Korean Job Discussion Forums

[skeptical]

I've been arriving at 9am rather than 8:30am mostly because it takes me nearly an hour to get to school in the morning by bus.

The vice principal got me to sign a silly form saying I'll arrive at 8:30am, but I can't stand the idea of losing two hours of my day just for the sake of reputation, so I've been making it to class by 9am lately, where now my co-teacher is saying my end-of-term-evaluation came out very negatively.

But not only the hour trip to school every morning, but I am expected to teach all my classes, for the most part, on my own, because the co-teachers do not stay in class with me, that is, if they come to class at all.

I thought at the beginning of the year this would be okay, but realized not only is it a necessary part of the contract for my co-teachers to be in every class, but that this is paramount to discipline in the classroom, which inevitably is crucial for the quality of education these children receive.

In the end, I feel I'm being kicked in the nuts, for whatever reason, and the students are deprived of good, quality, class time (although I have done my best, including lectures/presentations on art history, classical civilizations, religious studies, and the history of kimchi), while the lazy teachers who evidently don't like me for whatever reason (is it because the students like me more than them? I wouldn't blame the students), this may prevent me from staying next year in Korea, even if I apply to a different education board, for instance if I switch from EPIK (Incheon) to GEPIK (Gyonggi-do).

Seriously though, I'm convinced that education in Incheon, at least, is flawed from the top down, and I need to find a better place--though I'm not sure whether now this will be possible--

My question: Will the evaluation my Incheon co-teachers give be of any importance for my application to teach in Gyeonggi-do?

My vice principal reportedly said that he is going to send the evaluation to the Gyeonggi board-- and I don't even know why he bothered saying this, other than my incomprehensible co-teacher told him I applied there last week.

Help! I want to teach in Korea, but not like this.

[Ruraljuror]

Leave for work 30 minutes earlier. Problem solved.

You're welcome!

[skeptical]

[English Matt]

Many schools in Gyeonggi-do are desparate for teachers.....if you apply direct to a school via a recruiter then I doubt the fact that he has written to Gyeonggi-do POE would even be noticed. Heck, GEPIK is so understaffed I doubt that dude's letter will be opened, let alone read.

If it does seem to be causing you problems when you start applying to GEPIK schools then contact Dain Bae (GEPIK coordinator) and explain the situation. She has a reputation for being brusque with people, but I have found her to be alright. Just explain the situation, ensure you come across as sincere, and try not to complain about your last school and I'm sure there'll be no problem.

As far as I'm aware, an individual Principal does not have the power to blackball your application (although obviously they can cause problems), particularly if your current school is outside of Gyeonggi-do and therefore the guy works for a different POE.

[skeptical]

That's precisely the kind of reply I was hoping to hear, Matt. I owe you big time!

I've just received word in the last hour I've been offered a contract at a decent school in Gyeonggido.

I'm gonna get one reference letter written by my principal, who once invited me to stay over at his house after a drunken night (an offer, I've been told, no one else has ever been given, and which, in drunken idiocy, I recklessly accepted), who I know likes me for sure.

That vice principal likes to throw his weight around, but he's NOT going to jeopardize my chance to stay here next year, because frankly, apart from the shitty staff and the politics of the Korean adult world, the teaching experience itself is remarkable and frankly I've well become addicted to it by now.

[nomad-ish]

sounds like he's full of it, i honestly doubt he could persuade them not to hire you. if you're really worried, apply to GEPIK and another program, just in case (SMOE, EPIK in a different area). don't tell him where you're applying.

[skeptical]

I seriouslly despise the teachers at my school, those low-bending idiots, who are obviously jealous of my popularity with the kids and my knack for a subject they clearly have inferiority complexes in. You should have seen the smile on my co-teacher's face when she couldn't hold in the glee of telling me that the vice principal is sending my evaluation to the GEPIK board.

You know what he said to me once? That because our school is in the slums anyway, I should feel relieved of my duty to teach, and instead concentrate on making English 'fun' for them. That's when I quoted the statistics on the status of English in Korea in front of all the other English teachers, and I'm sure that's when he began to dislike me.

I'm just happy I didn't brown nose with anyone, that I just stuck by my principles and didn't shrivel in the ugly face of authority, and that, all in all, I interested many students at this school in the study of not only the English language, but Western culture, which, if you ask me, is just the culture of globalization anyway. These kids have to learn what's beyond the borders here-- they've too long been intimidated by the false threat of the Japanese and the red enemies to the north. THANK WHOEVER FOR THE INTERNET!

[crabstix]

[sojusucks]

[cruisemonkey]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

OP,

I have to ask--have you ever had any kind of job before? If you willfully insulted and then defied your boss at that job, what do you think his reaction would be?

Maybe there's more to this situation, but nothing you have said makes me think that your principal is being unreasonable. Whining about coming in before class starts? How many of the other teachers come in at 9 and why are you above the rules? Lots of jobs involve commutes much longer than yours, and yet you're acting like this somehow gives you a reason to be late every single day.

As for the no co-teacher situation... have you actually brought it up at school or are you just using it to justify your own behavior?

I'm sure you'll be able to find another job... but when and if you do, try to show a little humility and don't act like you're in charge of how things operate, or you'll just end up in a similar situation.

[Ukon]

The OP sounds like a real fun guy...

[Darashii]

And I thought I didn't know what I was doing when I first got here.

I agree with the last 3 comments.

I had a similar situation (maybe?!) where my admin wanted teachers to stay until 5pm, an extra 30 minutes, twiddling my thumbs. My contract clearly states that I am in school for 8 hours including lunch. They asked if I could come in at 9am, but I was like "that's dumb - class starts at 9am!" Difference is that they were hoping to violate my contract. I didn't have any problem coming in at 8:30, but 4:30 ...

I did agree to do it (they tried to argue that the bonus 250,000 I received for being placed at their school covered 10 hours of "non-work" a month, but let me tell you - give a mouse a cookie...

[Mr. Pink]

I have to say the OP is lucky that Korea needs FTs so bad. If you pulled a stunt like that in an English speaking country you would be out on your ass so fast you wouldn't have time to realize your mouth was writing cheques that weren't cashable.

Rule #1 is never insult your host nation's country to your boss, colleagues or students.

If I was that VP I would have had you fired for being late everyday. But then again, you can see how much in demand FTs are that he let that slide.

[Chet Wautlands]

I talked about that statistic to Korean teachers at my last hagwon, but no one got mad. Here's why: I didn't try to lord it over them.

That statistic looks just as bad on us, the English teachers, as it does on Korea, the country paying a lot for poor results.

Why is Korea doing badly? Probably the same reason China and Japan are doing badly. English is extremely different from Korean. The grammar, vocabulary, even the alphabet are different.

As an example:

English- The cat is terrible.
French- Le chat est terrible.
Korea - Goyangi museoweoyo. (Probably not right, mes excuses.)

So yeah, English is hard for Koreans. Thankfully most English speakers don't have to learn Korean. I bet the Japanese would be better at it than us.