The whole 'getting there' deal has slowed to a crawl.
My recruiter (who in every other way has been totally awesome) keeps calling my cell instead of the land line when I'm at home, regardless of the fact that I told him specifically when and how it's best to get a hold of me. It's gotten to the point that I've call forwarded my cell phone to the land line. I waited at home all freaking day in the hopes that he would call, only briefly leaving in the morning for a dental appointment.
Unless the call forwarding screws with his international calling, he didn't try to call today at all, as he said he would in the last message he left (on my cell phone). It's so freaking aggravating, because I'm thisclose to being on my way. Plus, I have a question for him:
In the ad for the teaching job, it said I'd get 2.2 mil won a month (about $2,390) for teaching 2:30-9:30, mon-fri. Now, I had a hard time understanding the school owner when he called, but I could swear he said if I took on morning classes (AKA split shift) I'd get another 200,000 won (about $210) per month. In the contract it says I'll just be getting 2 mil won a month, with 200,000 more if I take the morning classes. This might just be a misunderstanding (these "misunderstandings" are common for hogwan owners to have, or so I hear ¬.¬) but regardless of that, the ad for the job is grossly inaccurate, with absolutely no mention of split shifts whatsoever. My recruiter also caught that the overtime rate, which is supposed to be 22,000 won per teaching hour (50 min) is down on the contract as 20,000 won per hour.
The more I deal with the school owner the less I want to deal with him, despite the fact that the job itself looks like it could be pretty fun, working with adults as well as kids. The only thing keeping me from pulling the plug and getting a mind-numbing, not-as-well paying-but-with-possibly-more-time-off public school job or another hogwan is how much effort Duff Recruiting has put into this as well as the fact that most people don't like public school much better (there are pros - you can be super lazy and cons - you have to deal with a co-teacher, which can make fore some interesting politics) and most hogwan owners are the same - the ones that are nice tend to have low turn over (obviously), which means few chances to snag one.
Maybe I should go for a public school job... but that'd ad another 2-4 weeks before my departure date, which would kill the whole be-back-in-time-for-Shelby's-wedding thing unless I leave the school early, which forfeits the extra month of pay AND the airfare home...
But with the pace things are moving now with these contact and contract woes, it might well be the same difference. I'll continue to put out feelers.
_______________________
[edit 12:06am]
Got the call from the Recruiter, and he says he doesn't want to place me with the school. He said that both he and his wife (who is Korean) started getting bad vibes off of the school owner after several meetings with him. He was wanting to change things in the contract, the hours, etc.
He's checking with some other schools that he's worked with before to see what they have available ASAP. I should have more info tomorrow.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
THISCLOSE
Sometimes Getting There Takes Gumption
My recruiter is meeting with the school director soon. Because I've been talking to current and previous teachers at the school, I've requested a few clauses to be put into the contract - one being; I must have air-conditioning in my apartment. Two being; I won't work split shifts. (the job advertisement said 2:30 - 9:30, and that's what I'm holding him to. Unlike the previous teachers there, I won't let the school rule my life from 6:45 in the morning until 8:30 at night.) And finally; If you're giving me 10 days of vacation (and not letting me choose my own vacations) GIVE ME ALL FREAKING 10 DAYS. The way that the contract reads, all of the days off, including Korean holidays (aren't there supposed to be 13 - 15? I only count 11) are lumped together in one long read-out. I had someone who's worked in Korea go over it and they told me that 1-2 of my 'personal holidays' are scheduled for after I'll be gone! And about three others are in the middle of the week. Even in the US teachers are allowed to take their holidays in combination with weekends for best effect. I do want to see a bit of Korea and maybe some other Asian countries while I'm in the area, people. Next year I'll see if I can't snag a public school job at a school that lets me take the same vacations as a Korean public school teacher.
Also, he (the recruiter) caught several things that I should have in going over the contract - for example the school docking twice my hourly wage from my pay for classes missed (this is illegal under Korean Labor Law - they can only dock my hourly wage). Also, if I would need to leave for any personal reason, there is a line in a clause stating that I would have to stay until another teacher is found to replace me. With the reputation of this school among the foreign teaching community this could take some time. And a clause stating that if I don't meet all of the teaching criteria (a big list about lesson plans and testing) the school would dock me 50,000 won per month - this is also illegal under Korean Labor Law.
_________________
Long story short, don't take contracts without getting them checked by people familiar with Korean labor laws. Duff Recruiting has been awesome for me so far, but if you're not with a recruiter to to some place like the koreabridge forums or the Contract Posting thread on Dave's ESL Cafe. The Korea Job Discussion forum in general is a good place to check out. EFL-law used to be a good place, too, but now it's gone. ;_;
_________________
The recruiter is meeting with the school owner to go over the revised contract. I'll post more as more comes up.
~KK
My recruiter is meeting with the school director soon. Because I've been talking to current and previous teachers at the school, I've requested a few clauses to be put into the contract - one being; I must have air-conditioning in my apartment. Two being; I won't work split shifts. (the job advertisement said 2:30 - 9:30, and that's what I'm holding him to. Unlike the previous teachers there, I won't let the school rule my life from 6:45 in the morning until 8:30 at night.) And finally; If you're giving me 10 days of vacation (and not letting me choose my own vacations) GIVE ME ALL FREAKING 10 DAYS. The way that the contract reads, all of the days off, including Korean holidays (aren't there supposed to be 13 - 15? I only count 11) are lumped together in one long read-out. I had someone who's worked in Korea go over it and they told me that 1-2 of my 'personal holidays' are scheduled for after I'll be gone! And about three others are in the middle of the week. Even in the US teachers are allowed to take their holidays in combination with weekends for best effect. I do want to see a bit of Korea and maybe some other Asian countries while I'm in the area, people. Next year I'll see if I can't snag a public school job at a school that lets me take the same vacations as a Korean public school teacher.
Also, he (the recruiter) caught several things that I should have in going over the contract - for example the school docking twice my hourly wage from my pay for classes missed (this is illegal under Korean Labor Law - they can only dock my hourly wage). Also, if I would need to leave for any personal reason, there is a line in a clause stating that I would have to stay until another teacher is found to replace me. With the reputation of this school among the foreign teaching community this could take some time. And a clause stating that if I don't meet all of the teaching criteria (a big list about lesson plans and testing) the school would dock me 50,000 won per month - this is also illegal under Korean Labor Law.
_________________
Long story short, don't take contracts without getting them checked by people familiar with Korean labor laws. Duff Recruiting has been awesome for me so far, but if you're not with a recruiter to to some place like the koreabridge forums or the Contract Posting thread on Dave's ESL Cafe. The Korea Job Discussion forum in general is a good place to check out. EFL-law used to be a good place, too, but now it's gone. ;_;
_________________
The recruiter is meeting with the school owner to go over the revised contract. I'll post more as more comes up.
~KK
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Lesson Plans
Once I get there, the real challenge starts
I'm trying to work out some basics for how I want to teach my classes, because it seems like too many post-college-'I-want-an-Asia-experience' kids go in and completely gyp the paying students. I've had good teachers and bad teachers, and while my personal experience with teaching is pretty much limited to substitute teaching, I want to be a good teacher.
In trying to dream up a possible syllabus I'm hampered by the fact that I don't know how many students I'll have, what ages they'll be, and what kind of teaching materials the school will put in my hands. I'm generating ideas based on teaching styles that appealed to me as a student (hopefully they will lend themselves to ESL teaching as well.) If I can stay away from using the provided books as a crutch instead of a guide I'll do well - or at least better.
Some general plans are as follows:
Daily Topic Journal -
Starting with 'why do I really want to learn English?'
That's about 5-10 minutes of a 50 minute class, and I want to be sure to do review at the end of class.
The funnest review I've ever done included each of us students having a paddle made of white board that we wrote on in dry erase markers. We were asked a question and we had to (silently) write out the answer and raise our paddles. After everyone had their paddle raised (we were allowed to help each other with hints, but no direct answers) we read off our answers. The person who got the correct answers the fastest got a prize - I'm thinking with little kids it can be stickers and such from the US, and with the bigger kids ?.
I'm thinking I'll do a game day every other week as a treat.
I've been checking several websites for lesson ideas, and so far I like using comics and editing (or erasing) the lines in the balloons so that the students can write in the dialog. It's fun for most people, and it's conducive to scenario-thinking
Also, an idea that I like from BigHominid is having the students work on something in the longterm - a storybook or magazine - that they write articles/pages for throughout the semester, which I'll put together and print for them on the last class.
I foresee one of my biggest problems being discipline. I'm a big softy, and my friends lovingly and exasperatedly tell me that I want to be everyone's friend. I'll have to toughen up, and fast.
_________________
That's all for now - more when I find out when I'll actually be in Changwon.
~KK
I'm trying to work out some basics for how I want to teach my classes, because it seems like too many post-college-'I-want-an-Asia-experience' kids go in and completely gyp the paying students. I've had good teachers and bad teachers, and while my personal experience with teaching is pretty much limited to substitute teaching, I want to be a good teacher.
In trying to dream up a possible syllabus I'm hampered by the fact that I don't know how many students I'll have, what ages they'll be, and what kind of teaching materials the school will put in my hands. I'm generating ideas based on teaching styles that appealed to me as a student (hopefully they will lend themselves to ESL teaching as well.) If I can stay away from using the provided books as a crutch instead of a guide I'll do well - or at least better.
Some general plans are as follows:
Daily Topic Journal -
Starting with 'why do I really want to learn English?'
That's about 5-10 minutes of a 50 minute class, and I want to be sure to do review at the end of class.
The funnest review I've ever done included each of us students having a paddle made of white board that we wrote on in dry erase markers. We were asked a question and we had to (silently) write out the answer and raise our paddles. After everyone had their paddle raised (we were allowed to help each other with hints, but no direct answers) we read off our answers. The person who got the correct answers the fastest got a prize - I'm thinking with little kids it can be stickers and such from the US, and with the bigger kids ?.
I'm thinking I'll do a game day every other week as a treat.
I've been checking several websites for lesson ideas, and so far I like using comics and editing (or erasing) the lines in the balloons so that the students can write in the dialog. It's fun for most people, and it's conducive to scenario-thinking
Also, an idea that I like from BigHominid is having the students work on something in the longterm - a storybook or magazine - that they write articles/pages for throughout the semester, which I'll put together and print for them on the last class.
I foresee one of my biggest problems being discipline. I'm a big softy, and my friends lovingly and exasperatedly tell me that I want to be everyone's friend. I'll have to toughen up, and fast.
_________________
That's all for now - more when I find out when I'll actually be in Changwon.
~KK
Friday, August 24, 2007
The getting there is getting there. Then I'll get there.
Time flies as it crawls
Current deal is this:
I've been e-mailing back and forth with my recruiter, who provided me with the e-mail addresses of the teachers currently teaching at the school, as well as the ones who had my job before me (it was a couple). The previous teachers e-mailed me back telling me not to teach at the school. I'm still going to teach there, and the reason for my insanity is this: the main issues that the couple had with the owner have already been handled by my recruiter. Hagwon owners, as a rule, tend to try to cut corners. That's part of why so many native speakers have crappy experiences teaching in South Korea. The owner tried to get them to work on tourist visas, which is a big no-no (resulting in fines and deportation when you're found out). Also, they got a craptastic apartment(s) - among the tamer problems were a non-working sink, shower, and toilet. Finally, they worked a split shift that made their days too long and exhausting.
Duff Recruiting (as I've said before) is just about the only recruitment company that I could find that didn't have any negative comments about it, mainly because it's run by an Australian (Michael Duffy) who went to Korea to teach and ended up having a family there. He was an active voice in the EFL Law forums, and that's the main reason I went with him. He knows what the main issues are and how to deal with them.
He has promised that I'll have a visa run to Japan as soon as I arrive, he has personally seen the apartment I'll be living in and says everything is in working order, and as I've told him flat out that I won't work the split shift, he's writing a clause into the contract stating that I will not work a split shift. When I raised my doubts as to whether the contract will make much of a difference, he sent me a copy of Duff Recruiting's contract with the school - and it's pretty solid. If contract is breached (and breaches are clearly defined) with me, contract is breached with Duff Recruiting. He set out the rules for the owner (mainly that everything has to be above-board and he has to abide by the contract) when he started doing business with him. We'll see if this actually takes care of the problems.
In the meantime, I'm getting ready to go. My friend Marie, who visits her grandparents in Japan just about every summer, has advised me to take nylons in bulk - they're apparently really pricey in Asia. Other than that, I've been stocking up on business casual wear and prepping as much as I can. More when I know more.
Current deal is this:
I've been e-mailing back and forth with my recruiter, who provided me with the e-mail addresses of the teachers currently teaching at the school, as well as the ones who had my job before me (it was a couple). The previous teachers e-mailed me back telling me not to teach at the school. I'm still going to teach there, and the reason for my insanity is this: the main issues that the couple had with the owner have already been handled by my recruiter. Hagwon owners, as a rule, tend to try to cut corners. That's part of why so many native speakers have crappy experiences teaching in South Korea. The owner tried to get them to work on tourist visas, which is a big no-no (resulting in fines and deportation when you're found out). Also, they got a craptastic apartment(s) - among the tamer problems were a non-working sink, shower, and toilet. Finally, they worked a split shift that made their days too long and exhausting.
Duff Recruiting (as I've said before) is just about the only recruitment company that I could find that didn't have any negative comments about it, mainly because it's run by an Australian (Michael Duffy) who went to Korea to teach and ended up having a family there. He was an active voice in the EFL Law forums, and that's the main reason I went with him. He knows what the main issues are and how to deal with them.
He has promised that I'll have a visa run to Japan as soon as I arrive, he has personally seen the apartment I'll be living in and says everything is in working order, and as I've told him flat out that I won't work the split shift, he's writing a clause into the contract stating that I will not work a split shift. When I raised my doubts as to whether the contract will make much of a difference, he sent me a copy of Duff Recruiting's contract with the school - and it's pretty solid. If contract is breached (and breaches are clearly defined) with me, contract is breached with Duff Recruiting. He set out the rules for the owner (mainly that everything has to be above-board and he has to abide by the contract) when he started doing business with him. We'll see if this actually takes care of the problems.
In the meantime, I'm getting ready to go. My friend Marie, who visits her grandparents in Japan just about every summer, has advised me to take nylons in bulk - they're apparently really pricey in Asia. Other than that, I've been stocking up on business casual wear and prepping as much as I can. More when I know more.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Still Getting There
Ironing Things Out
I'll probably be in Korea by the last week of August. They want me out there as soon as possible. I will be (if all goes as expected) teaching kids from 8-16 years in a hagwon. I've been pretty cautious about taking these jobs because a lot of people go in blind and have a bad experience, ending up teaching much longer hours than stated in their contracts, not getting their severance pay, getting unjustly fired, etc. I picked the best recruiter I could find, as most will avoid telling you the truth of a situation in order to sell you a more attractive job. My recruiter (Duff Recruiting, an Aussie who's married to a Korean woman and living in Changwon, where I'll be teaching) has been upfront with me about the owner of the school. He says the guy is known for cutting corners, but if I put my foot down I'll do ok. He also said that the owner can always get me overtime if I need more money. We'll see how true all this is. The contract states that teaching hours are 2:30 - 9:30 pm, though I can do a split if I want to (not likely). I've told him I won't do a split, as my first act of assertion. Go me.
We'll see how that pans out when I'm actually at his (the owners) mercy, living in Korea. Another plus of using my recruiter, though, is that his office is a few blocks away from the school I'll be teaching at. ;)
________________
Also, NO co-teacher. That's mainly public schools. I'll be in charge of the kiddos, and we all know how much Kat looooooves children. Hopefully they are more respectful than the kids I've subbed for here in the US. The classes are supposed to top out at 10 kids, though, which should be more manageable than the 25-30 I had to ride herd on in APS. If anyone has experience teaching ESL, send me tips. While the school will be providing teaching supplies, I'm getting mom to run me to Learning is Fun for some teaching supplies. She's got her TESOL accreditation and her Masters is in English. With her 20ish years of teaching, I figure she's a good font of info to draw from.
________________
According to the contract, I'll be making 2.2 million won a month, which currently translates to $2,314. I'll have about 8% of that taken out in taxes, health care and pension (the Korean income tax for that bracket tops out at 2%! How is it that we pay so much more and yet don't have the nice state-run health care programs? $6 for an amalgam filling!). I'll be getting pretty much all of this back when I leave, because 4.5% is for the national pension. My employer puts in the other 4.5%, and I get the whole 9% back when I leave Korea, as I won't be needing a pension in Korea. I also get an extra month of pay as a longevity bonus, assuming I finish out my contract. And, of course, I get the furnished apartment. ;) Keep in mind, these perks (sans apartment - they'll house me even if it's a crap apartment) are the very things that some people get denied by greedy owners. Hmmm.
______________
I will have internet in my apartment. It'll cost $20-$30 a month. Who knows what speed it will be?
I'll be taking my laptop with me, obviously. I bought some outlet step-down converters expressly for it (the voltage in SK is 220, not 110) but who knows how long and well they'll last? Also, what if I need to use the outlet adapters, as well? They have three different kinds of plugs in use in Korea, some more than others. @_@ There are some big, clunky hard-core step-down converters that I might need to obtain. I just don't want to fry my laptop. I shall take something with me to test their efficiency.
______________
That's it for now, kiddos. I'll keep this posted with my happenings as they happen.
I'll probably be in Korea by the last week of August. They want me out there as soon as possible. I will be (if all goes as expected) teaching kids from 8-16 years in a hagwon. I've been pretty cautious about taking these jobs because a lot of people go in blind and have a bad experience, ending up teaching much longer hours than stated in their contracts, not getting their severance pay, getting unjustly fired, etc. I picked the best recruiter I could find, as most will avoid telling you the truth of a situation in order to sell you a more attractive job. My recruiter (Duff Recruiting, an Aussie who's married to a Korean woman and living in Changwon, where I'll be teaching) has been upfront with me about the owner of the school. He says the guy is known for cutting corners, but if I put my foot down I'll do ok. He also said that the owner can always get me overtime if I need more money. We'll see how true all this is. The contract states that teaching hours are 2:30 - 9:30 pm, though I can do a split if I want to (not likely). I've told him I won't do a split, as my first act of assertion. Go me.
We'll see how that pans out when I'm actually at his (the owners) mercy, living in Korea. Another plus of using my recruiter, though, is that his office is a few blocks away from the school I'll be teaching at. ;)
________________
Also, NO co-teacher. That's mainly public schools. I'll be in charge of the kiddos, and we all know how much Kat looooooves children. Hopefully they are more respectful than the kids I've subbed for here in the US. The classes are supposed to top out at 10 kids, though, which should be more manageable than the 25-30 I had to ride herd on in APS. If anyone has experience teaching ESL, send me tips. While the school will be providing teaching supplies, I'm getting mom to run me to Learning is Fun for some teaching supplies. She's got her TESOL accreditation and her Masters is in English. With her 20ish years of teaching, I figure she's a good font of info to draw from.
________________
According to the contract, I'll be making 2.2 million won a month, which currently translates to $2,314. I'll have about 8% of that taken out in taxes, health care and pension (the Korean income tax for that bracket tops out at 2%! How is it that we pay so much more and yet don't have the nice state-run health care programs? $6 for an amalgam filling!). I'll be getting pretty much all of this back when I leave, because 4.5% is for the national pension. My employer puts in the other 4.5%, and I get the whole 9% back when I leave Korea, as I won't be needing a pension in Korea. I also get an extra month of pay as a longevity bonus, assuming I finish out my contract. And, of course, I get the furnished apartment. ;) Keep in mind, these perks (sans apartment - they'll house me even if it's a crap apartment) are the very things that some people get denied by greedy owners. Hmmm.
______________
I will have internet in my apartment. It'll cost $20-$30 a month. Who knows what speed it will be?
I'll be taking my laptop with me, obviously. I bought some outlet step-down converters expressly for it (the voltage in SK is 220, not 110) but who knows how long and well they'll last? Also, what if I need to use the outlet adapters, as well? They have three different kinds of plugs in use in Korea, some more than others. @_@ There are some big, clunky hard-core step-down converters that I might need to obtain. I just don't want to fry my laptop. I shall take something with me to test their efficiency.
______________
That's it for now, kiddos. I'll keep this posted with my happenings as they happen.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Getting there
To Blog Or Not To Blog
I'm setting up this blog to share my experiences in teaching in South Korea. Whether my experience is good or bad, it's experience that I want. Why? Because I've still got the stars in my eyes. They shouldn't be there, but somehow there they are, sickening the seasoned, the experienced, the pessimistic, and a few of my friends. I am a graduate from an art school (SCAD), with one of the most useless and fun to get degrees out there (there's a reason it's rare) - Sequential Art, aka Comics and Storyboarding. Upon leaving college I made the mistake of moving back home, and was promptly sucked into my family's woes and dramas and loves. I worked as a substitute teacher, then a call center drone, then settled into a nice, if poorly-paying job doing graphic design and secretarial work.
Why am I going to Korea, then? Because it meets several needs that need meeting.
1. Life Experience - Like most college-kids-returned-home, I'm craving independence again, as well as the simple experience of living abroad. The most interesting people I've talked to have worked and lived in other countries. Being American, as insulated as we are, I'd like to get a bit of perspective.
2. Travel - It goes hand-in-hand with the whole starry-eyed thing. I grew up listening to my dad talk about hitchhiking around the world. Whether the experiences were good or bad, he enjoys looking back on them. I'd like to be able to say to my spawn (one day) "I remember that one time, in Morocco..."
3. Teaching - Last but certainly not least. My goals include teaching art at a college level. From what I've seen, I fall into the 'youth wanting an Asia experience' category, who tend to become fodder to the hogwan system. While mentally I'd like to separate myself from that group, the fact is that I've had limited teaching experience and no certification for teaching ESL. I'm hoping that being as prepared as possible will help me navigate the craziness, both for teaching and the hogwan system. My mother taught english for years and has her TESOL certification, so she's helping a bit.
4. Oh wait, there's one more! Money! Yes, I have astronomical student loan debt. I want to make a dent in it so that I can go to grad school to obtain the creds I need to teach at a college level.
I'll be updating here with my full experience as it happens to me, if for no other reason than to keep track of it. If you're reading this, I hope it helps.
I'm setting up this blog to share my experiences in teaching in South Korea. Whether my experience is good or bad, it's experience that I want. Why? Because I've still got the stars in my eyes. They shouldn't be there, but somehow there they are, sickening the seasoned, the experienced, the pessimistic, and a few of my friends. I am a graduate from an art school (SCAD), with one of the most useless and fun to get degrees out there (there's a reason it's rare) - Sequential Art, aka Comics and Storyboarding. Upon leaving college I made the mistake of moving back home, and was promptly sucked into my family's woes and dramas and loves. I worked as a substitute teacher, then a call center drone, then settled into a nice, if poorly-paying job doing graphic design and secretarial work.
Why am I going to Korea, then? Because it meets several needs that need meeting.
1. Life Experience - Like most college-kids-returned-home, I'm craving independence again, as well as the simple experience of living abroad. The most interesting people I've talked to have worked and lived in other countries. Being American, as insulated as we are, I'd like to get a bit of perspective.
2. Travel - It goes hand-in-hand with the whole starry-eyed thing. I grew up listening to my dad talk about hitchhiking around the world. Whether the experiences were good or bad, he enjoys looking back on them. I'd like to be able to say to my spawn (one day) "I remember that one time, in Morocco..."
3. Teaching - Last but certainly not least. My goals include teaching art at a college level. From what I've seen, I fall into the 'youth wanting an Asia experience' category, who tend to become fodder to the hogwan system. While mentally I'd like to separate myself from that group, the fact is that I've had limited teaching experience and no certification for teaching ESL. I'm hoping that being as prepared as possible will help me navigate the craziness, both for teaching and the hogwan system. My mother taught english for years and has her TESOL certification, so she's helping a bit.
4. Oh wait, there's one more! Money! Yes, I have astronomical student loan debt. I want to make a dent in it so that I can go to grad school to obtain the creds I need to teach at a college level.
I'll be updating here with my full experience as it happens to me, if for no other reason than to keep track of it. If you're reading this, I hope it helps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
