Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stan Rogers]

I think demo teaching is not necessary. A good interviewer should be able to determine if a canidate is qualified, properly experienced and not crazy by traditional means. Perhaps the people doing the interviews are not qualified or experienced interviewers. As a result they demand a dancing language monkey show from the canidates.

A demo lesson is insulting to a true qualified and experienced professional. It also send a bad vibe about the school and their administration.

[PatrickGHBusan]

I respect your opinion on this Stan but years of work on various hiring committees says otherwise!

I understand what you mean but any applicant who feels insulted about being requested to do a demo lesson will simply fail to land the job. In life, there are time to pick your situations to get outraged or high and mighty...an interview is NOT one of them as even if you afre experienced, remember this: you are far from the only applicant out there my friend

[Stan Rogers]

Patrick you are missing an important point. A lot of excellent potential teachers and who are not hard up for a job would look unfavorably upon the demand for a demo lesson. They wouldn't refuse to do it, they just wouldn't apply. It also shows that the school's interviewers and administration don't trust the applicant's resume, references or experience even if they are verified. If there are any lingering questions the interview or second interview is the place to do it. That's what is insulting about a demo lesson and it sends a bad vibe (control freaks) about the school.

Most qualified professionals wouldn't want to work for a control freak boss. In a way the demand for a demo is a good thing in that it gives a hint to an applicant about what the school working environment might be really like.

But hey, if you're hard up for a job, take it.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Stan Rogers]

Oh of course nothing personal.

Just a difference of views on the subject. I agree to disagree. Others can draw their own conclusions on the subject.

I declare this horse beaten to death.

[calicoe]

OK, need your feedback about uni interviews and hiring. I couldn't decide if I was staying or leaving, but now that I've decided to stay I noticed that uni job advertisements now seem to be scarce.

I know I missed a lot, but is it basically a closed door by early November if I haven't sent anything out by then. Should I just start looking elsewhere in other countries, or is there still the chance that decent uni jobs will advertise again later.

[ren546]

I'm quite surprised by this discussion. Several of the top universities in Seoul request teaching demonstrations, and/or some detailed lesson plan. North American universities require a job talk, sometimes teaching demonstrations, and often a meeting with the students for tenure-track positions. If it's a teaching position with, say, a 4/4 load, then you would almost certainly have to provide student evaluations, syllabi, and/or some sort of demonstration.

How is this insulting? Certainly in some cases here in Korea teachers are merely entertainers, but it doesn't apply across the board. I myself welcome the opportunity to do a demonstration since it shows the committee that I'm not one of the other 100 or so applicants who treats this field like a joke.

Also, calicoe - it's still a little early, but you could go back and do a search of past postings, since some of the deadlines haven't yet arrived.

[plato's republic]

I've seen one job ad that asks for a 3 minute demonstration lesson. My first thought was that it was a typo, though I'm not so sure about that. What are you supposed to do in 3 minutes that will sway the hiring committee towards hiring you...?