by Roger White, April 1994
A Summary
The events surrounding the handling of Burk Heusser and the war crisis have left me deeply disturbed. I'm not disturbed by the threats of war. I don't support Burk's action of calling in another government agency to get his deposit early.
But I am disturbed that this crisis came about, and I am disburbed because it looks as if I will gain more by causing you problems than I will by supporting you and quietly working hard.
Here is an explanation of what I am thinking, why I am thinking it, and some ideas I have for avoiding a future crisis. This also a report on my plans for work after my contract runs out in October.
A Review
I came to teach at JAFLI for many reasons:
I came in October with the intention of staying a year.
The good points of my experience thus far
I have found Koreans to be a warm, hospitable people. I find myself very well treated by the JAFLI staff, by my students and by Koreans in general. I have found every sightseeing trip to be a pleasure. I have never lacked for help finding a bus or other means of transporation.
I have enjoyed learning how to teach English conversation. I have enjoyed learning about Korea as I have taught. My living accomidations have been satisfactory for my one year stay, and getting back and forth between the apartment and the hagwan has not been a problem.
All in all, the people side of my experience here in Korea has been very positive. I've enjoyed the Micheal Jordon Effect--being treated as a celebrity when I go walking in a strange place.
So, overall my experience here has been a positive one, but there are some elements of my experience here that won't be the same next year. These are the novelty effect experiences. I will describe those later. First, let me talk about the issue that started my writing this report.
The LATI planning meeting
The LATI meeting last Friday was an upsetting one for many reasons. I left the meeting upset, but it's taken me hours of thinking to see if I could put together why I was upset.
First, I think that Burk is way out of line. I think his demand that you give him the deposit money to hold was a silly one. I think it masked some other action or request that he really needed done--such as finding a way to get home with his deposit money.
I think his involving another government agency in his problems with JAFLI was equally stupid. I can see that it has generated mountains of paperwork for you, and I suspect it has weakened our position as teachers in Korea.
But, I don't think you handled the situation well, either. When Vince got up at that meeting and complained about not getting paid, it put the rest of us teachers in an odd spot. No matter how we felt about Burk, we wanted to get paid for that meeting. And no matter how stupid Burk's actions, it's hard to take sides against him because we as employees may inadvertantly take equally stupid actions at some point in the future.
But the most upsetting thing for me was watching getting paid for that meeting become a major issue. It's such a little issue that it shouldn't have even come up. There are several issues that are much more important to keeping our stay here pleasant.
Rather than get sidetracked by small issues such as "What does Burk do to get to keep his deposit?" or "Do we get paid for every meeting you call?" I'd like to back off and talk about the bigger picture of teacher-JAFLI relations.
The bigger picture: hours/pay, interest/communications, and the "Squeeky Wheel Bonus"
What am I paid?
The pay I am recieving for teaching English consists of three parts: housing, cash, novelty.
Housing is the apartment and all the assistance I recieve from you and Miss Kim in getting the basics of living done. This includes all the paperwork you process to get us and keep us here. Most of this pay is invisible to me. I don't see the paperwork, and I can't eat it. It's a cost to you, but not a tangible benefit to me.
Cash is the money I recieve for teaching. This I can see and measure. This is what the contract covers.
Novelty is the experiences I gain while teaching. Things such as talking with students about Korea and the opportunity to sightsee Korea in depth. This novelty payment is intangble but extremely valuable. You aren't paying enough cash to attact good English teachers, it's an American's feeling towards this novelty payment that determines who will come to Korea, and who will stay for a second year.
The problem I'm having is that the novelty of my experience here is declining in value, and nothing is replacing it's value. Some things that could replace it are:
We have talked about what I would be paid if I stayed another year. You stated the rate would be a $1/hour increase. This increase is so low that it says you place very little value on a long term relation with me, and it's far too low to compesate for the decline in novelty value.
Other compensation problems: 70 minute classes and the "Squeeky Wheel Bonus"
The contract states that a class hour can be from 50 to 70 minutes long. In the United States most class hours are 50 minutes of class and 10 minutes of break (50/10). The 70 minute class with 0 minutes of break (70/0) is 20 minutes longer than the 50/10 class.
The 70/0 class is a lot more stressful to me. It runs too long, and as a result I run through lessons too quickly. Last month both In-Tune One classes I had finished all the lessons in In-Tune One a week and a half before class ended. I had to come up with extemporaneous material to fill in for a week and a half!
It makes no sense to schedule lots of these--except that JAFLI is getting paid more for a 70/0 class than a 50/10 class. It feels like JAFLI is taking a "cheap shot" at the teachers if you are collecting extra money for a 70/0 class, and not passing some of that extra on to the teachers. If you're getting paid extra, then I should be getting paid extra. If I'm paid extra, then I'll accept a 70/0 schedule without complaint--but I'd still prefer a 50/10. The 50/10 is what the text books are designed for, and it's the conventional rhythm for classes in the US, as well as Korea.
The Squeeky Wheel Bonus
The most upsetting part of watching the LATI meeting and your handling of Burk has been watching you pay a "squeeky wheel" bonus. If Burk leaves with his deposit and a plane ticket, then it's clear that if I want to leave with a plane ticket and a bonus, I should raise a stink before I ask to leave. I watched Vincent get up and complain about not getting paid for the meeting. It was a cheap shot complaint, yet it looked as if you would pay for the meeting. These are both instances of paying a Squeeky Wheel Bonus.
If you're paying a Squeeky Wheel Bonus, it says that if I stay quiet, if I support you, I'll get less than if I complain or cause a modest amount of trouble. This I find really upsetting. I was raised and trained to support my boss. I was raised and trained that if I support my boss, I'll get support from him. But it's hard to follow that training when I see a "nice guys finish last" situation developing.
Thinking about this squeeky wheel bonus is the main reason I'm writing this report. I want to make it not so. I want to see a "nice guy" bonus get paid instead.
The size problem
Since I have come, the number of American teachers at JAFLI has doubled. This means that you have a lot more teachers to talk to, but I don't see you spending any more time with them. In fact, I see you spending less time. This is the source of a lot of the friction I saw at the LATI meeting. You haven't been talking with the American teachers, so they talk with themselves. When they talk with each other, they come up with different answers to questions than they would if they were talking with you.
If you're going to have a large number of American teachers working for JAFLI, you need to work on developing a better way ot talking with them.
Alternatives to paying the Squeeky Wheel Bonus
Here are some things that can be done to improve relations with the American teachers:
What comes next?
When October comes I plan to return to the computer industry. I might return to the US, or I might return to Austrailia, New Zealand, or some other English speaking land.
What would it take for me to stay working at JAFLI?
As I mentioned earlier the "novelty pay" value of teaching at JAFLI is declining. If I were to stay another year, this must be compensated for. Compensating for that would require some combination of the following:
What do you gain by supporting me in these activites?
I am currently contacting many people to find out what I will be doing after October. I haven't made up my mind. I haven't heard all my possibilities. If you'd like me to be considering staying at the hagwan, please let me know what you have to offer.