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soju_queen
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Location: Auckland NZ
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 Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:57 pm Post subject: Child U, Incheon - anyone know of it?? |
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Hey people, I've been offered a position at Child U in Incheon and have to accept or decline rather shortly.
Has anyone out there had any first hand experiences with this school, or heard of it??
Any info would be fab!  |
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movybuf
Joined: 01 Jan 2007
Location: Mokdong
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| Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| If its the same one I'm thinking of (in Bupyeong), my wife used to work there as a Korean English teacher. She said the boss was a total maniac. This was over a year ago, so maybe it is different now. The boss was a woman. My wife said she was either really happy and super nice, of screaming her head off! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:41 am Post subject: Re: Child U, Incheon - anyone know of it?? |
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| soju_queen wrote: |
Hey people, I've been offered a position at Child U in Incheon and have to accept or decline rather shortly.
Has anyone out there had any first hand experiences with this school, or heard of it??
Any info would be fab! |
Hakwons always try to pressure newbies before they can learn the truth and tell the hakwon to go away.
There is NO rush to sign anything. There are about 10 job openings for every applicant every month. Take your time, due your homework and check it out.
Post your contract here in the contract thread for a review. I would be willing (just on the past reputation of Child U) to bet that you will be over taxed, not be enrolled in the national medical or pension plans, and have penalty clauses that are illegal under Korean labor law.
You are also likely to be overworked and not paid overtime. Morning kindy classes on a split shift with elementary and middle school in the afternoon/evening. Be careful of the 30 hours per week clause with no mention of class lengths. You may end up teaching 160 classes per month for the same money as the next person teaching 120.
This is my personal rant to newbies and it has served a large number of them well... take it for what it's worth.
Talk to MORE THAN ONE of the foreign staff and ask POINTED AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS (*when the boss is NOT listening over their shoulder).
-What are the hours? (start time / stop time / breaks).
-How many classes per day, week, month? NOT hour many hours per month. 30 classroom hours can mean anything from 1350 -1800 minutes per week standing in front of the class. The difference can be up to 7.5 HOURS in front of the class EACH WEEK.
-Do they ALWAYS pay on time?
-Do they pay at the end of your month or do they have a hold back period (5-10 days after your month end) to prevent runners? (no=red flag 1)
-Do they really pay overtime or avoid it with creative book keeping?
-Do you get credit for classes on the national holidays or do you get the day off but still have to work your 120 hours before you get overtime? (no=red flag 2)
-Do they have national medical (with the little booklet)? (no=red flag 3)
-Do they pay into pension? (no=red flag 4)
-What about the holidays? 10 or more WORKING days? (legal requirement here) (no=red flag 5)
-When and how do you get your holidays?
-What extra stuff do you really have to do - mentioned or not in the contract.
-Then consider the quality of life issues - things that are important to you that aren't mentioned here (housing, furnishings, THE BATHROOM, access to recreational facilities, shopping, banking).
Do they take additional deposits in addition to the delay in payday? (yes=red flag 6)
Most newbies are all starry-eyed when they do their interview and DON'T ASK the right questions then get burned when they get here.
Take your time and do it right. |
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soju_queen
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Location: Auckland NZ
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| Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:02 am Post subject: |
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Woah... ok!! Good to be hearing this now!
Just had the director on the phone again wanting to know what day next week I'll be leaving NZ for Incheon! Haven't signed the contract of course because I've heard a few too many nasty stories to rush the whole thing.
Thanks heaps for your feed back. The more the better!!
The hours are 10 - 12 then 1 - 7 with only a 5 min break between the afternoon classes... is that pretty standard?? Seems like a hard slog for the arvo... |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:17 am Post subject: |
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| soju_queen wrote: |
| The hours are 10 - 12 then 1 - 7 with only a 5 min break between the afternoon classes... is that pretty standard?? Seems like a hard slog for the arvo... |
Sounds like, (please let me quote again)
"You are also likely to be overworked and not paid overtime.
Morning kindy classes on a split shift with elementary and middle school in the afternoon/evening.
Be careful of the 30 hours per week clause with no mention of class lengths. You may end up teaching 160 x 40 classes per month for the same money as the next person teaching 120 classes
OR
compare that to a public school teacher teaching 90 classes of 40 minutes per month for the same money and assured benefits.
Run, don't walk to the nearest exit. Keep looking. |
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Cerebroden
Joined: 27 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:38 pm Post subject: |
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| not to mention the child U books SUCK! They are designed for native english speakers and they still suck for that. |
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