Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marktoronto]

2 questions:
1: How long is your longest class?
2: Do the teachers clean your school or do you have a janitor?
I ask these questions because a new student has joined our school and his parents have asked that I teach him for 1 hour. I think this is too long for both myself and the student.
Also, every Thursday at 5:30 the teachers spend about 30 minutes cleaning up the school (vacuuming, washing the desks, and general tidying up). I came to Korea to teach, not to clean. If they want a janitor, hire a fucking janitor.

[Mr. Pink]

1) 1hr is fine if it is one on one. I actually teach 50-55min classes atm with 25 ish students, no problem for me.

2) The cleaning thing wouldn't work for me. I am the type of guy who will just refuse to do something I don't want to do. I'd tell my hawgwon director I am a teacher and not a janitor if I was you. I have never heard of the teachers cleaning up the whole school. At my 2nd hawgwon gig we owned our own classroom. It was ours and the students came to us. We weren't required to clean it, but since no one else did, it was kind of a thing you did if you liked your workspace clean. I am not afraid to clean if I know the area is MINE and I was responsible for some of the mess and I can do it as often as I want, meaning once a month or once a week etc.

[Homer]

About the cleaning,

Don't really know man and nothing wrong with a bit of manual labor from time to time...

I clean my classroom every day (sweep and tidy up), no big deal, I do it for myself.
As for spending 30 minutes a week cleaning the school, well its not my first choice either but it would really depend on what type of school you are at. If its just a small school with limited ressources and if everyone helps cleaning just do it, it would be selfish to be the only one not helping.
If its a big school and the director is being cheap then perhaps telling him calmly that a janitor would be a good idea would work.

As for teacheing one hour..again if thats the schools policy then its your job to teach for an hour, wether or not you think its "too long". One hour can be better then 40 minutes in fact, you can get more time to make sure the student(s) assimilate the material.

[shawner88]

[crazylemongirl]

my classes are 45 min

I clean for about 30 min a week all up.

CLg

[RedRob]

My classrooom is mine, I decorate it, arrange it how I want and I spend 5 mins at the end of each day picking up broken pencils and asst. c rap that the terrors leave behind.
I don't think its a big deal.

[princess]

My old school assigned each teacher a room to clean. You were responsible for picking up trash, sweeping, wiping down the tables, and mopping the floor, along with emptying the trash. When they fired me after 2 months, I was told one reason I was being fired is because I did not clean my room enough. Hey, I can't teach AND clean. There are not enough hours in the day.

[endofthewor1d]

[FUBAR]

At my old hogwon, the Part Time Front Desk clerks would also serve as cleaners. However, I would make the students take their garbage with them on their way out, so it never go that dirty. If the class got a little out of hand, the Front Desk Clerks would gripe a little bit, and then I would make sure that the class was reasonably clean.

When talking to other teachers, some have to clean up, some don't. I guess it depends on how the director feels. If it takes 5-15 mins and it's just your classroom, it shouldn't be a problem. Afterall, you are the one messing up the rooms. Five minutes extra a day is not worth a full year of strained relations with your director.

But at no time would I ever mop up the floors or anything. That should be somebody else's job.

[ratslash]

absolutely pathetic! these are the type of posts that wind me up!

you are very lucky if the only thing you have to worry about in korea is having to clean your school for half an hour a week! it is half an hour for *beeps* sake! take a step back and think about how much the school is paying you, and all they ask is that for once a week, for half a p*ss*ng hour, you clean the school! oh, big firkin deal! it is not as if they are aksing you to do it at 10, or 11pm, but at 5:30! fair enough, moan awayif this is 5:30am, but i presume it is not.

pathetic. really, downright pathetic!

[shawner88]

[schwa]

My workspace came up sparkling today. School district office, couple young guys exempt from army service at my beck & call did a thorough job. Then home to a pristine pad -- housekeeper, costs a bit but worth every won. Contentedly lazy & enjoying life.

[The Lemon]

Here's an older thread that covers similar territory. Have a look here:
http://www.eslcafe.com//forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=3612

[Homer]

Shawner...whats pathetic is not the school asking the teachers to clean but the teacher bicthing about a measely 30 minutes in a week and then taking the "I won't sink to being a "janitor" " level...

[TheUrbanMyth]