Korean Job Discussion Forums

[teachmeenglish]

Ok, sorry for being such a git and asking this, but why work in a public school? I've worked for 5 years in hogwons and am starting a uni job next month. My last hogwan was adults only 2.3 base for 6*50 a day with lots of OT available. No housing, but that was not too expensive at 300K month and it was my apartment in my name so they did not even know where I was living. My vacations were only Korean vacations, but I could book a month off almost anytime. After the first 6 months, prep was limited to waiting a couple of minutes for the photocopier. Hours were about 3-9pm. Basically I arrive, I teach I leave, and then perhaps go for a beer with students. Most importantly, it was fun to teach adults. They had ideas and would usually talk.

As I see it, I was getting paid a bit less, but not much. However the prep and headaches were almost none, and the time others seem to spend on prep and headaches is more than my extra hours. Not to mention teaching adults instead of high school students. I know that some hogwans are bad, but I've worked at three, one BCM, one Wonderland and my last one and all were very good (yes even the Wonderland, consider this a plug for Mr. Ki in Songpa-Karak Dong Wonderland). My BCM was the worst, but in retrospect I was green and made some mistakes, so perhaps I earned the troubles to some degree.

Basically it seems that the headaches and bad contracts of public school jobs are not worth it compared to the average reputable hogwon. So my question stands... WHY?

[JacktheCat]

Because I am sick and tired of the hagwon games. (both literally and figuratively)

And my attempts to procure a university job were meet with being told (a)I was underqualified or (b)that I had too much experience and they wanted someone "fresher." (I have a CELTA and almost 5 years teaching experience, including one year at a Chinese university).

So, that left me with the choice of either getting a public school job or going back to a country with real schools like Japan or China.

[I_Am_Wrong]

well...i work 20 hours a week at a public elementary school and 5 hours a week at a hagwon and honestly....I don't think you could ever pay me enough to work full time at a hagwon. Maybe it has something to do with actually being a teacher at one....

[Derrek]

Well, to tell you the truth, they are a whole lot closer in suckyness now.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Hagwons suck. That is all.

[crazylemongirl]

The GEPIK and EPIK contacts as they are, just aren't worth the stress if you get a decent hogwon job. However my job has better conditions in terms of vacations than those of the average hogwon and most public school gigs.Hell in feburary alone I will have more vacation time than I had in the entire of my year at the hogwon I worked at, and almost the same as the GEPIK people. I have a good apartment, get treated with respect and ahve never had a problem with money. So my job is definetly a step up from my last hogwon gig.

[teachmeenglish]

Looking at answers so far, I still dont understand most people working in a high school instead of a greputable hogwon.

Jack, you note hogwon games but from my experience I only had that a little in my first year and not at all in the next 4 years. Am I lucky? I dont think so. I think if you are careful to pick a big chain school then the systems often set the limits on what the school can pull. A mom and pop school can be very much better or can be hell, and that is a risk, but one that if you are careful about can be managed.

I am wrong, you said about actually teaching. I have given my writing class 2 hours of homework a day and told them to do it or not come to class the next dayand 13 out of 15 do it. Even my very first hogwan with middle school students supported me when I sent two girls out for sending text messages to each other in class and had the korean teacher call there parents. Some of the teachers at my school now have worked in a uni before and say that more education happens at our hogwon.

Thanks Derrek

I dont think I need to comment on Pyongshin's mature opinion

crazy lemmon girl, you make points about good apartment, being treated with respect and no payment problems, but those are the same comments I could make. I can see your point on vacations but so many of the posts here aout high school jobs are complaining about short vacations. I'd rather put in OT in the busy months and just be able to book a month off when I wanted it.

My point is that it seems everyone judges hogwans by the poor ones or the horror stories, and has some unrealistic ideal of working in the public school system. There are good hogwans and bad hogwons and good public schools and bad ones, but in the end I dont see any difference in the average of the two groups.

Where are the differneces?

[crazylemongirl]

[riverboy]

Man I worked a 20 hour week at a Middle school for 35 000 an hour. They students and staff loved me and I taught what a wanted. It was great!

[hellofaniceguy]

[Rather_Dashing]

I think people prefer school positions to hakgwon positions because you are less likely to get screwed by working for a school.

Or so I'm told...

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Toby]

[Grotto]

Public schools are better for several reasons...your pay is gauranteed, there is no worry of being screwed over by crooked hogwan owners.

You usually work more hours but spend much less time in class.

The bullcrap you put up with in schools is a step up from hogwans.

You get more vacation time in schools.

Downsides are larger classes

Less one on one time with your students

Beaurocratic nonsense that ticks you off

[Pyongshin Sangja]