Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bobohawke]

I am considering terminating my contract due to the fact i don't like teaching kindy.

My problem is i am putting the effort in to teaching them and they just don't listen to me. Most days i start work and i am in good form but by the time i finish kindy i am all in a rage inside, they wind me up. I know i should just go through the motions and go "yes well done" but it's not my style, i like to teach and to see improvement in the kids.

I also teach middle school in the day and this i enjoy, because they listen to you and are more disciplined. So i am going to say it to the boss that if he wants i will finish kindy and do extra middle classes. This will entail only five extra hrs teaching middle and will result in me taking a pay cut , around 500k won out of 2 mil.

So my question is in these hagwons is 50 mins = to 1 hours pay or is fifty mins fifty mins pay ? I teach 50 min classes middle school.

It does'nt state any exact definition to this in my contract.

Also if they do not go for it, i am probably going to leave. When it says you have to pay them back for the flight there etc. I came to Korea by my own way and they gave me 500k money for visa run and paid my flight, i am thinking this is what i have to give them back.

They are also taking 200k a month for this so called security deposit bs, it states it in the contract and i did sign it so i can't complain there but this will be a total of 600k won they will have, can i use this to pay towards any outstanding monies i owe them. All my bills are paid so therefore they cannot just keep 600k won for outsatnding bills on my part when all bills are paid! ?


Do you think i should just quit and get a job where it's only middle school. I don't mind teaching 7 - 8 hrs a day middle school.


Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.


Act in haste , repent at leisure

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I sympathise with you a lot. I love middle schoolers and hate kindy kids (most little Korean kids are truley ghastly, aren't they?). I hate to break it to you, but the boss probably doesn't give a rat's ass what your personal preferences are. Is there any other foreigner at your place of work with whom you could swap? That might be your only way out. Who is going to teach those horrid, lucrative kindy classes if not you?

As for your question - at public school, a 45-minute middle school lesson counts as one teaching hour. At hogwans, it's whatever the owner's opinion may be, and more likely than not, 50 minutes teaching means 50 minutes pay, regardless of preparation time.

If you do want to leave, do a lot of research about getting a letter of release and what's needed to cancel your contract if you want to continue working in Korea. It's bloody unbelievable how Koreans can raise up such little 4-7-year-old monsters and then be surprised when people brand new to Korea don't want to teach them, isn't it?

[VanIslander]

an hour is forever some days

[kiwigirl :O)]

at my hagwan an "hour" is actually 40 minutes....

i taught kindy for a month and on the last day they were hell raisers...i would not want to work at one all the time thats for sure!!!

there was two out of the 5 kindys that the kids were awesome and so eager to learn...scary thing was there was a 2 year old there and he was like the best at english

cheers
kg

[Hater Depot]

An hour is whatever you negotiate it is.