When you are just starting a new job, you need to learn how things are done and follow the rules as much as possible, though it is also good to make helpful suggestions from time to time.

What would you do if you were tasked with running a science summer camp as part of your job teaching English in Taiwan, but you noticed that the camp was using cups and ounces rather than milliliters?

That is what happened to the guy in this story, so he told the school that they should adjust it to using the more scientific milliliters. The school, however, said that they wanted to keep it as cups and ounces since part of the focus is on teaching kids American English. He continued to push for what he wanted, and then he got fired for it.

Personally, I think that he should have just done as he was told. It makes sense to use those measurements in this situation. Read through the full story and see what you think.

Got fired for asking my school to use standard international units in their science book.

So, I live in Taiwan and work as an English teacher, but I have a PhD in mathematics, so I am a legitimate scientist.

Looking up the conversion rates should be pretty simple.

We’re doing a summer camp all about science next week, and I noticed that the amounts given for the experiments were in “cups” and “fluid ounces”.

I’m British, not American, so I don’t know what that means anyway, but I said that it should be in ml and grams to make it scientific.

Ok, no big deal. Using cups and ounces is simple. And this is for kids, so I’m sure the experiments are easy enough.

Problem was all the books had been printed, so I suggested that I would change the amounts to ml myself to save anyone else extra work.

That was no good because it would make the parents think the school was unprofessional.

When your boss says to do things one way, you can only push back so much.

So, in the end I relented but said I needed to change my copy because I don’t know what the American measurements mean.

That evening I get a letter saying I’m fired because insisting on doing things the “British way” was a “red flag” and being against “American” English would be a big problem for the future.

It sounds like he was still in a probationary period, so this makes sense.

So, now I’m having to find a new job at very short notice, not to mention I only started working for this school 5 weeks ago and had to use most of my savings moving here.

I’m basically in a very difficult situation because if I have to move I not only lose my deposit on my current apartment, I need to pay another 2 months rent to get a new one, not to mention the hassle of moving.

Honestly, it is pretty easy to see why they fired him. While this is a minor issue, he was still a very new employee, and it shows that he is going to be a hassle to work with. He is teaching English, and the school wants to use American measurements, which is not unreasonable.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an IT worker who logged on early to fix something simple, and discovered a system-wide cyber attack instead.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Yes, but the kids are trying to learn American English as well as science.

Let’s see what this English teacher says.

To be fair, the camp is for kids, so things don’t need to be exact.

Causing issues as a new teacher is not a good idea.

This person also taught in Taiwan and had similar experiences.

When you’re getting paid to do a job, sometimes you just have to do as you are told. Of course, this can be very frustrating at times, but it is what it is.

That being said, this guy was right that when it comes to science, it is better to use the milliliter measurements. The school, however, is also trying to teach American English, so they likely want to teach two things at once.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee whose dietary restrictions caused the whole office to turn against her.