"Cultural Experience" leave?

[patch83]

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[Jozigirl]

Basically, it's the school's way of covering it's own butt if anyone asks where the teachers are during what is meant to be school time.  All you need to do is give a one page report that states when you will take time off (the allocated time - be specific with day and number of hours/clock time), where you will be during that time and what you will be doing.  It can literally be something like:  I will be spending the afternoon walking around Geumsan Temple in order to better my understanding of Buddhism.  This will help me become a better/more well-rounded teacher by....."  The 'reports' usually don't need to be very long but do try and mix up where and what you are doing.  Most Korean teachers write things like "taking an online course in effective classroom management skills" or "researching ESL teaching strategies".  The idea is that you're using the time off for personal development and cultural enrichment even if, in reality, you're sitting at home playing computer games. 

[Seoulteacher]

At my school we usually just leave early and go home, go to a cafe, or the movies together. It's not taken very seriously as "cultural experience leave".

[iggyb]

I'm with SMOE, and I've never heard of this, but I've only been in a semester.

I had to fill out a signin sheet during desk warming, and I noticed that the teacher before me had a fair amount of entries that said "Co-teaching training" and other things.  I don't remember if one was specifically cultural.

I haven't had any days like that and haven't had to fill out a time sheet except for sick days.

A couple of times last semester, all teachers did get time out of school for a cultural experience, but my head co-teacher let me go, because they were doing things like watching a Korean movie.  I didn't have to write anything, though.

[yurishoo]

you're lucky- I wish I had "cultural experience days"  My school gives me busy work.  The other day, my co teacher saw that I had a minute of free time so she comes up to me and gives me a book of vocabulary words.  Her- "Can you make a ppt of these?"   Me - "All 5000 words?"  Her- "Yes, the whole book"   there goes all the free time I have for the next 3 months. 

[Songwon]

Not exactly the same thing, but the Koreans at my last school had to write reports on how they spent their days off.  "What I learned during my Chuseok vacation" or something like that.  Someone suggested I might have to do it too, but that idea was scrapped as soon as they figured out no one except my co-teacher could read a report in English anyway.

When teachers have left my schools in the afternoon for "training", we always have to take pictures of where we go as proof that we actually did it and didn't just go home.  Of course, we end up going there, taking a picture or two, and then all going home...

[jrwhite82]

I've done this before too.  It is totally a CYA assignment.  GEPIK here.

The school has been given days off before (the entire school).  We were all told to make a one page report about something teacher related.  In our case it was education training.  It only took a minute. 

Rumor has it that some schools got busted for letting their NETs and other teachers out early.  So schools have to CYA now.  This rumor was also going around leading up to the GEPIK budget cuts.  So I'm wondering if its related. 

Once my school had a trip planned for the 6th graders so all my classes were canceled.  I got permission to use some vacation days during this time even though it was mid semester.  At the last minute, the school postponed the 6th graders trip.  So they told me that when I sign the leave document to write down the trip as a cultural experience.  Take some photos and throw them into a .ppt.  We never used it in class but it was a CYA in case someone came poking around wondering where the NET was and why he was on vacation mid semester. 

Now that being said, it was a decision my school made out of the kindness of their hearts because technically we are supposed to use our vacation during school vacation.  So don't go whining to your VP or coteacher when they don't let you take vacation during the semester please.