Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

To those who work or have worked in hagwons, I'm curious if your place does 'intensive' courses, or as I like to call it, extra classes, during winter and summer breaks. Mine does, and the director said it's necessary to keep the students from finding another hagwon.. so I'm wondering how typical it is.

The place I worked at last year didn't do them, but my friend at another hagwon had like 8 classes a day during the breaks. What's your place like?

[babtangee]

My hagwon has them, but I doubt they are necessary. It's just a way for my boss to earn some extra coin. Truth be told, not all that many students attend. Maybe 10% on average. I of course demand overtime pay.

Last summer my boss tried to be clever. He offered me the standard overtime rate in my contract. But he threw my vacation time inbetween the intensive classes. He thought he was going to get out of paying any overtime that way(claiming I had actually taught less than 12 classes for the month), but I threw a hissy fit and told him I wasn't going to teach any classes if he didn't pay overtime for every single intensive class. He paid. (I wouldn't have been so dramatic about it, but I have to come into work three hours earlier than usual for a month because of those damn intensives).

I'm sure hoping that he's forgotten all about intensives this winter now that he's opening a school in China.

[jlb]

No intensives here...just the same old schedule.

[some waygug-in]

Ugg... I hated doing those. Not only did I not get any extra pay, he did cut down on my afternoon classes for that month tho..so the hours were the same.


The first kids' haggie I worked at wanted me to teach a complete "Grammar Lab" book + workbook as well as a complete
level of American English Today. All in a month!

It was a complete farce. Most of the kids there weren't ready for the grammmar book, and the couple who were ready ....well, they had more important things on their minds than learning English.

This past year, the boss asked me to choose some books for the "vacation" classes. I picked out some books that I thought would be good, he went off saying that it was way too easy. He picked up some conversation books for teenagers that were too hard for the upper level classes...let alone the kids who were actually enrolled.

I guess these things are just another money making scam to attract naive parents or something. Useless doesn't even begin to describe what these classes were.

The kids were tired, cranky and just wanted some play time. I can't say that I blame them. The whole hagwan thing stinks as far as I'm concerned.

[sadsac]

Yep! Summer and winter and I love the OT. I normally earn an extra 2-3 mill for the month.

[zappadelta]

[rvintage]

Had to do them at the last job that I worked. The first one in summer I got screwed with overtime cause the afternoon hours were cut, although I did make a little extra. So, for the winter intensive I told them that I needed more money to do all the work required for the intensives(making worksheets/exams, grading, report cards, etc...), or they could find someone else to do it. That time I made a decent paycheck with overtime and an extra bonus.

I made sure that the job that I have now did not do them, so I can make a lot more extra money doing winter camps at other schools.

[Qinella]

Thanks for the responses.

Anyone else?

[Ianinilsan]

Yes.

[Lizara]

My first hagwon did them... 10-12 classes a day for me for a month, twice during the year

My second hagwon didn't.

My current hagwon is planning them but it's completely ridiculous... we don't have the staff to do them, so each class is only about two hours a week (less than our regular classes) and there will be a maximum of 20 students enrolled. At 110000 or something per student, that's not much of a profit...

[Oreovictim]

Yeah, we're going to have intensives at our hagwon, but it doesn't seem like anyone knows what's going on. Here's what the director said to me and the other foreign teacher last Tuesday.

Director: For the extra winter classes, we're going to put on a play. Write a play for Thursday.

Me: Write a play for Thursday? What level are these kids?

Director: I don't know.

Me: How many kids?

Director: I don't know.

Me: When will you know?

Director: I don't know. And make sure that the play is about twenty minutes long, okay?

[melvaughn]

Well I teach eight classes a day, in a row during my normal schedule and also have intensives for the month of January. I will be teaching 13 classes in a row. Can't wait.

[babtangee]

[robot]

yep.

love them as well.

gotta work all day, but lots of extra earnings.

ROBT.

[Qinella]