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Stan Rogers
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
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ED209
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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 Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:30 am Post subject: |
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By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- More than a third of the native-speaking English teachers in South Korea quit after six months or so on the job, challenging the effectiveness of language immersion programs installed nationwide, a report said Wednesday.
The report submitted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to the parliament showed 42.4 percent of native instructors ended their contract after six months last year, up from 34 percent in 2008. The rate again fell to 34 percent as of the end of July of this year.
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They really don't seem to want to know why. |
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sluggo832004
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:32 am Post subject: |
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| Thats just a little higher than what 1st year teachers in America do as well. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:51 am Post subject: |
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| sluggo832004 wrote: |
| Thats just a little higher than what 1st year teachers in America do as well. |
Good point. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:52 am Post subject: |
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| sluggo832004 wrote: |
| Thats just a little higher than what 1st year teachers in America do as well. |
Yeah, but there's no way that's a real number in the Korean context. |
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Wishmaster
Joined: 06 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:15 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, I wonder why. Hmmm...actually, I think 34% is pretty low considering all the thieving owners/directors, screwing people on pension, taxes, failing to get the employee insurance(despite the fact that it is mandatory), lack of respect by their fellow "teachers", being branded as drug addicted, pederasts right when they step off the plane. Gee, I wonder why people take off and leave...a true mystery there. |
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Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Wishmaster wrote: |
| Yeah, I wonder why. Hmmm...actually, I think 34% is pretty low considering all the thieving owners/directors, screwing people on pension, taxes, failing to get the employee insurance(despite the fact that it is mandatory), lack of respect by their fellow "teachers", being branded as drug addicted, pederasts right when they step off the plane. Gee, I wonder why people take off and leave...a true mystery there. |
Agreed. You can also add things such as culture shock, emergencies back home, NT getting fired for a range of legitimate reasons (can find a couple of good ones on this board), teachers who only ever planned to stay a few months anyways, etc.
What surprises me is, if this is actually a concern to the Korean authorities, why does the 24 year old blonde get picked over the middle-aged guy who has completed 5 contracts almost every time. (Even in public schools, they can save 100k a month...) Who is more likely to bail at the 3 month mark? |
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oldfatfarang
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: On the road to somewhere.
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Otherside wrote: |
What surprises me is, if this is actually a concern to the Korean authorities, why does the 24 year old blonde get picked over the middle-aged guy who has completed 5 contracts almost every time. (Even in public schools, they can save 100k a month...) Who is more likely to bail at the 3 month mark? |
It's the Korean traditional market trader mentality. If you can sell a bowl of fruit for the going rate - and include a rotten one in the bottom - then you've made a good deal (saved money). Conversely, if you buy a bowl of fruit, and you know there's always going to be a rotten one in the bottom - you just hope that it won't be too rotten - and that you can still use all the fruit (you, too, have saved money).
None of this makes sense to a western mind steeped in western long-term rational-linear planning - but that's how things operate around here. Aint gonna changeee. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm operating on anecdotal evidence here, but from personal experience does anyone buy this 34% number? Sure, you can give a litany of somewhat legitimate reasons why people might potentially bail, but has anyone worked at a school where a third of the teachers bailed within six months, or had a third of the people you've met bail within that time? Maybe this is something that happens more outside of Seoul/Gyeonggi, but I haven't known a single person to pull a runner within the year I've worked over here. |
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oldfatfarang
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: On the road to somewhere.
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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I know of 3 PS runners - one was my mate - who ran from SMOE after 3 months (2 years ago). He had 12 years teaching experience, DELTA, lived and taught in Europe, and he just couldn't stand the Korean public school system.
Another was a girl who ran in her first week in a Busan PS (this year).
My co-teacher told me that a teacher ran from another PS in our district (didn't say when).
These are only 3 examples, but I don't mix with the western TEFL community, so I'm sure there must be more runners from PS.
Oh, I forgot, in my first hagwon job I replaced a runner who left after 4 months. |
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ippy
Joined: 25 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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| My pred bailed after 5 months. But weird, she should have at least hung on for one more month and wouldn't have had to pay back her flight here. Ah well, when you gotta go, you gotta go. |
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T-J
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Wishmaster wrote: |
| Yeah, I wonder why. Hmmm...actually, I think 34% is pretty low considering all the thieving owners/directors, screwing people on pension, taxes, failing to get the employee insurance(despite the fact that it is mandatory), lack of respect by their fellow "teachers", being branded as drug addicted, pederasts right when they step off the plane. Gee, I wonder why people take off and leave...a true mystery there. |
Don't care why, just wish more would. |
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ticktocktocktick
Joined: 31 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| 34% does seem silly. I've never known anyone to pull a runner, and in 3 years have only known a few people who've either quit or been fired before 12 months is up (maybe 5-10% of people) This has all been in Gyeonggi, nearer to Seoul. I can understand how people might not be able to cope with the boonies (especially first timers), but it still doesn't add up. I wonder if this is counting the people who are issued E2 visas, but then don't show up (I've known that to happen twice at my first hagwon gig). |
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Hyeon Een
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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| oldfatfarang wrote: |
It's the Korean traditional market trader mentality. If you can sell a bowl of fruit for the going rate - and include a rotten one in the bottom - then you've made a good deal (saved money). Conversely, if you buy a bowl of fruit, and you know there's always going to be a rotten one in the bottom - you just hope that it won't be too rotten - and that you can still use all the fruit (you, too, have saved money).
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Haha. I haven't heard this before but I experienced something similar the other day.
In my local small supermarket they had little plastic bowls of tomatoes with a preprinted label on them, so that you could empty the bowl into a plastic bag and put the label on without getting one of the workers to do it.
The price was good, but when I looked, every single bowl had at least one bad tomato in it. I was thinking about putting together a 'perfect' bowl, but then it might look like I was trying to cheat the system by putting extra tomatoes in or something (plus the weights and prices were all different). So I didn't buy any and bought cherry tomatoes instead. |
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Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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In the Hagwon system I can definitely believe those figures.
In my group of friends in the Hagwon system, out of about 12-13, 4 left. Two of them were the school's fault (though at least half had good reason to quit), and the other 2 were the teachers fault (1 Guy got a job back home, another girl came to be with her boyfriend who was already 6-7months into a contract).
In the PS system, not as bad I'd say, out of 15 or so friends, 3 didn't make it. All 3 were the teacher's fault.
I didn't really know/care about the other teachers, one month they were there, three months later they weren't, who knows why they left and maybe their contracts had finished.
Also, for any of us to know about runners they'd have to make it on to the radar. As oldfatfarang mentioned, many don't even make a month, never mind a week, (or that guy in Incheon who resigned after missing day 1), and it would be pretty hard to gauge those numbers... |
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