Hagwon (Private Institute) Abuse and Switching Schools

[karmicbutthole]

Where to start? I have been teaching Kindergarten at a Hagwon in Changwon for 4 and a half months now. For the past two months, at least once a week, I tell myself I'm going to quit. I'm not a quitter and I am absolutely a hard worker. I like my co-workers and I love the kids, but the school is not really a great working environment. I finally decided today to do some research, gather some evidence, and make my case in an attempt to either change the working conditions at my school or put in my one month's notice and leave.

Why is my school so bad? Well, the schedule is the biggest monster. I work 8 classes a day. 3 classes in the morning are 40 minutes each with not even a minute break between them. Kids are lining up in the other room to while you sing the "goodbye song." Then I have a 1.5 hour lunch break, and after that, I teach 5 thirty-minute classes with no breaks in between. Anyone who has taught kindergarten understands that 40 minutes is grueling. To do that all day is absolutely exasperating mentally and physically.

On top of this, the curriculum which is meant for the students is extremely sparse. We take programs that are meant to last for a month and stretch them out to be 3 months long. Then, we take that curriculum, and we split it between 3 teachers. I have 40 minutes to fill with a few songs which we do basically for an entire month. Sometimes, I see the same exact class twice a day.That means I have the same kids for 70 minutes with a few songs and a story provided for me.

I think these combined factors (along with other oppressive aspects) are actually affecting my health. I have been to the doctor 5 times in 4 months, whereas in America, I was an extremely healthy person (active, excersizing 3 times a week, biking to job and school, etc.). I went to my doctor and one time he asked me, "Do you have stress?" Then, today I'm sick once again (it's almost weekly sometimes!), and my doctor said, "Are you overworked?" This job is literally killing me.

Sometimes, if the Korean head-teacher needs to leave, she will just dump her 20+ students into my foreign co-worker's class and leave. This is the same teacher who would not allow my foreign co-worker to skip one class to say goodbye to her parents at the airport who had visited Korea for the first time in her 3 year stay. They are also trying to make her pay certain cancellation fees and other ridiculous fees for her plane back home, even though there is nothing about that in the contract. This is clearly abuse.

On top of all that, we don't have field trips, I make less money than people who work less hours, the environment is less oppressive, kids are actually the center of focus, and the foreigners are generally happy with their work. What I'm trying to say is that I can't continue on like this.

What advice do you have for me? How can I make the cleanest break? I don't want to burn bridges because I love the kids, I appreciate the teachers, and they have done a lot for me. Also, I want to be able to have these 6 months on my resume for the next job.

What are your working hours, breaks, vacations, and wages? I would like to compare, if you're willing to share. I'm positive there are better opportunities for me.

If you have anything to say or share, I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much!

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

Yeah totally gtfo of there!

Good luck with your next gig.

Dont kill yourself with that schedule, you'll be a wreck within a year!  There's more to life!

[karmicbutthole]

Yes, there is much more to life. Happiness is nowhere even close to being a worthy sacrifice for work.

Can I ask you a little about your working schedule and situation? How happy are you with where you work now? How did you get to that point?

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

I work at an afterschool programme.

1pm - 5pm.  5 forty minute classes a day with 5 or ten min breaks.

Got there by applying and having succesful interview, nothing out of the norm.

[donuts81]

I work at an afterschool programme.

1pm - 5pm.  5 forty minute classes a day with 5 or ten min breaks.

You wouldn't happen to work for these guys would you?
http://thethreewisemonkeys.com/2011/06/07/how-bad-can-it-get-one-expat-english-teachers-story/

@Karmicbutthole your work hours don't sound that bad for a kindergarten. Just maybe the actual scheduling and curriculum that sucks. Then again I don't know what your qualifications are, but if your first year and finishing around 5 or even 6pm generally you can only expect to be making between 2 - 2.2 mil if your unqualified, 2.2 mil+ if you've got teaching certs. Anything more is a bonus and anything less your getting screwed. Salaries may be higher in Changwon.

Also the way you described your boss I'm not sure if your going to be able to quit and get a glowing reference as well. It would probably be better to get one of your Korean co-teachers that you get along with to be a reference instead.

[jauntwithjo]

I teach at a public school, so I can't really say I can compare. I totally lucked out for my school too.

But for hagwons, I found this site when I was trying to decide between a private or public job: http://hagwon.reliableteacher.com/favorite-reviews/

Can you find yours in there?

[chantelvanbeek]

Wow..I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I can't imagine teaching 8 blocks of kindergarten in a day..brutal. I work with EPIK and our contract says we will work 22 40min blocks a week. If we work more than that will be payed 20,000won a teaching hour (40min block). I am in the province of Gangwon-do and according to our contract we get 5 calendar weeks of holidays and an additional 2 weeks if we renew for an additional year.  They paid for our flights over and back home, settlement allowance, housing, and about 2,000,000 a month (give or take..it varies according to your experience and education). When we complete our year contract we will be paid an additional severence pay of one months pay, plus tax or pension money (depending what country you are from). I hope this information is helpful for you.