Korean Job Discussion Forums

[I_Am_Wrong]

-Winter Camp has started today and of course it is fucked! I can't believe the public school would even work with this yokel of a director because the problems were numerous on just the first day, and I don't see them getting any better

-The textbooks that have been chosen are meant to be worked through in a period of about 4-6 months (with class everyday) at a rate or two student book pages and 1 work book pages per class. Of course, however, the Winter Camp is 6 weeks so the schedule that has been outlined involves covering three times that much material per class. It's going to be impossible to cover all the material but "the schedule must be kept to"

-There are three of us foreign teachers and we were each responsible for developing one set of the three required sets of lesson plans. I spent endless hours making very meticulously detailed lesson plans, knowing that another teacher would also have to rely on them. Unfortunately, the other teachers didn't do anymore than put the page numbers in the lesson plan...so I get to do the lesson plans over again everynight anyways

-The director shows up this morning and he's supposed to bring the lesson plans and the cd-roms....he has neither

-neither the school nor the hagwon director have the resources and materials necessary to teach the material properly (flashcards, materials for projects etc.)

--One day in and I already despise this stupid winter camp

[eamo]

Don't try to teach in this kind of situation as a professional. It'll get you nowhere.

These winter camp things are just ridiculous and idiotic. Everybody works their nuts off for 4 weeks. The syllabus is so fast it's impossible. The kids are so tired they don't really absorb much. The teacher is too tired to teach much.

It's just a cash-cow for the man at the top.

Don't take it seriously. Just get through it as best you can.

[hellofaniceguy]

Well said!!
The second week of camp...students are getting burnt out. These ESL camps in korea are f@&*#* jokes! Only a way to make money for the idiot director. And rake it the money they do!

[Ya-ta Boy]

A good number of the directors here are fools. I would like to share a story about my nominee for champion idiot:

We were told we would be teaching a summer camp. Not overjoyed, we asked the following questions and received the following answers:

1. What materials will we be using since our text books are for adults? Just use the ones you have been using, but make them simpler for kids.

2. When will the camp start? I don't know.

3. What level will the students be? I don't know. Make lessons suitable for all levels.

4. What age will the students be? I don't know. Make lessons for any age.

5. How long will classes be? 1 hour? 2 hours? I don't know. Make many short lessons.

6. How many weeks will the camp last? I don't know.

7. What are your objectives for the students? Korean parents want their kids to talk to foreigners.

We didn't know how many students we would be having until the day the camp started. We weren't told how long the classes would last until the day the camp started.

To top it off, 200 students showed up and there were only 3 teachers. Less than 100 returned the second day.

[rok_the-boat]

[davyteacher]

How much can you expect for a Winter Camp (four week)

[sid]

Money? About three million won I think.

[Corporal]

[I_Am_Wrong]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[jajdude]

Amazing the parents just throw that cash away, thinking (?) the kid will actually learn some English in a month... (?)

Or maybe if they got the cash to spare they like the break from the little (brat).

[Avram Iancu]

Jaj., I'd pay for the latter...

[whereisjay]

welcome to korea

[Hotel Cheonan]

I teach a winter camp(sponsored by my uni-part of the job) and the biggest problem so far was that the laptop I had didn't have the CD drive I needed. The problem was corrected soon. I know that most of you are working in crap conditions, and I do feel sorry for you. It surely does make me appreciate my job.