Korean Job Discussion Forums

[CdnTeacher]

Hi, it's me again. I'm still sifting through the ads and sending e-mails. I've had three or 4 phone interviews which always make things sound soooo good, then I get the contract via e-mail, and of course it's nothing like what was said on the phone.

I was thinking of applying to a Poly School. I would prefer a University or International School. However a good language school who keep their word would be just fine. OK.... you can all stop laughing at me now

Anyone here worked for a poly school? What was you experience like?

You can post a reply here or PM me.

Thanks!

I think I've pretty much made up my mind to goto Seoul. From what I've heard, everyone seems to prefer it to the other cities. Unless anyone knows of another great city I guess I'll narrow my search to Seoul. Outside Seoul if it's a Uni I'm a little nervous about the whole culture shock thing, so I figure Seoul may offer the easiest adjustment. If you think I'm wrong on this one, let me know, don't just sit back and laugh and not say anything

[CdnTeacher]

The reason I'm asking is beacause the job almost looks too good to be true. I remember a reply by Princess a while back saying they took advantage of their teachers, then there was 3 posts by people that "may or may not have worked there". The reason I say may or may not have is because all three that posted, were on post #1 when they posted. So it's obvious they were there to simply respond to that one thread and not regular members of the board.

[kylehawkins2000]

I know some guys that have worked for POLY and they have pretty good things to say about the place. The one big drawback is the working hours. It looks like they expect you to teach a heavy load. The pay is very good though. So it depends on which you value more, free time or money.

I opted for the free time and went elsewhere when offered a position.

[endo]

What Poly school is it?

If it's Kangnam.... ..... damn libel laws. If you know what I mean

[Jeweltone]

I liked working at POLY - they do keep their word, but you also put in many hours. Student motivation is very high. PM me if you are interested in more details.

[Beeyee]

[PBRstreetgang21]

Im working at Poly right now and let me say that it kinda varies on where you do work. Some campuses would be a dream to work for (Mokdong) whereas mine ranks at the bottem of the totem poll (yeonsu). From what I gather at the twice yearly conferences we attend my franchise is the cheapest and most poorly run, but by hagwon standards mine is actually pretty good. The long hours are true. Mon, Wed, Fri I put in a 10 1/2 hr day, and Tues and Thurs is only 40mins shorter. Its a long day for sure and it took a long time to get used to. But, you will NEVER have to worry about getting paid on time or being screwed. They keep their word. The only complaint I would have besides the long working hours would be some of the textbooks. Half the textbooks we use are American, and half are produced in house. The in house textbooks are HORRID. The Kindergarten text books are without question some of the worst, its like if the movie twins where two sets of textbooks, Poly textbooks are the Danny DeVito.

Also, Poly has quiet a reputation and draws from a very affluent set. As such you get some extremely hardcore mothers who can be a real pain in the a$$. Also there is high level or report card and test marking due everymonth which can eat into the prepration time.

However, despite the drawbacks I would say Poly is a good place to work. There are Flatscreen TVs with internet in every classroom. Some campuses (not ours) give the teachers laptops. Also because the students have to take a entrance exam in order to sign up...the english level of the students is extremley good. In fact many students I teach lived overseas and speak English at an almost native level. I have many classes where I can branch out from just teaching basic English grammar to actually teaching real concepts and do great activities that incorporate more than just improving their English ability.

Also, its worth noting that Poly is working hard to shift to a predominatly Kindergarten based program at the moment. The kindergarten program has a LOT of homework and testing as part of it. A level high enough that I question the ethics of assigning 6yr olds so much work. But, they do preform and the preform well. The students at our school, and our school is one of the lowest preforming branches in Poly often test at very high levels of english. Two of my kindergarteb students have tested at close to third grade reading proficiency.

To summarize what is a pretty long post (sorry), I would say that Poly as a business is pretty good about keeping its word with its employees and its I think fairly good company to work for. The high level of english allows you to branch out at times and really teach beyond just Engligh and the system is design to listen to teachers and take in there input. Forums are designed for teachers to voice concerns and compaints, etc. In point of fact, I would be willing to renew my contract where I am at where it not for the fact that I have just decided to study Korean full time. But after I am finished, I would consider coming back

Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps

[endo]

[PBRstreetgang21]

At our campus each flatscreen has a PC unit that goes with it. But at some of the other, much larger, much better performing campuses, they get laptops. I guess its not like we really NEED laptops....but it would be a cool perk.

[racheljp]

[MantisBot]

I worked at the POLY in Pyeongchon (near Bomgye station on the 4 line way south of Central Seoul) for 6 months from September of 06 and overall it was pretty good. I left because they weren't offering Medical Insurance at the time and I felt I couldn't take the chance, but I heard from some friends who stayed on that they have since started supplying it to their teachers. It's true, the hours aren't easy, but the managers at the Pyeongchon branch were very fair to me while working there. They didn't stand over your shoulder, provided lesson plans that were easy to follow, and gave you a bit of room in regard to your teaching methods. Also, the kids were great for the most part. If you have any specific questions you'd like to ask, feel free to PM me.

[Atavistic]

Doesn't Incognito work at that Poly?

YO, Incog! Don't you work at POLY?

(I could be misremembering, if so, sorry.)