Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BigMikeAbroad]

Any one work for a Avalon school if so what�s the scoop?

BM

[IncognitoHFX]

They're on the more respectable side, but they only take newbies with no teaching experience (like you?) From what I've heard, though, people who work for them for one year generally have good experiences.

[Poemer]

Try a search, there have been a number of posts on this school, at least one recently. I know the search function can be a little wonky here though, so briefly. . .

I worked for them, it was not pleasant, but it could have been worse. They did hose me out of a portion of my return ticket at the end of my contract; big no-no in my book.

[njp6]

Big hagwon, getting bigger. I worked there for a year and some months there after. You could do worse. Housing is good. Give us specifics, which campus are you working for? The thing with massively expanding hagwons is things change rapidly. They are franchising so location is important.

[BigMikeAbroad]

As from what I understand new location opening in seongbuk. Can anyoen tell me about the area? Any kewl places going on?

Mike

[Captain Marlow]

op, are you gonna be at an avalon in seoul or in daegu? just wondering...

[njp6]

I don't know about seoungbuk-- I have no idea where that is. The best thing to do is to talk to at least 2 people who work there already. Tell your recruiter or the person doing the interview that you'd like e-mail addresses for people at the school and e-mail them your questions.

[theatrelily]

[maddog]

I work at one at the moment and I've had no real problems, other than teething troubles at the beginning. I'm 7 months in and seriously considering extending.

It is by far the best hagwon I have worked in.

MD

[bobbybigfoot]

I just finished a contract with Avalon at one of the main branches (not a franchise). These are my opinions:

On the plus:

(1) always paid on time
(2) income tax filed for you
(3) correct income tax deductions
(4) workload easy
(5) reasonable hours
(6) never treated badly
(7) plenty of gifts, dinners, extras, the odd bonus
( housing decent
(9) training can be good (in my case, I had very little; but some teachers get up to 4 days.)

On the negative:

(1) it's a business, English is not the priority
(2) you are part babysitter/part teacher
(3) curriculum is boring, ineffective
(4) There's a general "nothing really matters" attitude
(5) Management/Head Office is not very helpful at all. My concerns (and the concerns of many other teachers) were either ignored, botched or delayed.
(6) The quarterly mandatory Saturday functions are painfully boring and useless.
(7) communication is ALWAYS last minute
( poor planning

Most teachers that I've talked with say that Avalon is a good starter company in that you will get paid, won't be overworked, and can cut your teeth with a very easy to follow system. But by the end of one year, virtually everyone is ready to move on. Those that choose to extend probably enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and thrive on the "nothing really matters" attitude. However, if you are serious about teaching, then a second year with Avalon is virtually impossible (unless your teaching standards are rock bottom).

If you haven't been able to find a company that you are keen on joining, then consider Avalon. That being said, don't just go straight for Avalon. You can do much better. And yes, you can do much worse.

To use a common Korean phrase, "Avalon is so-so."

[robot]

[Poemer]

Robot,

You have met teachers who handle lower tier students. The Avalon Nokijiwon campuses are the campuses that prep students for the FLHS. There are (were) only two Nokjiwon campuses among the many Avalon locations, there may be more now. They started out with only one Nokjiwon campus with only two teachers at one point in time, of which I was one. I started out teaching regular middle schoolers, then was moved up to the Nokjiwon a few months into my contract. The only reason I stayed at Avalon was because of this move; better students, low class load. If I had had to endure the heavy teaching load and sub-par students one floor below me at the other campus, well I couldn't have endured it.

However, even those that work in the Nokjiwon might not know much about the FLHS, as Avalon does not give its teachers any information about them, or what it is that the students are really preparing for (at least they didn't used to). That's a part of the whole "nothing really matters" attitude that a previous poster mentioned. The school half-asses its way through everything, except advertising. They have campuses, buses, etc. that look top of the line and so the parents pile in, but only a few of the kids that go to Avalon schools actually have any real shot of getting into a FLHS or getting a high score on the iBT.

[njp6]

[bobbybigfoot]

[hkfortytwo]

anyone know how much average pay is for this school?