Korean Job Discussion Forums

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

By the way, for a decent school environment and working conditions I worked 45 hours per week plus preparation time for two years, quite happily. I guess it depends on your priorities. [quote]

I guess it does depend on one's priorities, yours must have been money and not quality lessons.

I say that not to be contentious, but I know from my own experience that my teaching ability really suffers if I teach more than 30 hours/week.
Sure, I might be making better money, but I am hating my life/job a whole lot more by the end of the week.

I need to have some "me time", just to keep my sanity.

If you were happy doing it, good for you. But I doubt very much that there would be many others like you. You are either superhuman or you have no life at all outside of your school. (or both) Confused

It also depends upon what kind of classes you are teaching. 5 hours of kids classes are far more taxing and stressful to me than 7 or 8 hours of adult classes, but perhaps that's just my perspective.

Cheers

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

Again, thank you for all the thoughtful replies, and the time taken from busy schedules that those replies represent....

In defense of Flossie: If one considers teaching to be a profession (which I do) then one expects certain professional behaviors. For example, whether or not I am PAID for my prep time, I am prepared for my classes. I am prepared because I value teaching and learning, and to NOT prepare would be to short-change myself and my students. I am a professional teacher, therefore I do whatever prep I deem necessary to ensure my classes meet my standards.

If a school will compensate me for that time, fantastic -- I'll take that in a hearbeat. If they will not, I still do it. My prep isn't about the school, it is about my own classes and my own belief in what I do. It is about my dedication to my students, and the social contract between teacher and student -- they do their homework, they study, I prepare, I check their work....

Folks that are constantly late and unprepared give the profession a bad name, and make the job that much harder for those of us who do.

To other folks commenting on overtime: yes, as one works more overtime, one's lessons decline in effectiveness...but then, to be at our best, all of us should teach a single student in a single class and spend all week in preparation of it -- that would be optimal, apparently!

There is a trade off, no doubt -- the farther and thinner you spread yourself, the less there is to go around...but different people have different limits. Honestly, after teaching in the US, 35 classes a week in a hakwan is child's play (pun intended). I am Secondary certified in the US, and the Korean gigs I have had are ALL easier than teaching H.S in the US...for U.S. Elementary school teachers? Most could probably do 35 hakwan hours a week in their sleep -- it would be WAY less prep and stress than they have now. The difference is split shifts -- so if we are simply talking hours taught, I would say 35-40 class hours a week are not that bad -- nor bad at all, so long as it is all blocked in, not spread out over a 12 hour span each day....

To all: Again, thank you for taking the time to reply. This thread has departed from its original course, but so did my Life in Pohang thread, so I'll wave a fond farewell as this wanders where it will, and thanks to all for your help.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

Gadfly wrote

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Well, you do make some good points. Considering that you are a real teacher, while many of us are not, I can put your comments into perspective.

I would just like to add one final comment though. Not all hagwans are created equal. Where you work can be as important as how many hours you work.

At the place I worked last year, 6 classes a day was about all I could handle. If I would have been asked to do more, I may have been able to survive it, but I would be a real crappy teacher for that last class.

As far as prep goes, it can be quite a simple matter if the hagwan is organzied and has proper books etc. It also can be a lot of work if the place has no books or resources.

Hogwans are also notorious for changing classes on you 1 minute before class time, so everything you have prepared is either useless or insufficient for the new class.

Anyway, you obviously know what you are doing so carry on.

Cheers

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004