I hear through the grape vine that Maple Bear in Suwon is turning into a real Korean hogwan by churning out teachers. Part of the bad rap Korea gets from many ex-pats is that the school owners are dishonest and work you like dogs. This is true. If you are thinking about going to teach there or in Japan, do your research! Before I left L.A. I did my research and choose Maple Bear but I learned that you never really get the full cover of things until you live and work there.
Now my sources say there are more parent-teacher meetings and more bull shit then ever at Suwon's Maple Bear. Though the curriculum is well developed and good for incorporating ideas/projects into your own lesson plans, it is too difficult and unreasonable to implement sequentially due to the huge differences in the English speaking abilities of the kids and the school's rigid insistence of following the curriculum as outlined exactly in the books.
When I was there, parents got mad and complained incessantly to the Director if your class was not in sync with the curriculum and the other kinder classes taught by other ESL teachers. Now, the Korean Director will get mad if you jump forward in the curriculum from the books they provide. If you ever taught ESL, you would understand that native 3rd graders in the States have a huge language base than 3rd or even 5th graders in Korea. It is unreasonable to use the vast curriculum they developed in the West to teach the kids in the East at the same pace and level the school dictates. It sounds like things in Suwon are more uncomfortable than ever.
About seven months ago, before I left, they recruited a new male teacher who found out about Maple Bear from one of the other teacher's blog. I am still trying to figure out if he didn't ask her right questions or she really PR'd him into thinking it was an excellent hogwan for the $300 referral fee. Later, I heard it was $100. In any case, if you compare Suwon's Maple Bear with other hogwans, it's pretty good. The owner is accommodating and from what I've experienced, a good person. Whatever rules and regulations that come down the pipe line from Canada and the new director, however, must be hell.
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What you said about Maplebear is true. The exact same stuff you mentioned happened to me when I worked for the branch in Anyang. Most hagwons are corrupt, but what made Maplebear hard, was the unrealistic expecations made by parents. Like you I still hear things about my old Maplebear, and things seem to being going to hell. I would recommend avoiding working at Maplebear, if you do chose to come to Korea.
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