Singapore Korean International School Reviews

Pros

Teachers are given a fair amount of autonomy in terms of teaching and planning of lessons. Each class has 2 homeroom teachers so the teaching is split into English and Korean classes therefore the teaching periods are comfortable.

Cons

Pay is modest and the school is pretty small so not great for career progression. Management can be inflexible when it comes to working hours after teaching.

Pros

You have a co-teacher so you will have much more free time to plan your lessons beforehand. Very supportive and nurturing co-workers and colleagues. Kids are great and friendly.

Cons

Management does not care about professional development. Even if you take on new courses/classes to develop yourself further, it does not matter in their eyes and they will not appreciate you taking the time to better yourself. Rules change all the time. New rule almost every other day. Whenever there is a new management, they change the rules and structure of how you are supposed to do things. When you take a sick day, you feel guilty for being sick. Your colleagues have to cover your classes for you on top of their own classes as the school has "run out of budget" to get relief teachers in. Contract based, so don't expect to get bonus. Minimal pay increments as well. Same rate for every teacher every year. No communication between the Korean department and the English teachers - you are always going to be the last to find out what is happening. Teachers frequently give opinions on how to make classes and curriculum better but there is no use. Everything is perfunctory and only to look good in front of the parents and students. Budget is allocated for events and classes every year but this year due to the construction of our new building, finances have been tight this year due to certain financial decisions made. When we ask to get new laptops or ipads for the students, the answer is always no. Anything that you ask, you do not get a reason. Teachers are treated like kids.

Pros

autonomy in subject planning and execution of lession plan

Cons

not much career progression in the company

Pros

8:30-4:30 working hours School lunch

Cons

Very Korean society Working 6days

Pros

Good work life balance most of the time.

Cons

Sometimes there is too little to do

Pros

Singapore & Korean Holidays Short working hours

Cons

- Korean corporate culture - School has no standards; rules can be changed if the upper hierarchy says so (a norm in the korean culture), or changed as and when they like every time a new person comes in - School places priority on the Korean law than Singapore's law (although they always say the Singapore law comes first but Koreans here express themselves otherwise) - for locals it may be difficult to make a stance on this - School prioritises parents and their reputation more; not so much on students' education - some teachers do not care if their students misbehave because all they need is to please the parents, and as such, they try to cover up as much as they can. - School prioritises Korean staff more than foreign staff or local staff in terms of suggestions/opinions - Management always decides on the cheapest option and does not think the best for the school by weighing the pros & cons; they claimed it to be in the Korean law - hence staff would always need to clean up the mess the management made (eg. heard that they picked a construction company with no experience in construction because they are the cheapest, and have many problems with the Singapore authorities) - Many last minute changes. They expect you to create miracles if it is urgent, they do not care about your well-being and places their needs first. - Management here does not care about the process; they only care about the end goal. But points fingers when they are not satisfied with their end goal. In short, they do not think that even the smallest details can affect the big picture, we just need to be the yes-man and do what we are told. A lot of double-jobs to be done in this case, which we could have solved/reduced them by going through the process at the start. - They have this Saturday school going on where staff need to open the parents' car doors, carry young children down their parents' cars, help students carry their bags, escort the students up to their classrooms EVERY WEEK (understandable for the first time).... would like to understand how students can learn how to be independent here and if other Singapore schools are doing this as well?!?! - Don't expect a promotion if you are not Korean

Pros

- Great work-life balance. There's no need to take work home. - Salary is good for the amount of workload given. - Management does not interfere with what you do in class, so long as no parents complain.

Cons

- No career progression. - Lack of communication and transparency between the management and teachers. - Bonus isn't much.

Pros

People are generally friendly. Work life balance.

Cons

Hierarchy based approach. Salary on the lower side for locals.

Pros

Easy workload, autonomy over what you teach

Cons

Not challenging, no career progression

Pros

Colleagues are excellent Staff benefits include free lunches Students are respectful

Cons

Higher management believe in overworking their staff and micromanagement