Korean Job Discussion Forums

bellum99 · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know

We all know the school owners break the contract...but don't many teachers break it all the time. They often don't do a good job, don't act in a professional manner, and couldn't care less about the job. I see teachers slacking off and dragging their butts every single time. The contracts usually stipulate the attitude teachers should have. Perhaps we break the contract every single day (in the eyes of the owners).
I would fire most teachers I see if I was in Canada...without a thought. I have seen some lazy teachers and then they are surprised when at the end of the contract they are screwed. They have bad attitudes about every little thing and never do anything other than what is clearly written in the contract. I am sometimes the same but if I was an owner...I would hate the English teachers.

TOMODACHI-KID · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:07 pm Post subject:

Two sides of the coin here, huh...

Sure, there are teachers who "slack" as you mention, but who always draws first blood, eh? Hands down, it's the Directors! You can count on these "Directors" tweaking some aspect of your contract, or pulling some type of bull-crap on you, whether it be not disciplining a student for you, which makes your job even harder, or your basic "mind games" these Hogwon bosses play on you. The list goes on! Hence, the actions of many teachers.

And the reason why teachers don't do any "other thing," as you mentioned, that's not clearly in the contract is because:

1. Why should they (we). What is written is written, nothing more. This is what a contract is for--to do what you have to do, yes? A contract is there, supposedly, to protect us from, per say, washing the director's car on Sundays...you get me....

2. Hogwon bosses will take major advantage of a teacher. If you give them a little, they take everything!

3. Does the term "Save Ass" ring a bell, especially in a foreign country.

_____________________________________________________________
"Some people never change,
what truly horrible lives they must lead." Shocked

mack4289 · Joined: 06 Dec 2006

ontheway · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject:

mack4289

here is no rule requiring hogwan owners to have TEFL certificates.

ontheway · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:39 pm Post subject:

The Wonjangnim at my hogwan has never broken a single term of any contract with any teacher. In fact, the Wonjangnim always gives more and goes beyond the contract.

The school really teaches the kids. This might be rare in Korea. As a result, some teachers who think coming to Korea is just a vacation - time to have fun playing with cute kiddies - are startled to find out they actually have to work and teach. So, we had problems with one horrible teacher - lazy, low intelligence, unable to teach simple elementary school things. Naturally, the recruiter had told the school she was really great. That teacher broke the contract in many ways and probably shouldn't be a teacher at all.

Quality is another problem. Teachers with degrees in serious subjects: the sciences, engineering, medicine are the best. Teachers who are English majors and have TEFL or some other certificate seem to be serious, but, so far at this school, have not been as smart as the students, so they have been unable to perform at the high level required.

It's really hard to weed out the bad teachers by telephone interview. It would be much better for schools if the teachers owned their own visas. A good school could hire away the good teachers from the bad schools. This would mean the bad teachers could be fired on the spot and replaced with good ones, at higher pay. The bad teachers would be unemployed and driven out of Korea, or left only bad schools to work at. The bad schools would have only bad teachers or no teachers as the good ones would get hired away, or quit to find new jobs.

mack4289 · Joined: 06 Dec 2006

flint · Joined: 11 Apr 2004

flint · Joined: 11 Apr 2004

After pondering this question I still believe that the hagwon owners do it more. Which isn't to say teachers aren't to blame. In my time here I can think of 2 teachers I knew of who broke their contracts. One because she prefered to work in the city her BF was at, the other because, well he was a more than a little strange.

I have known many who have quit (thus breaking their contract) or pulled runners. In those cases they did it as a direct result of the owner treating them like dirt or breaking the contract themslves. (One of the reasons I say the teacher broke the contract is because they never went after the hagwon for their contract violations, they just ran or quit. Thus breaking the contract. What can I say, I don't feel like arguing sermantics.)

Once you say no to some (most?) hagwon owners that is the kiss of death. We need you to work Saturday even though it isn't in your contract. No. You are now a bad teacher. They will then (and I experienced this first and second hand (happened to a friend)) do their best to make you want to quit. They poison the work atmosphere, one of their first ways of doing this is by trying to turn you and the Korean teachers against each other) and generally try to make your work life miserable. Until it comes to the point that you quit. If you don't reach that point quickly enough they will ask you to quit. If that doesn;t work they will fire you for no just cause.

It happens from both ends, that is true. But it happens more from the hagwon end.

The best thing I could say about one of the hagwons I worked at is that they only ripped me off a little. They charged me 6% income tax (which I didn't know at the time should have been 3.3%) and didn't pay pension (which, again, I never knew they should pay). Other than that they were good to work for. Mind you isn't it more than a little sad that the best thing most people can say good about the hagwon they worked at is that they only ripped them off a little?

Sorry to digress, but it was something this thread made me think of.

TOMODACHI-KID · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:25 pm Post subject:

FLINT WROTE--

Summer Wine · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: Next to a River

I know of one case where by the teacher was fired and had their visa quickly sold to another school who were desperate for a teacher. They then went around and told all the students and other teachers that he quit and ran away. So being told a teacher did a runner, doesn't always mean they did.

Bosses can use any excuse they want once the teacher has left.

TOMODACHI-KID · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:27 pm Post subject:

Summer Wine wrote: