Korean Job Discussion Forums

[augustine]

Just telling it how it is. Now, time to go home. Have a nice rest of the day at your hagwon jobs, folks.

[Waygeek]

[augustine]

If you say so dude. My after school building is separate, I control my AC and will continue to. I don't have an education degree either, that's the point monkey boy.

[Waygeek]

So, because I don't have a degree in something, I couldn't possibly do it? Interesting view of the world you have there.

I have a TEFL, if that helps you?

It didn't really help me. I'm just a naturally good at my job. I didn't have to sleep in a lecture hall for four years in order to do it well.

The cost of a bad hire=augustine.

[augustine]

Bad hire, chumpster? I have the best job in Korea outside of university gigs. 11-3 or 12-4 then I'm gone, 2-3 classes a day, no boss... Don't even go down that road.

[No_hite_pls]

[Waygeek]

[ewlandon]

I'm in the same boat as waygeek and augustine lost all credibility. What were you going on about an education degree for if you dont even have one?

Augustine, I am the only foreigner in my school too (big 9 floor hagwon) and they love me and I love my job. I have the biggest classroom among all my co-elementary teachers and despite the learning curve (not really knowing what I was doing at first) I feel like im a pretty good teacher now.

[Juregen]

Strangely enough, now that I think about it, there seems to be a reverse relationship between the type of education and the results in the classroom.

Weird that those most specialized in education gave me the biggest headaches, come to think of it.

I have no background in education and can hold my own classes.
Actually parents always insist I teach their kids classes, eventhough I hired a someone with that exact background.

[ewlandon]

[Juregen]

[some waygug-in]

One thing I'd like to say, if I may;

You have to work with the people you hire. If you've hired some bad apples

you have to at least give them the opportunity to turn themselves around.

So many times I've read on this board where managers expect perfect teachers right out of University with no experience.

I'm not saying you personally are guilty of this, but it does seem a very

common attitude amongst hagwon managers.


Not everyone is going to jump off the plane and KNOW what they are doing. In fact, very few will.

What kind of training and support are you giving to people who are

less than you expected?


Do you have teachers meetings where problems can be discussed in a

positive way and then solutions can be suggested?


Are teachers brow beaten with their failures or encouraged with ways

they might improve?


I can tell you that I was considered a 'bad hire' by the new manager, but

I was given very little direction as to what I needed to change.

It wasn't till years later and lots of teaching experience that I realized some things I could have and should have done differently.

If the manager had shown me where I needed to improve rather than

just try and fire me things would have gone better for both of us.

[salutbonjour]

If all your teachers have problems and you fired all of them while some places manage to consistently hire good teachers, I'd assume your method of selection leads you to worse teachers.

The second possibility is that the environment is bad. With the exact same teachers, one school might get 70% good while the other one gets 70% bad ones. Mainly due to the atmosphere, how they are motivated, interaction with the Korean staff, etc.

But you may continue to assume that all the teachers are bad.

[sirius black]

[Kwai_Chang_Kain]