[teachingenglishmadeeasy]

Hey guys,

Are you guys obligated, by contract, to teach summer courses? Do you get paid extra for them?

[HUE]

I used to have to sit at the Board of Education during the summer months for a few hours each day, mostly because they couldn't allow me a totally free month off.

Some places/schools require the teachers to do summer programs, demo lessons, etc. In some cases there's a real need. Yet others are much like my old situation: The teachers have to do something to earn a paycheck while the school's closed... and it doesn't really matter what that something is.

These days, there's a lot that can be accomplished with the Internet. It could also be worse. The place/school could say no work = no pay.

[teachingenglishmadeeasy]

true. I know that some schools here in South Korea do that. They tell the teachers that they don't get paid during vacation. Mind you, that's only in rare cases, but it does happen. I was just curious because I know of a few people that this type of situation has happened to.

[English-coach]

I could do summer camps if I wanted to but I like to take the summer off and go back to Canada.

[STCrowley]

I would consider doing a summer camp, but mainly because I'd like to broaden my experience to work with kids more. Now, I'm mostly teaching adults and I'd like to be more 'marketable' if I ever decided to try ESL in the U.S. (where I feel like a lot of the demand is working with kids.)

As for the contract. . . well, I'm freelance--you might have heard me bitching about it before--so I definitely have the no work-no pay situation. But, other the other hand, the thirteen hour days are worth it. . . financially speaking.

My tip to get more hours: I started my website at a time when work was slow and it has picked up ever since. Whenever I think I'll get a slow time to work on it. . . work picks up. So: if you have plans for your free time, you won't have any.
-Toby