Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aja21]

I was wondering how many teachers at Hagwans are actually given positive praise from their directors/supervisors...
At our school we get interviewd by a very "caring and friendly" director, who seems like a nice person to work for. Then we arrive in Korea at the school and well..she is always in the office and the only time we get contact is when she is informing us of the complaints from the parents...gee...what a way to motivate us! Yes that makes me want to work harder for you! I know in the phone interview the director will say whatever it is we want to hear so we sign on...ah the joys of telephone interviews from thousands of miles away!

We just feel like..well I am getting paid the same no matter if I do a crap job, or do an amazing job. We are all intrinsically motivated, so we don;t need to be praised on a daily basis...it is just nice hearing it once in a while!
We do get taken out for staff dinners about once in a blue moon, but usually when new staff comes or something..so should we just accept that this is the only form of appreciation we will get? Is it a Korean thing- Do they normal not give praise, or is it our director's personality? Any stories from other teachers? Or advice?
Cheers!

[goodgood]

Same here- you get used to it- the people at my school who are perceived as doing the best job (i.e. making the most laminated frogs and apples) are rewarded with more (unpaid) work rather than compliments. I'll take zero positive reinforcement over that any day.

[Oreovictim]

I prefer praise from my students instead. I always compliment my students on how hard they work, what a good job they're doing, what they're wearing, etc. Could it kill them to act friendly the way that I am to them? Shoot, they bow and smile to the Korean teachers but not to me. But then again, I'd rather have a bigger paycheck than my Korean coworkers.

That reminds me . . . how much do Korean hagwon teachers make? I bet it's not as much as us.

[huffdaddy]

[Ya-ta Boy]

In general, Asians don't say thanks to someone who is doing their job. It's just accepted/expected that you do the job you were hired to do. We expect feedback. It's a different style, so don't take it personally.

[ChopChaeJoe]

I get gifts from my students and their parents, sometimes pizza parties bought by a parent who discovers that I taught their 6 year old how to read or when their 5 yar old starts speaking English to pople while on vacation in the Phillipines.

The only thanks I need from my school is to be paid on time. I bust my ass for my own satisfaction, not theirs.

[faster]

I'm generally far more appreciated and respected than I deserve. Course I won't complain about that.

[Zoot]

Funny you should mention that. We get ZERO feedback from our head teacher and supervisor unless it's negative. I mean, yes, I should know what you want me to change but I'd also like to know what you like.

Well, the owner of the school came around today - he comes around once every 2 months or so and tells us they've gotten some compliments from the kids AND parents. I would never have known if Captain didn't make his bimonthly visit.

I wholly believe it's important to tell people what they're doing right or they might start to think no one is noticing and stop doing it.

[sadsac]

In short, "Yes!" and that's the way it is. Three hogwans, 6 plus years and no there is rarely a pat on the back for a job well done. I can live with that.

[aja21]

Thanks for the quick responses..so I see there is a wide variety of expreriences out there as expected.
Ya-ta Boy..you made a good point that we are just expected to do a good job and get on with it as that is the way it is...however, I do have one further question/curiousity...
We have all moved over to learn about Korean culture and to work daily with Koreans. I know that some things in one culture are not practiced in others... But...if the Korean directors are always hiring foreigners, wouldn't they try to learn about what motivates us? I don;t think they should cater to all of our needs as we are in their country and need to respect the way they do things. But wouldn;t it make for a better atmosphere where we felt welcomed, appreciated, and undertood (corny and only in a perfect world I know!).

[faster]

[jurassic82]

At my school the teachers never recieve praise. Occassionally similar to your situation our boss will take us out to dinner but that is only if someone is leaving or a new teacher arrives. I agree with what was posted earlier that it's far more beneficial when getting praise from students. I have only been in Korea for 7 months and have come to the conclusion that you'll never recieve the same kind of diplomacy from Hogwan directors as you will from employers back home. For me I tend to just ignore the director and do my thing. I know if I'm doing a bad job by the feedback I get from the students not from my crap boss. I change what I'm doing related to how they react to how I'm teaching. I often hear the director talk about how parents are complaining. Many of the complaints are as follows:

1) Not Enough Homework
2) Their Child Doesn't Do Their Homework
3) Their Child Is losing Interest In English

The list goes on and on. Try to ignore the BS your boss gives you and work hard for your students. In the long run gratitude from your students feels a lot better than from a greedy boss.

[ChopChaeJoe]

It seems that above child molesters and telemarketers, hogwan directors are about th lowest type of person. Getting praise from them means you are doing something you probably shouldn't be proud of.

[B-Teacher]

I must say I'm a little surprised about all the people out there who don't get any positive reinforcement from their work (don't know why I am though). At my hogwan, my boss and co-teacher frequently heap me with compliments (i.e. "You're such a hard worker" or "You do such a good job"). It's at the point where I'm a little embarassed.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that my boss lived in Canada for a year or so...

[mumblebee]

Our school gives informal feedback, but there is constant interaction between management and staff, as the direct supervisors are also teaching. We do self-assessment every 6 months, and management also completes the same assessment for each teacher. Ideally, we would sit with each teacher to go over the assessment, but there is rarely time for this...

We do award 'best teacher' bonuses; every 6 months 2 korean teachers and 2 foreign teachers get a plaque and 300 000 won (we have a staff of 15 KT and 15 FT.) Our boss tries...we have a short information meeting every Monday, and he always points out who has been pitching in on special projects etc.