Article about teacher cutbacks.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Lots of good and lots of stupid points raised here. The system is broke and getting rid of the unqualified NET's is a great plan. Many of you have such a sense of entitlement but really have no leg to stand on. It would be much better to have the government spend the money on developing a working curriculum and then ensuring that qualified (ie. trained and certified teachers are teaching it). But if nobody wants to spend the money to bring in GOOD teachers then it's much better than to bring in entirely qualified Korean English teachers rather than twits who are doing there year, drinking as much as they can and then spending all of their earnings on their big post job backpacking trip through S.E. Asia. And for the people who say you learn on the job, ha ha. Try sending your children to a school in your home country that hires teachers with no formal training or qualification.

Well, obviously you are one of the few of those that you describe here, the rest of us actually take our job seriously and don't do those things. You are a troll supreme, please leave Korea if you have that attitude and we will fix the mess you made in the classroom.

By the way, you don't start a sentence with 'And'.  Sheez, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

[kwangjuman]

Having worked in the Korean education system for too long and seeing the people that it brings over to teach, as well as being a teacher with a degree in education and teaching qualifications from my home country I think I can pitch in my 2 cents even if you don't like it. It sounds like you care about your job and do take it seriously but you can't honestly say you are in the majority of teachers that are hired by the MOE to fill the 'waygook' space in a public school. If you have ever been to an orientation camp and seen some of the people that are brought over to teach you should know that for most of them it is just a way to fill a year or to make up for the fact they aren't ready for the real world after university. It just seems to me like a giant waste of tax payer money to bring over young people whose only skill is having a degree in any subject and coming from a list of 7 countries. Some of these people take their job seriously and do attempt to improve their teaching skills, but is it good for the students to have to sit there while they take the 3 or 4 months to be able to put together a good lesson and then when some of them do become competent they are then finished their contract and leave the country. There is no program for teacher training and no push for professional development or any real incentive for most people to seek the professional development since if you become too qualified you become too expensive for schools to want to hire. I think it would be much more beneficial for Koreans to bring over certified Indian or Filipino teachers than to continue the way they are going now. It would be better for the students as well as better for the budgets.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

I think it would be much more beneficial for Koreans to bring over certified Indian or Filipino teachers than to continue the way they are going now. It would be better for the students as well as better for the budgets.

Ahh, I see now, you are a disgruntled local and of course you want to bring Indian or Filipino teachers here, so you can pay them less.  If you brought them here under the same conditions as you did with other NET's then I have no difficulties with that as they as competent as others.

You have made some very broad statements and I have been here more than 3 years and I have seen my fair share of NET's and from my experience you are wrong. Sure there are one or two that are bad but in my time here I have seen many dedicated and lovely people.  So I beg to differ on your opinion.

I think you are wrong to label all NET's as drunks and backpackers. I am a qualified teacher with over 30 years teaching experience and I always do a professional job. I really take exception to your classifying me(and others) as a drunk and a backpacking sponger.

[kwangjuman]

Did I ever label all NET's as drunks and/or backpackers? No. Did I say that I would hire Filipinos or other certified teachers for less than they 'overpay' BA's? No. I am merely saying that from my own observations and experiences of 10 years plus in Korea as well as teaching at home is that if it takes getting rid of NET's now to make a better system in the future, go for it. Rip it down and start from the bottom with a solid curriculum with the objective of getting students to use English or however the Koreans themselves want to determine the goal of their English program is. If you think it is best to keep bringing in cheap, inexperienced 'waygooks' to best determine what to teach students since they are suddenly qualified enough to choose, develop and implement a curriculum, well I think the people in charge of the Korean education system have learned that it is not the way to go. Sorry, gotta run and put my backpack on, rushing to go tubing in Laos before my contract ends.

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

What's the point in bringing over well qualified professionals when 90% of the jobs don't need them and 90% of the industry is a shoddy, disorganised mess ran by shortsighted, stubborn people who know nothing about nor seem to care nothing for English educaton implementation?

Are you surprised they get their fair share of backpackers / party fiends with recruitment ads that read

'No experience neccesary, pay your loans and have a fanastic time in Asia' etc....

Finally, they don't (again the majority of esl employers in Korea) WANT well qualified, competent proffessionals as it would show them up and they would question their poor methids too much.  On the whole they want a bg eyed, friendly white face that will put on the charm when wanted and shut up and be easily manipulated when not wanted.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

'Sorry, gotta run and put my backpack on, rushing to go tubing in Laos before my contract ends.'

Bye bye, don't rush back, we can do without you here, thanks very much.

[JahRhythm]

Finally, they don't (again the majority of esl employers in Korea) WANT well qualified, competent proffessionals as it would show them up and they would question their poor methids too much.  On the whole they want a bg eyed, friendly white face that will put on the charm when wanted and shut up and be easily manipulated when not wanted.

^^This

[kwangjuman]

What's the point in bringing over well qualified professionals when 90% of the jobs don't need them and 90% of the industry is a shoddy, disorganised mess ran by shortsighted, stubborn people who know nothing about nor seem to care nothing for English educaton implementation?

Are you surprised they get their fair share of backpackers / party fiends with recruitment ads that read

'No experience neccesary, pay your loans and have a fanastic time in Asia' etc....

Finally, they don't (again the majority of esl employers in Korea) WANT well qualified, competent proffessionals as it would show them up and they would question their poor methids too much.  On the whole they want a bg eyed, friendly white face that will put on the charm when wanted and shut up and be easily manipulated when not wanted.

Great points and oh so true, But according to onfusedsafferinkorea the system is great and nothing needs to be changed.
Tear it all down and start again I say, all the real teachers will be able to wait it out and the rest can go to China or go home and try to get on the dole.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

'Great points and oh so true, But according to onfusedsafferinkorea the system is great and nothing needs to be changed'

I said it is great? No, I didn't. I took you to task for insulting NET's here and I quote:

rather than twits who are doing there year, drinking as much as they can and then spending all of their earnings on their big post job backpacking trip through S.E. Asia.


You also said in one of your replies:

Did I ever label all NET's as drunks and/or backpackers?

Seems to me that the first quote does in fact label all NET's


 I also said that most of us are doing a good job and that yes, there are some bad ones, but you get that anywhere.

I have a suspicion you are the guy that writes for the Korea Times and is always running down NET's

[Keuka]

"Try sending your children to a school in your home country that hires teachers with no formal training or qualification."

Some people call that home schooling, and we all know some of those home schooled students have done very well for themselves.   

Koreans deserve good EFL teachers.  That's what is important.   What's not helpful is the fingerpointing and the insults. 

[Spongeblob]

Some observations I'm throwing into the wrestling ring. 

The system works but it is a broken one.  The system is designed to make money first and promote education second.  It should be helping students but the system doesn't directly.  It exploits students and their families for money.  It is an old system and would take a miracle to change it now.  We need an educational Jesus to look into that one.

Some schools hire anybody.  Let's be honest.  There are some schools that would hire a corpse if they could figure out how to make it smell better.  Is that the fault of the corpse?  No, it is the fault of the school.

Does having a teaching certification make you a teacher?  No, but it helps.  Some people can teach and others can't.  I've seen people with teaching certificates fail in front of a class and people fresh off the plane excel.  Though let's be honest and say that if you went through the trouble of getting a certificate you probably are a good teacher or at least want to be one.  There are a lot of people here for the one year travel party experience but amongst those are people who care about their job as well.   So, long story short everybody is different mmmkay. 

The South Korean Public Education System is going to go back to teaching with Korean Teachers only.  I believe it is mainly to save themselves some money and save a little face on their old promises.  In about 5 to 10 years the trend will return again to hiring foreign teachers in schools.  Yeah, they will do okay without foreigners and what they can't do they will cover up by changing their methodology etc.  They will always need private or public sector instructors for advanced students to learn advanced english.

One thing that shocks me is how many foreigners view a one year contract as the potential to be a long term career.  Most of us are hired as one year employees.  We are subject to the rollercoaster nature of our contract limitations.  Currently it is a little rocky but it is not any worse than it was in the past.  It seems to me South Korea is a lot tamer than it was about 10 years ago for those let's say "Prisoners of a Wonderousland" (Purposely Misspelled  )  I remember a time when you would see or hear at least one shocking abuse story a day.  Now it seems to only pop up every other week.  Luxury pure luxury. 

As my constipated uncle once stated, "This too shall pass."

[bobrocket]

So whats with all the 1 year contracts then, if the system wants educated people then why not offer some stability.
Maybe not so much for people in an e visa but who has been hired as an employee?
Some have been here for 10 years living from contract to contract.
How many get hired the old fashioned way, is it just accepted living year to year.
It got me curious because I just assumed I had a 12 month contract but I only have a 3 month trial after which I just quit or get fired, no end date as such.

At the end of the day it's about $$. When the cash stops flowing they'll stop importing NETS in the mass and let schools hire teachers if they offer the subject.

In the end I'm pretty sure Korea will survive even if they ditch NETS from the public system. Take a lot at the "do you have an employable degree?" thread.

Eh, rambling now, where's the soju thread?

[weirdgirlinkorea]

So my CT said today there is a notice going around to schools (I'm in elementary) in Seoul, that while there is money in the budget this year for NETs, there is a definite uncertainty (I know an oxymoron) about whether there will be funds next year across the board for all grade levels. In the staff meeting apparently it was discussed because my school is shrinking (student population) and so the discussion of how many subject and specifically English teachers will be needed this year and next. I just thought I add this here. Everything is flux here but, I think after my next contract (August), I'm getting out of public and I am applying to universities.

[elzoog]

We should all protest together, who cares what Koreans think of us. Those of us who have been long enough know by now that their perception of us will never change. The protest will at least get us some desperately needed international attention and I think that's the reason why they don't want a protest.

The world might see this country for what it really is if we do hold a protest, so we should seriously consider it.

You seriously think that Americans, Canadians, Japanese, or Italian people care that much about the plight of ESL teachers in Korea?   By the way, teachers are being cut in America as well as most other countries in the world too.