Korean Job Discussion Forums

ajgeddes · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan

I am pissed off right now. Before I get started, I like my school and I enjoy working here, but...

Each term, I teach special classes for extra money. Honestly, I don't like teaching them, but at least it comes with extra money. Anyways, today, students show up for the first day of class. I was like "WTF?" I couldn't understand why they were here. So, I start telling them, there is no class.

Well, then the teacher comes in to tell me that the class starts today. WTF!!!! Nobody has even said to me when we are starting. I don't have a class list. I don't know what level the students are. I don't even know what time it is supposed to be at. I know absolutely nothing, and they want me to teach the class.

Anyways, I refused to teach the class today because I am not going to do things last minute like that, especially for a 2 hour class.

Oh wait, I just for the class list right now. These are my students. 8 altogether. 2 first graders, 4 third graders, 1 fourth grader and a 5th grader. GREAT!!! I get to teach kids that don't know "Hello" in the same class with students who I can have a conversation with. FUKCING GREAT!!! What a fukcing gong show. Oh, and no, I got no say in what students can be in the class.

*EDIT* I ask why the teacher responsible for these classes didn't let me know anything about this. The response:

"Oh, you know she is very embarrassed to speak English to you. You have to understand."

FUKC THAT, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND! I CAN'T TEACH CLASSES ON 1 MINUTES NOTICE TO STUDENTS I DON'T KNOW!!!

To top it off, I have spoken to this teacher in English many times, and even more often have had complete conversations in Korean.

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

make the new guy do it.

antoniothegreat · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Location: Yangpyeong

seems like they really dont care about the class, if the school doesnt care, why should you? sounds like a lot of bingo if you ask me...

sketcha · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Location: Seoul, South Korea

yeah, I've taken a couple of hits regarding last minute stuff ... sadly, I guess it's quite common here

one time I didnt learn about the school's/hagwon's summer holiday until a few days before ... and I only learned about it from the students ... nothing from the other teacher or the director

student - no school next week
me - you're not going to school next week?
student - yes, no, no school next week, holiday
me - what holiday?
student - hagwon no

had a feeling if the student didnt tell me, I wouldnt found out until the following monday, waiting by the door of the school to be open

the level of professionalism does need to be raised ... by both the school and the teachers (native and foreign)

Alyallen · Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:27 pm Post subject:

The joy of being at the bottom of the totem pole.

It gets old real fast and nothing seems to change. The OP did the right thing. It sucks to get a mish mash of students and be expected to perform some sort of miracle in the process.

Voyeur · Joined: 19 Jun 2003

i would have taught the class

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

Atavistic

ED209 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006

What were they thinking? You'd sit there and speak English for 2hrs and they'd learn like that?

You have to let them know you're pissed. Not sure if refusing to teach is the best thing to do. But I think it should work and stop them from pulling the same crap again, then again this is where logic come to die.

Something had to be done and at least you now have the time to prepare a proper lesson. Teaching this lesson anyway would have just let them think everything was okay, even if you complained.

The Perfect Cup of Coffee · Joined: 17 Jun 2007

yingwenlaoshi · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!

2 hours? And never mind the last minute crap. A mix of 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders with different levels of comprehension even?

What the hell is that? That's just a class destined to fade away before December.

I have a new OT class MWF from 9 to 10. They came on Monday (2 male adult students) and cancelled already on Wednesday. Perplexes me since I won't get paid for a cancelled class, but was ready to teach it until I found out maybe a couple of hours beforehand.

Don't like the sitting, waiting, and wondering deals. I should probably get paid for it. Anyway, it's not a good sign when they cancel the second class. Low level engineers.

Then a couple of more engineers want a class at the same time T/Th. My boss then tells me that he doesn't want to have just 2 students at this time because he has to hang around for an extra hour and it's not worth it to him money-wise. I'm like, "Well it's up to you. What can I say?" It would be OT for me. Was he waiting for me to say that I'd do it a reduced price? I wouldn't do that. It's my time. I guess he was just being communicative. I don't know. Seemed like a useless talk. He asked them to gather up at least two more students.

But I'm just wondering. A lot of times these male, low-level adult students don't seem to last. They're wishy washy. Is it all really worth it in the end.

"Just do easy English with them. Don't worry about the book. Blah, blah, blah." Just a hassle when I'm already busy with my regular classes. Kind of like working for McDonalds. "I'll have fries with that." Anyway.

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Several times I've been told by bosses to just go in and 'talk' to the students when I was told at the last minute. I've shared an office with Korean English teachers who were surprised that I actually prepared a lesson before I taught it.

I think there is an honest gap in knowledge among many Korean administrators and teachers. They simply have no idea what goes in to making a lesson. After all, how much preparation is there to walk in, read a paragraph in English, translate it word for word into Korean, then read it again in English? (Before I get flamed, I also know that a fair number of foreigners also have zero idea about what goes into planning a lesson.)

purple_buddha · Joined: 18 Apr 2003

Ya-ta Boy wrote:

normalcyispasse · Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:28 am Post subject:

+1. I have nothing to add other than to share my own empathic frustration with you. This sh*t happens all the damn time. It happens far more often at my elementary school than it ever did at my hagwon, though.

I keep telling them that communication is key. They've lost two employees to runners because the administration sucks at communication and then expects way too much. There's a big part of me that's just waiting for this (private) school to fail.

postfundie · Joined: 28 May 2004

dear op,

I feel your frustration..can't stand gettting told crap last minute....you have a total right to complain

It's a good idea though to get in the habit of going in Everyday and saying hello to the director or front desk ladies or whoever is in charge of the scheduling and again before you leave and asking them if there are anychanges or surprises..it shouldn't be a teachers job to do this but doing it avoids future headaches.