Korean Job Discussion Forums

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

This is a hypothetical situation for me at the moment. But if you were at a bad school and the director had you over a barrel (letter of release, severence etc.) would (or have) you lie(d) to any prospective teacher if you were at a bad hagwon?

clg

Shincheon_Blues · Joined: 16 Dec 2003

CLG,

If you lie up front to the teacher who'll be replacing you to get your letter of release, you will have to live with your conscience and reputation. You already know what the proper thing to do is, so why bother asking?

hojucandy · Joined: 03 Feb 2003 Location: In a better place

no i would not. i was in this position in fact at the end of my last contract. i told the prospective new teacher the truth about the hagwon he was about to take a job with. unfortunately the word got back to the boss (the stupid fool told his recruiter what i had said, who then told my boss) and i was fired one week before the end of my contract!

got all my benefits however....

the bad thing was not that i was fired - the bad thing is the boss also fired my son, who was working at the same hagwon at the time - he was completely innocent!

i would do the same again however.

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

I'd skirt the issue until I had some idea about what type of person the teacher was. If s/he sounded like a decent person, I'd find some way to get the truth to them while trying to minimize the damage to me... if they sounded like a tool, I'd lie to their face and tell them it was heaven without a second thought. Even if they were decent, I'd think about how bad it would hurt me financially to tell the truth. When it comes to my friends, I always put them before my own needs... but a complete stranger, I'll go Korean on them and put myself first and not feel the least bit guilty.

waterbaby · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Baking Gord a Cheescake pie

Shinchon Blues... CLG is not actually talking about her situation here, but something we discussed last night ... how likely is it that a FT will lie about or misrepresent the job if they need something from the boss (like a LOR)? CLG is in the job market at the mo' & reading other posts by newbies here with glowing feedback about a job from the current FTs made us wonder.

Personally, I'd never believe anyone who said their school was wonderful and problem free. I want to hear the dirt as well as the good stuff. No school could be perfect. I'd tell anyone who wanted to know the good and bad stuff about my job. There's more good than bad, but it's far from perfect. I'm leaving in month and expect to have that conversation with a few people soon.

Shincheon_Blues · Joined: 16 Dec 2003

It's all good, and I did read into the post. The words "hypothetical situation for me at the moment" translate (at least to me) as "I am in this situation and considering..."

I'm glad it was a true hypothetical.

ryleeys

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

I'm not even going to be offended that people think lying to save my own ass is the worst thing in the world...

In college, I had a job back in the States and I basically put my job on the line for two friends... and they both used it to get me in such a bad situation that I quit and they got promotions.
I generally want everyone around me to be happy and I'll do what I can to make it happen, but at some point, I have to start protecting myself.

jaderedux · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Lurking outside Seoul

I have been in the fortunate position to have worked for some great places. Would I lie absolutely NOT! It isn't fair.

The hogwan I worked at was really good. It wasn't heaven on earth with dancing chippendales every week but the owner was fair. He paid on time every time. He paid bonuses without any problem. The housing was so-so at first and when he realized it he changed it. Was it perfect...no. Because of the language barriers there was some distrust between the Korean teachers and the Native speakers. But to his credit we had staff meetings where we all yelled at each other and hashed stuff out.

I told the teacher that took my place the up side and the down sides. In my case the ups were more numerous than the downs. But to lie to someone about a situation is wrong. We had some rough patches and I told her.

We preach here constantly ...talk to a teacher who has worked/or is working at the school. To be honest if I met a potential employee that was a total scumbag and was looking for a free ride I would also not hesitate to tell my boss to take a pass.

If you work split shifts...be honest some people like them. If you have alot of kindy ... be honest some people like teaching kindy. We should be able to trust each other and be honest. You don't have to get into a name calling fest about your boss or the school. Just describe the working conditions and set up honestly and forthrightly (is that a word?)

Golden rule folks!

The reverend Jade retires for the day.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Ryleey's answer is kind of cool. I dropped into a job situation where the teacher I was to replace, if I got the job, wouldn't tell me anything. She was leaving a small mountain town hagwon (where she'd taught for five months) for Seoul. I'd watched her teach for a couple of days and she was high-strung and really up-tight around management, but doing a great job with the kids. One day, after class, I asked her why she was leaving. All she said was 'I have my reasons' with her arms crossed and looking really stern as if it was none of my business. Of course she wanted someone to replace her ASAP so she could bust out of there. Lucky for me the management didn't like me, so I ended up getting a better job in a better place. What a primadonna that young woman was!
I wouldn't LIE but I wouldn't say certain things that ought to be said if I thought the whole situation was something I'd like to be clear of. Anything can happen between people. Situations manifest out of chemistry; anything can happen! So the newcomer might fare entirely differently.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

The Bobster · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

I think it is seldom necessary to lie. Every school has good points and bad points. If some things were bad enough to make me want to get out of there, another person might not agree they were so terrible as that. Also, as some have pointed out, there are things that I think are negatives but others view as positives. (For instance, I make it a rule to always have unshared housing, but some people hate living alone.)

Kwangjuchicken · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2004 12:23 am Post subject:

Well, I would not lie to another teacher about my school. However, I do often lie to myself about my job Laughing

. It helps me to cope.