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DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
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 Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:52 pm Post subject: GEPIK teachers - vacation time |
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One of my co-teachers thought I might have this week off, but I knew this wasn't the case, after the earlier conversation about my '20 days of paid vacation'. As far as I know, I am teaching half time for one week when school is not in session, and otherwise, I'll sit and study Korean with a book and do pushups on the floor of my office...
This made me wonder, did my school grant more vacation time to previous teachers?
In your experience teaching with Gyeonggi public schools, how much vacation were you given? Of course our contract guarantees 20 days, but it seems like this year my school has decided to grant exactly 20 days and no more.
Honestly, I have no interest in going to Thailand or some such. But spending time at the school, doing nothing like I am today, seems stupid when I could be participating in a Korean class somewhere. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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You have 20 days of vacation guaranteed by your contract.
Some schools will allow you to leave early or not show up at all during the school's winter and summer vacation when you don't have camps/are not using vacation days. Likewise, there are times during the semester (field day, field trips, national exams, etc...) where your classes are canceled. Your school might require you to come in, leave early or not show up.
It is up to the discretion of the school.
You get 20 days plus the red days. Any other days you are given are at the discretion of the school. I know that a lot of schools are cracking down on these discretionary days from my experience and from people I've talked to. As budgets continue to tighten expect to "work" more. So to answer you question: it will vary greatly. Some schools let their teachers out early after camps or tell them they don't have to come in. Others make them stay all day and come in to desk warm.
Download some movies, go for a jog when you first get in, bring your Korean book and find a room with AC. That's my best advice. |
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DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:37 pm Post subject: |
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@jrwhite82:
Thanks for the response, but I already know this much. That wasn't an answer to what I asked. My question was: In your experience teaching with Gyeonggi public schools, how much vacation were you given?
I asked to get a rough sense of how commonly NETs are given more than the minimum 20 days. I'm not doing a summer camp, yet asked to come in anyway (minus 10 days), so I'm surprised / confused. Does this suggest the headteacher does not like me? Or is it pretty typical? |
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Malislamusrex
Joined: 01 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:08 am Post subject: |
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If your principal is is on good terms with you, you you will probably get 20 days, it's the contract. But in Korea there is a big difference between principal liking you and wanting you to stay and being on good terms. If you are liked and your school wants you to stay there is no contract.
| DanseurVertical wrote: |
@jrwhite82:
Thanks for the response, but I already know this much. That wasn't an answer to what I asked. My question was: In your experience teaching with Gyeonggi public schools, how much vacation were you given?
I asked to get a rough sense of how commonly NETs are given more than the minimum 20 days. I'm not doing a summer camp, yet asked to come in anyway (minus 10 days), so I'm surprised / confused. Does this suggest the headteacher does not like me? Or is it pretty typical? |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:30 am Post subject: |
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When I worked for GEPIK, they wanted me to eat with them, attend meetings, go out to teacher dinners at restaurants, participate in sports day activities, etc...
Then, after about 1-2 months, they became less and less demanding. When they invited me, I would often have stuff planned and it was at the last minute when they would ask. I didn't mind the invitations, but I didn't want to cancel prior arrangements. So, I learned to make things more difficult on them. Just go home. They will call, "Where are you?" Ask them, "Where do you want me to be?" After a few rounds of this, they will stop calling you.
I would also leave the school area to get my lunch. At first I was questioned, "Where are you going?". Then, "You going to get lunch?". Then, nothing. You can do what a previous poster said and hide at the school, but that's like living at home trying to stay away from your parents. I preferred to simply not show up when I wasn't needed. Eventually, they didn't say anything about it. In fact when I did show up on time, no one else was there and the gates around the school were locked. So, I had to wait like an hour outside until the maintenance guy woke up from his slumber and spotted me. |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
When I worked for GEPIK, they wanted me to eat with them, attend meetings, go out to teacher dinners at restaurants, participate in sports day activities, etc...
Then, after about 1-2 months, they became less and less demanding. When they invited me, I would often have stuff planned and it was at the last minute when they would ask. I didn't mind the invitations, but I didn't want to cancel prior arrangements. So, I learned to make things more difficult on them. Just go home. They will call, "Where are you?" Ask them, "Where do you want me to be?" After a few rounds of this, they will stop calling you.
I would also leave the school area to get my lunch. At first I was questioned, "Where are you going?". Then, "You going to get lunch?". Then, nothing. You can do what a previous poster said and hide at the school, but that's like living at home trying to stay away from your parents. I preferred to simply not show up when I wasn't needed. Eventually, they didn't say anything about it. In fact when I did show up on time, no one else was there and the gates around the school were locked. So, I had to wait like an hour outside until the maintenance guy woke up from his slumber and spotted me. |
i feel compelled to correct you on one significant matter. you weren't working for gepik. you were working for a particular school which gave you a gepik contract because that's where the net funding came from.
no one ever works for gepik. one works for a school. gepik is insignificant/useless and a non part of your life with the exception of their orientation(s) which you must attend. The only other times they may affect your life is if your school pays attention to one of their stupid memos dictating what the net should or should not do. Example: gepik memo about net deskwarming. If your school likes you enough, they sometimes "misplace" such memos. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:40 am Post subject: |
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| rainism wrote: |
| koreatimes wrote: |
When I worked for GEPIK, they wanted me to eat with them, attend meetings, go out to teacher dinners at restaurants, participate in sports day activities, etc...
Then, after about 1-2 months, they became less and less demanding. When they invited me, I would often have stuff planned and it was at the last minute when they would ask. I didn't mind the invitations, but I didn't want to cancel prior arrangements. So, I learned to make things more difficult on them. Just go home. They will call, "Where are you?" Ask them, "Where do you want me to be?" After a few rounds of this, they will stop calling you.
I would also leave the school area to get my lunch. At first I was questioned, "Where are you going?". Then, "You going to get lunch?". Then, nothing. You can do what a previous poster said and hide at the school, but that's like living at home trying to stay away from your parents. I preferred to simply not show up when I wasn't needed. Eventually, they didn't say anything about it. In fact when I did show up on time, no one else was there and the gates around the school were locked. So, I had to wait like an hour outside until the maintenance guy woke up from his slumber and spotted me. |
i feel compelled to correct you on one significant matter. you weren't working for gepik. you were working for a particular school which gave you a gepik contract because that's where the net funding came from.
no one ever works for gepik. one works for a school. gepik is insignificant/useless and a non part of your life with the exception of their orientation(s) which you must attend. The only other times they may affect your life is if your school pays attention to one of their stupid memos dictating what the net should or should not do. Example: gepik memo about net deskwarming. If your school likes you enough, they sometimes "misplace" such memos. |
I don't see how saying "working for GEPIK" changes the content of the thread or addresses the original poster's question any differently than using some other wording.
It is common to say "I work for SMOE" or "I work for "GEPIK". I am not going to argue semantics, but just like countries are named, you can't really sue a country, we use names of organizations to better communicate a point.
Is there a specific reason why I should use something else than "work for GEPIK" to get across my points in my previous post? If so, what should be stated? "work for a school through GEPIK"?
That brings on a "statist" like mindset, and I don't see how that is any better than directly saying GEPIK. GEPIK still has the final say so even though they give a lot of freedom to their individual "states", the schools. |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:59 am Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
| rainism wrote: |
| koreatimes wrote: |
When I worked for GEPIK, they wanted me to eat with them, attend meetings, go out to teacher dinners at restaurants, participate in sports day activities, etc...
Then, after about 1-2 months, they became less and less demanding. When they invited me, I would often have stuff planned and it was at the last minute when they would ask. I didn't mind the invitations, but I didn't want to cancel prior arrangements. So, I learned to make things more difficult on them. Just go home. They will call, "Where are you?" Ask them, "Where do you want me to be?" After a few rounds of this, they will stop calling you.
I would also leave the school area to get my lunch. At first I was questioned, "Where are you going?". Then, "You going to get lunch?". Then, nothing. You can do what a previous poster said and hide at the school, but that's like living at home trying to stay away from your parents. I preferred to simply not show up when I wasn't needed. Eventually, they didn't say anything about it. In fact when I did show up on time, no one else was there and the gates around the school were locked. So, I had to wait like an hour outside until the maintenance guy woke up from his slumber and spotted me. |
i feel compelled to correct you on one significant matter. you weren't working for gepik. you were working for a particular school which gave you a gepik contract because that's where the net funding came from.
no one ever works for gepik. one works for a school. gepik is insignificant/useless and a non part of your life with the exception of their orientation(s) which you must attend. The only other times they may affect your life is if your school pays attention to one of their stupid memos dictating what the net should or should not do. Example: gepik memo about net deskwarming. If your school likes you enough, they sometimes "misplace" such memos. |
I don't see how saying "working for GEPIK" changes the content of the thread or addresses the original poster's question any differently than using some other wording.
It is common to say "I work for SMOE" or "I work for "GEPIK". I am not going to argue semantics, but just like countries are named, you can't really sue a country, we use names of organizations to better communicate a point.
Is there a specific reason why I should use something else than "work for GEPIK" to get across my points in my previous post? If so, what should be stated? "work for a school through GEPIK"?
That brings on a "statist" like mindset, and I don't see how that is any better than directly saying GEPIK. GEPIK still has the final say so even though they give a lot of freedom to their individual "states", the schools. |
it was not my intent to argue semantics or to attack you in any way.
it was my intent to communicate that in real every day working life, gepik actually has very little to do with your working conditions (apart from the contract )
how you are treated and 99% of the travails you may face have nothing to do with gepik whatsoever. It has everything to do with your particular school and specifically with who the principal, vp and your co teacher are at that school.
There are people who work for what they feel are "fantastic" gepik schools (you rarely hear from them) and others who rue the day they ever signed that gepik contract at another school and you seem them aplenty on this forum. Are they both working "for gepik"? theoretically yes, but practically speaking no.. and for the purpose of such questions, no.
in your own very example, being invited to dinners, lunch issues, etc have nothing to do with gepik. It has more to do with the teachers you happen to have at a particular school.
lastly, there are tons of examples on this very forum where people complain about "gepik", when they choose not to involve themselves in issues that may arise between the net and his/her school. |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:07 am Post subject: |
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| f your principal is is on good terms with you, you you will probably get 20 days, it's the contract. But in Korea there is a big difference between principal liking you and wanting you to stay and being on good terms. If you are liked and your school wants you to stay there is no contract. |
not quite. The school still has to deal with the gepik inspectors who inspect their books every couple of years, including all the bs paperwork relating to the native teacher and their vacation(s).
However, the principals are allowed a lot of discretion in all matters, and creative paperwork has been known to be filed. It's all bureaucratic paper shuffling and document checking anyway. Generally speaking, I don't disagree with the theme you are driving at but such "goodwill" will have to come from the highest levels (basically principal) as no one else below on the chain will have the authority and no one will want to be held responsible in case the POE doesn't like something in the paperwork. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:39 am Post subject: |
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| it was not my intent to argue semantics or to attack you in any way. |
I don't understand the point of your posts then. You are mentioning things "in practice" and I agree, each school will arrange things differently. You could say this to anyone, anytime, anywhere "GEPIK" is mentioned. There is nothing unique I can see that I said which would warrant a different wording. I still don't know what you think I should have said instead of "working for GEPIK".
Also, you mentioned in the another post, "The school still has to deal with the gepik inspectors". This indicates GEPIK does in fact hold some authority over a school. Further research I bet would indicate GEPIK guidelines and rules would trump any school arrangements made. |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
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| it was not my intent to argue semantics or to attack you in any way. |
I don't understand the point of your posts then. You are mentioning things "in practice" and I agree, each school will arrange things differently. You could say this to anyone, anytime, anywhere "GEPIK" is mentioned. There is nothing unique I can see that I said which would warrant a different wording. I still don't know what you think I should have said instead of "working for GEPIK".
Also, you mentioned in the another post, "The school still has to deal with the gepik inspectors". This indicates GEPIK does in fact hold some authority over a school. Further research I bet would indicate GEPIK guidelines and rules would trump any school arrangements made. |
you're getting into semantics again . Never mind. I've said what I wanted to say on the matter.
re your 2nd paragraph, indeed, one must follow the money. as gepik provides the money it has a right to see it's properly spent. For e.g. it's not in gepik's interest to see its net money go into some unscrupulous principal's slush fund, that's why the budgets and documentation are tracked.
however, the principal does have a certain measure of discretion, it's even flatly stated in the contract. Furthermore, since most disputes tend to center about the net's complaining that the school wants more from them rather than less, it's convenient for gepik not to involve itself into such disputes and assume than in grey areas the net is being overworked rather than underworked. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:13 am Post subject: |
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| you're getting into semantics again . Never mind. I've said what I wanted to say on the matter. |
No, I don't care about semantics. I don't understand WHY you replied to me because you replied on basis of "correcting" me with semantics ("i feel compelled to correct you on one significant matter." and something like, "You are not working for GEPIK")
I asked you several times what I should have used and you haven't provided a suitable replacement, meaning you haven't really corrected me. So, the conclusion I am drawing is that "working for GEPIK" is just as good as it was before I read your initial reply.
I have inquired enough for a "correction", given you ample benefits of the doubt, and if I don't get a reply regarding what I should have used I won't continue this discussion as it's run its course. |
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fungrel
Joined: 26 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:31 am Post subject: |
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Nice. Thread successfully derailed.
See why you can't have nice things? |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
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| you're getting into semantics again . Never mind. I've said what I wanted to say on the matter. |
No, I don't care about semantics. I don't understand WHY you replied to me because you replied on basis of "correcting" me with semantics ("i feel compelled to correct you on one significant matter." and something like, "You are not working for GEPIK")
I asked you several times what I should have used and you haven't provided a suitable replacement, meaning you haven't really corrected me. So, the conclusion I am drawing is that "working for GEPIK" is just as good as it was before I read your initial reply.
I have inquired enough for a "correction", given you ample benefits of the doubt, and if I don't get a reply regarding what I should have used I won't continue this discussion as it's run its course. |
the correct way to say it would be to work for a specific SCHOOL under the Gepik contract.
as I've discussed at length, the experience and working conditions/ environment in terms of working for one Gepik school can be vastly different than the experience and working conditions/ environment in another.
Therefore, to say " working for Gepik" is at best unsuitable, at worst, meaningless. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:49 am Post subject: |
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| the correct way to say it would be to work for a specific SCHOOL under the Gepik contract. |
If a teacher doesn't go through a recruiter and doesn't go to Korea to look for a school directly, can they still get a GEPIK job?
The answer is yes. How? You apply through GEPIK. You are not told which school you work "for", as you aren't really working for the school. Therefore, your employer is in fact GEPIK. The school is only acting in agency for their principal, GEPIK (which in the case I outlined you haven't signed a contract with).
You are wrong, "a specific school under a gepik contract" is not correct. If the school puts a condition in the contract GEPIK doesn't want, it is null and void. (Example, the school cannot give you a higher salary, but they can sign another contract privately to pay you more. I know, I did this.) |
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