Korean Job Discussion Forums

[reactionary]

so right now i teach american EFL curriculum. it's the same as a program that my hagwon is tied to in the states.

however they are telling me now they want to have us, the teachers, "make a new book" which integrates the levels. basically it wasnt explained to me clearly yet, but it sounds like they want me to compile and/or write a new textbook.

first off, i'm not a writer. second off i get the idea they want to do this so they don't have to pay for these american esl textbooks anymore.

right now i only teach 2 hours 15 minutes a day. it should be double that, but they screwed up they're recruiting and there's only 2 classes and 2 teachers - so its split in half. however, if they make me use this "extra time" to "Write a book" (which definitely isnt part of my contract), do they have control over my intellectual property? shouldn't they end up paying royalties to me?

i've only knee-jerked and refused, but i got the feeling it's going to come back to me.

[Tjames426]

They want you to do curriculum writing it sounds like.

[reactionary]

which means...what?

it sounded like, to me, they wanted to discontinue our current textbooks and have new ones..made by the two teachers. as in replacing over 1000 pages (it's two 6 week programs, for adults) of professional work with perhaps 100-200 hours of amateurish writing by two un-certified English teachers in Korea. Not only do I not want to write it, I wouldn't want to teach it.

[oxfordstu]

I would refuse. It's not in your contract, but there may be some vague wording in there that says something like "teacher may be asked to perform other duties".

[sojourner1]

Hey, if they are only asking 2 hours and 15 minutes of teaching a day and still paying your full salary, I would happily take the writing assignment.

I guess I feel that it's an opportunity to do something that many of us want to move up into which is writing and editing. I would be happy to take the writing and editing over classroom teaching, but I see a problem when they ask 6 teaching hours a day, 1 to 2 hours editing, and 2 hours of lesson prep like in my case.

If you're not getting full salary due to their mistake, then you have a big problem.

[reactionary]

true i don't mind taking on some additional assignments considering i am not teaching much at the moment. and i wouldnt mind writing a syllabus and creating a curriculuum. but write a textbook? that's ridiculous. and i'm sure it'll be like "oh and can you finish it in six weeks?" six weeks, 2-3 hours a day. hmm...not likely. and the fact is, they will be selling it to students (i'm sure of this). not me. i get no profits. so why would i want to make good materials?

[reactionary]

oh yeah, and i sincerely doubt it will be "Crappy Textbook" by ____hagwon teacher______. Nope. It will be by ________hopeless hagwon____________. I doubt it will be something that will "advance my career"

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Copyright infringement is no problem in Korea.Cut and paste away!!

[reactionary]

true - anyone know any good adult textbooks posted online?

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

esl.about.com
teachingenglish.org.uk

They're not textbooks,per se-you'd have to modify them a bit.Makes the material your own in some regard.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Almost certainly they don't mean for you to actually write a book. 9 1/2 times out of 10 in these situations they mean for you to ransack resources and hit the copy machine. Then the school can sell it to students as 'their' text book' and create another source of income for themselves.

[hubba bubba]

One thing you might want to think about, esp. if you want a future in education.

Kim's Crapwon 2006-2007
-Taught Monsters.
-Wrote an Original Textbook Used by 300 Students Every Year.


Sometimes doing things you aren't obliged to do can open doors in the future.

You may be able to negotiate more money as well. I would ask for a by line and future revenues. You might get a small line on the inside cover and a small lump sum payment.

[reactionary]

that sounds good in theory, hubba bubba. problem is i don't trust them further than i can throw them, and the wonjangnim i would guess weighs in at around 250 pounds.

[mindmetoo]

[mindmetoo]