Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Muffin]

My hagwon has just changed hands and after alot of agonising I have decided to stay basically because I want to go home on time, rather than signing another 12 month contract.

Now I find out that teachers have to write weekly lesson plans for each class (and I see 11 different classes each week). These plans have to be in class registers by the Friday before.

Now I have been teaching in British Council recognised schools in the UK for many a long year and the only time anyone writes lesson plans is once every two years when the inspectors are round. We write a rough weekly plan but each teacher only has to plan for 2 groups and 25 lessons per week.

I have also taught in state schools, same thing lesson plans are for Ofsted or when someone has to cover.

I spent two extra hours already last week (there are other forms as well) filling in paper work. As I am on a bog standared 2 million won contract I think I should have an easy life! I can't see it will improve teaching, how do I know what mood my Let's Go 1 class are going to be in next Thursday? Normally I adapt my lessons to circumstances but I don't want to do that, we have to record all changes on the plan- more pen pushing.

What do you think?

[Dan The Chainsawman]

I think its a crock.

Cut and paste is going to be your friend on this one. I doubt they go over these things line by line.

[jacl]

Is it in your contract? If not, tell them to bugger off. If it is, tell them to bugger off anyway.

With six classes per day and not knowing ahead of time whether the class is going to be cancelled or who is going to be absent, etc., etc., it's impossible. I tried and gave up. Each day is different. Takes time to explain certain things to students. You can't say that you're going to spend 20 minutes on something and that's it. If you're successfully teaching any English at all to the students and they practice it with you then you're doing your job. Through repetition and review you're only polishing their English. Such things are hard to plan especially if you want to try conversations using material that has been covered.

And why should you have to do anymore work than your 6 hours of teaching per day. Too much. Especially for 2 million.

Of course you should have some sort of plan, but that's your plan. The student's lesson plan is the book.

I'm not saying that a weekly lesson plan doesn't help. It can. But who wants to bothered with it? I just keep tabs and notes for myself with check sheets so I know what to teach and what to review the next class.

Lesson plans are rarely followed to the letter.

[pet lover]

We have to make weekly lesson plans. Besides the morning kindergarten, I teach class 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, and 6. I'd make lesson plans even if I didn't have to because they are very helpful. But it is annoying that we are supposed to have them turned in the week before so that they can be translated in Korean and then given to the students who often leave them behind, discard them, or not bother to even glance at them. When a kid misses a class and then I ask for the homework in the following class, after a year and a half, they STILL think that they are covered by saying that they were absent. As if that makes them exempt from the work. I always point out that they had a lesson plan and thus, no valid excuse. A lot of kids lose points this way.

But, I will admit that there are some parents who actually do look at the lesson plans and then try to prepare their kid for the lesson or review it after it's over. Just wish we could hand out lesson plans to the genuinely concerned and not to the lazy ones as it's a great waste of paper every week.

[Peter Jackson]

I don't have to do them. I do brief ones for me, so that I follow roughly the same thing for each same level class. But no one asks to see them.

In the past, I HAVE had to submit these nasty things and they've always been (to me) downright useless. Often the format the school/hakwon uses is completely unsuitable and nobody really reads them. When they are required, I DO submit them, but rarely follow them to the T.

Do you have a set curriculum and/or text book? I have found most text books give you a basic outline of content, breaking down the grammar points, etc. I usually just copied exactly what was in the book, took about 5 minutes. Some books also have teacher's manuals which have set plans. The name of the game is copy...

I would still write my own personal plans that were more useful...just jump through the hoops....

Cheers,

[Tiger Beer]