Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner1]

Last Friday and yesterday I inquire with my head teacher and director on how my final pay and flight arrangements are to work out and now I get this parents are complaining and might drop my students crap starting yesterday with 1 student and then director claims 3 this morning. My director talked with me this morning and I could tell she was lying out her teeth and I told her I don't believe my students are dropping as everything is working out as far as knew. I did admit that if their parents want more homework, then I have not been assigning enough. I come to find that my Korean co-teachers are not communicating with parents, providing support such as parental suggestions and feelings, discussion of student performances, and suggestions of making improvements on a regular basis. I did my best and produced excellent results over the months and have a great kindergarten home class going on who only have 3 month of kindergarten school left. I find it unlikely that parents would pull one of these students out after nearly 2 years of schooling and the fact they are about to graduate unless a major incident of child abuse or negligence occurred which it did not.

I am like, if there was a problem, why wasn't anything said or done until the point 1 mother says yesterday that she might pull her kid and then today, 2 more mothers say they might pull their kids out? I have been doing a good job and seeing positive results in my students' learning and English skills development and never had any issues of student drops or parent complaints. I taught my homeroom class all how to read, speak, much vocabulary, and skills to have basic conversations. I have excellent relationships and no problems with them. Everything went super for many months until I mentioned the end of contract and declined an offer to re-up.

I told my director that I don't believe they are dropping, that she is unhappy I am leaving, and the Korean teachers should be communicating with parents on a regular basis and then providing me input on how to improve and do the right things for their children's education. She then admitted it was not all my fault, just the lack of homework part and has nothing to do with my leaving. I then asked how the problem can be rectified. She was blank faced and looked away.


How do you suggest I might deal with this issue? What should I say and do in leaving this hagwon on proper terms?

Yes, I will never teach for a hagwon again and I hope Korea fixes it's flawed private education system, but that's not my responsibility or scope of power.

[some waygug-in]

Sounds like someone's trying to pull a fast one. Ask for details.

Who complained? Who is pulling their kids and why?

I doubt if they can actually come up with some real examples.

But even if they can, you were a good enough teacher for 11 months, tell them you will go to the labor board if they try to push you out early.

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

She's reluctant to give you your final pay,severance and flight(upwards of 5 million)and is looking for a way out.

Labour Board is your option if she tries to pull any stunt.Maybe key the Equus to put the shits up her too.

How long do you have left?2-3 weeks or something?

[sojourner1]

4 weeks plus 1 week vacation and then 3 more days after that.

What does, "Maybe key the Equus to put the *beep* up her too.", mean?

[Atavistic]

Get ready to go to the Labor Board. LB doesn't look kindly upon 11th month firings.

Now, a side story...the man who was hired to replace me when I was fired from my first job thought I was full of shit. He thought the school was great. They paid him on time, in full, etc. Nevermind the fact that they hired him BEFORE they "spontaneously" fired me, including promising him my apartment 4 days after they fired me. They were wonderful and I must be the shit teacher.

Until they fired him mere weeks before his contract was up.

And the damn twit did nothing about it.

[oldfatfarang]

Ah, the old denigration and criticism in the last month of your contract, eh?
A tried and true way of preparing the way to fire you and evade paying your legally entitled bonus's etc.

Don't stand for it. Keep teaching. Be polite. Don't react to negative criticism and stories of parents pulling kids out. That's not your concern. Work out your contract.

Let your employer know that you have enjoyed your time there, are leaving, having given 30 days LEGAL notice. And that you had a friend who was fired in the last month and he went VERY NOISLY (Labor Board - internet etc). That should do it.

[davai!]

[sojourner1]

Do you have to give them an official letter of resignation 30 days before your contract ends? I have never heard this.

They had my job advertised 2 weeks ago on this site to begin the day after I am to leave, before I let them know I was leaving by inquiring about my final arrangements and asking me if I wanted to resign for 2 months longer. And then 2 days ago, I noticed that they also wanted someone ASAP in a job ad as well as on the day after I am to leave. There is no reason I can see why they put it in to the recruiter for needing a teacher ASAP.

They are looking to get black listed, get a new unpleasant website on them that will come up in any search, and their students parents called should I get less than a fair way to go. If the director is sincere in protecting the schools' interests, then trust me, she doesn't want to get shady on me.

What can the labor board do when a last minute stunt is pulled on a teacher by a hagwon?

[diablo3]

No letter of resignation is needed. Resignation is needed if you are not to finish your contract.

[twg]

[Julius]

They can't fire you in the final month, or without a months notice. If they do, get straight to the labor board, who are used to cases of this every day and will have no mercy on them. Sounds like your hagwon needs a brush with the law to realise they're not doing anything clever or original here.

At my old school I was friends with half of the parents and they knew that, so they didn't dare mess me around.

[sojourner1]

Yea, I didn't care much for having to stay an hour later tonight for a lecture from the director on how to teach. No student drops which I am very sure will not happen in my situation. They are pressuring me as the one my director said was dropping is the student who likes me the most and who is my best and smartest student. Then yesterday, the other 2 reported to be dropping are 2 of my best students. Director know what's going on and so do I. Why pressure point me like this? I am pissed the hell off about this. I am not going to stand for it. All I can do is just teach. If she doesn't like something, it's like, "ah, that's too bad, maybe better next time."

Teaching is so subjective where anything I do may not be good enough or right and results are not measured. It's not like other jobs where there is a right way to do it such as if you were a plumber fitting pipes together though there is the difference between a bad teacher and good teacher. I am very sure I am not a bad teacher.

She tells me I am not doing this and that when I am, although she is observing very little of the time. She tells me that using the curriculum materials is not enough when I already find I have more than enough materials to actually cover everything in the allotted time. I did tell her I lacked materials to do creative activities as I just don't have anything more than the curriculum materials, my mouth, a marker, and a white board. She is telling me I am not doing enough, when I am keeping these kids busy, actively engaged, and learning. She tells me I can't sit down at any time which is bunk as standing the whole time is not reasonable nor promotes a student focused classroom. It's good to sit down part of the time, talk to the kids, and then have them stand in front of you and read. Also, I learned early on that telling kids to sit down when you never sit down just doesn't work. She then tells me to be more strict to gain respect when this particular class already respects me though they didn't many months ago so I did gain there respect. She then tells me that they don't understand nothing they read and talk about, when they do know it since they can answer my questions of what this is or that is. Nonsense, of course the 5 year olds don't know much, especially when using American and European context that doesn't exist in Korea which leaves them nothing to relate much of the subject matter to.

I am very mad at the situation though I am not acting mad at work, just a little disappointed that I am getting a hard way to go. The 2 Korean co- teachers got in trouble even more than I did and are not happy and are very nervous. I bet they end up quitting teaching there as soon as it is feasible for them to. We are all just biting our tongues and riding out the storm.

I am so ready to be done with this as I am not happy one bit.

Why is the director putting in so much effort to develop a teacher leaving in 3 or 4 weeks and even prepping homework? Baffled by this one. Perhaps it's her final test to see if I am worthy of her honoring the final part of our contract. When it comes to money, some slimy people will weasel around and I think that is the case. I will hold her to it all the way.

Why was no input or feedback provided for 11 straight months? They don't really care about delivering quality education, but only that the parents are not complaining or dropping students.

Now, I understand what is making so many teachers bitter about Korea due to how directors give them an unnecessarily hard time in the last days.

[Roch]

Genius Jack English Academy in Shin Jeju City, Jeju Island fired me without notice only a week or so before the end of my contract. Come to think of it, the owner's niece, who was a sort of manager, told me two days before I got canned that I was the best and most popular teacher in the school. She also said that my request for a reference would of course be no problem, etc.

When I politely asked why I was canned, she and her uncle - the owner - threatened me with immediate arrest and deportation. They also told me that the school did not have to pay me anything.

The next day, the owner lied to Jeju Immigration Office about me: He told them that I wanted the visa canceled instead of extended as planned so that I could secure new employment. I did not find out abouth this seemingly par for the course K-Trick until about 5 weeks later when I was fined loads of money aand told that I was ineligible to work in Korea for one year.

[bellum99]

[Roch]