Korean Job Discussion Forums

[monkman888]

Hi

Has anyone ever worked at the Avalon English School in Yeonsu-gu Incheon?

If so what are the conditions like? Staff? Students? Directors?

Many thanks.

[iammac2002]

All Avalon schools are bad and should be avoided at all costs.

[roadwork]

Anything in Yeonsu-dong Incheon is bad and should be avoided at all costs.

[shinjilalenai]

Are you working there now? I'd like to know about it too.

I have several years' teaching experience in Japan, but I've never taught in Korea. I recently got offered a job at this school but I'm hearing that it's sort of like how NOVA was in Japan, the place that everyone curses their lives working for them.

[tenchu77491]

I worked there for 6 months and pulled a runner. After me 2 foreign teachers left.

SHIT hole. Danny is still the head? He's a chill guy but his boss hammers him to carry out retarded orders.

PS, there were many runners before me and that's why Danny doesn't hire Canadians any more.

Also, one female tried to quit after me (the legit way) and she got screwed over bad.

School took all over time "because accounting said there is a mistake". School tried to charge teachers 10,000 won per minute late in cash. Apartments were total crap (every teachers). They didn't live up to the contract at all, no fan, no AC, nothing. No bedding, no washing machine in 3 teachers apartments, took forever to fix these problems. I am just listing some of the issues. We fought for months over apartments and eventually I got my apartment changed but it took months of fighting, and by the time I got an AC installed (was in my contract) it was winter. My first apartment didn't even have a bathroom mirror. Middle school side had it the worst. All attention was given to elementary and we got screwed. We had so many middle school classes and only 2 of us out of 6 foreigners were covering middle. We had so many classes and no over time. We even taught classes in jongro classrooms. We had to sneak out of the Cinus building to have lunch because they didn't want us leaving the building. A ton of crap work papers to fill out every day and have the head teacher sign and Danny sign. Every day was a nightmare. The list of crap goes on and on.

I heard it has gotten much worse since I left as well, can't even believe it.

PSS

I will give Danny one thing. I never seen kids so terrified of a man before. If you got a problem with a class, even his name will be enough to put them in line. Kids are terrified of being put in the hall because they fear Danny will see them in the hall and not in class.

Danny was so hard core, he busted in my room without saying a word and smacked kids and just left... for no reason.. without uttering a word.

[tenchu77491]

PS, is your recruiter is Hero from HandsKorea?

It appears they got some special connection with Danny, and Hero even helped Danny screw over some <unnammed> employee that tried to legit quit. I wouldn't trust either of them again.

[shinjilalenai]

You've got to be kidding?

Is it really that bad?

That doesn't make sense. It's not like public school where the teachers can smack people around. The students are paying good money to be there, so how could this Danny fellow get away with that kind of behaviour?

No washing machine in the apartment? How far was the laundromat?

How would HandSKorea help screw someone over? Why would that be in their interest?

If you "run" from the job, can you still use your visa and work somewhere better? I guess your return airfare is screwed if you run.

Anyway, thanks. It's interesting. Now I'm even more confused.

[tenchu77491]

^I ran and I am working in Korea again.

Danny is hella abusive to the kids. The other korean teachers are too. I am not sure which ones are still there from last year, but amy, sunny, and the rest of the gang were all abusive. The girls are all super cute but pack a punch. They also have their own designated hitting sticks. Sammy is like the head elementary teacher and your go to guy, and he hits kids the most and is dead slow to get stuff done.

It wasn't my apartment that had no washer, it was another fellow co teacher. He complained enough to get one installed (a MINI washer, only for half a load). He then complained and complained and got a normal size washer put in.

This was my first bathroom before I forced them to move me,
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9924/dscf1079p.jpg
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/862/dscf1080q.jpg

That was all the room in the whole bathroom, and yea no mirror. Roach traps everywhere, filthy place. The rest of the apartment is much the same.

They try to get buy with the bare minimum always and you need to grind on them to get anything at all. Though they do pay on time. Just don't expect any over time or anything other than the contracted salary.

^They will push you to do a lot of extra work and classes back to back all day. Don't expect to see a single break. Even on VACATION days when middle school was out on vacation, we (middle school teachers) were forced to cover elementary classes instead of taking our vacation time (stated in our contracts, we were suppose to be given 2 weeks per year, NEVER HAPPENED). <-- they even told us our week of vacation will fall on middle school's winter/summer vacation. After they stole overtime and my winter vacation, I bounced.

Hero from HandsKorea? Or did you talk to Ray? The only thing Ray ever did was drive me from the airport to the crappy apartment, which no one even visited me for 2 days, when the foreign teachers came and got me.

I am sure they are in cohorts together, that Avalon and handskorea. Upon quitting I tried to fix things with Avalon and Danny but they made things worse (basically trying to make me pay fines I didn't have to and telling me I was in big trouble and I can never work again) Funny, I am working in Korea now. I got a new job not even 3 months after I quit.

Hero also tried to screw over a worker there after she quit the legit way, they did so by not paying her correctly, etc. Hero was in on all of it. I don't know what their deal is, but they are in on something.

STUDENTS?

Elementary are alright. There are a few famous trouble makers but the kids were generally nice.

Middle school? Watch the **** out. Go into the classrooms guns blazing. You have to discipline hard and you're all on your own. There is no communication between the middle school staff and the middle school foreign teachers (even the offices are separated).

^ I don't want to make the middle school Korean staff sound, bad actually they were the only people I liked for staff. I even met some outside of work and went drinking with them and some of the younger Korean girl staff on the elementary side as well, mega cuties. The administration is the ass kicker.

As for foreign teachers? Everyone has since left since I was there (7 of us, all left within the year). I highly doubt they replaced all of us yet. I heard there were only 2-3 workers there now. Poor them~

We were pulling 55+ hour work weeks until overtime got cut, then we basically refused to work and all hell broke out. I didn't mind making 3 million plus a month, but that didn't last long, administration cooked up some accounting to say there is no more over time even if we worked those hours. Basically screwing us on what a 'teaching unit' is and a 'teaching hour' and some crafty math.

Number of students? 350+ middle school, 350+ elementary, still growing.

[shinjilalenai]

Hmmm...

Not sounding good at all.

What a sad bathroom. No mirror? WTF is that?

What's with the abusive staff at the school? I don't understand that because those kids' parents must be paying good money for them to go there. Wouldn't kids just drop out? It's not like it's their regular school. You can't treat paying customers like that.

I can see why you would leave, coupled with the cheating you out of your overtime and vacation time.

It's surprising that a large chain school could get away with that in such a large city too.

What do you mean by people having their "own designated hitting sticks"? Are you saying that the teachers actually had sticks to hit the students with? How is that possible? Is that a Korean thing? Is it socially acceptable to do that?

Actually, it's Kim from HandSKorea. I've heard from Hero too, but he's not in contact with me regarding actual possible positions out there.

I can see how having mega cuties around is a good thing, but mega cuties are everywhere in Asia. I'm not into working with physically abusive (or verbally for that matter) "teachers".

Congrats on the other job.

A bit of a dilemma for me is saying "no" to the offer from Hands. They might just end up not offering any other jobs.

Take it easy.