunity'. The new school may also ask for a reference from the old school.

[johnatong]

Most of the people here I suspect are not Teachers but overpaid, under-qualified "teachers" who would never be employed as a Teacher in their own country.

Please correct me if I have misunderstood..

No, but most of your so-called qualified western teachers who can work in their own country wouldn't last a semester in a Thai government school trying to teach english.

You are correct. I worked with a lady who had something like 18 years experience between New Zealand, South Africa, and other places. One semester here was all she could handle.

In fairness though, that is more a testament to how bad the system is here than to any qualities of those teachers. I know the lady I worked with was diligent, dedicated, and sincere. She just couldn't handle the dysfunction. I totally sympathize with her.

I have an American friend -----a very well qualified TEACHER who does not have much time for the pretend "teachers"

He, of course, works for one of the renowned International Schools, is well remunerated and has no "problems"

Those who agree to accept contracts with poor employers are part of the problem.

[BruceMangosteen]

I have an American friend -----a very well qualified TEACHER who does not have much time for the pretend "teachers"

He, of course, works for one of the renowned International Schools, is well remunerated and has no "problems"

Those who agree to accept contracts with poor employers are part of the problem.

A very conceded attitude. What he thinks is "well qualified" doesn't apply here in Thailand to the masses. The fact he doesn't want to associate with "pretend" teachers speaks volumes about said self deception. Most people with large wages, nice housing provided and paid for by the schools, and students coming from the most affluent sector of a third world country don't have again said "problems" Lastly, people who just want a job and to survive should not be put down as part of the "problem". At least they are in many cases willing to try and work vs. what your American friend perceives as a solution i.e. welfare, food stamps, and medicaid. I'd like to see him knocked off his ivory tower for a few days and look at him in survival mode with said attitude.

[BruceMangosteen]

School starts next week? So 'she' wants to change schools 'without much fanfare'? If she has a work permit, she is on extension of stay. If she leaves the school, they will cancel the WP and she will have 24 hours to either leave the country or sort out another arrangement.The way you leave one school certainly does matter: they can help transfer over a work permit. However, if you leave suddenly, they will likely just cancel it. I don't really see the 'two week window of opportunity'. The new school may also ask for a reference from the old school.

Good morning. You seem to have lost the context.

1. School doesn't start most places, next week. Only the request/requirement at some schools, including hers, that teachers show up and sign in and prepare for the school year in their special way. This announcement was made via sms message. The assumption had always been first day of school was May 16th.

2. She may or may not want to change schools. She just as I stated in the OP sees this as the best time. Most important in said consideration receipt of earned wages for April 2016. April was earned due to working an entire school year(2015-2016) and while in the "new" contract, nothing changes the workers perception it was already earned, which I concur. The only way to get it was renew the contract for this school year.

3. As I have remarked previously, most schools don't operate in such a flash of action as to concern themselves with canceling a foreign teachers Work Permit. Often they don't care, other times they don't know if the teacher has left, even at the point they hire a replacement no concern is leftover about the departed teacher's VISA and Work Permit. Exceptions duly noted, but doubted. It's a risk many take either knowingly or unknowing or simply don't care i.e. they have left the Kingdom.

4. I find it rare reference checks with prior schools are made. Face plays a role. If the hiring school, especially at this late date, are in need of a teacher they aren't going to get into a possible face losing situation combined with what the above posted mentioned, a financial demand from a crooked Director(doubtful as I find that story).

Footnote: I've never heard of a former school helping a new school with the paperwork for a "transfer" of a foreigner. They will certainly sign off on his/her termination but nothing in regards to a convenient transfer.