Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Joe Thanks]

A lot of the schools in the chain have cameras in the classroom.

[wormholes101]

This topic is really quite gray...

[Corporal]

Bumping this thread because my boss decided (without telling any of the foreigners of course) we suddenly needed cameras installed in all the classrooms AND the teachers' room. He did it over a weekend. If we hadn't found out from our students ahead of time, we would have just walked in the next day and found everything in place.

My original dislike for being on camera remains. Mainly because, as some of the other posters observed, it's becoming an excuse for management to pick at the teachers in a passive-aggressive way. "Oh, we've noticed that some of you are doing this too much/that not enough." But not mentioning any specifics.

[jlb]

My evil bosses used to spy on me for hours watching the TV's. Then they'd say stuff like, "You don't smile enough" or "You look at your watch too much" or "You don't stand up enough." You get the point...the list goes on and on. I hated those things...if someone wants to observe me, come sit in the class. Don't lurk around spying on me.

[kermo]

During my last job search, I turned down a place when I saw they used cameras. The job I accepted uses them too, which came as a surprise since I was hired while visiting my parents back home.

I don't blame the admin for using them, and I occasionally appreciate the fact that they can see when things are going well in my class. It does, however, prevent me from doing some of my stranger pantomimes or role-playing. I'm always conscious of it, and my students understand that.

The downside is that the admin can use it to enforce the infamous "no sitting or leaning" rule (aish!) Additionally, the moms don't like it when the students don't have books in front of them, or if the kids have packed up the books in anticipation of the end of class. I usually tell a story (with illustrations) at the end of class, but now we all have to make believe we're using the books by propping them open on the desk (by request of the admin who knows it's just for show.)

[Dawn]

We've got them at one of our campuses, but they can only be monitored from the office -- no mommies watching over the Internet! Also, once the novelity wore off (and some staffing issues resolved themselves), they've pretty much been ignored.

When the lights are on in the director's office, I will sometimes ask mischief makers "Is that what you want [insert wonjangnim's name] to see you doing in class?" Unfortunately, the one class that's chock-full of trouble makers meets at a time when the director herself is teaching, so they know there's no danger of anyone seeing them on camera.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It would have been fun to have cameras at my previous place of work just to document some of the unbelieveably outrageous behaviour.

[Qinella]

Our hagwon has cameras in every imaginable location excluding the bathrooms. The director and vice can literally observe any location on the entire premises, including outside.

I really don't mind it. One time, right after I'd started, I had a mother observe her demon child's class and complain that her son was acting up. It was apparently my fault. At that point, I realized calling the parents to tell them their children are acting up doesn't work, and put the discipline boots on my own feet.

Now that my classes are generally well-behaved and organized, I'd like to know more parents are watching. Of course, I'll never hear anything good from observing parents - only the negative gets back to me. Such is life.

Q~

[different]

I think that cameras in the classroom can have a negative effect on some teachers' teaching. I used to have a hogwan job that I really liked until the managers started looking closely at the monitors and listening in on classes. I was experienced and confident in my teaching, and I didn't get criticized for anything except letting the kids speak too much Korean, but my enjoyment of the job was greatly diminished by knowing that they might be watching me at any moment. It spoiled the fun of trying new things and even made it less enjoyable to teach good lessons I had taught many times before.

I guess some teachers aren't bothered much by classroom cameras, but I think classroom cameras do have a negative psychological effect on some teachers, no matter how prepared or experienced those teachers may be. I'm so glad I don't have cameras in the classrooms at my current job.

[joe_doufu]

I think it's a dumb idea for the hagwons. Yes, you may attract one or two new customers because the parents think it's fun to look in on the class, but you'll probably lose a bunch more students because the parents will be appalled at what goes on in the classroom - kids playing games, kids smiling, limited chanting and rote memorization, foreign teachers sitting on chairs, foreign teachers looking at their watches, etc, etc. I think a sense of mystery is better for business, at least for keeping existing customers.

[manlyboy]

I think that in any job, a person's self-consciousness tends to go in to overdrive when they are under the critical observation of a superior, and it's a generally negative experience for all concerned. It's just not conducive to quality to be breathing down an employee's neck at all times.
A good lesson takes place in a comfortable and relatively relaxed atmosphere, and the teacher is primarily responsible for generating that feeling. It's not easy to do that when you know you're being evaluated by people who are not qualified to judge you, and that your head is very much on the chopping block should they target you unfairly.
I've seen cameras used effectively to weed out poor teachers, and I think that's a good thing. But personally, I have a real problem with boss men who want to stand over my shoulder every minute of the day. It's an insult to one's professionalism.

[Veronica]

Work in a mainstream school and you won't have these problems.....

[Gorgias]

My academy has them in the halls. They came is useful when a "large" thirteen year old boy decided to try and rip the head off one of his classmates. I was holding the "large" boy back, but excepting throwing him down or harming him, I could not figure how to get him to give up his vigorous attempts to get at the other boy. Finally, I waved to the camera, like "hey, come here," twenty seconds later, the director shows up, the boy stops fighting instantly, after I had been trying to hold him off for about five minutes. Was glad for the camera that day, not sure what the outcome might have been otherwise, obviously I couldn't hurt the "large" boy, but he wasn't gonna give up either.