Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tere]

All I can say is that I am still here and I got paid the overtime I worked albeit I had to work out my overtime hours. I came to Korea to get away from the rut of study and NZ. The first month was hard but once I got over the hurdle of homesickness things got better. The hours here are long and as some of our teachers contract are coming to and end it does make for even more classes to work. The guys I work, live and socialise with make for an enjoyable time here. As I said before, work is hard but not unmanageable. it comes back to you and what you want to do. Its what you make of the situation. OK when we get more teachers to replace the ones whos contracts are coming to an end the load will lighten. All of us have the opportunity to leave and find better jobs and schools. I happen to like the people I work with, the kids are great and our director is beginning to realise that to get people to stay and come here she needs to change her attitude and how she treats her staff. She needs to make this school into a place that people want to come and work at and for the ones already here make them happy and enjoy working here. I have mentioned this to her and she is willing to listen and make the necessary changes to improve this school. Change comes when both sides give each other the opportunity to listen and work things out. I am sorry for my former colleagues that it didnt happen for them and that they got the treatment they received. Its up to you and what you make of the situation. Good luck Kiwiman with whatever you decide whether it be here or another school.

[kiwiman]

thankyou and i am going to make the best of it that i can. I have been wanting to do this for as long as i can remember and if i make enough to live i will be happy:-)
Good to hear that the staff and children are nice and i do look foward to giving it my best.

[gs]

Hi Kiwiman,

I, too, used to work at the Yong-am Dong branch of Kids Herald but about 3 years ago for almost 2 years. I��d like to talk a little about my experience there in hopes of opening up your mind about your position at this school, the school itself, your director, and your Korea experience in general. I hope to give you a sense of what to expect or clear any confusion about the living and working conditions.

From the day I arrived in Korea, I have to say that I was impressed with the way I was taken care of by Mrs. Baek. She had my recruiter meet me at the airport and give me a ride all the way to Cheongju directly to my new apartment, which was prepared exactly as mentioned, fully furnished and clean. During my stay, any issues with the apartment, e.g. clogged toilet, were dealt with promptly and by Mrs. Baek herself, or her husband.

Just a couple of days later, I began teaching at Kids Herald. I taught children from ages 4 to 14 years of age from morning until early evening on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and from morning until late afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Classes lasted from 40-50 minutes long with 10 minutes in between, with the exception of lunch time. Speaking of lunch, all teachers were invited to eat a free lunch at the school everyday, which was prepared by the Kindergarten school cook. This was a pleasant surprise as this was not mentioned in my contract. Anyway, on an average week during the regular school year, I would work approximately 24 TEACHING HOURS, i.e. hours spent IN CLASS TEACHING. In my contract, it was stipulated that I would get paid for those teaching hours and NOT any hours spent for lesson preparation, etc. Although the curriculum was already set up, it was our (i.e. teachers��) responsibility for designing and implementing lessons. This means that I spent (and you will too) time OUTSIDE OF CLASS to prepare lessons and mark work. In addition, we were responsible for evaluating the students and reporting to parents and thus, report cards were done bi-monthly for each and every student I taught. I was paid 1.8 million won (the going rate at the time) directly into my bank account every month and on time; it was never late or paid partially for any reason. Only on two occasions did I go to head office in Seoul for teacher training on a Saturday; food and transportation was paid for. Two times a year, one month at a time, the school is open for longer hours to accommodate currently attending and new students for extra English studies. During this time I worked up to approximately 32 TEACHING HOURS per week. Obviously this is when we got paid overtime at the rate stipulated in our contracts. Although I normally get paid for 24 TEACHING HOURS, this did not mean that for every hour worked after that, I would get paid at the overtime hourly rate. In my contract, overtime hours were not calculated until I worked at or above a certain number of hours, for example 30 hours. Therefore whenever I worked more than 24 hours but less than 30 hours a week, I did not get overtime pay. You could expect the number of TEACHING HOURS to fluctuate from time to time because you have to remember that the school is a business and whenever working in a business, working hours fluctuate depending on the current state or health of the business, i.e. high/low student enrollment, need for specialized classes, etc. Realistically, the only time(s) you could expect work overtime, and thus get paid overtime, is during those two special times of the year (when children have winter and summer ��vacation�� from their regular school). Other than teaching, our responsibilities consisted of attending bi-weekly staff meetings when we would get updates on scheduling, share our experiences in the classroom, discuss teaching and behaviour management strategies, and have opportunities to give suggestions on how to improve any aspect of the school.

With regards to vacation, the exact days are set by the director and determined about a few weeks before finalization so that personal plans can be made on your part. Yes, it would be great if each of us could book (different) vacation days; however, that would mean that all the other teachers would have to take over your classes and/or the schedule would have to be altered dramatically to accommodate your needs. Unless all teachers including yourself are willing to do this, then this system wouldn��t work. So although vacation days are restricted to certain dates, there are still opportunities to make plans and follow them through. Personally, I traveled all over Korea, reaching the northern border, the west coast, the south coast, and the east coast. Weekend trips are very feasible since Korea is not a very large country anyway. I also made it to China and Thailand. In addition to personal trips with close friends, I went on a few trips with colleagues, organized by Mrs. Baek, to a couple of famous temples and an island down by the South coast.

For sure, you can expect to work hard; teaching and all that comes with it IS hard and it takes a lot of diligence, patience, and energy. On the other hand, it gets easier as times goes on. You will get as much out of it as much as you put into it. The great thing about teaching as well is that, yes, there is a set curriculum, but you can get as creative as you want to get it across. I loved working at Kids Herald. My colleagues and I all had huge learning curves with regards to children and teaching, and taking into consideration differences in values and beliefs and how this plays out in the classroom. We had good rapport with each other, including the Korean teachers and the director, Mrs. Baek. What I most appreciated with Mrs. Baek is that she considers Kids Herald as a school first, then a business and in that regard, you can tell the difference between this school and other schools, where directors may only be in it for the business. You will meet other foreigner teachers who work at different schools who may have less working hours and same or better pay, but I almost guarantee that their working relationships, school atmosphere, etc., are very different, if not unfavourable. Many factors must be taken into consideration. I have to agree with Tere that Mrs. Baek is willing to listen to your concerns and your suggestions but of course this would only happen if you or others are willing to speak up.

I am glad to read that you are willing to give this your best shot. I hope that your experience teaching English and living in Korea will be as fruitful as mine turned out to be. Good luck at Kids Herald.

By the way, if you have any other questions or comments about teaching at Kids Herald or about my personal experience, don��t be afraid to e-mail me at [email protected].

[UncleAlex]

Kiwiman, 10 hours of working quietly at your desk is nothing compared
with teaching highly emotionally charged Korean kids for 8 hours back-to-
back everyday. I'd take the former employee's advice and stay away from
Dragon Lady. If you're still overseas, cancel whatever agreement you have
made with her. If she has already applied for your E2 visa, she has to terminate
the application in 14 days if you refuse to take the approval form to the nearest
Korean consulate. Then you're a free man. You need no release letter in this case.