Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kangnam mafioso]

"Oppression -- overwhelming control -- is necrophilic; it is nourished by love of death, not life." -- Paulo Freire

Well, I've been teaching high school in New York City after two years of teaching at a university in Seoul. Wow, what a difference a few thousand miles makes! At the uni in Seoul, I made 2.1 million with free brand new large studio apt a 7 minute walk or 3,000 won cab ride away. Other benefits included health insurance, 10 weeks paid vacation, a 12 hour work week, extra cash during holiday periods, severance pay, matching pension contributions and very little responsibility outside of teaching (they didn't seem to care if we kept our mandated 3 office hours a week; we had one 30-min faculty meeting at beginning and end of 16 week semester). Low taxes and deductions meant that we saw most of our pay check (usually netted 1,950,000). In New York, things are a little different. Albeit, I receive a higher gross salary ($43,000 USD with masters -- $39,000 without). Of course, after paying out 1/3 of the salary each month to taxes, union fees, etc, I see only about $2,200 net a month which is about $600 more than I remember getting in Seoul. The kicker is no housing. I'm paying $400 a month for a Harlem share (a very small room capable of barely holding a single bed and dresser), transportation costs are $70 a month and the commute is approximately 50 minutes each way (an arduous combo of subways, buses and walks). Now let's look at the working hours -- 8am-3pm daily (most teachers are on-site from 7:30-4 or later) with professional development meetings every other Monday for an hour and a half. New teachers also are required to receive an extra 2 hours a month of mentoring/ prof. dev. and all teachers have to regularly take graduate courses to keep licenses current. Any planning periods or breaks in the day are used for meetings or covering absent teacher classes. The obtuse curriculum requires lesson planning every night (if lesson plans are sub-par we get fired and the admin checks them weekly). Student work must be graded weekly with insightful comments and displayed on bulletin boards inside (and outside) the room (admin checks this and we get fired if not in compliance). Administration (the lesson plan police) comes into my class approximately once a day to observe all aspects of instruction, management and classroom environment. Teachers are written up if any of these are lacking in any way. Paperwork galore: formal report cards and progress reports -- about 8 times a year, letters to parents, special ed forms, behavior anecdotals, professional development paper work, ad infinitem. Freedom in classroom: zero. Everything is dictated by the admin-- what you teach, how long, the exact structure of your lesson plan, homework, etc. Classroom management: I've been physically threatened by at least 3 students, had everything thrown off my desk and I am verbally assaulted with profanities on a daily basis by my students. Expenses in NYC: assanine. Cigarettes: $7.50, drink in a club: $5-15. Taxi to Greenich Village: $25. Studio apartment: $1200 a month. Utilities: $100 minimum.
Hmmm ... you do the math. What am I doing here??[/u]

[phaedrus]

Shit dude. Get the next flight to Korea. Your other option is to go to a small town. At least you would have better quality of life. Good small town life is one thing Korea doesn't offer to foreigners, or to Koreans for that matter.

[U.S.A.]

Teaching in Korea can be far more beneficial; however, I teach in Florida (worked in a uni and public school in Korea), and I really enjoy my work. I was making more in Korea but with less chance for future options--home ownership, moving up the ladder (not everyone's cup-of-tea I know).

I get a ton of freedom in my classroom. As far as the paper work and such, it bites. Then again, I find that my administration coming to visit my classroom has been to help me be a better teacher and not to berate me.

I guess I'm lucky.

[Derrek]

You're teaching in NY.

What do you expect?

[chiaa]

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[Real Reality]

Korea stands out as having a long scale reaching a much higher level than that of other countries. The starting salary for primary teachers in Korea is $24,140, marginally behind that for Australia at $25,775. Australia ranks 3rd in the starting salary offered to teachers but Australian teachers reach a relatively modest maximum of $36,175 (ranked 12th) quite early in their careers. Korean teachers, on the other hand, reach $39,921 after 15 years and $66,269 at the top of their scale.
(Unicorn Vol 26, No 2 July 2000)
International Comparisons Of Expenditure On Education
by Barry McGaw
http://www.austcolled.com.au/pubs.php?id=538

In Germany, Ireland, South Korea, and Switzerland, among others, teachers earn at least twice the GDP per capita. http://www.veaweteach.org/articles_archives_detail.asp?ContentID=324

[Ody]

a close friend of mine is tenured in the NYC school system (Brooklyn). she teaches middle school science and makes good money. she had to pay her dues though, sticking it out through some tough gigs.

she started out as a 4th grade teacher to a class of esl students. next, she tried middle school French. then, back to elementary school as the art teacher until she landed her present cozy position.

she's bored though and has plans to get herself a position in a NY/NJ college or university as soon as she finishes up her latest degree.

point is, if you like living where you are, teaching isn't a bad way to go in the long run. you just have to get your roots growing.

[Cthulhu]

chiaa wrote:

[Blind Willie]