Korean Job Discussion Forums

poet13 · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:02 pm Post subject: To share or not to share...

I have an activity that I have been working on and improving each time I use it. I thought it up myself. I suppose I've put maybe 25 hours into it. I designed the board, bought the pieces, etc. You could call it a game, but it's really a learning activity because it challenges students to think, share, and speak English together.

My coteacher wants me to hand it over to him. I gave him the concept last week as part of the lesson plan. He wants the complete text too. I said it's easy, you just have think up this and this and this.

Question. As this is something I developed on my own, at home, do I have to hand it over? Is it MY property? Or can a teacher demand it as part of a lesson plan?

I know some of you will say, share everything, its' for the kiddies.

But, I don't like the idea that someone can just see something they like, and just take it.

Part of the reason I don't want to just give it up it that a lot of the activities I do I made myself. I work in a fairly small area with a lot of students. If they start seeing my activities too much they will get bored.

Thoughts?

crusher_of_heads · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:06 pm Post subject:

Keep it to yourself. Explain the concept of plagiarism. If he insists, 2 000 000 won up front.

wings · Joined: 09 Nov 2006

I had a similar situation when I worked in a small school where the techers switched classes every month. I shared some of my ideas with other teachers and then when I did them with a class they would say "oh we did this with so-and-so" I stopped sharing until I was about to leave the school. Tell the teacher that you don't want the kids to do the activity more than once, and when you are leaving the school let them have it.

poet13 · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject:

just came back from the bathroom. couldn't find my lesson plan. coteacher was photocpying it. confiscated everything. he's very angry and talking to the vp right now. fucking hell but what an ass he is. iim being summoned.,

yingwenlaoshi · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

That's a tough one. Does the CT share much stuff with you? I'd probably say share it but then I don't know how fast the novelty of what you made will wear off (could you share it with us???).

At my first job here I once made a bunch of puzzles relating to the chapter lesson for a class and stuck them in the class folder for later on when I taught them. They had a KT for 35 minutes and then me for 35 minutes. The KT saw the puzzles in the class folder and used them for her lesson. Never made that mistake twice.

espoir · Joined: 09 Oct 2008 Location: Incheon, South Korea

Aside from the lesson plan you dont have to technically share the entire concept. tell them that this is your original idea and since you developed it at home the entire lesson is technically your intellectual property. If they all want to continually use your lesson for their classes and future classes then teach them a little about copyright laws. I have no problem with sharing ideas, but not an entire lesson plan that they will just copy exactly. I make all my lesson plans from scratch and as such I feel no obligation to share them with my co-teachers outside of the basic lesson plan.

And since this is an intricate game outside the normal bounds of a lesson plan then I would definately be keeping it to yourself.

emilylovesyou · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Location: here

If the teacher won't stop pestering you about sharing, you can always say something like,

"Oh I'm glad you're interested in my lesson plan. I actually made this all up myself, and want to keep it for myself. But if you need help developing something else about the same topic I can help you."

And if he still bothers you,

"Look, I put a lot of effort into this. I wouldn't take your lesson plans, so please don't take mine. Good teachers are ones who can develop and implement their own ideas for lessons. If you can't think of anything to do with your class, I can help you think of something else. But as this is my activity, I would prefer to keep it myself."

Let us know what happened with the VP.

Fishead soup · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Location: Korea

If you're working in a public school part of your contract stimulates that one of your duties is developing materials. Therefore you should hand it over.

It should be a two way street. He/she should be willing to share stuff with you. Keep in mind most materials developed by KET's is exam based, lacks creativity, and is material you otherwise wouldn't want to use.

In future you should reserve specific activities that you have planned for your after school class. Therefore if your co-teacher asks you to share them you can express concern about overlap with his/her afterschool program and make a good argument to keeping the activity for yourself.

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

Give him the lesson plan for the game, but the resources are yours - you paid for them. Tell him that he can purchase his own pieces and make his own board and it will end there; he just wont do it.

Fishead soup · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Location: Korea

You can also lend him the activity that if he/she loses any of the material
they should be replaced

GreenlightmeansGO · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Location: Daegu

tell him to go *beep* himself. If he can do that he deserves more than your lesson plan.

poet13 · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:21 pm Post subject:

Between classes. Vp smoothed things over, but I took a stand.
Coteach has never shared anything, but then I hvaen't asked either. I work very hard to make my activities fun as well as a learning experience. Yesm I'm in a public school. More later......

crusher_of_heads · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject:

If he and the higher ups who have summoned you persist, destroy the whole damn thing right in front of them-this is a fight worth going above and beyond for-bunch of dickheads!!!

jellobean · Joined: 14 Mar 2006

The best arguement of the bunch for a public school is that if the students see the activity too many times, they will be bored. Explain you put in a lot of time to come up with interesting activities and it is much more difficult for you to control the student when they are bored since you don't speak Korean.

BTW, if they didn't pay for the materials it's yours and you don't have to share.