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musicfrommyseoul
Joined: 07 May 2007
Location: Mokdong, Seoul (Korea)
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 Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 10:14 am Post subject: EPIK in Jeju: good or bad? |
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So I read about GEPIK and I understand it should be avoided by any means.... but what about EPIK in Jeju? Anyone has any advice?
Thanks! |
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patongpanda
Joined: 06 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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Why should GEPIK be avoided?
I imagine 95.2% of teachers are satisfied. I know I am (knock on wood).
The only conceivable problem is a psycho co-teacher, but even this can be overcome with patience and fortitude. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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| I think GEPIK has the worst contracts. |
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xCustomx
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| I think GEPIK has the worst contracts. |
Each school has the power to change the contract as they see fit. If you don't like something, ask them to change it |
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safeblad
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:46 am Post subject: Re: EPIK in Jeju: good or bad? |
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| musicfrommyseoul wrote: |
So I read about GEPIK and I understand it should be avoided by any means.... but what about EPIK in Jeju? Anyone has any advice?
Thanks! |
to answer your question
I have had a good year teaching with EPIK in Jeju despite the fact that it is a poorly planned operation in the typical korean stlye.
Lots of teachers work in several different schools, some of them have to travel half way across the island. The majority of the housing, though decent is completely impractical geographically so you would be best to take housing allowance which is 350,000.
Being Korea there is a strict set of guidelines which the whitey wranglers do not have the authority to change, this creates the impression that they are being obtrusive or even malicious, in reality they are very nice but totally unhelpful. It is not a flexible programme.
The programme generally pushes for the native speaker to be the main teacher in the classroom with the korean teacher acting as an assistant, though that may not happen in reality.
basically its a lottery but I think there are good odds
i wont cover living in jeju apart from saying that if you enjoy living in seoul dont bother coming to the island. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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| E.P.I.K. is a governement program that places Native Speakers in Public schools. Once you finish your orientation your school owns you. Its basically a public school job. The local office of education also has the right to move you. |
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safeblad
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Fishead soup wrote: |
| E.P.I.K. is a governement program that places Native Speakers in Public schools. Once you finish your orientation your school owns you. Its basically a public school job. The local office of education also has the right to move you. |
yes that is correct but its not actually that simple
most of the teachers in Jeju have been required to lend a hand at other schools at various points during their contracts, as you mentioned the POE has the power to move you to another school at any point in the contract, this happens occasionally
during school vacation the jeju POE requires your school to report on what you will be doing, if you are free they can drag you into teacher training, camps at other schools etc.... they even had an idea of 'free talking' with the office workers at the POE which thankfully got shelved
i managed to get about 3 months off this year, though that includes a few weeks where i had to work for about 2 hours in the morning because of my kick-ass co-teacher telling the POE I was working when i wasnt  |
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