Korean Job Discussion Forums

[SuperFly]

Hire responsible people, based on reccomendations from friends.

Pay in Greenbacks. [$2200 per month]

House them individually.

Pay for the teachers escape/recharge trips to Ko Phan Gan on Full moon party.

Pay bonuses for X-mas. Pay all other normal severance etc. gain a good reputation among the teachers.

Teachers lounge. I believe it is a good morale booster to have a well equipped and comfortable teachers lounge.

Occasional paid dinners at Nashville and Reggae Pub.

10 kids per class with Korean teachers aid (Part timers from uni will work)

For adults there would be only film conversation classes. Split up the classes so each teacher would have an equal amount of kids and adult classes.

I've always dreamed about teaching film. Watch portions of a movie and discuss....argh! So many good movies to watch and talk about....

Most of all I would offer my employees peace of mind.

Always have a substitute ready to go so my people can have a sick day when they really need it. [This won't be advertised.]

[some waygug-in]

I would just leave teachers alone and let them teach. If parents complain, I would try and deteremine the validity of the complaint. If it was just the standard, my kids haven't covered enough pages this week, then I would have someone explain to them that "faster" is not "better", especially when it comes to learning English.

I would have a discipline policy where if a student is disrupting the class, they get sent to the office and I would phone their parents on the spot.
No exceptions. No books? Phone the parents.
3 offenses and they would have to leave.


By the way, I've heard there are places like this in Korea. Not many, but they exist. The parents pay about double to send their kids to these places because they know their kids can't fool around.


I would make sure that their were ample teachers resources, especially enough copies of the textbook and tapes so that EVERY teacher could have a copy. I would make sure that tape players were good quality and functional, with enough volume to be heard in a large classroom.

And did I mention whiteboards? Every classroom must have a decent sized whiteboard. (4 X 4 feet) And a decent, steady supply of markers.

I would try and offer help and advice to teachers who are not doing well, not try and ridicule them into "doing better". Instead of trying to lay blame, I would have meetings where everyone is free to make suggestions on how we can do things better.

I would never, Never, NEVER, bloody< $%^&*ing NEVER, (did I mention NEVER?) allow parents to move students around to higher levels than they are ready for.
This is probably the most troublesome thing that parents can do to a good teacher.

I would have beginner levels for older students as well. Just because they are older doesn't mean they know more.

Anyway, that's what I would do.

I know it's just a dream, but if you're going to dream..........

[prairieboy]

Homer, thanks for pointing that out to me. I know what the score is but the topic of the post was "what would you change if you owned a hagwon"...right?

That's all I pointed out. The things that I would change if I owned a hagwon.

Cheers

[coolsage]

If I were the King of my very own hagwon (which is never going to happen), I would raise the bar and raise the salaries. Hire only 'real' teachers. That hasn't been tried here yet. It might fill a niche market for the authentic . And it just might turn out to be another license to print money.

[Homer]

No worries Prairieboy...which "prairie" are you from man?

[prairieboy]

The prairie in Saskatchewan.

[some waygug-in]

Holy cow! Another stubble jumper.



Cheers

[Rand Al Thor]

It's me and the_beaver as partners. For the most part Beaver has nailed everything that we would do.

Yes we would work our teachers hard and have high expectations as well. But we would also be rewarding them beyond what you would get at any hogwan and even some universities.

Single housing of an adequate size with washer/dryer, a/c, TV.
Korean Language classes paid for by us and mandatory - the best teachers are ones who have or are currently studying language.
Vacation 2 weeks 4 times a year or we might do 1 week twice a year & 3 weeks twice a year.

You own classroom that you can decorate how you see fit with a your own computer in the classroom that you may use on your free time.

Our program would be very educationally sound with rules that are enforced. We would not pander to the mentality of I think I am level 4 so I am even if you can not say hello.

Beaver mentioned using published material, but that would be a temporary thing. Right now both of us are probably going to be involved in materials development at our respective universities so this experience will be invaluable when it comes to launching the hagwon.

RaL

[matthewwoodford]

I would milk it for all the money it's worth.

[Rand Al Thor]

[Homer]

Rand,

What about quality education? Is that part of your investment plan or will you just do like the some of those less then reputable hagwon owners do?