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DaeguNL
Joined: 08 Sep 2009
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 Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:47 pm Post subject: 2011 Seoul Foreign Language Instructors Seminar |
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Anyone else get one of these letters? Apparently it is now "mandatory" too attend.
To : English Instructors in Seoul Nov. 1st, 2011
Attn : Administrative Staff
Subject : Annual Seminar for Native Instructors
1. With a true heart, we wish you good luck in the future.
2. The Foreign Language Institute Association is holding its annual seminar for Native Instructors as required by Article 21 Subsection 3 of the law governing Academy Foundation, Management and Extracurricular Work.
3. It is now mandatory for all native teachers to attend this seminar.
4. This seminar is for the mutual benefit of all. By attending the seminar you will be greatly advantaged in your knowledge and understanding of administrative procedures.
5. In addition, the seminar is aimed at enhancing the teaching of all native teachers residing and working at foreign language academies in Seoul. It is aimed at improving the effectiveness and trust of foreign language education.
6. KAFLA hosts the event on behalf of the Seoul Board of Education Korea and requests full cooperation from all foreign language academies to enable foreign instructors to attend the following seminar.
Details
※ When : Saturday, Nov. 19th, 2011. 09:00 AM ~ 13:00 PM
※ Where : Korean Church Centennial Memorial Building - Main Hall
(Add : 135 YounJi-Dong, Chongro-Gu, Seoul)
(400m from Exit 2 at Chongro-5-Ga Station of Subway Line One see it on - www.kafla.or.kr)
※ We encourage you to use public transportation. If you wish to bring your vehicle you will need to use a private parking lot in the vicinity of the Korean Church Centennial Memorial Building at your own expense.
※ Attendants : All authorized foreign language instructors
※ Objective : To ensure that all native instructors in Seoul are familiar with immigration rules and procedures.
※ The following seminar is obligatory for all foreign language instructors in accordance with Article 21 Subsection 3 of the law governing Academy Foundation, Management and Extracurricular Work.
※ All attendants (foreign language teachers) must bring a registration form and pen, which you can get from your director or pick up at the desk on the day.
Notice
※ Please ensure that you register when you arrive at the seminar.
Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies
Chairman Park, Kyung-Sil
KOREA ASSOCIATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACADEMIES (KAFLA)
Zip) 140-872 124-3 Hangangro-2-Ga Youngsan-Gu Seoul, Korea
Tel : 02-792-6122, 6124 Fax: 02-798-5010 Home page: www.kafla.or.kr |
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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Have you received one in the past? Was it in an email (okay to ignore) or a hard copy?
What do they mean by "authorized" foreign teachers?
| Quote: |
| ※ Objective : To ensure that all native instructors in Seoul are familiar with immigration rules and procedures. |
This could be solved by sending a pamphlet out.
| Quote: |
※ The following seminar is obligatory for all foreign language instructors in accordance with Article 21 Subsection 3 of the law governing Academy Foundation, Management and Extracurricular Work.
※ All attendants (foreign language teachers) must bring a registration form and pen, which you can get from your director or pick up at the desk on the day. |
Has your director said anything to you about this?
| Quote: |
| ※ Please ensure that you register when you arrive at the seminar. |
I'm guessing they don't actually need you to attend, but are trying to use the veil of legitimacy into making FTs believe they need to be there. Unless your hagwon specifically tells you to go, you don't have to. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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It is from the hagwan association and NOT a government agency.
They say it is a requirement (of their hagwan association) BUT if you fail to attend, other than your employer getting ticked at you, there are NO consequences.
They do this every year.
Every year the question arises.
Every year the answer is the same.
Under labor law you cannot be fined or punished in any way for failure to attend unless it is during your regular working hours on a regular work day.
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DaeguNL
Joined: 08 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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I believe this was emailed to the hagwon, printed out, and left on our desk.
They don't really seem to know anything about this seminar, but insist we must attend.
I think I'm gonna give it a pass |
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LalaLove
Joined: 22 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:01 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
It is from the hagwan association and NOT a government agency.
They say it is a requirement (of their hagwan association) BUT if you fail to attend, other than your employer getting ticked at you, there are NO consequences.
They do this every year.
Every year the question arises.
Every year the answer is the same.
Under labor law you cannot be fined or punished in any way for failure to attend unless it is during your regular working hours on a regular work day.
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Can my hagwan be fined for me not showing up? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:24 am Post subject: |
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| LalaLove wrote: |
| ttompatz wrote: |
It is from the hagwan association and NOT a government agency.
They say it is a requirement (of their hagwan association) BUT if you fail to attend, other than your employer getting ticked at you, there are NO consequences.
They do this every year.
Every year the question arises.
Every year the answer is the same.
Under labor law you cannot be fined or punished in any way for failure to attend unless it is during your regular working hours on a regular work day.
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Can my hagwan be fined for me not showing up? |
Fined (as in some judicial process by a government body) = no.
Pay a penalty to the hagwan association for you not showing up = I seriously doubt it. It would be easier to just quit the club.
Lose their deposit for your seat = yes.
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Ribena
Joined: 07 Apr 2011
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:58 am Post subject: |
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| If you are getting the day off to do it, why not go? I've been to plenty boring work related seminars in my life, sometimes the free food is good though. |
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ontheway
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:36 am Post subject: |
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This seminar is legally required by the Education office. It is a government requirement and mandatory. You and/or your school can be fined by the Dept of Education if you do not attend. In some cases it can lead to your school being closed or you being fired if you do not attend. All language teachers on E2 visas - including Japanese and Chinese teachers are required to attend, although they may have separate meetings.
There are similar seminars for all Korean English teachers, managers and owners of hogwans as well. These are also required by the Education Office and are mandatory under Korean law.
Dept of Labor rules do not apply as this is from the Dept of Education. It is held on a weekend so you won't miss work time and if you do not attend you can be fined. If it causes your school damage with the Dept of Ed you can be fired. Since the Dept of Ed has already flexed its muscles by making new rules regarding CBCs and Degree copies, you probably don't want to make additional problems for yourself by failure to attend. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:13 am Post subject: |
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1- I believe Tom is right, this is from the Hakwon Association, not a government agency.
2- If you have the time, why not attend anyway. You may just get some valuable information and it could be a good chance to network with other teachers and administrators. Heck at the very least you could possibly hear about job openings that you may not hear of otherwise.... |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| ontheway wrote: |
This seminar is legally required by the Education office. It is a government requirement and mandatory. You and/or your school can be fined by the Dept of Education if you do not attend. In some cases it can lead to your school being closed or you being fired if you do not attend. All language teachers on E2 visas - including Japanese and Chinese teachers are required to attend, although they may have separate meetings.
There are similar seminars for all Korean English teachers, managers and owners of hogwans as well. These are also required by the Education Office and are mandatory under Korean law.
Dept of Labor rules do not apply as this is from the Dept of Education. It is held on a weekend so you won't miss work time and if you do not attend you can be fined. If it causes your school damage with the Dept of Ed you can be fired. Since the Dept of Ed has already flexed its muscles by making new rules regarding CBCs and Degree copies, you probably don't want to make additional problems for yourself by failure to attend. |
No, it is not.
It is KAFLA and ONLY for E2 teachers who work for hagwans within KAFLA.
If you work at a public school (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Gangnam OE or other districts within the greater Seoul area) you do not have to go nor will you get the e-mail.
If you work at a hagwan that is NOT associated with KAFLA you will not be invited to attend.
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| 2- If you have the time, why not attend anyway. You may just get some valuable information and it could be a good chance to network with other teachers and administrators. Heck at the very least you could possibly hear about job openings that you may not hear of otherwise.... |
You clearly have never attended one of those functions. Worst waste of a Saturday morning ever. The only reason to go is to make your boss happy. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Son Deureo! wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| 2- If you have the time, why not attend anyway. You may just get some valuable information and it could be a good chance to network with other teachers and administrators. Heck at the very least you could possibly hear about job openings that you may not hear of otherwise.... |
You clearly have never attended one of those functions. Worst waste of a Saturday morning ever. The only reason to go is to make your boss happy. |
I have some friends who went to one last year and they said it was hit and miss but they still enjoyed meeting other teachers.
I am sure its not an unforgettable event however!
As for attending such events, I work for the public sector (since 2008) so such functions are pretty darn common for us here. A lot of them are hit and miss or boring. Still, some have value if only for the people you meet there.
I remember attending a company annual dinner in Seoul way back in the early 2000s. The parent company that owned the Hakwons we worked for did this that year and I met tons of teachers there. This can be a good way get a network going. Just sayin... |
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ontheway
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| ontheway wrote: |
This seminar is legally required by the Education office. It is a government requirement and mandatory. You and/or your school can be fined by the Dept of Education if you do not attend. In some cases it can lead to your school being closed or you being fired if you do not attend. All language teachers on E2 visas - including Japanese and Chinese teachers are required to attend, although they may have separate meetings.
There are similar seminars for all Korean English teachers, managers and owners of hogwans as well. These are also required by the Education Office and are mandatory under Korean law.
Dept of Labor rules do not apply as this is from the Dept of Education. It is held on a weekend so you won't miss work time and if you do not attend you can be fined. If it causes your school damage with the Dept of Ed you can be fired. Since the Dept of Ed has already flexed its muscles by making new rules regarding CBCs and Degree copies, you probably don't want to make additional problems for yourself by failure to attend. |
No, it is not.
It is KAFLA and ONLY for E2 teachers who work for hagwans within KAFLA.
If you work at a public school (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Gangnam OE or other districts within the greater Seoul area) you do not have to go nor will you get the e-mail.
If you work at a hagwan that is NOT associated with KAFLA you will not be invited to attend.
. |
Sorry, Ttom, but you are misinformed.
These conferences are required by law. They are held all over Korea every year. They are required of all E2 language teachers of all languages - the others sometimes have separate meetings, sometimes it's a combined event with multiple translations.
Korean hogwan teachers, managers and owners also have required annual meetings - sometimes on the same day, but at a different location.
Public school E2 teachers satisfy the requirement by atttending the annual public school training which satisfies the legal requirement. So, hogwan associations arrange the required meetings for other E2 teachers.
Teachers at schools that are not members of the hogwan association are also required to attend and are sent invitations. The list of teachers comes from the local MOE office. It is not a hogwan association list.
Teachers that are not legally registered will not be on the list and will not be invited, even if their school is a member of the hogwan association.
We have contacted the local MOE about this. It is their requirement. Many years ago, I worked at a hogwan that failed to notify teachers about the meeting so they missed it. The school paid a large fine from the MOE.
If you miss the meeting in your local, you can be required to attend another meeting in a different city, to avoid the fine. If you miss the meeting, you go to the local Education Office MOE to try to explain and get an exemption as well - sometimes this is possible.
Since I have seen the meetings, seen the teachers from other languages at the meetings, and going to separate meetings, seen the Korean meetings, talked to the MOE, seen the letters, experienced the fines, heard the warnings of the addition of negative points to a schools' MOE rating (part of the annual inspection by the local MOE) I can assure you that TTompatz is misinformed on this.
It does appear that in Seoul, the rules have been unenforced for a long time, while in other areas of Korea they are more strictly enforced, but these are the facts.
As we know, the way rules are enforced in Korea varies from place to place, time to time, public official to public official and they are often willing to let people off, especially since these meetings are useless for the most part. But they are required by the Korean government for all E2 teachers annually. |
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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| ontheway wrote: |
Sorry, Ttom, but you are misinformed.
These conferences are required by law. They are held all over Korea every year. They are required of all E2 language teachers of all languages - the others sometimes have separate meetings, sometimes it's a combined event with multiple translations.
Korean hogwan teachers, managers and owners also have required annual meetings - sometimes on the same day, but at a different location.
Public school E2 teachers satisfy the requirement by atttending the annual public school training which satisfies the legal requirement. So, hogwan associations arrange the required meetings for other E2 teachers.
Teachers at schools that are not members of the hogwan association are also required to attend and are sent invitations. The list of teachers comes from the local MOE office. It is not a hogwan association list.
Teachers that are not legally registered will not be on the list and will not be invited, even if their school is a member of the hogwan association.
We have contacted the local MOE about this. It is their requirement. Many years ago, I worked at a hogwan that failed to notify teachers about the meeting so they missed it. The school paid a large fine from the MOE.
If you miss the meeting in your local, you can be required to attend another meeting in a different city, to avoid the fine. If you miss the meeting, you go to the local Education Office MOE to try to explain and get an exemption as well - sometimes this is possible.
Since I have seen the meetings, seen the teachers from other languages at the meetings, and going to separate meetings, seen the Korean meetings, talked to the MOE, seen the letters, experienced the fines, heard the warnings of the addition of negative points to a schools' MOE rating (part of the annual inspection by the local MOE) I can assure you that TTompatz is misinformed on this.
It does appear that in Seoul, the rules have been unenforced for a long time, while in other areas of Korea they are more strictly enforced, but these are the facts.
As we know, the way rules are enforced in Korea varies from place to place, time to time, public official to public official and they are often willing to let people off, especially since these meetings are useless for the most part. But they are required by the Korean government for all E2 teachers annually. |
What?
I worked at a hagwon in Incheon, and never had to go. Would/Should/Could my school be fined?
If you went to the meetings how have you experienced the fines? Were you fined or was your school fined?
How is a school 'rated' by the MOE?
Could you scan one of the letters for us to look at?
What law says that all E2 teachers must annually attend a seminar? No link? Just hearsay from your boss? |
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PatrickBateman
Joined: 08 Jun 2009
Location: American Gardens Building, West 81st Street
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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Forced to go.
Not happy.
Stupid. |
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