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ThingsComeAround

Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:49 pm Post subject: GEPIK to scale back teachers? |
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Reaching out to whoever has heard of this..
A few weeks ago I recall being at a bar when one of my friends mentioned a GEPIK coordinator gave notice that there were massive budget cuts, and all schools in Goyang with more than one teacher would lose half of their budget.
Didn't hear much about it since then, until yesterday.
Apparently they want to slash the number of NETs in Goyang down to 20 for all elementary schools, as there isn't a budget for English like there was 2/3 years ago.
For all the nay-sayers that will claim this is a bluff, that they will not 'fire' us, that isn't what they are doing. Instead they will phase us out and not renew our contracts. In doing that, they can tell the moms anything they want.
Has anyone else heard of this? I know I only mentioned Goyang but are there other cities that are also affected? |
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lowpo
Joined: 01 Mar 2007
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:18 pm Post subject: Re: GEPIK to scale back teachers? |
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ThingsComeAround wrote: |
Reaching out to whoever has heard of this..
A few weeks ago I recall being at a bar when one of my friends mentioned a GEPIK coordinator gave notice that there were massive budget cuts, and all schools in Goyang with more than one teacher would lose half of their budget.
Didn't hear much about it since then, until yesterday.
Apparently they want to slash the number of NETs in Goyang down to 20 for all elementary schools, as there isn't a budget for English like there was 2/3 years ago.
For all the nay-sayers that will claim this is a bluff, that they will not 'fire' us, that isn't what they are doing. Instead they will phase us out and not renew our contracts. In doing that, they can tell the moms anything they want.
Has anyone else heard of this? I know I only mentioned Goyang but are there other cities that are also affected? |
I'm not with GEPIK, but with EPIK in Gangwon-do. We were told that they will cut 10 % of the NET's in March. Then in 2 or 3 years they will cut another 45%. They will us the money to train Korean English Teachers. That is were the money is going too. |
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jvalmer

Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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Back to the good ole' days of going to multiple schools. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Location: Korea
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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This sounds like scaremongering to me. I can still remember when people were predicting that Chinese would triumph over English as the language of buisness and we would be out of a job overnight.
Re-training the KET's to teach using a more progressive approach is a massive waste of time and money. They have month long programs in Pyeongteck. They house and feed and train the teacher trainees for a month, and they come back to their schools and teach using the same old grammar Translation approach. They have been running these things for over ten years. There's a lady who works in my school who's been on more than one oversea's programs. When I walk next to her classroom the only time I hear the target language is when the CD Rom is playing. |
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3DR
Joined: 24 May 2009
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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I have a friend who has also told me this...she's in Uijeongbu. |
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lowpo
Joined: 01 Mar 2007
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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3DR wrote: |
I have a friend who has also told me this...she's in Uijeongbu. |
It all still has to do with test scores. That is all that matters to everyones. |
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bobbybigfoot
Joined: 05 May 2007 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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If schools really wanted to make a difference, they would start providing incentives for native teachers to learn Korean. |
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inkoreaforgood
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Location: Inchon
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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We've been hearing about the possibility of fewer NETs in the schools here for a few years. Some major issues have always been the Korean teachers, their lack of training in dealing with any issues with NETs, and the fact that the Korean teachers have very poor english themselves. All this combines into a "blame the foreign teacher" approach, and a call from many Korean teachers to remove the NETs altogether.
Most of these public school jobs won't exist in 2-3 years, simply because the NETs are not supported by the Board of Education, the school, or their co-workers. The NETs have no voice at all in any aspect of their position at the schools they work at. They don't belong in the unions, and they have no pull with any of the authorities in question. The result is inevitable.  |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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bobbybigfoot wrote: |
If schools really wanted to make a difference, they would start providing incentives for native teachers to learn Korean. |
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ticktocktocktick

Joined: 31 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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My c/t just told me this is happening at my school in Gunpo, where most schools have 2 teachers. From what she said, I think it might be all the schools in this city. |
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randall020105

Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Location: the land of morning confusion...
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:17 pm Post subject: good point. |
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in korea 4 gud touches on a vital point right there...
analysing and pondering further results in me wondering how feasible unionising this whole thing(NET's) may be. what stops us from forming a union and once again putting the ball in our court. what are the thoughts around that?
look ... i'm shaking a cold and just thinking here... so feel free to wise-crack my response... humbug!!
R. |
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jrwhite82

Joined: 22 May 2010
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:43 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by jrwhite82 on Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:17 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Lexiloo555
Joined: 24 Jul 2010 Location: Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:07 am Post subject: Budget Cuts... |
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I recently asked about this and my co-teacher said that there are 73 GEPIK NETs in Pyeongtaek area schools (where I currently live) and out of those 73, 17 will be let go at the end of their contracts. I am relatively safe due to the fact that my school is very rural and they already cut their afterschool NET (therefore eliminating 2 NETs in one school) shortly after I arrived. That is the only information I have received thus far, hope that helps in some way? Also, it may be beneficial to ask your co-teacher because from what I have heard from other NETs in my area all of the co-teachers got some sort of letter from GEPIK with a magical list of what schools would receive cut funding and therefore no NET funding for next year! |
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22tea77
Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Location: United States
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Fishead soup wrote: |
Re-training the KET's to teach using a more progressive approach is a massive waste of time and money. They have month long programs in Pyeongteck. They house and feed and train the teacher trainees for a month, and they come back to their schools and teach using the same old grammar Translation approach. They have been running these things for over ten years. There's a lady who works in my school who's been on more than one oversea's programs. When I walk next to her classroom the only time I hear the target language is when the CD Rom is playing. |
We have a BINGO!!!  |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:01 pm Post subject: Re: good point. |
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randall020105 wrote: |
in korea 4 gud touches on a vital point right there...
analysing and pondering further results in me wondering how feasible unionising this whole thing(NET's) may be. what stops us from forming a union and once again putting the ball in our court. what are the thoughts around that?
look ... i'm shaking a cold and just thinking here... so feel free to wise-crack my response... humbug!!
R. |
Several things. We have teachers all with different goals and jobs. Some are at hakwons, some are at public schools, some at private schools (non-hakwon)... Trying to get everyone together under an umbrella would be like trying to herd cats. And even if we did manage to form this "union" it would have no real power. The majority of NETs here tend to be on E-2 visas which explicitly forbid us from participating in any political action. We couldn't strike, or picket or anything like that.
Moreover would you go on strike at your job because Joe Blow in Busan got fired? What about if he was fired for cause? What about if you liked your job and wanted to re-sign? Most NETs are here for an adventure and to pay off student loans. Joining a union or picketing in support of fellow union members/higher pay/better conditions are the last thing on their mind.
Finally most NETs are here for the short term. Having a revolving door of union members leads for short term planning. People who come in five years down the road may have a different vision or goals for the union than the ones who initially started it.
Look at ATEK. Initially they were going to be a union and fight for teachers' rights. Now they are little more than a glorified messageboard. And they couldn't even agree among themselves...there's a splinter group in Busan. And the last time they had a vote to elect a president only about 5% of their membership showed up. |
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