The Hub of Sparkle!

by Tom Rainey-Smith, President of ATEK.

My interest in setting up an organization that could improve the lot of English teachers was sparked by a combination of my personal experience of adapting to a totally new environment and culture, and hearing first hand testimonies from other teachers about their experiences. The idea of ATEK was something that I saw as a logical extension of my human rights work.

Questions For the Pro-ATEK side:

1.  Can you give us a brief timeline of ATEK’s history from its first conception until now, as well as an outline of what to expect next, now that ATEK’s initial membership drive is completed?  (If you wish to publish this as a separate document, I can do that for you).

Separate Document Can be read here.  I have put it in a different place because it is long.

2.  How closely is ATEK paying attention to the criticisms leveled against it on comment boards and blogs?  What is ATEK doing to demonstrate accountability toward its critics?

ATEK pays attention to all of the major blogs and comment boards as well as the mainstream English language media, as these are recognized as important sounding boards for the opinions of English teachers. This is part of the role of the Communications Director. Of course it would be impossible to respond to every post about ATEK on every forum, but it is up to the Communications Director to respond to the criticisms of members and make sure that the voice of every member of the organization is taken into account.

Accountability is something we take very seriously. Please view our mission statement. This is why we are working hard to establish the National Council and hand over the reins to democratically elected officials. This is something that I have made clear from day one: ( http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/03/117_20528.html). Only then can the organization be truly accountable to its members. For now we will do our best to keep both the interested public and members alike informed of our decisions as they are made and the progress of the organization.

The negative stuff

3.  Who exactly does ATEK represent, and what is being done to clarify whom it does and does not represent?

ATEK represents 513 people (as of May 17) throughout the country. This is the current number of members who have registered with us. There has been much criticism leveled at us where people have said that we claim to represent the entire teaching population here (a total figure which is still indeterminable due to a lack of centralized data). I’d like to square this one up once and for all – our vision is to build an organization that can one day represent every English teacher on a visa in Korea. This may be an impossible task, due to the range of interests, needs and opinions embodied by our community, but it is very logical for an organization to aim to represent the entire community of foreign Teachers rather than just a section of it.

4.  From your side, please explain why the “Equal Checks For All” campaign generated so much negativity from certain quarters.

The “Equal Checks for All Campaign” was launched to offer E2 visa holders a way to communicate their grievances against the imposition of visa regulations that discriminated against E2 visa holders. I don’t think there has been much controversy about this fact. Actually, those who were opposed to our campaign did not argue that the new regulations were in fact not discriminatory, but that this discrimination is acceptable. This appears to have been in reaction to the fact that F-class visa holders have been concerned about that the particular requirements that we opposed being expanded and applied to them also. At no point in time did we argue this. Rather, we simply asked for the newly-introduced requirements of HIV and drug tests to be dropped so that E2 visa holders are subjected to the same treatment as all other Korean and non-Korean English teachers in this country. It is important to note that this includes E1 visa holders as well as F-class visa holders. Our intention was never to frame the discussion in a way that pitted E against F-class visa holders.

This issue has attracted much attention and opened discussion. I hope this will also mean that F-class visa holders will take an active role in the forming of our association so that it better represents their needs. As many from within this community have pointed out, their connection to Korea is in many cases much stronger and lasting; therefore it is important that many F-class visa holders step forward and play a tangible role in the association. It is also important to remember that many F-class visa holders were once E-class visa holder.
5.  What is/has been/will be done about the accusations of plagiarism in “The English Teacher’s Guide to Korea”?

Accusations of plagiarism should always be taken seriously, and we have taken the necessary steps to address these. Rather than rehash public statements, I’ll direct you to the press release on the matter: http://www.koreasparkle.com/2009/05/re-atek-plagiarism-in-my-inbox-today/#content.

In the future, we hope to release a second edition of the book, this time with a range of contributors who are qualified to write authoritatively on the subjects covered. We are also encouraging provincial and metropolitan associations to assign someone in their local area to provide localized content so that it can provide city or province-specific information. In order to ensure that it is of a higher quality next time round, we will be recommending to the future National Council that they elect an editorial board to edit the next edition.
6.  Up until this point, ATEK has been criticized as being “Three (now two) guys with a computer” … how would you respond to this criticism?

This criticism is redundant; it could be leveled at any organization in history at its inception. Everything has a starting point. As mentioned above, we currently represent over 500 people around the country, and this number is growing daily.

The Founding Board has been working on this thing for over a year now. Over this time we have consulted with a number of experts including a renowned public interest lawyer, an international human rights organization, Korean teachers’ organizations, embassy officials, politicians, a police official, and, most importantly, English teachers. We decided that it was very important to lay the foundations correctly so that we did not fall at the first hurdle as many others before us have done.

We are also at a juncture where we are dealing with so many enquiries on a daily basis that we need to widen the core group of organizers for the national association in order to meet the demands of members and English teachers requesting our assistance by establishing new interim positions. We are currently accepting resumes from members who are interested in applying for these roles. As with the role of the Founding Board, these positions will become either obsolete or subject to democratic election once the National Council has been elected.
7.  How does the outlook for ATEK change now that Tony Hellmann has resigned?

Tony Hellmann’s resignation was a personal blow for the Founding Board. He has worked so long and hard and produced so much for us since he first got on board. But, I think he was correct to step down in light of the nature of the attacks against him and in order for us to move past this point. The tone and sheer volume of the attacks made it difficult for him to communicate effectively with outside interests. As chief contributor and editor of the teacher’s guide, he also bore the brunt of all of the criticism leveled against the organization by being so involved and trying to ensure accountability by responding to every criticism personally.

Greg Dolezal has now stepped in to fill the role of Communications Director and it appears that this move has been received well. Greg has big shoes to fill, but we have confidence that with his experience he will do a great job.

In many ways we are looking to turn a new leaf and learn from the events that lead us to this point. It is important that our members keep us in check and hold us accountable. The ultimate power rests with the membership and will be exercised through elections.
8.  Are there any consistent threads of misinformation circulating about ATEK on which you would like to set the record straight?

There are some common accusations that have been made against us which I would like to clear up. Many of these accusations can be traced back to the press. We have had a number of retractions run (starting from the second article ever published about us), but the incorrect message (in the form of misquotations, wrongly-attributed quotations, invented quotations – you name it!) had already been printed and attributed to ATEK. To set the record straight, I’d like to relay the following facts to readers:

• We represent our 513 members and counting, not the whole English teachers on visas community in South Korea (see answer to question 3). There are still plenty of teachers who have never heard of us.
• We are not a union. We do not share the functions of a union.
• ATEK does not only consist of E2 visa holders. We have members on F-class visas, E1 visa holders, and Korean citizen members, to name a few.
• We are all unpaid volunteers and have collectively spent thousands of dollars of our own money on setting up ATEK. At no time has any of the Founding Board profited from or intended to profit from ATEK.

9.  From what source do you expect to face the greatest resistance and opposition, if/as ATEK establishes itself and begins promoting its future goals?

I think it is likely that the biggest potential opposition would come from the private English industry, from hagwons. I don’t think this has to be the case, but until we are able to establish a dialogue with industry representatives, it is the most likely source of opposition. Actually, I think we have a very strong case for hagwons to back us. We are developing the services and resources to make life easier for English teachers – this means one less job for hagwon owners (and all other school officials for that matter) to concern themselves with. We are making life easier and more attractive to teachers and we believe that this will make more teachers choose to stick around for a longer period, something else that will benefit hagwons.
The positive stuff:

10.  What are some ways ATEK can help 1. short term E-series English teachers, 2. long term E-series English teachers, 3. long-term F-series English teachers.

1. Short-term E-series English teachers can benefit most easily from our services as they are most in need and will benefit from any form of assistance that we can offer. We will act as a first point of call for many E-series visa holders.
2. Long-term E-series visa holders fall somewhere between E and F visa holders and share a little in common with each: basic information may still be often required, but there is also the likelihood of some of the more complex issues needing to be addressed such as applying for an F-series visa, loan services, and the like.
3. Long-term F-series English teachers will be represented on the National Council. Eventually every provincial and metropolitan association will elect an F-class visa representative to the council. These representatives, elected from all around the country, will form a commission that will spend its time working solely on the needs and wants of F-class visa holders. We imagine this will include collecting and centralizing information on things like education providers and healthcare for children, loan and mortgage services, and all the other needs that arise for long-termers and permanent residents.Just to reiterate the point that we can benefit new as well as old, short-term as well as long-term teachers alike, I’d like to point out that general members will be able to access an employer rater, product and services wiki, legal resources, and further resources that ATEK develops. These benefits will be beneficial to all English teachers.

11.  What are some things ATEK has accomplished so far, and what how do you hope to build on those accomplishments?

There is no room here to go into all of the ways that ATEK has provided support to teachers so far, but I would encourage anyone doubting our usefulness to ask our members themselves. What we have achieved will at the end of the day be judged on the ability of the association to stick around and last out the growing pains.

To summarize the association’s achievements thus far, we have:

• Researched ways to form an association which is legal, and pioneered them;
• Officially launched the first organization of its kind for English teachers on visas in South Korea;
• Raised awareness of legal issues surrounding E-2 visa;
• Raised awareness of international law regarding discrimination;
• Published an invaluable resource for teachers in the Teacher’s Guide to Korea (albeit an achievement marred by accusations of intentional plagiarism);
• Developed an employer rater that doesn’t defame employers (hence it is legal);
• Developed a letter generator for teachers to be able to communicate to parents;
• Opened channels with the national media;
• Developed relationships with members of government on all levels.

It is also important to remember that ATEK is helping to create a social space for non-Koreans inside Korea just as the county is really starting to open up to the different cultures and ethnicities. Many eyes are on us from inside Korea as well as outside, and it is important that we remain aware of this without losing sight of our immediate aims.

We will build on these accomplishments by further populating the association with members and ensuring that the National Council is ready to make decisions about the future of the association.
12.  What are the most compelling reasons that you believe ATEK should exist, and can make a difference for English teachers in Korea?

It is almost unanimous amongst the English teacher community that an organization for teachers needs to exist. What we need to show to everyone is that we are building this very organization right now and they can not only benefit from it but can also take an active role in it to ensure that it responds to and meets their needs. There are so many issues that need to be addressed such as contracts, rights in the workplace, communication in the workplace, public perception, professional development, information sharing, etc, that it is not a matter of why it is needed, but about which issues to address first.

ATEK can make a difference for English teachers and is making a difference right now. Pleas for help arrive daily and are answered. This is the reason why we are currently looking for volunteers to assistant and ease our workload. It would be impossible to count how many people have benefitted from our advice already, as well as those who have benefitted from the practical information contained in the teacher’s guide.
13.  What are some of the long-term goals that ATEK either plans to work on, or MIGHT plan to work on, once it is organized into chapters and representatives?

This will depend on the will and wishes of the National Council. We are not here to dictate policy for the association. When people signed up to ATEK, they did so based on their knowledge of the association as it stood at the time of registration. Without a democratic mandate, the Founding Board members are not in a position to set any new long-term goals for the association aside from those already agreed upon at the time we launched.

One of our major long-term goals (see http://www.atek.or.kr/learn-about-atek/atek-faq/78) that has received a lot of support is our goal to push for visa portability. For those not familiar with the term, it refers to teachers owning their own visas rather than requiring owner sponsorship (which effectively means that your visa is owned by your employer). We believe this will cause employers to act more responsibly towards their teachers. Japan has had this system in place for the last ten years.
14.  If you could travel back in time to the week before ATEK made its first media push, what would you do differently?

I would have made sure that our positions were more clearly visible and accessible to the public so that at any such point in time as we were misquoted or misrepresented we could simply have referred people to the facts. We should also have brought more members on board to help in key organizing positions in order to lighten the workload and allow the founding members to focus more on the grassroots approach of getting out there, meeting teachers, and promoting the organization in person. I am a firm believer in raising support from the ground up.
15.  Here is your chance to directly address ATEK’s detractors.  What would you like to tell, or ask them?

and

16.  Here is your chance to directly address those who are still undecided about ATEK: is there anything you like to tell or ask them?

First, I would like to separate those who are English teachers from those who are employers and others. I think this is an important distinction to make considering some of the recent criticisms and their origins. While I would not do this in order to ignore anyone’s legitimate concerns, I would like to prioritize the concerns of English teachers above others. After all, this is the group of people the association was designed for.

For those of you who can in no way identify with the need for an organization to represent English teachers on visas in Korea, I ask you the following: if you don’t see the need for yourself, does this give you the right to suggest that others also do not need this? No one has been forced to join, but only those who join will be able to have a say in the future of the association.

Moving on from there, I’d like to first point out that we do share common ground the outright majority of teachers: we also want to improve the general lot of English teachers in Korea (even if you pressed for time due to a heavy workload and are only interested in improving your own lot, this is still something we share in common)! Furthermore, we want to create an association that is responsive to the needs and wants of English teachers whether they are living here raising a family or have just stepped off the plane. We want this to be done in a way that is transparent, is done accountably, and in a way that brings the diverse interests of the community together under a common name. We also want you to be a part so that you can help shape this association. We urge you to show that you are interested in actually doing something for teachers and/or for yourself and get on board. The door is open. Admission is free.

Click here to read the Anti-ATEK position.

Click here to read the undecided position.

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