Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Unreal]

My job was close to perfect (in the hagwon universe) for the first 4 months. Suddenly this week the boss holds a meeting and lays down several rules:

1) No speaking loudly in the office
2) No laughing in the office
3) No talking about anything except school in the office
4) All free time must be spent preparing for classes

No reason was given for why the new rules were being implemented.
Add these to an already established rule: "No leaving the hagwon without permission".
That means that about 3 hours of every day are spent "preparing". It takes me less than an hour to prepare for all of my classes. I could prepare more fun activities for them to do...but then I have already been told that my classes should be more serious and that my students are too loud.

Almost all of the teachers (all Korean except me) were so upset with the new situation that they went out drinking a couple nights ago to let off some steam. Unfortunately the teachers who are higher up the food chain are also the most afraid to say anything to the boss for fear of losing their jobs.

From what I understand, the boss wants a more "professional" atmosphere for parents to witness when they visit. This is understandable, however parents visits are occasional for short periods of time, while we must spend 8 hours every week day in this new tomb-like atmosphere. In the end I don't think anyone is going to win when 90% of the teachers are unhappy.

I guess what I want to know is:
1) How does my boss think this is good for the school? (I still don't understand)
2) How can we convince him otherwise? (hopefully in a not too confrontational manner)

[Son Deureo!]

It sounds to me like a classic Hogwon Boss Temper Tantrum (TM). I doubt there's any point in trying to convince him.

Instead, go along with the new rules, or at least pretend to for maybe a week or so. I suspect that things will gradually revert to a slightly more reserved version of normality by then.

One question for you, though. Does your contract say that you have to remain on-site when you aren't teaching? If not, remind your boss of that fact and start leaving when you're not teaching. It won't help your co-workers, but unfortunately every attempt I've ever made to fight alongside the K-teachers against the boss has proven to be an exercise in futility.

[phaedrus]

[hellofaniceguy]

No one can use you unless YOU let them. You have a few choices as I see it....me...I'd tell the boss..."no...I don't agree...laughing is good, talking about other then work related is also good. Don't control me...this is not north korea and I am not your slave."
Or suck it up and hate the boss and the job and be miserable. Your choice.
You stand up to the dictator...you'll get more respect instead of taking it up the backside like the majority of koreans do and complain about it but do nothing. Koreans are long on retoric and short on specifics. Always whining, complaining but won't make a stand for a positive change.

[McNasty]

Unreal wrote:

[JongnoGuru]

[McNasty]

Jongnoguru wrote:

[Yu_Bum_suk]

'No speaking loudly in the classroom'??? I'd gladly go along with all the other rules if that one was observed by the kids as well.

It's too bad there aren't other foreign teachers at your hogwan. How important are you to your boss? At mine the four of us would just refuse, because it would be too much grief for him to replace us all. Only the KTs get treated like that, but then they're so obsequious sometimes that it's hard to feel sorry for them.

[HamuHamu]

Hmmm our director went off on a tirade about two months ago that included a lot of those things. He went so far as to draft up an "addendum" to our contracts and "forced" everyone to sign it. We were given the new papers and told we had to hand them in by a certain day. Most teachers freaked, said they wouldn't sign it, but then they did and just grumbled and complained. I just filed mine amongst the other pile of useless recyclable paper on my desk and never thought of it again.

I didn't sign it, they never asked for it. I HAD prepared a little scribble of things to come back at them with, if they actually approached me and requested the paper -- things like, "Clause 10 is in direct violation of my contract," etc. (One of the clauses was actually in violation of UN basic human rights and freedoms for all people ... !) I thought it would get testy when they approached me for the signed paper, as we were told that anyone who did not return the paper would be fired. But, they never came to me for it, although I did see a sticky note on the supervisor's desk from the director that said she was to chase me up for it.

All in all, teachers grumbled for a few days and held to the new rules. One teacher was fired for violating the new policies and the general concensus was that she was the sacrificial lamb...the big warning that the director meant business. BUT.....about 3 or 4 days later, it all cooled down and went back to normal. Now on any given day I would say 99% of us are breaking 80% of these new rules, and nothing has been said to anyone about it.

Now we are thinking that these rules were possibly drafted up in order to purposely catch that one teacher having broken them so that she could be fired. Once she was gone, the director didn't care so much anymore??

I think that because most hagwan directors have no people mangement or human resources skills, don't know how to motivate, manage, work with, and supervise a team of 15 -20 staff members. All they know how to do is come in screaming and yelling, drop a big bomb and stomp off furiously. They seem to feel that doing this once every 6 weeks when the team gets a bit "lazy" will solve all of the problems.

[itaewonguy]

maybe its due to the NEWS special last sunday night..
about the foreign ESL teachers in Korea. are they worth their money etc..
anyone else see that? guess your boss did..

seems to be some conspiracy going on here.. Koreans trying to ruin this business and take it over themselves.. becuase now they think they can do better than natives!