The English Teachers

RFDG: Hopefully, it’ll pan out.

HB: Well, it’s always a choice isn’t it? There are issues to do with school and issues to do with minority language issues and bilingualism.

RFDG: And it’s easier to do that here?

HB: Well, sort of, yes… ish. It’s also connected to living in London. Personally, I don’t like living in London very much. I like living in Moscow and my husband has family here.

*

Christopher James Leckenby (CJL)

RFDG: Why did you choose the school you work in?

CJL: I had done an interview with another school in Moscow, they offered me a job and I accepted. This was pre-CELTA. This was just before I started doing CELTA. On the one hand I was thrilled, but I also had misgivings because I was not terribly impressed with the interview process. I had a lot of doubts in my mind and they weren’t terribly reliable when it came to keeping in touch with me, when I had questions and stuff.

I remember finding this school’s advertisement page on one of the ESL job websites and it looked, on the surface, a lot more organised than the one I had seen for my first choice. That was one thing that caught my eye and the fact that they required a higher level of training, and there were more standards in place for employment. I thought, “OK, well that’s usually a good sign.”

When I wrote to the school again, after I had finished CELTA, they remembered me. I was encouraged by that. I was not expecting anyone to remember my initial query before I did CELTA. The fact they had actually remembered and then going through the interview process, I just felt a lot more secure with this choice. It just seemed like a smarter decision. This school would be able to offer me more if I agreed and if I passed the selection process.

RFDG: If you could describe where you work now, very briefly, what would you say?

CJL: The short answer is I love it. I think overall I tend to get pretty attached to where I work, regardless of where that is. When I first came over, I became ensconced quite quickly in a particular area of the city and a particular school. I was very, very devoted to that school and to those students, and just generally to that area. I’m still in that area generally, but circumstances forced me to change schools. (Chris’s present school has multiple locations which are referred to as “schools.”)

I’m even happier there because it’s just such a nice place to work. It’s a nice size of school. It’s not as cramped as the previous school. It’s a more comfortable environment to work in. It’s more modern. The administrative staff are wonderful to work with – that’s probably my favourite bit. I love my students. There are always resources on hand that I need, so it’s always well stocked.

Because teachers are coming and going all the time, I’m the most senior teacher there. I’m really the only one who’s there all the time, so that really gives me a sense of security that, assuming they’re happy with my work, I can always sort of go back there and I will always have classes. I really, really like working there.

RFDG: Is that what makes you stay, despite the fact you have all these other places you’d like to visit and live?

CJL: That is a big reason. I think the people in general and the people I have met since I first arrived here, that is a big reason why I’ve wanted to stay. Part of it also is just the comfort of the routine. As I said, I get attached to things easily. I tend to kind of fall into a routine and it’s difficult to kind of break that once you accept it.

It is kind of refreshing, when I look at my entire experience of Russia. It started out positive and it’s only become more positive in terms of the environment I work in; the people I work with, the quality of the work I think I do and that I’m enabled to do through the support networks. So, yeah, that is a big reason why I continue to come back.

RFDG: What’s so good about the people you work with? Is there any common set of features, or is it different reasons?

CJL: I suppose as far as colleagues are concerned, as I said, the administrators are wonderful. They’re very supportive and very helpful. You can see they actually invest themselves in their job, which makes it very easy to work with them. I know I can turn to them if I need help. I can rely on them in the event that I need to. They’re both very good at what they do anyway and they have lots of other skills outside of administrating, which means they can manage the school well and it enables me to feel comfortable when I do my job.

I enjoy working with different people, generally. There have been a lot of new teachers who have arrived at the school and who have worked with me since I’ve been there. I’ve enjoyed working alongside them to help them when they’ve needed it, but also just kind of to feed off them. I’ve enjoyed that sort of symbiotic dynamic I’ve had with many of them. They’ve always been great.

And, just generally, the students in this country. I have grown quite attached to them everywhere, but in particular at my school because I admire that they’re able to do as much as they are. I can see the similarities between them and kids their age back home. I can also see just how stark some of the differences are because there are expectations on their shoulders that I never had to deal with and that kids their age in my country don’t have to deal with.

It’s remarkable they’re able to be who they are and that they’re able to enjoy being young and generally go through the same life phases that I went through – albeit with 10 times the expectation, 10 times the uncertainty and 10 times the work. I enjoy being a part of that story. If I can give them something which will ultimately be useful and enjoyable for them in the future then I’m happy to do that.

RFDG: That’s a long list of good things. Is there anything bad?

CJL: You mean about Russia, or about working here?

RFDG: Working here, in particular.

CJL: First of all, just on the most general level, it’s hard to see people come and go all the time. And everybody comes and goes. I mean, students come and go, administrators come and go, co-workers come and go, ADOSes come and go, and that’s hard.

I suppose I’m a bit more used to it now. But a couple of years ago we would have a real good sense of community. I’d get really close to various people and then they’d leave. It’s a bit morbid, but it almost felt like a death in some ways because they move on and you don’t know if or when you’re going to be seeing these people again. Then you have to start from ground zero with a new group of people which maybe you will have as good a relationship with, or maybe not. That’s a hard thing to accept in this line of work, no matter where you are.

I did sort of expect this from Russia, but there are things that could be better organised here and that’s putting it mildly. I’m not impressed with the general lack of organisation in terms of how the school as a whole does things. I think a lot of that, frankly, boils down to the fact that the business culture of this company does not mix well with an education culture. It’s not just this company, I think I see it in companies everywhere, in Russia and around the world. I can see the priorities of the business trumping the priorities of the school and the people who make up the school, and it’s just irritating. I would do things differently. It’s very annoying to have to work in an environment where those are the priorities.

RFDG: This conflict of priorities between academia and business, do you think that contributes to the high turnover rate? Or is there something else as well?

CJL: I do think that’s a big part of it. I think it’s very clear the organisation, the company, the school, does not value people. People are seen only as a means to an end, regardless of whether they’re employees or they’re customers. And I hate that mentality. I hate it in a practical sense and I hate it because of my background in political science because that is something that never ends well. And it’s just a stupid organising principle and I do think that puts a lot of people off. It does put me off as well, but as I said I’ve been able to override that because of the positive things I told you about.

In some ways I think there’s always going to a be high turnover because the type of people that are attracted to this line of work – and I think especially in Russia – are people who… I think I once described it to somebody as, “If you come and work here, you’re either running to something or from something.”

Because coming to teach English in Russia, I think for the vast majority of people I know, is not considered a step up. It’s not something that you aspire to do when you’re 10 years old. It’s not something parents brag about to their friends and co-workers the same way they would about a child who’s going to medical school, for instance.

So, if you find yourself in this part of the world and you find yourself doing this kind of work, it’s usually because you’re either reinventing yourself, or you’re trying to get away from something that happened in the past which you want to sort of wipe clean.

Or, because you sort of want an adventure and are looking for a good time. You’re going into it with eyes open and, come what may, you’ll sort of deal with it.

A lot of people I’ve worked with here already have fixed goals in mind. They’re not overly loyal to the company or the country. They come, they take what they need and then they move on to the next one. I think that would be the case no matter how well run the school was.

RFDG: Do you think it’s possible to balance academia and profit, or will they always be in conflict?

CJL: There’s always going to be some tension because the goals of those two things are different. There’s a lot that could be done to reconcile them. There are a lot of things which aren’t being done now, which could be done and which should be done, to make life a lot easier. Certainly for the teachers, but also just a lot more pleasant in terms of a work culture. I would like to see that happen.

RFDG: Could you give some examples?

CJL: This is not unique to this company, but it’s irritating to have to deal with lip service. For instance, when you get praise in the form of these very hollow platitudes that are given at the beginning and the end of the academic year. Then it’s followed up with nothing substantial during the course of the academic year when you need that support and when it would be nice to actually have something tangible which shows that the school is genuinely invested in your work and your career – not to mention the customers you’re supposedly responsible for.

In the most general sense, it would be nice to see more of an emphasis placed on people. I’ve seen a lot of good people come and go over the years, and a lot of really good teachers and administrators who have been dissuaded from staying on because they just get frustrated by the lack of attention or care that they seem to get from the organisation.

I think that’s a shame. There’s a problem if people are not willing to stick out tougher times. People, and especially experienced and talented people, should know they are in the best place when they get there. The fact I’ve seen so many go, and in some cases on not-so-great terms, that’s a problem.