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The Sultan of Seoul
Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Location: right... behind.. YOU
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 Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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I've done both and would say Elementary all the way.
The kids are more engagedand better beahved. That's it in a nutshell. Plus the courseware and textbooks you get at ele school - whilst not awsome - are streets ahead of the text book and no courseware set up in HS. You fancy spending 50 mins shouting above 36 bored, angry 19 year olds that will ignore you, swear at you in English, glare at you for not letting them sleep at the desk and run your throat ragged? Wouldn't reccomend it to anyone. Bar the dreaded grade 6 - elementary is much more rewarding and much less stressful. |
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kain243
Joined: 19 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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| The Sultan of Seoul wrote: |
I've done both and would say Elementary all the way.
The kids are more engagedand better beahved. That's it in a nutshell. Plus the courseware and textbooks you get at ele school - whilst not awsome - are streets ahead of the text book and no courseware set up in HS. You fancy spending 50 mins shouting above 36 bored, angry 19 year olds that will ignore you, swear at you in English, glare at you for not letting them sleep at the desk and run your throat ragged? Wouldn't reccomend it to anyone. Bar the dreaded grade 6 - elementary is much more rewarding and much less stressful. |
Pretty much this ^. I just started working a technical high school in march thinking that any public school would be a safer bet than a Hogwon, but now I'm really having second thoughts. At my high school there are no other foreign teachers, there's no english books for my class (everything is improvise) and the 50 mins shouting thing is spot on (I get sweared at in Korean too O.o). The high school kids have zero motivation or interest in learning english and their levels are so low that a regular conversation isn't possible (forget a class).
I have friends who are working at middle school elementary nearby and are very happy there.
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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| kain243 wrote: |
| technical high school |
That's your problem there. In regular high schools they will not swear at you. However they may ignore you and it can be very frustrating if you want to see results from your teaching. |
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The Sultan of Seoul
Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Location: right... behind.. YOU
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| kain243 wrote: |
| technical high school |
That's your problem there. In regular high schools they will not swear at you. However they may ignore you and it can be very frustrating if you want to see results from your teaching. |
My experience WAS at a non technical high school and I encountered all of those negative behaviours. |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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| The Sultan of Seoul wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| kain243 wrote: |
| technical high school |
That's your problem there. In regular high schools they will not swear at you. However they may ignore you and it can be very frustrating if you want to see results from your teaching. |
My experience WAS at a non technical high school and I encountered all of those negative behaviours. |
I've stated it in past threads, I've worked both as well, and would go High School any day of the week. If you're stuck at a Technical High School, then you are dealing with the lowest of the low, in many cases.
Agreed... avoid Tech High Schools. |
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kain243
Joined: 19 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 1:24 am Post subject: Tech Schools |
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For those of us unfortunate enough to be stuck at a tech school, can anyone give me some advice on how to survive here?
I know someone in a previous thread says that tech schools can be awesome because no-one cares...but in my case obviously someone does care, even though my co-teachers are rarely in the room with me they work in the teachers lounge directly behind my room and keep looking through the window and keeping tabs on whether I'm goofing off or not.
I don't have a textbook, and if I try to play fun games or movies then my co-teachers get annoyed because the students aren't learning anything, but if I do try to actually teach them anything new they complain its either too hard, too easy, or boring and my co-teachers get annoyed as well. The students don't pay attention and pretty much refuse to participate.
Basically either way someone gets annoyed at me which just sucks >.<. I'd really love some tips on how to try and keep everyone happy...and not end up going nuts  |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 4:21 am Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| Who's Your Daddy? wrote: |
| The foreign language schools have unbelievable expectations for the foreign teacher. |
That's exactly what I've thought about them.
And, in my experience, what you should very often add on to that sentence is
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| ......for no extra remunerative reward whatsoever. |
I've come across a couple of cases of teacher A (NET at a FLHS) who works really damn hard and always seems tired and exhausted whenever we meet, vs. teacher B (NET at an elementary school) who has a much easier schedule, does not seem exhausted whenever we meet AND is getting paid exactly the same.
Yes, I know a lot of people would prefer a job where they work harder but are more mentally challenged and less bored, and that's fair enough. But I think there's also a lot of people who are attracted to what they think is the more prestigious sounding job title and I reckon quite a few of these Foreign Language High Schools really exploit that fact. |
I taught at a foreign language high school. I worked harder than most teachers, but I also got paid more than most teachers. I made a good bit over 3.0 million a month and had plenty of opportunities to earn extra money at hourly rates ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 won an hour. I think I was compensated fairly well for my hard work. |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 4:05 pm Post subject: Re: High School vs Elementary |
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| HeavyTZM wrote: |
Hello all,
Can I get some comments on what the general differences are between teaching high school and elementary (both public)? Pros and cons? enjoyable/not?
Also, would it make a difference if a public school was funded by a coperata (whatever that is)? |
At many High Schools you might not have a co-teacher so you will be legging it on your own. Also where I worked the school (the county district, I didnt teach middle school or high school) had no official program with textbooks although any school district you work at will provide you with a reasonable amount of materials including some kind of textbook if that's what you desire. Generally you will be doing more work at a High School, probably with less money since I'm not sure that you would have extracurricular classes.
In Elementary schools the co-teacher teaches the required classes and you assist with the language. You then get some extra money from teaching extracurricular classes sometimes alone sometimes with the co-teacher helping you. It's up to you and your temperment. Personally I would teach Elementary School, because I think it's set up better. But a lot of native teachers don't get along with thier co-teachers at all and sometimes end up doing midnight runs. It's up to you. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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Done all three Elementary, Middle and High.
I'd rank them as High, Elementary and Middle in order of enjoyment and ease of teaching.
Your mileage may vary. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
I taught at a foreign language high school. I worked harder than most teachers, but I also got paid more than most teachers. I made a good bit over 3.0 million a month and had plenty of opportunities to earn extra money at hourly rates ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 won an hour. I think I was compensated fairly well for my hard work. |
I can believe it as you're not the first person I've come across who felt he was paid well by the FLHS he worked at. But I've also come across people who've made similar amounts working in an elementary or middle school.
Ultimately though, if you were happy with the salary:work ratio you had there, then that's all that matters. |
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Tyshine
Joined: 04 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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| My HS students are very low. I can't imagine how bad it must be a technical school. |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
I taught at a foreign language high school. I worked harder than most teachers, but I also got paid more than most teachers. I made a good bit over 3.0 million a month and had plenty of opportunities to earn extra money at hourly rates ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 won an hour. I think I was compensated fairly well for my hard work. |
I can believe it as you're not the first person I've come across who felt he was paid well by the FLHS he worked at. But I've also come across people who've made similar amounts working in an elementary or middle school.
Ultimately though, if you were happy with the salary:work ratio you had there, then that's all that matters. |
I liked the job and the students, but I did ultimately leave for a higher paying job at a hagwon. Still, regular public school teachers who consistently make more than 3.0 million a month have to be working a good bit of overtime hours, and those overtime hours are compensated at a much lower rate than 60,000 won an hour, probably half that or less. My salary of over 3.0 million came from my regular 24 hours of teaching a week. With overtime, I made closer to 4.0 million a month. No public school teacher, as far as I'm aware, can make that much money, period. Nor are they paid 8.0 million for a four-week English camp at a beach resort in Thailand for high-level middle school students, as I was.
Having said this, most FLHS teachers do make closer to what teachers make at regular public schools, generally 2.2 to 2.5 million a month. For that amount of money, I would not work in a FLHS. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
| My salary of over 3.0 million came from my regular 24 hours of teaching a week. With overtime, I made closer to 4.0 million a month. No public school teacher, as far as I'm aware, can make that much money, period. |
Someone at the top of the PS pay scale in Seoul or any of the non-metro EPIK areas, who was teaching 24 classes a week would be making pretty close to what you were for your 24 classes. And I reckon they'd probably have a lot less prep to do for their 24. As well as that, if they were an elementary teacher, that'd be 24 x 40 mins as opposed to your 24 x 50 mins, making 4 hours less actual teaching time per week.
Yes, it's true that there aren't many people on the top pay levels in regular PS jobs. But as you said yourself....
| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
| most FLHS teachers do make closer to what teachers make at regular public schools, generally 2.2 to 2.5 million a month. For that amount of money, I would not work in a FLHS. |
And that was my point really. I don't dispute at all that there are people out there who've worked in a FLHS and were as happy with the deal as your were. But, for the most part, it does usually appear to be a lot more work, responsibility, expectation and general hassle for little or no more money. |
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