Ask Headmaster Ken

Hello Headmaster Ken,

I taught in the U.S. for four years as a Spanish teacher and struggled greatly to uphold a job permanently because of the economy and politics in Arizona. Fortunately, I used the State mandated SEI (Structured English Immersion) to my advantage and an Oxford English certification to get a pretty nice job as an IELTS prep instructor for a new school.

Now that I am becoming familiar with the IELTS system I have a couple of questions about publishing and credentials. Firstly, since my school is new, I am creating a lot of my own materials and want to know what "intellectual property rights" I have here, if any, and how I can go about publishing some of my insights to taking this test (I've avoided giving my school a lot of my materials and give them directly to students).

I want to avoid my company using me for my ideas because they are already using me for a lot as far as marketing is concerned. (I know this contradicts the values of education but this is China and they are riding me hard).

Secondly, if my goal is to be an examiner and I am working for a school that isn't SAFEA licensed, do you think this will haunt me later if I apply to be an IELTS examiner?

Your insight is greatly appreciated!
55 bulldog with 2 BAs a MAED and contemplating working for an International school

Normally, the material you develop within the scope of your duties as work product is fairly claimed by your employer.

If you were writing a science fiction thriller or inventing a new toy, that would be a different story.

As far as Examiner credentials go, I have never seen this (working at a SAFEA licensed school) as a criteria nor do I suspect it would carry any weight either way.

Ken and I are not lawyers but, I do know that in the United States, any work produced by an employee on the job is the property of the employer.

If I am a chemist working for DuPont and, in the course of my duties and as part of my job, I discover a new formula for rubber that makes it 10 times more durable than what the world is currently using (because I am a genius in my field and twice as innovative as any of my colleagues), I cannot file a patent for discovering that new formula because I was already paid to do so. The legal copyright holder of this new discovery is DuPont and DuPont can claim and take all the credit for this new discovery without even mentioning my name! The lawyers call this "work made for hire" or simply "work for hire" and DuPont would be the "corporate author."

The issue here is whether you are being paid a fair salary for the work that you were hired to produce. If not, then you need to seek remedy by asking for more money. Attempting to reduce the inequity by withholding work product is a slippery slope if you intend to use this employer as a reference (and, in China, you will need a work release and "good citizen" letter in order to transition smoothly to the next job).