Korean Job Discussion Forums

[the red-head]

hey all,

recently my school went off on all the teachers and basically told us we had to change our attitudes or they would consider terminating us.

here is what was given to us:

1. you should be ready to teach students before the bell.
go to the classroom right after the bell rings
if one of the students didnt bring his or her book, send them to the teachers room and the teacher who has a break can copy the book. if you leave the class will be distracted.
don't forget to bring the stuff you need to class.
(going back to the teacher's room to get something means you didn't prepare the class well)


2. do your best in every class
40 minutes is precious time for the students.
let the students speak a lot and read a lot. they pay a lot of money to have an active class with you not to do something themselves.
prepare supplements if you need.
you can not have any kind of food in the class.
you can not go out of the classroom during class.
you should not sit down when you teach.
you can finish every class just 1 minute before the bell rings.


3. during break time, prepare your next classes.
don't use computers for your personal things during school.
every teacher can use the computers to make supplements not to do personal things.
stay in school from 1pm to 9pm.
after classes, you can make a plan for the next day and talk to your partner about your students.


4. help students study English efficiently
don't let them go out of the classroom during the class.
if students don't pay attention, you should make them concentrate on the class.
if one of your students talk to you, help them make a full sentence. you can correct his or her mistake.
let him or her repeat the sentence you have corrected.


**** this is a kind of warning
if you don't keep this rule, i have to tell Henry about that.
if you ignore this warning, Henry and I will regard the situation as dereliction of your duty
it means a termination of the contract.
you have to pay for recruiting and flights if you break the contract.

basically my hours have now been extended an extra half hour everyday where i have to prepare a sheet that says what my lesson plan is for the following day. i already come in early for an hour and a half to plan my day, why the added half hour? i should also point out i dont get any time for lunch and i usually work from 230 until 830pm without a break... i do get 40 minutes off three days a week, but its at 7pm, and basically at the end of the day...

does this violate any sort of working law? i feel like i should be entitled to a break in the middle of the day to eat.

all my foreign teachers and i want to come at them and try to negotiate back, but i want to make a strong case and make them realize they cant push us around. honestly, if they dont change we're all going to up and leave and the school will fold. everyone is worried they could just fire us, but if we all left in one bunch, they are finished.

how do you go about this the right way?

[whoami]

I'm pretty certain that there's some law which states that if you work a certain number of hours a day, there must be a break period of a certain length, but right now I can't find any mention of it. Which, I suppose, is of absolutely no use to you. It should be somewhere on the MoL website;

http://english.molab.go.kr/english/main.jsp

[dmbfan]

[DHC]

With the exception of using your break time to prepare for the next class , I find nothing wrong with the rules. If you have prepared for the day then you should not need to prepare during breaks. The only lunch break I ever had working for an academy was written into my contract before I signed the contract.

Just curious ,but what prompted the school to issue these rules?

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Sounds anal but not unreasonable as long as you have a certain number of breaks all to yourself. It's a shame, though, that teachers and management can't just agree to 'do their best' without needing a checklist of rules.

[Fresh Prince]

8 hours is a long time to be teaching, especially without breaks. That's a surefire recipe for burnout.

I think a few 10 minute breaks incorporated periodically throughout the day makes sense as you'll be able to prepare for the next classes during that break while getting a chance to sit down and have a cup of coffee/use the facilities.

[Fishead soup]

I'd make counter demands The Photocopier should always be working.
The computer, and printer should always be working. These things are needed for lesson planning. Teachers cannot effectively do their jobs when these things are out of order. Teachers have a right to cancel lesson when neccesary materials are allowed to go out of order.

Teachers should know well in advance their teaching schedule. They should also know the exact number of students in each class. If a teacher
is given the wrong number of students he/she should be allowed to leave the class and make sufficient photo-copies of material needed for every student.

Teachers should be given a good quality textbook that uses comunicative activities. All lessons should be based on English conversation. Korean teachers should not be allowed to hijack the lesson the cover something that's on the exam.

Demand a Korean co-teacher for every lesson. Demand he/she shows up on time. Demand they actually do their job including holding meeting between classes to prepare new materials.

If a student misbehaves. The first time they are given a verbal warning.
The second time they are given a writen warning. After the third violation they are sent home to their parents will a note to be signed by their parents. Every time a student misbehaves it should be documented. These records will be made available to parents.

[makemischief]

I'd also clear up the: "you have to pay for recruiting and flights if you break the contract."

1. Do they mean if they fire you, they want you to pay? Simply put- they can't ask you to pay if they fire you.

2. Or, if you quit they want you to pay? If this is what they mean then unless it is in your contract they cannot add it.

[Cerriowen]

[oskinny1]

What does "no break" mean? Are you going directly from one class to another with no time in between? Also, 40 minutes is a break. It is plenty of time to eat dinner. What do you need a lunch for? You start at 1 (or at least should be there at 1), can't you eat before then?

I looks like these rules were made to keep some of the teachers at your school from slacking too much and just giving the students worksheets to do. I am not sure what it is you want to fight. Have you ever had a job before?

[Scouse Mouse]

The law says that you can have a 1 hour break in an 8 hour day (not 6 X 10 min breaks, but a 1 hour break!) and that you are free to use that break as you see fit.

If you want to go home, go get coffee, or simply sleep at your desk, you can do it during your 1 hour break. If they expect you to prep lessons during your break, then that is not a break.

Everything else seems fair enough.

[Whistleblower]

What's the name of the school? Have they been losing students? How has the management been performing? Do they offer a 1 hour break during the day or the 10 minute break during classes?

Stand up for yourself, they need you more than you need them and you can find another job in a day if required.

[Dome Vans]

Bit late for this, but:

*Never sign a contract that has anything in it about you paying recruiters fees if you resign or are fired. It's an agreement between the school and the recruiter and naff all to do with you. It's a BS clause.

As Whistleblower says it sounds like they're going down the pan and they're firing off threats to save face and making it sound like the teachers fault. Whereas in reality it's probably down to them pissing the money away. It's probably their way of warning you about the end being nigh.

[Bibbitybop]

I am on my 2nd contract with my employer. I had my E-2 visa extended last year. I've noticed that the visa extension is valid for re-entry until 5 days before the contract expires. It does not state an ending date, just a date for re-entry.

Is this common and valid, or will I be under a contract for 5 illegal days at the end of it all?