Korean Job Discussion Forums

[t-rock]

Hey, I have been offered two public school jobs in Seoul. Since the start dates for public schools in Seoul are in September, would these have become vacant due to runners? When I asked about class size I was given the "i don't know, let me check with my principal" during one of the interviews Soo.... I am a bit wary of the situation...

[Adventurer]

[ttompatz]

Between the 3 main government programs the recruitment drive had a shortfall of almost 400 teachers for March starts.

Additionally, due to the new presidential degrees, there has been an increased drive to get a teacher into EVERY school ASAP leaving hundreds more openings with virtually no chance of getting them filled anytime soon.

Even the district supervisor in our school district has been asking if we can help them find more teachers and our retention ratio this year has been the highest ever.

I don't see anything out of the ordinary or any red flags in your specific comments or questions.

The lack of teachers rests and recruitment shortfalls squarely on the changes in immigration policy and inconsistencies since last December.

.

[Bibbitybop]

Yes, late Feb/early March and late Aug/early Sept are the starting times.

If you get a public school job in Seoul after May of this year, you will get to go through a brand new, 2 month training session outside of Seoul in Gyeonggi-do! This was just announced so no one knows if it will be good or bad. I'm betting 75% bad given the nature of the beast.


OP, who did you talk to about class size? A recruiter? Recruiters are scum. You must go through one to get a Seoul PS job (SMOE). Pick wisely, some are worse than others. Any SMOE teacher can tell you your regular classes will be 30-40 students each, though you do have a Korean teacher with you in the classroom to help out.

[TBirdMG]

Bip,

2 months training for a 1 year contract? Are you sure you don't mean 2 weeks?? Anyways, for which program do you mean? I am will be coming over sometime in the late summer, and am still trying to decide which program is best for me.

Thanks,

tb

[t-rock]

Both schools are for asap/early may starts. So am wondering if the new training program would apply to me. Honestly I did not even consider public schools as I was under assumption that all hired for sept. One of the schools is in Itawon and housing has no AC and has housing deposit of 600,000 (normal?) The other is near the Nakseoungdae station which i havn't read the contract yet. Both are offering 2.2mil. Is it possible to install an AC unit yourself in the appartment? Curious as I hear this is absolute necessity.

[Bibbitybop]

Some schools aren't under the SMOE umbrella, like Gangnam schools. Or you might be hired at a "public school" but not under a public school or SMOE contract. Instead, you would working the after school program, kind of like a hogwan, with less benefits like vacation.

Here is the info about the new 2 MONTH training session in SMOE.

http://www.rjkoehler.com/2008/04/02/seoul-to-train-foreign-teachers/

[egrog1717]

I wonder if you receive full pay for this two month training program... Probably not

[Atavistic]

Does this sound like EVERYONE will be trained?

[quote]

After completing the training course, the foreign teachers will be placed at the center of 5-day English programs for students and 3-month or 6-month immersion training courses for Korean English teachers.

The supervisor in charge of the program said that foreign teachers at the center will play a critical role in English education in Seoul.[/qujote]

This makes it sound like maybe it's only a select group?

[bassexpander]

[tob55]

Interesting to say the least. Korea created new rules thinking it would be no problem, now they are reaping the fruits of their narrow-sighted vision. With regard to the 2 month training thing. IMHO make the carrot big enough and people will follow through with no problem. Require something that means nothing and people will balk at it from the get go. To offer training to people that has no significance with regard to receiving valid teaching credentials in Korea as an educator is simply doing the same thing over again in a different package cover.

To make any kind of training valid it must be connected to some end result, which in this case is licensure as a legitimate educator in Korea. As it is now, the vast majority of English co-teaching assistants are seen as nothing more than peons which the Korean CoTs resent and see no need for in mast situations. I know this to be the case because all of my present and previous CoTs have made this remark to me in passing, and indicated that their colleagues from other schools feel the same way.

Secondly, I was a trained educator in the United States with 18 years of teaching experience when I arrived in Korea. the whole reason why I receive a measure of respect from my co-workers is because I had a career in education before I decided to come to Korea. Offering anyone who had previous training and experience as a legitimate educator (I am not talking about the short course people who received credentials from the various EFL-ESL companies), had better be along the lines of increasing their professional career, and not simply taking everyone back to the drawing board in an attempt to "teach" them something.

The list of concerns is big, and I think people get the point. It is sad to continuously see Koreans throwing away good money after bad decisions based on knee-jerk reaction to what they perceive to be legitimate need.

[Bibbitybop]

The 2 month training session must apply to teachers hired after May because it's not in the current contract.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

There are mid-term hiring periods, but if these two specific schools happen to need teachers right now it could very well be due to runners.

[pkang0202]

It could also be to no shows in the original recruitment. Some people just get cold feet and never show up. Or they get lost leaving Incheon airport and are never heard from again.....

Anyways, I would double check the living conditions OP. The contract states what type of amenities you should be getting. I'm pretty sure A/C is in that list.

[t-rock]

rechecked the contract and no mention of AC. There is mention of all the other amenities of the housing.