Teacher
- 2012-08-19
I want to reply to this post that I think we need not continue the discrimination. Asians do work hard just like the rest of us. The Korean teachers at Jayeon do work hard. I am not a Korean. Please note that. I am not sticking up for Jayeon as I myself feel the management does their job very poorly. They micromanage everything. For some reason, they feel the need to include everyone on one project. The result: the project gets all messed up because it is divided up between so many people when it does not need to be. I think they take group work to an extreme. In other words, group work tends to create more of a mess for them than it should. Lets not continue the discrimination please. However, I do notice a tendency on the Korean management at this place to think English people are not too bright and they treat us as such. It is in a way quite amusing as we all have undergrad degrees and we merely do this for more traveling experience.
Anyway, as to the comment you post. I agree with you that one of the Korean people wrote it from Jayeon. I recall reading that post in the past and it is now deleted I believe. WHY DID ALL THE PRIOR COMMENTS GET DELETED?
In regards to this comment you talk about, it was either management or it was someone doing it at the direction of Management. The problem the posts created was a backlash on the teachers still there. While they knew who made the posts, I think they put pressure on everyone to make sure no one else posts. Plus, without a release of contract, the teachers working there had to make a choice. Make the best of it or go back home until the contract expires.
The best advice: if it gets out of hand, put money aside in your home country bank account and contact immigration when you can't take it anymore. If you really want to stay, there is a way to get released. A few friends in Korea told me they were able to get employed elsewhere despite a prior employer refusing to sign the release. Have you heard of any teachers finding employment after leaving Jayeon without having a release from them?
Fraud Buster
- 2012-06-21
The end of this post says "Advice to teachers who feel damaged: Go home! Korea's not for you. You give us all a bad name" You can tell it was written by a Korean from Jayeon, First, English speakers say "advice for you" not to you, second English speakers would not say feel damaged last they clearly write "You give US a bad name" meaning the writer is a Korean from Jayeon. Also they say the English teachers quit becuase they are expected to work. This is obviousy a Korean. Koreans think they work hard. But has ANY ENglish person ever seen ANY Asian with a job that isn't in an office. Koreans abuse forgien teachers with their ignorant attitudes toward work, that is a fact. If Asians could work they wouldn't need offices!! In norht America I have NEVER seen an Asian with a real job.
This is obviously intended to deny accusations which are true!!!!
Absolutely Not!
- 2012-04-27
Enough is enough. I can understand someone's grievance and dissatisfaction if it's warranted and true. Granted, some of the things said about this school are true, but for the most part, they are PURE FICTION written by a group of vengeful teachers in a smear campaign. Furthermore, half-truths furnished here by this group of people are appalling. So, let's tackle the lies:
-the school NEVER confiscated passports. EVER.
-the school never withheld people's salary. EVER.
-the school never EVER stole from teachers. They did demand bills be paid. If you have to pay a lot for the gas, that's because you used too much gas. The school does not print gas bills, gas company does. All bills were available to be viewed by interested parties.
-the school is doing its best to provide teachers with some sort of a curriculum and a lot of support. Teachers have to do lesson plans: OMG! Scary. Welcome to reality of teaching and actually being accountable!!
Some of the half-truths:
-vacation time was cut by 50%. That is 50% from ONE MONTH, which is unheard of in Korea. The school still provides two weeks holiday (in blocks), while most other schools will do maybe 10 days, and rarely in blocks. Koran employees get a few days vacation, at the most. So, comparatively, Jayeon is still very generous.
-the smear campaigns do happen, mostly among the Korean staff. That's the way Korean businesses operate. You can be critical of Korean business practices, but then you should not work for a Korean business. It is simple.
-the school does have a pretty high turn over in teachers. This is primarily due to teachers leaving before their contracts are up. Why? Simply because they are expected to work!
What I know about this school, after working for them for a long period of time:
-the pay is comparatively good
-they did not pay into health insurance and pension schemes (though they did pay 50% of all medical bills-this worked out better as they would pay for things not covered by the National Heath Insurance) - now they pay for everything.
-they pay out the severance pay to all who finish. To my knowledge, they never damaged anyone by letting them go early.
-people stay at this school for 2-5 years, on average. Even some of those contributing to this discussion have been with the school for 2-3 years.
-the accommodations are not at their best - but there are worse! The building is old, but they do try to stay in top of things!
-school used to be quite generous with bonuses, dinners, Christmas parties... This is probably not so anymore, but I would argue this is due to teachers' performance
I am sure there is more stuff I could write about and I am probably doing disservice to both the school and the teachers by forgetting some of the more crucial things. I am not saying this is a perfect place to work... Which one is? But, if you need a job, it's a great place to work. Just obey the rules, and open your mind!
Advice to teachers who feel damaged: Go home! Korea's not for you. You give us all a bad name.