Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

11-21-2008 19:01

POLY School Eyes Returnee Students



Alex Im
Korean POLY School, a private academic institute, has introduced unique English programs for students returning from overseas studies.

Alex Im, chief executive director of the school, said the school is specialized in helping returnee students maintain and improve their English skills as they would have abroad.

All programs are conducted in English based on the North American school curriculum. The school offers a "POLY standard program" for high level English learners and an advanced program called "MAGNET,'' depending on the various levels of students' academic progress.

In addition, the school runs a ``POLY Language Aptitude Test" to precisely measure the language skills of students and provides them with diagnostic assessments of their reading levels and progress through the "AR program." The "e-poly school" online learning tool effectively assists, tests, and monitors students' academic development by integrating their offline studies taught on campus.

Each campus is equipped with a library of books ranging from preschool to middle school levels. The wide selection, recommended by U.S. school boards, helps to enhance the students' vocabulary, comprehension skills and creativity. The POLY faculty consists of North American teachers who have degrees in education, linguistics, and other related fields.

POLY School currently runs 32 different campuses nationwide and aims to maintain the fluency and English level of returning children.


[ur=http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/11/117_34838.htmll]POLYUSESCOMPUTERS[/url]

[bassexpander]

Must be paid advertising. That's always what they've done.

[RyanInKorea]

Are they not one of the schools named in the lawsuit for misleading and over-charging people?

Ryan

[moosehead]

wouldn't surprise me - having taught at poly AND being somewhat familiar w/the "American curriculum" since I'm an American - and can again, safely say there is NO such thing as an American curriculum since schools are pretty much independent from state to state, even district to district; probably 80% of their students have never been abroad. could be more.

beware of Poly - they are a franchise, chain operation. differs from school to school. long hours, high pay but jees they will drain the lifeblood from you and leave nothing but dust in its wake!!

[Adventurer]

Yes, they were one of the companies named in the suit, because they misled some parents or something. I am not sure exactly. They were one of the six who had to pay huge fines. They also trick foreigners by making them feel they are getting a great deal by having a somewhat higher salary (not that high) and then having a base pay in the contract of 1.6 million so that they can give you a lower severance and a lower pension.

It's a kind of thinking that exists amongst some Koreans that if you give with one hand, then you must take with another. At least, a friend of mine who has lived in Korea told me about that notion and so did a guy I interviewed with who was a Canadian who was kind a big shot at a major hagwon chain. Poly also does have many school that overwork their teachers. A friend of mine worked 37 classes. Some of my students at my hagwon complained they had to be in front of computer screen too often. Poly is trying to use the label American to market themselves.

There is an American type curriculum, but that only really applies if you are an international American school and accredited by some organization like the Middle States Organization (I believe that's something close to a name of an organization that accredits some bona fide American schools overseas). Poly doesn't fit that, of course. It's just a hagwon that works the teachers too death and cheats them on the pension and severance by having a low base pay.

That so-called article in the Koreatimes is basically an ad disguised as news.

[shl82]

Basically your contract will look something like this.
They will pay you the monthly salary. Notice its only 1.6M
and then they have separate clause in their contract
under benefits degree/experience/welfare&pension.
Obviously another way to reduce lower pay on the final
severance pay. Shame on them. Avoid at all cost.
I have been screwed by them before.

Sample of their contract.

Article 7 (Salary)
1. According to Article 6, Employee shall be paid the total amount of 1.6 million Korean Won per month.
Article 9 (Benefits)
Benefits applicable to Employee shall depend on Employee�s credentials/performance and Employer�s discretion. All monetary amounts stated in the following Benefits shall be paid in addition to Employee�s monthly base salary stated in Employment Contract, or as otherwise stated.
1. Benefit 1 (Degree/Experience Benefit)
Employee shall be paid an amount of 300,000 won per month in recognition of the degree held by Employee and his/her work experience.
2. Benefit 2 (Welfare and Pension)
Employee shall be paid an amount of 400,000 won per month as a Welfare and Pension Benefit to assist with Employee�s living expenses and his/her overall well-being.

[Jeweltone]

I had a very positive experience at the POLY school I worked for in Gangdong-gu. Don't get me wrong, it was not heaven, but it was better than some of my other experiences in Korea. I actually considered returning there after a year of university hell (avoid the University of Suwon at all costs if you are a single female), but I was then hired at the last minute by a top-tier university.

The hours at POLY were long, but the Korean staff was reasonably supportive; the office manager/"foreigner handler" is a gem of a man. We were fed lunch and dinner; although it was always funny to see the newbees try to suck down "spicy noodles" during our 15 minute dinner break (or was it 20 minutes?)! The director is reasonable, and you get the sense that she means well, even when things go awry (as they often do in Korean work-culture). The only complaint I had was the two week vacation...when POLY told you you could take it (two days here, two days there). I have been told they are much more flexible with people who re-sign for another year; they offered me better and more "vacation benefits" when I was asked to stay, and I felt I had some negotiation "wiggle room" should I have pushed it. In retrospect, I should have stayed and avoided the third-rate university hell I found myself in after I left.

As to cheating the parents...there was probably some "prevarication' going on (this is Korea, after all), but I do not think there was any intentional "push" to mislead the parents. Most of the students got what they needed from the curriculum; a few of my students still write to me (three years later) and their emails are not incomprehensible, so there is hope!

Just my two cents...There is always variation in services and experiences when dealing with a franchise of anything (Popeye's Chicken - Korea, anyone?).

[cedarseoul]

And as I've said numerous times on this board, I've had a very positive experience (going on 1.5 years now) with POLY. Same is true for my wife and the majority of our co-workers at our campus. PM me if you'd like more specific details.

[Adventurer]

[aimeecate]

Poly school has really unethical business practices. In my area we are losing some students to them. They convinced one mother to sent her kid there then they asked her for the phone numbers of all the other mothers she knows. Apparently Poly school calls and kind of harasses them, trying to get them to join. Parents are constantly comparing my school to Poly school, but I really don't think they're that different apart from the fact that Poly school overworks their employees and treats them like crap from what I've heard.

Heck someone E-mailed me the other day trying to recruit me to work for Poly school based on a resume I posted over a year ago! Btw my degree is not in linguistics or English.

[bassexpander]

My friend worked for a Poly school, and they didn't allow him to sit down in class at any time.

No thanks.

[Typhoon]

They tried the old don't sit down thing when I worked there many years ago. Can you guess what I told them? It had to do with shoving something somewhere.

POLY was an absolutely horrible experience. Even though I was getting paid 3.3 mill. it wasn't worth it. The long hours, the useless meetings, the micro-managing, the lying, the mismanagement, and the power-trips all made it one of my worse working experiences ever. No fully qualified teacher would ever put up with the crap they try to pull IMO. If they did I would question exactly what their qualifications were. I just laughed at them and walked out the door as soon as I realized that the clowns in management there were just going to continue to pester the teachers with their micro-management and uselessness. The money may look good, but it is not worth all the shit you have to put up with.

[cedarseoul]

[reimund]

This is for the archives, in case people want to search for Poly school: the campuses with good reputations are in Seong Buk, Mok Dong, Jeong Bal, and Il San. I have no idea about the rest, and things might have certainly changed with the campuses I listed, but there you go.

[Adventurer]