Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ds_fan]

ok, so iv been here 3 weeks and im enjoying being in korea and seeing new sites etc. However have been a few issues in my school, these have been small, yet frequent. The main problem is with my director- she is a cow and should be taken away to sit on the electric chair.

This morning was just an example of the crap, i came in as usual and sat with the other korean teachers- the 2 who speak some english looking at what i needed to teach today- i always find out like 10 minutes before and i follow text books and worksheets from the school, as thats what iv seen done by other teachers. the director came in and asked to see my lesson plan, i said i dodnt have one and she went spare, yelling and shouting in korean at the 2 other teachers for at least 10 minutes, one of them started to cry but that didnt stop the cow from screaming in her face.

The conclusion was that i need to type up a lesson plan for all my classes.

I hate paperwork, and considering in doing full time hours and have a pritty heavy timetable I dont want to be up all night planning, if i am expected to do this by the school ill do a midnight run, as the job isnt worth it.

After the long winded rant- i work with all koreans and hate my ignorant director...

What kind of lesson planning proforma are they wanting me to use? how many words? Do i need to put in a crazy effort for this? How long should I spend planning? Is this normal for a kindergarten hagwon?

[xingyiman]

It totally depends on your director as to what type of lesson plans they want. My opinion is that lesson plans are for the teacher and the teacher alone. Whether lesson plans are detailed and outline every nuiance of the class or whether they are simply shorthand notes on a piece of paper should be entirely up to the discretion of the teacher. Fast forward to Asia and, like America the lesson plans are just some unitelligible paragraphs that serves as piece of mind to your boss that you are actually doing something. It's whacked, I know but thats pretty much how it is across asia. Some of the best classes I taught had little or no lesson plans. Thats what I truly hate about TESOL and CELTA. You come out of there 4 weeks later having done 400,000 different lesson plans that pretty much are a screenplay of the class word for word and in the grand scheme of things it's basically worthless. I have worked alongside teachers who spent 3-4 hours making up detailed, bulleted lesson plans but those same teachers were some of the worst instructors I've ever seen and were never able to achieve the learning objectives in the classes.
If I were you just type something up and keep it as simple as possible. No one reads them anyway.

[Scouse Mouse]

I have had the same crap pulled on me at the beginning of my 2nd year. I was given a template to follow and the co-teacher also checks them (adding some quite useful feedback). Anyway... with the schedule I am teaching it was obvious that the intent was to keep me working at home. She resents the fact that I can leave at 4:30, and even tried giving me "complimentary classes" to ensure that I was at school longer.

So I tried doing the paperwork in my regular free time at school, and it just isn't possible if I am to dedicate a decent amount of time on my lesson prep. I work hard on powerpoint presentations for the students, trying to stimulate the senses, and usually spend 3-4 hours preparing each presentation. My powerpoint presentations were also my lesson plan, as they included (in the notes section) pretty much everything to be covered.

The additional plans she wants will cause me 90mins or more of prep for each lesson. In the past I spent a little time each weekend making sure everything is done. As I have to prep 3 or 4 lessons a week, this extra work would kill one of days off. So... instead of refusing, I just started missing deadlines. When she asked why, I said my computer at home was broken.

After a few days, she had a solution - I should take home the school laptop to do extra work. I am ignoring this advice, but when she insists (mine is a screamer too), I will present her with a paper to sign that will state that I need to do extra work at home, and so I need to take the laptop home. If the laptop breaks I will not be held responsible. In her hysterical state, I am sure she will sign, and will see it as a "win" for her.

Then I will take the laptop home, take my sweet time on everything, and bill the school for all of the extra work I do. They will have to pay me as I will have a form saying that I must work overtime during the weekends. It should be a nice little earner for 1 month, and after that I think all requests for paperwork will stop

[Dome Vans]

[xingyiman]

[ds_fan]

is this my first job ever? Far from it, iv a teaching qualification, i had to write dtailed plans for every lesson, your talking 2 hours spent planning on each lesson, im on a full timetable here and its knackering me as it is, stying up all night typing crap will result in burning the wick at both ends. When you have a screamer for a boss you would understand that the plans serve only to show that you are working your but off which pleases the boss, it doesnt please the person up late typing after a day at work.

fair enough lesson plans are useful, but when all the korean staff dont use them.......

[DongtanTony]

Sorry ds_fan...I've got to jump on the bandwagon a bit.

You have a teaching qualification??? Does that mean certification??? And...does that mean you've performed some type of student teaching and/or had professional experience???

Lesson planning here is a joke compared to what you'd have to submit for your classes back home. I highly doubt that a certified public school teacher...regardless of what country you're from...wouldn't have to submit some type of lesson plans...much more detailed lesson plans...to your department head and/or administrator from time to time.

Furthermore...teaching in the states...IEP's...student evaluations...simple grading and correcting student work...let alone lesson planning and materials creation.........COME ON...a couple of lesson plans here should be a walk in the park.

Are you being "knackered?" Alright...I'll give that one to you...especially in comparison to what most foreign teachers have to perform as far as "administrative" duties.

But really OP....compared to the administrative duties I had to perform in the states...are you really feeling that overwhelmed...especially since you are a certified teacher????

I brought home infinitely more work as a middle school social sciences teacher...I mean, we're not even talking the same ballpark.

Two hours spent planning a lesson is overboard...Koreans aren't asking you for objectives...or to align your objectives with state and/or federal education standards...or for two page lesson plans for an eighty minute class.

They want a simple outline...maybe some page numbers...possibly a corresponding activity or a worksheet you plan on using.

Keep it simple ds_fan. Keep it simple. Plus...it's just valuable practice for when and if you return to your home country to continue your teaching profession.

Lesson planning...even producing hard copies of lesson plans...is part of teaching. If you have your "qualification," you should be well aware of that fact. Keep them simple.

[Easter Clark]

I've never had a teaching job where I didn't have to have a lesson plan for each class, even if it was just a couple of sentences.

OP--If you want to continue in this field, lesson plans are just a necessary evil, I'm afraid.

If your boss didn't give you a specific format, just make a few notes (like their homework and the goal of the lesson, as well as any ideas for pair/group work) in your worst handwriting and submit that.

[icnelly]

[agoodmouse]

In TEFL programs, first, you learn how to write extensive lesson plans, detailed to such a degree that it could be taught by a substitute teacher by doing exactly each step you've laid out.

[LostinKSpace]

Just write a basic overview of what you are going to do. It will keep them happy and you can use it for yourself as a development tool. As an earlier poster said just keep it simple, with a rough breakdown of the aims and the activities, if you can get them to agree on a simple standard format it will also make your life easier in the long run.

[mnhnhyouh]

[Dome Vans]

If you don't want to write 30-40 different lesson plans every week then don't work in a crapwon. You're asking for burnout.

[xingyiman]

[Dome Vans]