Korean Job Discussion Forums

[philipjames]

I've read several messages here that mention hogwan owners complaining that the children are bored. However, I was not hired to be a clown or entertainer. I was a teacher. I was an excellent teacher, and if the children were bored then the problem lied more with the curriculum.

The dreadful school at which I taught, GnB, Incheon (undoubtedly the worst school in Korea) insisted that we use their error-ridden, repetitive textbooks...and them alone. When I would try to innovate to make the class more interesting I was reprimanded by the owner. I brought a tangerine to class one day to instruct the kids how to ask for and offer food. I thought this would impress the parents. But no. This was "eating in class". The parents won't tolerate teachers eating in class.

When I brought in flash cards to help them learn activities (running, dancing, etc..) well, that was playing card games!! (And by the way, the parents were complaining that I wouldn't allow their children to bring snacks to class. The children could eat and disrupt the entire class, but the teacher couldn't bring a tangerine to class for educational purposes.)

Nuts!

Also, when I would ask which students were complaining the owner refused to tell me. I told him that maybe the complainees simply didn't enjoy learning English. Not everyone enjoys learning a second language. That's not the teacher's fault. Maybe it's the curriculum. Let's ask the kids what's the problem. No, we couldn't do that. No reason given. The kid's were simply bored.....

My experience at GnB (Incheon) was a nightmare, and I won't pretend that the owners' petty complaining about bored kids even ranks among the serious grievances I have against that bad school, and its unethical, racist owners. However, it's another of the Cath 22's that we all face in Korea. The children are bored. Yet, we are not given taining. We must adhere to the bad textbooks. And any attempt at innovation is met with criticism.

Petty harassment of foreign teachers by hogwan owners can ruin one's experience in Korea, and, in the long run, comtribute to Korea's negative country image. As thousands of disgruntled teachers return home each year word gets out about Korea and its corrupt, irrational hogwan owners.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

We are led to believe that we were hired to be teachers.

but let's not fool ourselves.

We are entertainers, pure and simple.

When I entertain as oppose to teach, I get rave reviews from parents, students, and my bosses.

If I actually become a REAL teacher, I get told "too many parents are complaining".

Bottom line is this:

If kids are not happy, they complain to their parents. "I don't wanna go to the hagwon!"

Then when enrollment declines, guess who gets the blame?

[Tiger Beer]

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

All "English Teachers" hired from abroad are now officially termed "Entertainers" and/or "Clowns" depending on how you see yourself. Please make a note of it.

In addition, any future resumes you write by law must say you were an "Entertainer" or "Clown" in Korea. If you didn't sign a contract, and only taught privates, the officialy term is "Private Entertainer".

This Law goes into effect IMMEDIATELY! Anyone breaking this law will be fined 1,000,000 WON sent to Tiger Beer, c/o Dave's ESL Forum or put it directly into my bank account. Acct 965761687 at The Bank. Thank you. PayPal also accepted.

[William Beckerson]

It's true.

It's also true that if you dont get the little snots (who'd rather be out in the playground abusing each other) to show some improvement in English, you'll get blamed for being a crappy teacher.

In a hagwon, you're boned either way you bend.

[nick09]

Is it still true that gnb incheon korea is a terrible school ? any commenst anyone ,, i may go there

[garykasparov]

Candy works

[jinks]

I thank God that my first job in Korea - Big Ups 2 Dae-young Hagwon in Geochang - was nothing like the hell-holes we read about on Dave's. I did research my school and ask lots of questions, but that's no help if the business owners are liars. Sorry to hear about other people's raw deals (or worse), but not every after school English academy is a snake pit of cheating and deceit.

[tomato]

That sounds like my job in Hongseong.
When the director taught class, she spent the whole hour listening to tapes and teaching straight out of the teacher's manual, with no creativity whatsoever.

She objected to any of my original activities--music, games, or picture books.
She said that the children did not enjoy those activities and they would rather spend the time learning straight out of the textbook as they did in her class.
In fact, she laid it on thick.
According to her, the students hated my class so much that they were all going to drop out and she would have to close down the school.

I printed out a written questionnaire, asking the students if they enjoyed music, games, picture books, listening to tapes, and learning straight from the textbook.
I printed out the results, gave the director a copy, and called her a liar.

The director hired an obedient, unimaginative Filipino woman as a teacher, obviously intending to replace me with her.
It wasn't that easy, though.
The woman was hiding from a violent ex-husband who soon afterward found out where she was.
That meant that she had to move out in a hurry.

By then, I had already give the director my two months' notice.
Once again, then, the director was more dependent on me than I was on her.
So she had to be nice to me the rest of the time.

[tomato]

On the other hand, she believed everything a textbook salesman said to her.
At about the time I was leaving, she was attending ChildU seminars and spending a million weon per month for a ChildU franchise.
She was convinced that once she had a ChildU franchise, customers would come swarming in from all over time.
Last I heard, her enrollment was down and she had to cut back to one Korean teacher.

There are plenty of schools like the GnB school in Incheon and the school where I worked in Hongseong, but there are also plenty of schools where the directors value creativity.
Philip James, did you go back home because GnB Incheon scared you away?
Come back! We need you!

[koon_taung_daeng]

I cant stand a Korean that cant even speak my language properly telling me how to teach.I quit a job because of it i wont tolerate it at all. It's my class room and i am a teacher not a clown.Just tell the parents to shut up or you will kill their children! that normally works for me

[Seon-bee]

So you say you're an excellent teacher. Then why would anyone complain about your teaching? Excellent teachers consider the needs and wants of their students. You can have fun and promote learning in class without being a clown. Maybe they're bored because you're not connecting with them on a personal level. You might hate your job and your students and they understand this through your voice, actions, and body langauge.

It's not the curriculum. Good teachers make lemons out of lemonade. Maybe you talk too fast and they don't understand you. Maybe you're not making the material comprehensible. That wouldn't be your fault if you can't use realia or flashcards.

Some "teachers" tend look down on Koreans who can't speak "my language" and think of their students as "little snots," not as students or even children. Even young kids can see it.

Just because you speak English doesn't mean you can teach. If you have to resort to candy as an incentive, you're not really teaching.

On the other hand, some of your complaints ring true, and I feel bad for the position you're in. To solve the problem, you need to better communicate your methods and techniques to management. Ask them for suggestions on how to motivate your students. Ask what it is you're doing wrong.

[I-am-me]

Foreigners are basically clowns. Koreans are beng taught that at an early age. Foreigners are not to be respected as teachers. Kids know that if you dont entertain them...you are outta there! It is pathetic. I work at an excellent hagwon, but bottom line is, entertain them as you teach them. Very different than the korean teacher. No fun and games or candy in her class!

[yingwenlaoshi]

Yeah, I was told that once. Infuriated me. Initially I complained about the class because they were being too unreceptive and dead. So my boss came back with the "They say they're bored" comment. I simply told him "They're going to have to make themselves interested. My job is to teach Teach the textbooks and reading books you give me. I'm not the problem, they are." Then I told my co-teacher this and then the driver. The driver, who of course is Korean, agreed totally with me and he told me that he orginally suggested to our boss that any student that doesn't want to study should be kicked out."

Don't pander to students.

[tomato]

Seon-bee's post covers a lot of territory.
I have some yesses and no's:

[oneofthesarahs]

I had a blowout with my director about this recently. I was given a class of 6 exceptionally bright middle school students, no textbook, and was told to teach them "anything you want." So I went with reading comprehension. We were reading book excerpts and newspaper articles. Occasionally we would play games like Mad Libs or Two Truths and a Lie. I got rave reviews from my students. They loved my class and we were having a blast, and I could see them making progress in their reading comprehension.

Then my director told me no more games. So I wrote games out of the schedule. A week later she gave me a terrible textbook. It was beyond their level and boring. I tried to tell her that, but I had to teach it anyway. A week later, she told me that the students were BORED and I needed to fix it. Well, no sh*t they're bored, but there's no way to make them un-bored if I can't supplement the textbook, but she would have none of it.

She then proceeded to imply that I was a bad teacher because I couldn't get them interested in the crappy textbook. Oh, and the old standby that I don't understand Korean culture.