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People
take part in an event to pay tribute to illegal foreign workers who
were killed in a fire at a detention center in Yeosu, Cholla-namdo. |
By Stephen Shipard
A taxi driver began a conversation with me recently, by pointing out
the bad example set by foreign teachers in Korea, notably the well
publicized incidents of E2 visa recipients using falsified bachelor’s
degrees, as well as alcoholism on the streets of Itaewon and Hongdae.
To many expatriates, these are familiar themes, examples of immoral
foreign behavior or a ``laissez faire” commitment when given the
responsibility for Korean students.
Recent protests regarding foreign workers rights to fair conditions and
legal representation, as well as contractual accountability by Korean
employers, is shedding light on a growing culture of deceit towards
these minority groups, and in particular the large workforce
specifically employed to educate and discipline Korean children.
Duty of care is a legal minefield of personal perspectives and
unpredictable events, a subjectively complex issue of blame versus
accountability, often delegated as a percentage (as with road
accidents, for example, 60-40 percent). The teacher may be held
accountable or perhaps the school will be considered to have had a
larger share of neglect in any civil misdemeanors.
This approach is decidedly biased in favor of management due to a large
and complex system of visa applications, invalid contracts (not written
in Korean as is compulsory for legal submission _ which many foreigners
cannot read), and a lack of understanding of cultural practices
regarding school-aged students.
These factors should be clearly defined by the legislative regulations
governing conduct of teachers in schools and passed on to teachers
prior to signing contracts with public or private language schools and
institutes.
At present, there are no official guidelines for foreign teachers when
applying discipline, creating lesson plans, or responding to crisis,
except those individually included in teaching contracts. Often,
procedures are created by inexperienced hakwon directors, supervisors
or expected as general knowledge of the teachers themselves, many of
whom have just recently left university hoping to gain some experience.
Yet teachers are criticized not for their practical ability, but their
accent, mode of dress, age, marital status, appearance or social
behavior outside the classroom _ issues clearly of a personal nature.
Cavorting company CEO’s are not judged by such rigorous methods.
Just as teachers should be held accountable specifically in the
classroom, so should managers, for they are responsible for entire
communities of learners.
Korean culture stresses disdain and distrust of foreign perspectives,
and as with most kids, it is not uncommon for them to take parental
examples of disrespect or discrimination well beyond what might be
considered acceptable behavior.
This leaves teachers caught between personal obligations to their jobs
and commitment to unsupportive school management, teaching staff and
parents, and literally at the mercy of the students themselves.
Barely one week after my conversation with the taxi driver, I myself
was charged, tried and sentenced by two of the big three private
institutes, without even commencing my recently signed contract.
Despite three years of successful teaching experience in Korea, my E2
visa was cancelled before the ink was even dry. The manager cited his
reason as a warning from the Mokdong Immigration Office that I was
erroneously a ``troublemaker,” and hence he may risk persecution from
them if he were to continue honoring my 12-month employment contract
(this was prior to me teaching at the school).
Upon further investigation, the Mokdong immigration official in
question denied this explanation of events, and suggested a secret
black list for foreign teachers circulating among private institutions.
It could only have been my previous exam preparatory institute, who
terminated my employment when I missed five working days to attend my
grandfather’s funeral (in which case I arranged a replacement teacher).
I received the begrudging blessings of the institute’s director
personally, yet only two hours later while processing my re-entry
permit to return to work he called to inform me that my contract would
be cancelled.
So much for sentiment; it would seem that to agree to contractual
obligations while secretly misrepresenting teachers to other staff,
parents and students is an effective way of subverting legislative
processes. Fortunately though, it is not law.
Just as foreign teachers have been accused of acting on behalf of the
law with internet blacklists and boycotting unscrupulous recruiters, so
too have school directors and supervisors joined forces in the
suppression of teachers’ rights to privacy and protection from
defamation, but it is the legal profession which represents the biggest
hurdle for expatriots- complex laws, lack of official accountability
and language barriers that restrict even the most unwavering cases of
employee mistreatment.
Class rule No. 1: two wrongs don’t make a right. The protection of
foreign workers who accept the responsibility for so many Korean
children during school hours should never have been left to such
``ad-hoc” legal measures, and with the inability of foreign embassies
to represent expatriate workers in civil matters here in Korea, I
wonder if expectations for improvement in Korean English language
schools is not laboring under the common problem of corruption, and
colloquialized as a social issue of cultural insensitivity.
Developments in community advisory services and legal help and support
groups is a telling sign that foreign teachers are compromised by these
conditions.
Certainly, neither my university degree, my three years teaching
experience in Korea, or an abiding empathy would have prevented these
deceits, and since not even the signatures of my official contract and
the one submitted to immigration matched, I can be assured that
corruption, even at the leading edge of language education, is present.
It would appear necessary for parents to reclaim the responsibility for
future generations of Korean students, and force schools to adhere to
strict guidelines of professional accountability, thus assuring a
quality of teaching and also a legal avenue which protects the
education system from personal or consolidated misconduct.
Teachers without the respect of the education service industry are
hardly going to improve the current learning paradigms, or gain the
respect their patrons.
The author has been a teacher in Korea since 2003, and works internationally as a photojournalist, biologist, and ESL teacher.
gypsystephen@hotmail.com
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