Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bhog]

What hagwon chains have a generally good reputation, or the least bad reputation in your opinion? Or is it generally just luck of the draw as to which branch or franchise?

[wylies99]

Luck. Even a school with a decent reputation can turn sour within DAYS if a new owner takes over.

Do you have enough education to get a public school job?

[Tjames426]

The Hagwons that use the Harcourt Curriculum are fairly stable in curriculum.

Positives:

You will be teaching 3 periods of Phonics to K1 & K2 a week. Not hard. One period vocabulary with a Quiz. One period Phonics book. One period Spotlight book.

You will be teaching 5 periods of Literature, Social Studies, Science, Writing, Grammar, and various spelling to G1 - ?. Once again, you will have plenty of material and workbooks as well to work on during the 5 periods.

In other words, you will have a consistant lesson plan with a design that the kiddies will soon understand.

Negatives:

The lesson planning and Homework CDs (I've seen) were organized and written by someone who obviously <<did not have a clue> about curriculum design. In my school, I've had to rewrite all the lesson plans / homework K1 - G4 all again.

This has meant a lot of extra work beyond teaching / correcting homework / administrative and etc... at the Hagwon. But the end result has been pride in producing a quality product. Both my Hagwon director and students are benefitting.

***
Find a Hagwon that uses this curriculum. Basic lesson planning design and curriculum will not be a problem. Might be extra work, but that will keep you away from other distractions.

[trubadour]

how do you find hagwons who use that curriculum? Is it a particular chain?

[chachee99]

The owner makes the difference between a good or bad hogwon.

[lover.asian]

[Homer]

Notwithstanding all the sarcasm in here...there are quite a few good hakwons out there.

However, a change in ownership can indeed mean a shift from good to bad in hurry. The better Hakwons do tend to remain good however.

How do you find them?

Research......and a bit of luck like in any job hunt that is worth its salt.

[ttompatz]

My hakwon is the best hakwon. Never any problems and we are always recruiting for the best teachers.

Required qualification are:
MUST have - Bachelors degree from USA, Canada, England, NZ or AUS.
Must be taller than 180cm,
Must have blond hair,
Must have blue eyes,
Must be female,
Must be under 26 years of age,
Must have positive attitude,
Must NOT rebel against stereotyping
Must NOT omplain about frequent schedule changes,
Must NOT complain about anything else.

We offer 1.9 mil for 30 contact hours per week. 15k per hour overtime.
Shared housing in a red-light district.

Please forward nude photos to me.

[Areut]

[quote="ttompatz"]My hakwon is the best hakwon. Never any problems and we are always recruiting for the best teachers.

Required qualification are:
MUST have - Bachelors degree from USA, Canada, England, NZ or AUS.
Must be taller than 180cm,
Must have blond hair,
Must have blue eyes,
Must be female,
Must be under 26 years of age,
Must have positive attitude,
Must NOT rebel against stereotyping
Must NOT omplain about frequent schedule changes,
Must NOT complain about anything else.

We offer 1.9 mil for 30 contact hours per week. 15k per hour overtime.
Shared housing in a red-light district.

Please forward nude photos to me.[/quote]

LOL

[TECO]

Good Hogwan

An oxymoron.

[caniff]

[mindmetoo]

A hagwon that can do its own hiring it usually a good sign. If it has it enough together to navigate Korean immigration, it probably has some long term planning abilities critical to your happiness. Simply talk to some current teachers. If the teachers have signed for a second (or third) year, that's a very good sign.

Most hagwons usually commit the sin of omission vs commission. They just don't understand your needs or plan for things. That can be a little frustrating but easily dealt with via humor and patience. Schools that rip you off won't long keep teachers and teachers that re-up are probably at a decent school.

Has anyone ever gotten into a bad rip off school situation even though they've talked to a former/current teacher? Of course, Korea is about daily, rapid change and even if you talk to a teacher, school management might very well change hands twice while you're flying over the Pacific to Korea. And the new manager waiting for you might not be the good guy his predecessor was.

[Aussiekimchi]

A hagwon that can do its own hiring it usually a good sign. If it has it enough together to navigate Korean immigration, it probably has some long term planning abilities critical to your happiness.

I am a recruiter so agreeing with this is diddling myself out of money....
however, of all the garbage I read on these forums, this is the best, most valid advice I have read for any newbie yet!