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chill.sung99
Joined: 20 May 2014
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 Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:55 am Post subject: Warning: Gyeonggi International School (GIS) |
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G.I.S. is located in Paju. I would like to warn all prospective teachers and job applicants about unpaid wages most likely to happen on your final paycheck.
I am a former teacher, and at the end of my tenure, for my final monthly paycheck, I was given only about 35% of what I should have been paid.
Additionally, I would like to briefly comment on the school's curriculum and standards:
The school should never be put in the same category as other "international schools" in Korea, especially the prestigious ones, such as SFS, SIS, GSIS, etc. The school does not have any professional standards, teaching and learning standards, and is poorly managed. Perhaps more importantly, the school lacks ethical standards and has a history of shady business practices. Moreover, it is a glorified hagwon, charging parents an exorbitant amount for tuition. If you decide to apply for a teaching job there, I strongly encourage you to consider the fact that this school has a history of unpaid wages and not fulfilling terms of employment contract.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Last edited by chill.sung99 on Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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pmwhittier
Joined: 03 Nov 2011
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for posting this "warning" about "unpaid wages." I don't "understand" why you placed "unpaid wages" in quotations. Is this a "real" problem or an "actual issue?" |
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chill.sung99
Joined: 20 May 2014
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for pointing out the quotes. I should have used bold print. |
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Latina714
Joined: 10 Jul 2013
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| thanks for the warning. Sorry to hear that. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Home sweet home
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:04 am Post subject: |
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| That stinks. Do they actually follow an intl curriculum? You could write about them on ISR. |
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chill.sung99
Joined: 20 May 2014
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:25 am Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| That stinks. Do they actually follow an intl curriculum? You could write about them on ISR. |
I just checked out your website - tefl-tips.com. It is an amazing website! How did you find the time to include so much info?
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To answer your question, the school I mentioned in the o.p. - www.gischool.or.kr - does not follow any international curriculum. At the start of each semester, each teacher is given a list of courses they will be teaching and told to prepare the courses w/o any mentioning of standards or guidelines. Some teachers, if they are already familiar with a state's standards/curriculum, will use it to guide their planning. Other teachers... well, they follow their instincts. The school opened just 4 or 5 years ago, and is not WASC accredited. To increase student enrollment, they recently decided to expand from a grade 6-12 school to grades 1-12.
Like many of the newer (non-accredited) "International Schools" - the use of the term "international school" is more for marketing/business purposes. "International school" is, or will be, an overused and abused term in Korea for private schools. |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:50 am Post subject: |
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| A quick call to the Labor Board may have gotten you your wages. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Home sweet home
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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| chill.sung99 wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| That stinks. Do they actually follow an intl curriculum? You could write about them on ISR. |
I just checked out your website - tefl-tips.com. It is an amazing website! How did you find the time to include so much info?
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To answer your question, the school I mentioned in the o.p. - www.gischool.or.kr - does not follow any international curriculum. At the start of each semester, each teacher is given a list of courses they will be teaching and told to prepare the courses w/o any mentioning of standards or guidelines. Some teachers, if they are already familiar with a state's standards/curriculum, will use it to guide their planning. Other teachers... well, they follow their instincts. The school opened just 4 or 5 years ago, and is not WASC accredited. To increase student enrollment, they recently decided to expand from a grade 6-12 school to grades 1-12.
Like many of the newer (non-accredited) "International Schools" - the use of the term "international school" is more for marketing/business purposes. "International school" is, or will be, an overused and abused term in Korea for private schools. |
I usually mass write posts during vacations and schedule them far in advance. Not writing as much as I used to now that I have a child.
Too bad about the school. I worked for one that made us make EVERYTHING. It was accredited internationally as well. I never understood that. There was no info about what they had learned the year before, so you might be teaching them the same stuff. Guidelines need to be used! |
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Chia Pet
Joined: 23 Jun 2013
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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It's terrible about the unpaid wages.
But about the curriculum... If all the teachers are dedicated to their jobs, have a low enough class load, and are knowledgeable about their subjects, they may do a better job of truly educating if they don't have to follow a standardized curriculum. Big brother does not always know best. Admittedly my teaching experience is limited to EFL, but what I've seen of the standardized curricula and teaching methods at big hagwon chains and public schools has NOT impressed me.
That said, any employer should realize that screwing teachers out of money is a great way to make sure the teachers are NOT dedicated. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Home sweet home
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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| I agree, but I still think there has to be some type of basic guidelines to follow. |
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chill.sung99
Joined: 20 May 2014
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| Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 3:58 am Post subject: |
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| Chia Pet wrote: |
But about the curriculum... If all the teachers are dedicated to their jobs, have a low enough class load, and are knowledgeable about their subjects, they may do a better job of truly educating if they don't have to follow a standardized curriculum. Big brother does not always know best. Admittedly my teaching experience is limited to EFL, but what I've seen of the standardized curricula and teaching methods at big hagwon chains and public schools has NOT impressed me.
That said, any employer should realize that screwing teachers out of money is a great way to make sure the teachers are NOT dedicated. |
Like any profit-seeking business, the school's financial and economic interests were much more important than interests related to pedagogy and educating children. Maximizing the amount of labor (or class load) is always of chief concern, which is why none of the teachers would ever be given a low enough class load.
Big Brother's standards or no standards - when it's a quantity over quality approach to classroom instruction, the education students receive will always be sub-par. |
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