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HELP!! Any info on these schools would be much appreciated
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:04 pm    Post subject: HELP!! Any info on these schools would be much appreciated Reply with quote

I have been offered contracts from the following schools: YBM Songpa, SLP Suji and I have an interview with JEL Sonban. I have read awful things about SLP, but I have to admit it was by far the best interview I had. Does anyone know about the Suji SLP specifically? I've pretty much decided against YBM, but any info on JEL would be appreciated too. Thanks a bundle.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:43 pm    Post subject: Re: HELP!! Any info on these schools would be much appreciat Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:
I have been offered contracts from the following schools: YBM Songpa, SLP Suji and I have an interview with JEL Sonban. I have read awful things about SLP, but I have to admit it was by far the best interview I had. Does anyone know about the Suji SLP specifically? I've pretty much decided against YBM, but any info on JEL would be appreciated too. Thanks a bundle.


When you interviewed with the Slave Labor Program in Suji did you talk to the foreign teachers or just the whitey wrangler?

Did you get the e-mail addresses of the other foreigners there so you could chat with them when the boss wasn't looking over their shoulder?

Did you ask specifically about:
How long they have been there?
What about pay and OVERTIME? They ALWAYS used to use creative book keeping to avoid overtime.
What about VACATIONS and RED DAYS? Do you get block holidays so you can travel or just a day here and a day there?
What about medical and pension? They NEVER used to pay these.
What about the tax rate? They ALWAYS used to charge 3.3% (about double the legal rate).

What about classes? How many per day, week and month?
What is the length of the classes? 80 minutes - counted as 80 minutes = 7200 contact minutes per month as compared to other contracts with 120*50 minute classes = 6000 contact minutes per month. It means standing in front of the students for an extra 20 hours per month with NO extra pay.

The chain's reputation is well deserved. BEWARE.
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spoke with a recruiter and then the director of the school and then another Korean lady whose job I'm not sure of. Heres a copy of the contract...


Is it a bad contract??


Last edited by cdedbdii on Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:38 am; edited 1 time in total
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laogaiguk



Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:

7. Compensation
A. Monthly Salary
Except for the period of orientation and teacher training, the Institute will pay the Teacher a total monthly basic salary of million won.
The monthly salary is based on the monthly teaching session and payment will be made on 5th ~ 10th day of the following the month. Korean income tax, National Pension and Medical Insurance will be deducted from the monthly salary.

No set pay day. That's crap!

Quote:

B. Overtime
Overtime teaching - beyond 22-80 min. units classes - is paid at the rate of 1.2 times of the regular pay. The assignment of overtime above the regular 22 units classes is at the sole discretion of the Institute.
Payment for teaching class on Saturday is made at the rate of 1.2 times of the regular pay per class(80 minute). Payment for special event on Saturday is upon the discretion of the SLP director.

1.2??? That's crap! And payment is at the discretion of the director. That's a whole lot of crap!
Quote:

In case of substitute teaching, the Teacher will receive substitute teaching fee
20,000 Won/unit(80 minute), only if the substitute teaching class hours exceed the Teacher�s contractual class hours. In case the Teacher is about or misses his/her classes, the Teacher shall be responsible for the substitute teaching fee Won/unit(80 minute). That means the substitute teaching fee shall be deducted from the monthly payment or the substitute teaching fee will be directly paid by the teacher who is about or misses his/her classes.

You have to pay if you miss a class. That's crap!
Quote:

C. Orientation and Teacher Training
The teacher will receive up to 3 ~ 10 days of orientation and training. 40,000 won per a day will be paid during the period of orientation and training. The orientation and training schedule will be approximately 8 hours a day.

5 bucks an hour. That's crap!

Sorry, I stopped reading after that crap!
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seoulsista



Joined: 31 Aug 2005

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's pretty bad.

Here are the things I found fishy:

In the "termination" section they state they can fire you for unsatisfactory performance and there's no mention of warnings. So basically, if enrollment is down and they can't afford you they can fire you at will and claim it as "unsatisfactory performance" and then you are stuck with reimbursing your plane ticket there and paying your way home.

The amount of job responsibilities is unreal.

Saturdays with only the possibility of getting paid.

Two hours prep!

You can also be fired for defamation by falsehood. This should be a big red flag that they have had serious problems in the past.

There's a million other little things about this contract that are also pretty dead give aways but you get the picture.

Be patient. You deserve better and you can find better.

[/list]
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Dan The Chainsawman



Joined: 05 May 2005

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I stopped reading after I saw 22 classes of 80 minutes a piece. I would politely turn them down and seek better employment elsewhere.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:
I spoke with a recruiter and then the director of the school and then another Korean lady whose job I'm not sure of. Heres a copy of the contract...
(edited for brevity )

The teacher�s daily working hours � including preparation, class teaching, etc. � are 8 hours. The Teacher will have at least 22 classes(80 minute) per teaching week. Monday through Friday are teaching days except for scheduled public holidays and vacation days.

The Teacher is expected to devote no less than 2 hours a day at the Institute for lesson planning with co-teachers, student evaluations, reporting, consultation with parents, supervision of play, and maintenance of the English environment during breaks, workshops, and teachers� meetings.

(edited for brevity)

Is it a bad contract??


It is a really bad contract.

A typical hakwon job is 30 classes of 50 minutes per week (1500 contact minutes).

This contract is for 22 classes of 80 minutes (1760 contact minutes per week.) 260 minutes = 4.33 hours of MORE contact time than any other hakwon PER WEEK.

A typical public school job by comparison is 22 classes of 40 minutes per week for the same salary.

It doesn't surprise me that you were NOT given the chance to talk to or get the e-mails of the foreign teachers. Anyone who has been here for more than 6 months KNOWS that SLP is a crap franchise and there are NO good schools in that chain.

Sign on with them at your own risk. You have been warned.

.
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow.... I didn't realize this was such an awful contract... the 80 minute classes seemed like a bit much... but I didn't realize the rest was so bad aswell... Thanks for the help... Has anyone heard of JEL? I have an interview with them next week and I haven't been able to find any comments on them... here is a sample contract... I would really love some advice... Im new at this... so I don't see the red flags the vets are seeing:

Last edited by cdedbdii on Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:56 am; edited 1 time in total
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seoulsista



Joined: 31 Aug 2005

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Two weeks of training seems excessive and I certainly wouldn't want to live with a roomate but those are upto you to decide. Overall, a signifigantly better contract. Although I should tell you they probably might not like you posting their contract on here though.
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OH really!! oops!! I didn't know they wouldn't like that (seriously, no sarcasm) I personally would prefer a roomate... I think I would feel more secure... being 22 and female in a new country. Also, I'm living alone now for the first time and I hate it. I'm ok with roomates. So overall a better contract? But is it a GOOD contract? I hope the interview goes well... but I still have heard nothing on JEL's reputation... anyway... thanks for the info...
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:
OH really!! oops!! I didn't know they wouldn't like that (seriously, no sarcasm) I personally would prefer a roomate... I think I would feel more secure... being 22 and female in a new country. Also, I'm living alone now for the first time and I hate it. I'm ok with roomates. So overall a better contract? But is it a GOOD contract? I hope the interview goes well... but I still have heard nothing on JEL's reputation... anyway... thanks for the info...


The contract is NOT TOO bad for a newbie/hakwon contract.
1 class = 1 hour. 33 classes but with 40 minute morning classes it is still not bad and the starting salary is 2.1 mil.

PAID training.

More than reasonable (in the contract at least) about early termination and flight repayment.

Just remember that you should speak to MORE THAN ONE current teacher about the conditions at the school BEFORE you submit the signed contract.

On the face of it, it looks not bad but correspond via e-mail with MORE THAN ONE teacher to confirm that they indeed honor the contract and find out what the specifics of the job (beyond what the contract says) are IN THAT SCHOOL.
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was offered a contract from JEL. It differs slightly from the one I posted in that I will be offered 2.2mil plus 150000 for having a roomie (which I think I would prefer anyway) so a total of 2.35mil. This is the most Ive been offered so far... is that good? Does the pay make sense in relation to the working hours? They seem like a lot of hours in comparison to other schools I've talked to... anyway, let me know what you guys think. Thanks.
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PaperTiger



Joined: 31 May 2005
Location: Ulaanbataar

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's all you'll ever need to know about SLP...NEVER WORK THERE. Even if they have management that's not totally psychotic, which seems to be a criteria for a getting a franchaise, their books are utter crap that make a relatively simple job into a neverending search for "supplementary materials". They buy the cheapest books possible, and most of them are so thin you start to dread the beginning of each semester when the new shite textbooks are being selected. Plenty of SLP branches have been blacklisted. Don't bother.
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:
OH really!! oops!! I didn't know they wouldn't like that (seriously, no sarcasm) I personally would prefer a roomate... I think I would feel more secure... being 22 and female in a new country. Also, I'm living alone now for the first time and I hate it. I'm ok with roomates. So overall a better contract? But is it a GOOD contract? I hope the interview goes well... but I still have heard nothing on JEL's reputation... anyway... thanks for the info...


Trust me, you DON'T want to LIVE with a room mate here. Lots of freaky (really freaky) people come here. Read some stories on this site of psycho roommates

Also you may get stuck with a male roommate (most teachers here are male). In my first year I lived in shared housing (when I didn't know any better). I had two male roommates and a female roomate. One of the guys smoked all the time, the other spent most of his time in his room with his Korean g/f (the rooms had very thin walls). Fortunately the smoker and girl moved out after a while. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I always say never again to shared housing in any way shape or form.
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

(Edited)

Last edited by TheUrbanMyth on Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:54 pm; edited 1 time in total
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