fair pay TOEFL essay grading

I'm just curious about how TOEFL essay teachers are compensated for their grading of essays?  For example, if a you are a teacher teaching a class of 12 students, how does your employer pay you for the grading of those 12 essays?    Do you get extra pay?  Are these hours figured into your daily workload?  

I ask this because currently I am having an issue with my employer.  I find that each essay takes an average of 10-15 minutes to grade.  Given that my boss says he wants me to assign an essay every night and have them graded, that mean I'll be working an additional 2 1/2 to 3 hours daily just grading on top of my class time.  My boss is trying to say that this is a part of my contract, and I say this is beyond a reasonable expectation of a normal hagwan contract.

I would love to hear feedback.  

(sorry, I have not proofread this post because I'm in a hurry trying to grade and teach my 7+hours of classes)

Re: fair pay TOEFL essay grading

really?!?  didn't know that there were "essay" classes besides just the basic teaching of essay...never had to deal with this much grading.  sounds kind of extreme.  good luck...wonder what other ppl will have to say to this.   

i mean i understand that there may be some grading involved, but this seems a bit much.

Re: fair pay TOEFL essay grading

i read your post. my first thought was your being taken for a ride. par for the course with hogwon work unfortunately. the industry finds ways of 'milking' all they can out of employees.

i taught in korea for 12 years starting in hogwons way back in the 90's. the work ethic back then i learned from inquiry and observation is such that korean teachers were highly underpaid and expected to do much more than i or my colleagues wer required to do. 

over time i noticed  little things here and there from past employers asking for things that may have seemed out of reach of the contractual obligations. but i knew going into korea way back then that contracts are just paper, largely for the purposes of immigration and hold little weight.

its a tough call. i'm' the type of guy that would raise a stink in a very unprofessional manner at times. and usually that worked. after a while i got a little frustrated with my behavior in addition to the fact it seemed to work less in a environment like the MoE.(DAMN THAT EPIK, jk). So i left.

your post doesn't seem overtly perturbed with your situation, so i would find some way to negotiate.  I was never a good negoitator in korea, but find myself doing a lot more in my position now. but if you find that your "extra" requirements are meaningful to the students progress, regardless of the lack of pay, or acknowledgement, then you are showing a quality that i find lacks in many teachers. and that is something intrinsically worthwhile.

good luck

 

Re: fair pay TOEFL essay grading

@Travis

Thank you for your response.   Yeah, I'm really worried about "taken for a ride".  I've worked at this same hagwan for about 4 years, and this instance is the first real problem I've had with my boss.  For the most part, he adequately compensates or has reasonable demands given the pay.  I understand my boss feels a lot of pressure because of the new laws being imposed by the MoE--stupid laws because they are going to cause the further degradation of hagwan classes by increasing class sizes and diminishing the quality of work...in the end, there will be only the factory-style hagwans left and nothing that caters to the individual student will remain.  However, all that is besides the point.  

Yes, I also feel torn because I do want to give my students the best possible education I can, but at the same time, I feel I must be fairly compensated.  Working an half-an-hour to an hour grading everyday seems somewhat fair--somewhat--(this does not include the prep time).  However, spending 2-3hrs grading each night is borderline insanity--trust me, it is:  reading these essays that at times marginally resemble true English while trying to give constructive criticism could make the most veteran teacher want to pull out his hair after grading them after a couple of hours.

What it comes down to is that I want to help my students, yet I want to be fairly compensated for my time (and sanity).

Re: fair pay TOEFL essay grading

Doubt they will pay extra.Sad your boss has put you in this situation, given you have been loyal 4 years. Looks like you either accept it or move on to a new place. They may reconsider if you have been there 4 years if it is forcing you to leave.

Re: fair pay TOEFL essay grading

thanks everyone for the responses.   Just wanted to give everyone an update on the situation. 

A compromise was eventually reached between my boss and the wagook teachers.  

1.  for M-F class, essays will only be assigned two times a week.

2.  for every student in the class, the teacher will receive an additional hour of time for their teaching hours.   so, if a teachers has a total of 25 essay students, that teacher would add an additional 25 hours on to his teaching hours at the end of the month.

Overall, I (and the other teachers) are content with this arrangement.  Also, we have urged our director to distribute the essay classes among all the wagook teachers.  Therefore, not one teacher is burdened with so many essays to grade.