New duty at Poly

Earlier this week, I was one of three teachers asked to field questions that prospective teachers may have about working at Poly. Two days ago, I received an email from a prospective teacher who had lots of great questions. I decided to post the questions and my responses below just to give you more of an idea of what I am doing over here, and perhaps fill in information gaps I may have neglected to mention in earlier posts. Enjoy!

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I am an afternoon/evening teacher who intends on switching to the morning program. I work from 1:00pm-9:00pm with 2 hours of prep and 6 hours of teaching. I'll answer the easier questions first.

> How many foreign teachers are there at the Ilsan
> school?

Currently, there are 12 foreign teachers (a mix of Canadians and Americans), 2 foreign supervisors, and a director that seems more American in approach than Korean.

> How close is the apartments to the Juyup subway
> station?

By taxi, about 5 min. By bus, about 10 min. By foot, 25-30 min.

> How close is the school to the apartments? Can you
> walk?

Some of the teachers do actually walk; I sometimes walk to and from school. A brisk walk to school should be 15 min., leisurely walk, about 20 minutes.

> What is the Ilsan area like?

Its great! Imagine planned-community. Open spaces, plenty of landscaping, cleaner air than Seoul, and a very small population density. I've lived in the Gangnam area of Seoul, and it was great to be around so much, but the polluted air and dense population really got to me. I don't mind being a 30 min. bus ride outside of Seoul.


> If there was one thing you could tell us that is
> negative about the school what would it be? One
> Positive thing?

A negative aspect about this job is the amount of paperwork you are expected to do each month. Besides prepping and teaching, you will be responsible for monthly report cards for all the students you teach, daily attendance (this includes monitoring who received and returned their report cards), checking homework each class (or during a part of your prep time), making parts of monthly tests, and curriculum evaluations. Because of the many paperwork responsibilities, many teachers take some of the it home and complete it in their off time. I have to do this every month with report cards.

A positive aspect is really everything else. Ilsan Poly has a western-style of management, so supervisors will not try to "save face." You can go up to Trevor and Tim and expect them to act on any critical comments or suggestions you may have. Also, they will be honest and candid with you. I could go on if you'd like to know more.

> How are the accommodations? What is average
> cost of utilities etc.?

The single-housing accommodations range in various shapes and sizes. For example, the area of the apartments can be as little as 33 sq. m. to 50 sq. m. They are relatively new, built in the last 10 years or so. The configuration of the apartment is difficult to describe.

Imagine one large living area that has a double-sized bed, wardrobe, TV+VCR, and kitchen area. My apartment has a balcony that runs along the length of my apartment. I can send you pictures if you prefer. Let me know... There is a downside to the living arrangements though: low-quality appliances.

The school purchases second-hand appliances to supply the apartments. The appliances include washing machine (sorry, no dryer), fridge, TV, VCR, and telephone. If anything breaks, then the school will replace it with another second-hand item (in rare cases, new ones). A consolation I tell myself is its better than paying rent while here in Korea.

Utilities are very cheap! My gas bill on average is $15 US (I use a lot during the winter months for heating). My electricity bill ranges from $9 to $30. What I'm trying to say is your utilities should be well under $100 per month. It only goes up when you add services like Internet, etc.


> Are there at lot of resources available
> (books,teaching aids etc)?

The answer is Yes and No. It really depends on what you are teaching. For example, I've been able to find plenty of supplements for the Science classes I teach, but very little in the way of Vocabulary and Grammar. Normally, when I have a question about how to effectively teach something, I talk to Trevor. He is a great resource of teaching tips. If Trevor is no help, I consult the Internet for ideas.

What's great about Poly is that other teachers teach the same kind of classes that you will, and you can collaborate and create supplements together. I have to say the teachers are really great about helping each other out in the way of teaching and sharing supplements. Also, a few past teachers who've worked at Poly compiled their supplements they've made or found into notebooks for future teachers to use. These notebooks also are a great help.

> What are the relationships like with fellow
> colleagues both Korean and Foreign?

Aside from helping each other out, on the whole, I would say that the foreign teachers are fairly easy-going and cordial to one another. No one has any hard feelings or grudges.

In terms of the Korean-Foreign relationships, the same could be said. I've found that the Korean staff at Poly are much nicer to the foreign staff and more open with the cultural differences than my previous school. Most of the staff that you will directly deal with speak some English. Yet, they still are Korean, and will get offended easily if treated with any kind of disrespect. For example, the Korean teachers were offended when some of the foreign teachers referred to them as "Korean assistants."


> What is the curriculum like?

Poly exclusively uses material from North America, particularly the US. I primarily teach grammar, vocabulary, and writing, therefore I only see these kinds of textbooks. Frankly speaking, the curriculum is hit or miss. I've had great grammar books that tried to take some of the dullness out of it, but the current ones are not anything to write home about. The same could be said with the writing and vocabulary books. I cannot say much about reading books, because I don't teach that subject.


> How much prep work do you do?

It really depends on the material. Sometimes I am pressed for time to complete all of my prepping within 2 hours. But you must remember, I am prepping for 4-5 kinds of classes per day. Yes there is overlapping due to the material, but not much. I have never felt that I have consistently not have enough time to prep.

Other days, like test days, I have virtually very little to prep. In fact, I can pay bills at the bank, go get a coffee, or whatever errand I must do. Usually, I am expected to be in the school, but the supervisors give me some slack, but not too much. Weeks with tests scheduled feel like short working weeks because of the test administering duties. Give the test, that's it.

> What is a typical work day like for you?

Arrive at 1:00pm, prep for two hours, teach for six hours. I'll give you a rough version of my work schedule to get an idea. All classes are 40 minutes with five minute breaks in between each one.

On Mondays:
3:00-3:40= Returnee Grade 1 Writing
3:45-4:25= Special Grade 1 Writing
4:30-5:55= Returnee Grade 4 Writing
6:00-7:30= Returnee Grade 6 Vocabulary
7:35-8:15= Returnee Grade 8 Novels
8:20-9:00= Returnee Grade 7 Vocabulary

On Tuesdays and Thursdays:
3:00-3:40= Special Grade 2 Science
3:45-4:25= Special Grade 1 Science
4:30-6:40= Gifted/Talented Grade 5 Writing/Grammar/Vocab
6:50-9:00= Gifted/Talented Grade 6 Writing/Grammar/Vocab

Wednesdays are Returnee Grammar days.

On Fridays:
3:00-3:40= Returnee Grade 1 Writing
3:45-4:25= Special Grade 1 Writing
4:30-5:55= Returnee Grade 4 Writing
6:00-7:30= Returnee Grade 6 Vocabulary
7:35-8:15= Returnee Grade 8 Writing
8:20-9:00= Returnee Grade 7 Vocabulary

That's my schedule. If you any further questions let me know.

Peter