Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sakamuras]

Aside from higher pay, what "little" things can a boss/hagwon do to make your teaching experience more pleasant...resulting in you "wanting" to work harder for the school..while at the same time enjoying your time there?

From what I gather here on this site, I assume the following are the major problem areas"

Poor administration of teachers
Late pay
Firing at will
Changing of schedules
Lack of communication
Poor living conditions

What would be your "ideal" working environment? (realistically speaking...)

[wylde]

free beer?


anything else would be asking too much of the director

[Son Deureo!]

[Ilsanman]

I just ask for better communication and more advanced notice of changes. That's not a lot to ask for.

[waterbaby]

For me it's definitely better communication and more organisation.

For example, tomorrow at 10am I start teaching our "Winter Vacation Program" in the mornings (sweet deal actually, one 40 min class replacing 10 x 15 min classes ) but they only ordered the materials yesterday when I returned from leave and the materials have not yet arrived so I have absoultely no idea what I need to prepare, what I'll be teaching & when the materials do eventually arrive, no time to prepare properly!!! Argh!!!

Disorganisation and lack of foresight have been a frequent source of frustration for me working in the hagwon system.

[crazylemongirl]

Biggies for me

1. Ignorance of korean immigration policies and procedures.
My boss had me working in mulitple locations. When I found I need permission to do this (via daves)I asked. She said immigration doesn't care because she owned the schools. Korean teacher rings up for me and gets the same answer get your boss to sign some paper work pay a small fee and make it legit. Never happened, fourtantly I'm back to working at one location, the one listed on my visa.

However she also won't register my new change of address. I would do it myself but there's no way I can get to immigration and back in time for classes to start.

Ok I know I should be more worded up on korean immigration laws, and not go into a situation so naive. But this lack of attention to policies has the potential to bite me in the butt and there is very little I can do about it.

2. Trust.
I don't trust my boss. Ok granted she has cheated me out of money, but as I have been lied to, and have had a number of things come out of left field, I'm waiting for the call into the office the day before I'm due to finish going 'hey, CLG accept half your bonus or I'll fire your butt.' 'Hey CLG you suck your fired I'm keeping the 4.5million I owe you.'

3. Mutal respect.
This is probably due to my western way of thinking but I'm not going to respect you just because your older than me or your my employer. I will give you respect you if your a good employer and someone who respects me.

4. Rewarding those who go the extra mile.
I used to work someone who's raision d'etre was to as little work as possible for the most amount of pay. The vast majority of his prep time he spent gossiping with other teachers, if some field trip or performance came up you bet he would never willing do anything towards it. And trying to get out of his current teaching materials.

On the other hand I also worked with a teacher who would always add a little extra to her lessons. There has never been any acknowledgement made by the employer to any teachers who go the extra mile.

5. Avoiding the us versus them mentality
I think a good boss will create a team situation where korean teachers and native speakers are working together.

[Holyjoe]

[crazylemongirl]

[princess]

So...I guess bartenders have more job stability than we do.

[Saxiif]

Adherence to written contracts really shouldn't be too much to ask, its really all I want