Korean Job Discussion Forums

[legalquestions]

Just learned that we will be required to phone our absent unigwon students in order to encourage them to attend class more often (can't call their hand phones from our office phones though); and that our employer will evaluate our job performance based on unigwon class attendance numbers (atendance near the end of the course).

Your thoughts/ideas?

[spliff]

Haa...good luck!

[ajuma]

Why won't they let you call their handphones from the office phone? It seems as if they want the students, they should kick in some of the cost. They sure as heck won't pay YOU for your time making the calls!!

[hogwonguy1979]

thats awful. no way i'd do that besides i dont know of a unigwon class that has had more than 50% of the students left at the end of the class

[buster brown]

I don't like the idea that your employers are going to evaluate your performance based on attendance. If that's the case, why not just check a few extra students 'present' every day? It's not like the Korean staff ever stick their heads into my classroom anyway.

I've had much better success at retaining students since I instituted a policy of sending out text-messages during the second and third weeks of the term. After that, I only send messages when a regular attender misses a couple of classes in a row. My cell phone bill hasn't gone up noticeably, but the class is much more interesting to teach with 10 students instead of 4 or 5. However, I don't like the way you're forced into doing it at your personal expense...I'd fight against it tooth and nail if that were the case for me. Since I came up with the plan and initiated it on my own, it's a completely different case.

Another tactic to boost attendance is to plan a lunch or dinner together with the class during the first two weeks (something like hoi sik). That way they get to know each other and they're more likely to come back because they've established relationships with their classmates. Besides, you'll get a free meal either way.

To hogwonguy, I regularly end the term with 60-80% of the original number still attending my unigwon classes. In my experience, it's really more about the students themselves than the teacher. I recently had an ajumma class of 15 students. During 4 months of classes, the lowest attendance was 9. I'd like to take credit for having great lessons, but they just liked each other so they attended regularly.

[yingwenlaoshi]

This souds really stupid. You're there to teach, not to call students and encourage them to come to class. I'd just tell my boss, "I teach the best way I know how and it's not my problem if the students don't show up. I do a good job and that's it. Call them yourself, doobie head."

Out of what arse do they pull these ideas? I'd be like, "Yeah, that's funny. See you tomorrow."

[ajuma]

I just realized that it's a unigwan class. Doesn't that mean that they've paid in advance? If they don't come, the uni doesn't lose any money, right?


buster brown: I once started and ended a unigwan class with 10 students!! Now and then someone would be absent due to another committment, but that class just clicked and they loved being together. It was a strange mix of 8 uni students (all different years and majors) and 2 younger ajumas. I don't take credit for it, but I sure am proud of it!

[Bibbitybop]

It is the employer's job to pay for those phone calls or at least reimburse you.

[yingwenlaoshi]

[legalquestions]

The reason we can't call them from the office is because the office phones are rigged so that they can only be used to dial numbers in the university system (on campus).

[yingwenlaoshi]

[ajuma]

I'm sure that the office phones (or one of them anyway) can be "unrigged" so you can make out-going calls. I can't believe that the president of the uni can't make out-going calls on HIS phone, can you?? (Probably your director can, too!! Has he ever called you from the uni phone?)

[yingwenlaoshi]

[Young FRANKenstein]

I've routinely called absent students in the past. I've usually only had to make the phone calls once, and they either never missed a class again or they email/text me with an excuse why they will be absent.