Korean Job Discussion Forums

cwaddell · Joined: 23 Jan 2006

Hey! After hunting for a job for 3 weeks I have finally settled on a position and will sign the contract tomorow. The only slightly negative thing, is that the school does have the dreaded cameras in the classes. Personally, which is easy to say from this far away, I feel it won't be TOO distracting. So I was wondering if other people have worked under "Big Brother's" watchful eye before, and how they found it. And also, are there any negative aspects to this that I maybe haven't considered. I guess, at least, they can't accuse me of any kind of abuse in month 11!

One more thing, after using more than 20 recruiters, I am going for a job through te one that talks the least English, mostly due to the testimonials of current teachers there. Should I worry about how useless this guy will be when I get there? Or is it the case that the recruiter is rarely needed once you start work anway?

Thanks for your help!

khyber · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Compunction Junction

i haven't heard of someone who doesn't have cameras in their class.
For my part, i've found them generally more useful than detrimental.
I have had my WJN watch my particularly animalistic classes and she would come in and give 'em whatfor.
There isn't any sound in those things: that's the important part for me.

that way i can continue my slow "kimchi kills" indoctrination lecture series.

cypher · Joined: 08 Nov 2003

I had them last year; this year I don't. This year, if people want to watch my classes, they have to be in the classroom which I find incredibly disruptive. I actually preferred the cameras. Ours had sound however. Including the one in the classroom converted into the teachers' room. It took some time to convince the other teachers to be careful what they said-we had a lot of complaining to do.

cypher · Joined: 08 Nov 2003

I had them last year; this year I don't. This year, if people want to watch my classes, they have to be in the classroom which I find incredibly disruptive. I actually preferred the cameras. Ours had sound however. Including the one in the classroom converted into the teachers' room. It took some time to convince the other teachers to be careful what they said-we had a lot of complaining to do.

cwaddell · Joined: 23 Jan 2006

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

ahopfe · Joined: 02 Apr 2005

I use to have them when I was working in China, Now I dont have them.......... Come to think of it the only time you can see what is going on is when you open the door ......... I have 1 window that you could see in on but now there is ttooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much activity based work on it that i use with my younger students

YOU can't see into my class room

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

Excluding bathrooms (I think), it's possible to see almost every square inch of our academy, including the outside perimeter, from one of the three monitoring stations. The only time I've ever been made aware of someone watching my classes was when a student's mother complained that her son was acting up in class instead of sitting down and listening. Confused

Bulsajo · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

The whole cameras issue reminds me of the arguments about gun control
"guns don't kill people, cameras kill people"
wait a tic, that's not quite it... Embarassed

I never had a problem with cameras in the class, as a matter of fact I welcomed them, as per the reasons discussed above.
Once when a class was starting to get a little out of hand the 'voice of doom' came over the intercom and told them all to behave and pay attention to their teacher.
I felt I had everything in hand but it was nice to know there was 'back-up' and looks on the kids' faces was great-
every single one thinking "uh oh, is my mom watching?" at the same time.

But it all depends on your school's management- in the hands of a bad director, a camera could be a tool of oppression.

riley · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: where creditors can find me

Totally agree with Bulsajo's last comment. How bad it is, depends on who's watching the camera. Personally, as long as the parents aren't able to watch it whenever they want to (on computer at home) then it's not too bad in my experience. I've worked at two places with cameras and the both were okay. The second company watched a friend of mine for a while and made it difficult for him because of that.

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

Camera's are awesome. They should implement this idea back home too.
Little jimmy is kicked out of class for slashing another boy.
Parent: Oh, Jimmy couldn't possible do that, the other boy must have started it and had a knife too
Camera: shows false
Parent: Ya, but it must have happened after the teacher said he did something wrong or he was frustrated.
Camera: shows false
Parent: Still, my little boy isn't violent.
Camera: previous recordings show false

etc etc...

I think you get the idea. This would make all those lazy parents out there realize their children suck and to do something about it before it's too late.

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

Cameras can be a lifesaver. It does protect you too against lies by the kid and/or parents. It can also doom you. I had them at a couple of hagwons, and I didnt let them bother me at all. It was kind of nice to know that I cant be accussed of doing something I didnt do.

chessmaster9000 · Joined: 31 Jan 2006

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

I am amazed that so many people are speaking so gushingly about teaching in classrooms monitored by cameras. I had to deal with that in the last six months or so of my first contract, and I will never teach in any classroom monitored by cameras again.

For my boss, it was just one more way to micromanage. I would hear about how I waited too long to have the kids open the textbook, every time a child packed his bookbag 2 minutes before the "rang belled (sic)", and all kinds of other nonsense.

Since the cameras were also piped to the mommies via internet, it gave the parents more excuses to give their constant, counterproductive, and contradictory complaints, usually about how the teachers weren't paying enough attention to THEIR child.

The cameras were only live feeds with no recording capabilities (that were used at any rate), so it was difficult to use them as evidence in your own favor in case of a dispute.

For me, cameras made an already crappy hogwon a heck of a lot worse. Never again.

jaylynn232 · Joined: 25 Nov 2005 Location: Kyeonggi Do

We have cameras in the classroom too and I love it. If a parent complains about their child not learning anything we just tell them to watch the cameras. They see their kid crawling under the table and running around the class once and the problem's usually solved by the next class. You do have to look like you're paying attention to each child though, but as long as you're walking around the room and stopping at each kid they are usually happy. You should be standing and walking around anyways as it tends to help the kids pay attention to their work when they know you're right behind them.