Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jonkellyca]

Hi,

I will be having a Skype (web cam)interview with the school this week and I was wondering if anyone has anything (positive or negative) to say about the school.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[ttompatz]

[sara210]

Hey, I work in an English Centre at the moment in a public school. Mine (and all the others in the city) are run by the schools prinicipal. Depending on the schools administration they can be a blessing or a curse.


In my situation our English centre never closes, when the kids are on vacation we have to run camps, and then we run a regular program when they are back at school. We teach 20 kids in a class, and i teach around 24 40 minute classes a week.

The only time I get off teaching is when I have my vacation (14 days). Its a bit of a killer to be honest.

On top of that I am totally responsible for the curriculum and ordering books/stationary etc. Some days I think I would prefer a hagwon job where at least I didnt have to worry about that stuff.

If I were you I would get through the interview and then BEFORE you accept the job, make sure you speak to the native teacher. Ask them lots of questions about their responsibilities and the schedule.

For us even though we are part of the school we are totally disregarded, we never get invited to school dinners or events, and the only time the school administration contacts us is to complain about something. It can be quite isolating.

Ours (and all the others I know of in my city) is a really small working environment, its one office with three people and we spend all day everyday together. So I would definitely ask what your co teacher is like, since you will be spending a hell of a lot of time in their company.

But on the plus side, the English centres are generally really well stocked. We have books and games and resources coming out of our ears!! Theres more than I could ever use.

I just don't like teaching for 49 weeks a year with no rest on the schedule, and being responsible for the whole curriculum at the same time, and all the ordering of books/stationary. (with not a word of thanks in a whole year).
Oh we are also subject to surveys going out to the students and parents about the class and how they feel about the english centre. We also had about 6 open classes this week!

Its bearable, and certainly not the worst job you could ever take in Korea...but it is NOT a standard public school job!

But like I say every school is different so just ask lots of questions!