I've been crazy busy this past week, I don't even know I've survived. It all started last friday, when I had an all-day training seminar that sort of lit a fire under my ass. Lately, I had been feeling all sorts of comfortable when it came to teaching at my school. Some things suck, but some things were good, I coped and I got through it. I wasn't having the best classes, but I was also doing the best with what I had. I was dealing.
But the seminar reminded me that despite what seems like insurmountable obstacles in my way, as a teacher, I owe it to my kids to try and reach them. When I first got to Korea, I was hell bent on being able to effectively teach these kids english. I was full of so many ideas, was constantly trying out new things in the classroom, constantly creating. And then either out of ineffectiveness, hopelessness, or burn out, I stopped trying so hard.
On the one hand, it was good for me personally, because I enabled me to have more cognitive energy to do other things (e.g. learn korean, be a homewrecker), but my classes were uninspired and tedious.
So with a refreshed perspective, I started up this week with a ton of energy that I put into my lesson plans and classes. And I think it was one of my best weeks teaching ever. I felt really happy with the results, and I'm hoping this is a new start for both me and my students.
I am, however, so exhausted I can't see straight. Twice this week I got into the office at 6:45 am. By wednesday, I came home and just crashed at 8pm, I was so tired. I had dishes piled up in my sink, wet clothing that needed to be dried, and a whole bunch of trash that needed to be taken out. I also have no food at all in my apartment, but I am feeling good about how exhausted I am.
I will leave you with this: I had my students write a short essay on whether they preferred to only do what they are good at, or doing new things. I bawled like a baby reading their responses, this one in particular:
I feel so grateful to know these amazing kids, and so humbled to be a part of their lives. They are so fascinating and endlessly interesting, and so full of youth and the hope of their future lives. It's beyond wonderful to witness.
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Heart, Mind, & Seoul: First Semester
Last week I finished my first semester teaching in Korea.
That first day of school, where I wandered into the teacher's room for the first time, after having gotten lost, and was led to my desk for my first taste of deskwarming, feels so far away. I started March 3, 2011. Only four months. Honestly, I've never had time rush by like this. As a student, the semester always seemed to tick by so slowly. On the opposite side of things, it goes by ridiculously fast. On the one hand, those four months seemed to slip by me so quickly, and yet, I feel so fundamentally different from the person who first got lost at school four months ago.
In the last four months I've gone through a couple different cycles while teaching at school. The first, clearly, was something akin to sheer terror and bubbling ineptness as I struggled to find my footing not only with students, but with the Korean education system, and also with my co-teachers. I bombed a lot in the classroom, but all those shitastic days helped me figure out what worked and what didn't with these students at this school and in this country.
From then, I felt myself go into a more comfortable stage where I wasn't nearly as stressed as I was before, and where I feel like my skin was a lot thicker to deal with all the crap that is the necessary companion to all the wonderful things that do happen when being the native english teacher.
Lastly, and this is where I feel I currently stand, is this stage where you begin to wonder about how to be more effective in the classroom given the institutional limitations of being the native english teacher. As much as I learned from my students, I'm not entirely convinced of their learning anything from me. As hard a pill as that is to swallow, I honestly wonder.
My situation is a little different from perhaps other english teachers either in Seoul or in Korea. The Korean english teachers at my school are utterly capable of teaching students English without my help. There's actually very little that I can provide for my students/school. Sure, I can check pronunciation and idioms, and I can offer the gem of cultural variety... but with the other Korean teachers being as adept as they are, I can't help but think that my position in the school is unneeded.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing. It's absolutely wonderful that my school is lucky enough to have such a strong English department, and ideally, their level of language skill and teaching is what ought to happen in all Korean English departments.
That is not to say that there aren't glaring holes in the English curriculum of Korea. Essentially, everything is directed towards getting the students' reading, writing, and listening skills good enough for them to pass/excel in the University Entrance Examinations. Basically, all students who want to go to university must take this test, and the english section stresses reading, writing and listening.
And not speaking. not conversation.
So while my students can come up with really interesting essays...their ability to speak on the fly is not so good considering how many years they've been studying English. This is the first institutional challenge to the English program in Korea. The curriculum doesn't really focus on conversation since the University Entrance exam doesn't cover it. Thus, students don't get the practice speaking that they should, nor do they think its as important in their long list of things to study since there's no exam where their ability is tested. Even I, as the native english teacher, don't have a say in their english grade and theres just no incentive for them to really study speaking. Besides me, there's not anyone they would even speak English with.
So I want my classes to be centered around conversation since grammar and everything else can be covered by Korean English teachers. But I'm subject to the whims and curriculum of my school, and if they want me to do writing projects with my students, then it's not something I can take lightly.
With all of this, it makes me wonder if I should renew my contract next year, if given a chance (and, with the cuts happening in Korea right now, this could be a very big IF). This is not the whinny post of someone who wants to feel important... the truth is that I'm not really needed. As a native english speaker, I'm not being utilized effectively, and as such, there's really no reason for me to stay.
I mean, except for the small fact that I love my students.
I'd like to stay in Korea. Do I want to stay at my school? Yes and no. Do I want to move to another public school where I'm met with the same institutional obstacles? Not really. Do I want move to a private english academy? No because students shouldn't have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to learn the same English skills they should get from going to public school. Nor do I want to correlate someone's English proficiency in Korea to the amount of money they own and can spend on these academies. Being proficient in English/Education is a privilege that is available and thus should be readily accessible regardless of income.
Do I want to feel useful and effective? Yes. Do I wish I could do that while staying at my school? Absolutely. My only hope is that next semester will be better. I say better because supposedly the semester is to be focused on conversation (as opposed to this semester which was the "reading/writing" semester).
However, they just gave me the conversation book yesterday. I haven't looked at it yet, but if I'm just going to be teaching scripted dialogues out of a book, things aren't looking too promising.
That first day of school, where I wandered into the teacher's room for the first time, after having gotten lost, and was led to my desk for my first taste of deskwarming, feels so far away. I started March 3, 2011. Only four months. Honestly, I've never had time rush by like this. As a student, the semester always seemed to tick by so slowly. On the opposite side of things, it goes by ridiculously fast. On the one hand, those four months seemed to slip by me so quickly, and yet, I feel so fundamentally different from the person who first got lost at school four months ago.
In the last four months I've gone through a couple different cycles while teaching at school. The first, clearly, was something akin to sheer terror and bubbling ineptness as I struggled to find my footing not only with students, but with the Korean education system, and also with my co-teachers. I bombed a lot in the classroom, but all those shitastic days helped me figure out what worked and what didn't with these students at this school and in this country.
From then, I felt myself go into a more comfortable stage where I wasn't nearly as stressed as I was before, and where I feel like my skin was a lot thicker to deal with all the crap that is the necessary companion to all the wonderful things that do happen when being the native english teacher.
Lastly, and this is where I feel I currently stand, is this stage where you begin to wonder about how to be more effective in the classroom given the institutional limitations of being the native english teacher. As much as I learned from my students, I'm not entirely convinced of their learning anything from me. As hard a pill as that is to swallow, I honestly wonder.
My situation is a little different from perhaps other english teachers either in Seoul or in Korea. The Korean english teachers at my school are utterly capable of teaching students English without my help. There's actually very little that I can provide for my students/school. Sure, I can check pronunciation and idioms, and I can offer the gem of cultural variety... but with the other Korean teachers being as adept as they are, I can't help but think that my position in the school is unneeded.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing. It's absolutely wonderful that my school is lucky enough to have such a strong English department, and ideally, their level of language skill and teaching is what ought to happen in all Korean English departments.
That is not to say that there aren't glaring holes in the English curriculum of Korea. Essentially, everything is directed towards getting the students' reading, writing, and listening skills good enough for them to pass/excel in the University Entrance Examinations. Basically, all students who want to go to university must take this test, and the english section stresses reading, writing and listening.
And not speaking. not conversation.
So while my students can come up with really interesting essays...their ability to speak on the fly is not so good considering how many years they've been studying English. This is the first institutional challenge to the English program in Korea. The curriculum doesn't really focus on conversation since the University Entrance exam doesn't cover it. Thus, students don't get the practice speaking that they should, nor do they think its as important in their long list of things to study since there's no exam where their ability is tested. Even I, as the native english teacher, don't have a say in their english grade and theres just no incentive for them to really study speaking. Besides me, there's not anyone they would even speak English with.
So I want my classes to be centered around conversation since grammar and everything else can be covered by Korean English teachers. But I'm subject to the whims and curriculum of my school, and if they want me to do writing projects with my students, then it's not something I can take lightly.
With all of this, it makes me wonder if I should renew my contract next year, if given a chance (and, with the cuts happening in Korea right now, this could be a very big IF). This is not the whinny post of someone who wants to feel important... the truth is that I'm not really needed. As a native english speaker, I'm not being utilized effectively, and as such, there's really no reason for me to stay.
I mean, except for the small fact that I love my students.
I'd like to stay in Korea. Do I want to stay at my school? Yes and no. Do I want to move to another public school where I'm met with the same institutional obstacles? Not really. Do I want move to a private english academy? No because students shouldn't have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to learn the same English skills they should get from going to public school. Nor do I want to correlate someone's English proficiency in Korea to the amount of money they own and can spend on these academies. Being proficient in English/Education is a privilege that is available and thus should be readily accessible regardless of income.
Do I want to feel useful and effective? Yes. Do I wish I could do that while staying at my school? Absolutely. My only hope is that next semester will be better. I say better because supposedly the semester is to be focused on conversation (as opposed to this semester which was the "reading/writing" semester).
However, they just gave me the conversation book yesterday. I haven't looked at it yet, but if I'm just going to be teaching scripted dialogues out of a book, things aren't looking too promising.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Exotic Foreign Teacher
Though it’s hard to tell from her exotic looks and true American accent, she was a huge Korean culture-a-holic and the picture of T.O.P on her desk would have screamed that.
With a slightly flushed face,looking alternately at a recorder and interview papers, she handled all of the questions carefully, every now and then grinning at tough ones to answer.
Michelle had walked a bit hard way to become an English teacher in a foreign country. Until deciding to come to Korea, she spent many days agonizing over it, and one of the things that held her back was her family. It was the hard one for her family to allow her to live in other parts of the world alone. However, many Korean friends of hers, Korean foods caputring her tastes, and unique Korean culture led her to Korea finally.
After having arrived at Korea, she adapted well in a new lifestyle and culture despite her family's concerns. Being excited over the Korean drama "City Hunter" and her favorite K-pop group "Big Bang," it was apparent to evertone that she was almost Korean, but she said she had a long way to go. " I think communication with local people is the most important thing. So I guess I'll be like a Korean when I become good in Korean and communicate with Koreans naturally."
She got used not only to her new life but also to her job as a teacher. At first, as a native speaker, she had a lot of troubles being close to her students because they were scared of her. But staring the same culture like K-pop formed intimacy between her and the students. She smiled saying that sometimes a few students came up to her, gave Big Bang stickers and tried to use English to tell her news of Big Bang.
An excerpt from my school's newspaper about me, the foreign native teacher.
I'm DYING LOL.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
English Zoned.
A glimpse of where I teach, the ENGLISH ZONE.
In many schools in Seoul--if you teach outside of Seoul/Busan, it may be a different story--there is a designated English classroom known as the English Zone. I say "designated" because the school system in Korea differs from the west, in that usually students STAY in their classroom, while the TEACHERS move around---instead of Teachers staying in the classroom and STUDENTS moving from class to class.
But with an English Zone, students come to you. And it's exactly what it's name means, that within those walls, it's all English, all the time ^^.
The smart board. Many school's within Seoul have a SMART board/a touch screen of some sort that frees you from standing behind your desk/computer.
In many schools in Seoul--if you teach outside of Seoul/Busan, it may be a different story--there is a designated English classroom known as the English Zone. I say "designated" because the school system in Korea differs from the west, in that usually students STAY in their classroom, while the TEACHERS move around---instead of Teachers staying in the classroom and STUDENTS moving from class to class.
But with an English Zone, students come to you. And it's exactly what it's name means, that within those walls, it's all English, all the time ^^.
The smart board. Many school's within Seoul have a SMART board/a touch screen of some sort that frees you from standing behind your desk/computer.
Monday, May 9, 2011
How to get a job with EPIK
I got this email asking about how to get a job teaching in South Korea, and I thought I'd share it for anyone who was looking to do the same.
First, if you want, you can back track through my blog to read more detaied posts on how I got here. Check out the "pre-korea" labels on the right side.
Second, as an addendum to the information above, you can also see my old blog, which had some other things about EPIK interviews at the like: Mirth_Korea
Third, I should mention that there are many ways to land a job teaching English in Korea. You need to decide first, whether you want to teach PUBLIC school or PRIVATE school--in general terms. This matters because if you teach in Public school, you'll need to apply with EPIK/GEPIK (English Program in Korea--the gov't based organization that places and supports all native english teachers in S. Korea). This is a long and often arduous process with a lot of red tape and paperwork.
On the other hand, you can take the Private school route--and by private school, I mean Hagwon/English Academy. That is not to say that all private schools are hagwons, or that EPIK only places in public school, because I am an EPIK teacher currently teaching at a private school, but in general terms, we say EPIK=Public and Hagwon=Private.
Hagwons are easier to find work at, requiring maybe a fraction of what you would need to provide for EPIK. I'm not exactly sure what the process is like for obtaining a job at a hagwon--if you can do it from abroad or if you need to come here first to do it--but visas for South Korea are only good for 90 days (tourist visa). Hagwons are academies, that is, students attend their regular school, and THEN go to Hagwons for extra lessons. They play for these lessons at hagwons--that is to say, Hagwons are businesses.
There are a lot of differences between Hagwons and Public school. Both will usually put you up and pay for your apartment, but the hours you work and the amount you teach differ with each system. Furthermore, vacation/sick days often seem to be the biggest issue. By contract, EPIK teachers get 21 days of vacation leave, usually scheduled during school holidays, but we can take sick days if needed. For some reason, it seems that at Hagwons you vacation days are scheduled for you, and its harder to take sick leave.
Also, another issue is job stability at hagwons. Because they are businesses, your job depends upon how many students are attending the hagwon. If there are no students, you lose you job, you visa gets revoked, and all sorts of messy business occurs.
In any case, like I said earlier, there are several ways in which you can apply with the EPIK program. The most common ways are:
-directly, through EPIK website
-indirectly, through a recruiter.
I should mention that no, there is no reqirement for knowing Korean language in order to be successfully hired as a Guest English Teacher (GET)/ Native English Teacher (NET) in Korea. Any Korean language you know will be a benefit for your everyday convenience, but it is not required at all for placement.
All you need is university degree. If you are TEFL certified that can bump you up on the pay scale. The university degree doesn't matter what subject it is from, but if you did english or english education, you may be eligible to teach in Seoul or get a pay increase. If you've got a master's degree you can opt to teach at university--not with EPIK though.
You can peep the payscale & degree requirements here:
Other things you will need:
- University transcripts
- Letters of Recomendation
- Copies of your degrees
- Criminal Record Check
- passport photos
Some Tips:
- Get your application in early--EPIK is already accepting appliations for the Summer 2011 intake of teachers!!!! Deadline is June 1st!
- This means doing everything ASAP
- Make copies of everything
- Keep in contact with your recruiter, if you are using one, so you're always in the loop
- Ask questions if you don't understand something, better safe than sorry.
Hope that helps. Any other questions feel free to ask!
hi, i'm from singapore. Read your blog and would like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. I'm really interested in teaching in Korea. My i ask how did you get your job in Korea? Is there a need for me to be fluent in the korea language?
First, if you want, you can back track through my blog to read more detaied posts on how I got here. Check out the "pre-korea" labels on the right side.
Second, as an addendum to the information above, you can also see my old blog, which had some other things about EPIK interviews at the like: Mirth_Korea
Third, I should mention that there are many ways to land a job teaching English in Korea. You need to decide first, whether you want to teach PUBLIC school or PRIVATE school--in general terms. This matters because if you teach in Public school, you'll need to apply with EPIK/GEPIK (English Program in Korea--the gov't based organization that places and supports all native english teachers in S. Korea). This is a long and often arduous process with a lot of red tape and paperwork.
On the other hand, you can take the Private school route--and by private school, I mean Hagwon/English Academy. That is not to say that all private schools are hagwons, or that EPIK only places in public school, because I am an EPIK teacher currently teaching at a private school, but in general terms, we say EPIK=Public and Hagwon=Private.
Hagwons are easier to find work at, requiring maybe a fraction of what you would need to provide for EPIK. I'm not exactly sure what the process is like for obtaining a job at a hagwon--if you can do it from abroad or if you need to come here first to do it--but visas for South Korea are only good for 90 days (tourist visa). Hagwons are academies, that is, students attend their regular school, and THEN go to Hagwons for extra lessons. They play for these lessons at hagwons--that is to say, Hagwons are businesses.
There are a lot of differences between Hagwons and Public school. Both will usually put you up and pay for your apartment, but the hours you work and the amount you teach differ with each system. Furthermore, vacation/sick days often seem to be the biggest issue. By contract, EPIK teachers get 21 days of vacation leave, usually scheduled during school holidays, but we can take sick days if needed. For some reason, it seems that at Hagwons you vacation days are scheduled for you, and its harder to take sick leave.
Also, another issue is job stability at hagwons. Because they are businesses, your job depends upon how many students are attending the hagwon. If there are no students, you lose you job, you visa gets revoked, and all sorts of messy business occurs.
In any case, like I said earlier, there are several ways in which you can apply with the EPIK program. The most common ways are:
-directly, through EPIK website
-indirectly, through a recruiter.
I should mention that no, there is no reqirement for knowing Korean language in order to be successfully hired as a Guest English Teacher (GET)/ Native English Teacher (NET) in Korea. Any Korean language you know will be a benefit for your everyday convenience, but it is not required at all for placement.
All you need is university degree. If you are TEFL certified that can bump you up on the pay scale. The university degree doesn't matter what subject it is from, but if you did english or english education, you may be eligible to teach in Seoul or get a pay increase. If you've got a master's degree you can opt to teach at university--not with EPIK though.
You can peep the payscale & degree requirements here:
Other things you will need:
- University transcripts
- Letters of Recomendation
- Copies of your degrees
- Criminal Record Check
- passport photos
Some Tips:
- Get your application in early--EPIK is already accepting appliations for the Summer 2011 intake of teachers!!!! Deadline is June 1st!
- This means doing everything ASAP
- Make copies of everything
- Keep in contact with your recruiter, if you are using one, so you're always in the loop
- Ask questions if you don't understand something, better safe than sorry.
Hope that helps. Any other questions feel free to ask!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Teaching adventures 2: Linda & Kazakhstan
A few weeks ago a student approached me during "cleaning time"--the 30 minutes designated at the end of the day where students clean up the school, and each student is assigned a particular task--to ask for some help. Her english name was Linda.
She wasn't actually a student of mine, but rather she's the student who mops underneath my desk. Linda comes by to talk with me while she waits for another student to finish sweeping around my desk--and we talk about all sorts of things.
But on that particular friday, she told me that she was applying to an international camp for environmental engineering--but that there would be an english interview for it. Linda, is a second year. She's not my student. That means she's not at an intermediate/advanced level. She was terribly worried about her interview, and to be honest, I was a bit worried too. Because it's one thing to be able to talk about you age, and where you come from, and what your favorite food is in english... it's a completely different thing altogether to have to talk about environmental issues and what you think about them in a language that is not your own.
Since Linda isn't actually my student, I decided to set aside some time after school to work with her specifically. There was no other way since she has classes each period and there's no way I'd take away her lunch. After school it must be. But that also meant that I would be working with her gratis. Her interview was saturday afternoon and I even went in on saturday to prep her for it. Teachers were surprised to see me there, wondering why I was showing up on a saturday since my contract states that I get the weekends for myself--I should mention that korean teachers work every other saturday.
I didn't mind working off the clock with her, I was happy to do it. She was such a trooper--she worked so hard. Each day coming in just that much better than yesterday. I worried that I wasn't actually doing much to help her, that the questions we'd work on were too simple, too vague. I worried that she would be so nervous that she wouldn't be able to remember anything we'd practiced, so I also gave her some advice and breathing methods.
I didn't see her for a while afterwards, and I was in suspense as we both wondered if she was accepted or not. Linda told me that she was incredibly nervous, and that she didn't speak as well as we had prepared. It was to be expected, but I hoped her nervousness would be overlooked given the situation.
Then, in the middle of the week, one of the teachers comes to my desk to tell me a student is looking to speak with me. The teacher's room was on lock down, since teachers were making up the mid-term exams & no students at all were allowed inside. So I head out, and there Linda is, completely happy.
She made it in. She's going to an international camp for environmental studies...in kazakhstan! Apparently, S.Korea and Kazakhstan have this crazy environmental program and my student gets to go there and have this amazing experience.
Linda was so happy, and I was equally thrilled, as if I was the one going. She thanked me profusely, saying something along the lines of, me speaking with her improved her english and that she thought she got in because of my help.
While I didn't think she got into the camp because of my help, I accepted that thanks for her improved english. Because the point of us talking wasn't so that I could feed her prepared answers. We all know how that can turn out:
But the point was just to get her thinking about the topic...in english.
After we parted, I excused myself to the ladies room where I promptly cried. I mean you always wonder how effective you are as a teacher...especially in this sort of situation. You wonder if you're just the fun teacher. You wonder if you are actually helping to improve students' english skills.
And then something like this happens.
And its humbling and jarring, and beautiful. It was the very first time I felt like I was making a difference in a student's life since coming here.
So, Linda, thank you.
She wasn't actually a student of mine, but rather she's the student who mops underneath my desk. Linda comes by to talk with me while she waits for another student to finish sweeping around my desk--and we talk about all sorts of things.
But on that particular friday, she told me that she was applying to an international camp for environmental engineering--but that there would be an english interview for it. Linda, is a second year. She's not my student. That means she's not at an intermediate/advanced level. She was terribly worried about her interview, and to be honest, I was a bit worried too. Because it's one thing to be able to talk about you age, and where you come from, and what your favorite food is in english... it's a completely different thing altogether to have to talk about environmental issues and what you think about them in a language that is not your own.
Since Linda isn't actually my student, I decided to set aside some time after school to work with her specifically. There was no other way since she has classes each period and there's no way I'd take away her lunch. After school it must be. But that also meant that I would be working with her gratis. Her interview was saturday afternoon and I even went in on saturday to prep her for it. Teachers were surprised to see me there, wondering why I was showing up on a saturday since my contract states that I get the weekends for myself--I should mention that korean teachers work every other saturday.
I didn't mind working off the clock with her, I was happy to do it. She was such a trooper--she worked so hard. Each day coming in just that much better than yesterday. I worried that I wasn't actually doing much to help her, that the questions we'd work on were too simple, too vague. I worried that she would be so nervous that she wouldn't be able to remember anything we'd practiced, so I also gave her some advice and breathing methods.
I didn't see her for a while afterwards, and I was in suspense as we both wondered if she was accepted or not. Linda told me that she was incredibly nervous, and that she didn't speak as well as we had prepared. It was to be expected, but I hoped her nervousness would be overlooked given the situation.
Then, in the middle of the week, one of the teachers comes to my desk to tell me a student is looking to speak with me. The teacher's room was on lock down, since teachers were making up the mid-term exams & no students at all were allowed inside. So I head out, and there Linda is, completely happy.
She made it in. She's going to an international camp for environmental studies...in kazakhstan! Apparently, S.Korea and Kazakhstan have this crazy environmental program and my student gets to go there and have this amazing experience.
Linda was so happy, and I was equally thrilled, as if I was the one going. She thanked me profusely, saying something along the lines of, me speaking with her improved her english and that she thought she got in because of my help.
While I didn't think she got into the camp because of my help, I accepted that thanks for her improved english. Because the point of us talking wasn't so that I could feed her prepared answers. We all know how that can turn out:
But the point was just to get her thinking about the topic...in english.
After we parted, I excused myself to the ladies room where I promptly cried. I mean you always wonder how effective you are as a teacher...especially in this sort of situation. You wonder if you're just the fun teacher. You wonder if you are actually helping to improve students' english skills.
And then something like this happens.
And its humbling and jarring, and beautiful. It was the very first time I felt like I was making a difference in a student's life since coming here.
So, Linda, thank you.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Teaching adventures 1: 왕따
Every school has them.
The outcasts, the loners, the person who just, for whatever reason, doesn't fit in. In Korean they are known as 왕따.
We had been forewarned about how to deal with the outcasts during orientation, as elementary and middle school kids can be particularly cruel. That is not to say, however, that my school is without its outcasts.
I was on the lookout early on to see if there was anyone who was picked on or left out during activities and the like. Seeing that most of the girls got along fine & worked well together, I don't know, I guess I just got it into my head that everyone, for the most part, got along. Sure, there were more popular students, there were vocal students, there were shy students, and others who distracted the class, but I honestly didn't pick up on any sort of negativity.
I was looking for the wrong things.
At the high school level being ostracized from others doesn't come in the form of taunting, blaming, or snickering. It's a quieter kind of ostracism. It's neglect. It's complete and utter indifference. It's not caring enough to even make fun of you.
I didn't even know that one of my student's was an outcast until it was pointed out to me. I knew she was a bit different than the other girls--but I thought she had some friends at least. She would come around my desk sometimes after school or in between classes, just wanting to talk. I thought she wanted to improve her english, and maybe she did, but after one of our chats, the teacher whose desk is next to mine turned to me and told me that it was nice that I chatted with her.
I was surprised at this. I will always talk with any student who wants to practice their english. I didn't see chatting with this particular student as being anything out of the ordinary. But then the teacher went on to mention that she doesn't have any friends. Not even one. In the entire school.
She was a 왕따.
I was so confused. I thought, at least, that she was friends with the girl who sat next to her in class. I had seen them talking during class. But then I thought, and then really observed, their interaction. They sat next to each other because of assigned seats. They talked, to clarify instructions/directions. The girl who sat next to her wasn't cruel in the slightest, but also, didn't make an effort either.
I couldn't believe I had missed her isolation. During activities, because she's so bright, she often leads the group giving them answers. The group accepts her, albeit temporarily, because she gives them answers. They include her, but again, don't make the effort to befriend her.
This girl puts on a damn brave face. Whenever I speak with her she always puts a smile on her face and she's bright and cheerful. But I also see her wandering the hallways by herself, or lingering around the teacher's room to talk to teachers because she doesn't have anyone else to talk with.
And it breaks my heart just a bit more every time I see it happen.
I mean, I was never the popular girl growing up. I was terribly shy, and while I wasn't a complete outcast, I mean, I definitely could have been. So I know what that loneliness--that sheer anxiety & loneliness--feels like.
And I also know there's nothing for me to do to make her not be the outcast. Such is the dynamic in any sort of school, between any set of students. The best I can do is speak with her--validate her thoughts and her feelings and her existence. Give her the attention she can't get from her peers, and make sure he self-confidence and self-esteem doesn't falter. I know that she'll find people, eventually, who accept her as she is. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen in high school. Considering that she's a second year, I'm hoping that things get better for her here, or that she'll survive the hell that is high school, and start anew at university. There, she can reinvent herself, be whoever she wants because no one will know anything about her.
In the meantime, I enjoy my talks with her.
The outcasts, the loners, the person who just, for whatever reason, doesn't fit in. In Korean they are known as 왕따.
We had been forewarned about how to deal with the outcasts during orientation, as elementary and middle school kids can be particularly cruel. That is not to say, however, that my school is without its outcasts.
I was on the lookout early on to see if there was anyone who was picked on or left out during activities and the like. Seeing that most of the girls got along fine & worked well together, I don't know, I guess I just got it into my head that everyone, for the most part, got along. Sure, there were more popular students, there were vocal students, there were shy students, and others who distracted the class, but I honestly didn't pick up on any sort of negativity.
I was looking for the wrong things.
At the high school level being ostracized from others doesn't come in the form of taunting, blaming, or snickering. It's a quieter kind of ostracism. It's neglect. It's complete and utter indifference. It's not caring enough to even make fun of you.
I didn't even know that one of my student's was an outcast until it was pointed out to me. I knew she was a bit different than the other girls--but I thought she had some friends at least. She would come around my desk sometimes after school or in between classes, just wanting to talk. I thought she wanted to improve her english, and maybe she did, but after one of our chats, the teacher whose desk is next to mine turned to me and told me that it was nice that I chatted with her.
I was surprised at this. I will always talk with any student who wants to practice their english. I didn't see chatting with this particular student as being anything out of the ordinary. But then the teacher went on to mention that she doesn't have any friends. Not even one. In the entire school.
She was a 왕따.
I was so confused. I thought, at least, that she was friends with the girl who sat next to her in class. I had seen them talking during class. But then I thought, and then really observed, their interaction. They sat next to each other because of assigned seats. They talked, to clarify instructions/directions. The girl who sat next to her wasn't cruel in the slightest, but also, didn't make an effort either.
I couldn't believe I had missed her isolation. During activities, because she's so bright, she often leads the group giving them answers. The group accepts her, albeit temporarily, because she gives them answers. They include her, but again, don't make the effort to befriend her.
This girl puts on a damn brave face. Whenever I speak with her she always puts a smile on her face and she's bright and cheerful. But I also see her wandering the hallways by herself, or lingering around the teacher's room to talk to teachers because she doesn't have anyone else to talk with.
And it breaks my heart just a bit more every time I see it happen.
I mean, I was never the popular girl growing up. I was terribly shy, and while I wasn't a complete outcast, I mean, I definitely could have been. So I know what that loneliness--that sheer anxiety & loneliness--feels like.
And I also know there's nothing for me to do to make her not be the outcast. Such is the dynamic in any sort of school, between any set of students. The best I can do is speak with her--validate her thoughts and her feelings and her existence. Give her the attention she can't get from her peers, and make sure he self-confidence and self-esteem doesn't falter. I know that she'll find people, eventually, who accept her as she is. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen in high school. Considering that she's a second year, I'm hoping that things get better for her here, or that she'll survive the hell that is high school, and start anew at university. There, she can reinvent herself, be whoever she wants because no one will know anything about her.
In the meantime, I enjoy my talks with her.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Teaching with kpop
I was told at orientation that one of the things that can get students really excited is using kpop in the classroom. Not everywhere all the time, because students need to feel that your lessons are serious business too..but used sparingly just to grab their attention.
Use kpop in the classroom? Um, yes!
I try not to let my bias for Big Bang determine what I use in the classroom. On the first day of school I let my students tell me who they liked, and I keep that in mind when I select photos to use in things like powerpoints. For the curious, my students like: DBSK, Rain, Big Bang, Beast, SNSD, 2NE1, somee Super Junior, somee F.T. Island, somee C.N. Blue. Since I teach at a girl's high school, more boy groups are represented than girl groups.
I usually won't do kpop related things in the classroom unless its with vocabulary related activities. For instance:
And it works really well. The response to the first slide is always funny--there's a big ruckus with girls gasping, trying to get into a better position to see the board, a lot of murmuring and even face covering. It's really cute.
But there are other instances where I just let my Big Bang bias slip in. I can't help it.
Use kpop in the classroom? Um, yes!
I try not to let my bias for Big Bang determine what I use in the classroom. On the first day of school I let my students tell me who they liked, and I keep that in mind when I select photos to use in things like powerpoints. For the curious, my students like: DBSK, Rain, Big Bang, Beast, SNSD, 2NE1, somee Super Junior, somee F.T. Island, somee C.N. Blue. Since I teach at a girl's high school, more boy groups are represented than girl groups.
I usually won't do kpop related things in the classroom unless its with vocabulary related activities. For instance:
And it works really well. The response to the first slide is always funny--there's a big ruckus with girls gasping, trying to get into a better position to see the board, a lot of murmuring and even face covering. It's really cute.
But there are other instances where I just let my Big Bang bias slip in. I can't help it.
kai bai bo!
Rock, paper, and scissors. Or, in Korea, kai bai bo (가위바위보).
By whatever name you choose to call it, it's importance in the land of the morning calm is of no trivial matter. It is the hand that determines the fate of it's people. There is no issue too little, nor too surmounting that it can't be decided with a game of kai ba bo.
So much weight is given to the game, that tensions can rise and special "techniques" are given over to winning the decision you most desire. Girls will, before throwing down a rapid succession of rocks, paper, and scissors, intertwine their arms from their elbows to their palms before kissing the place where their wrists meet.
Then it's an all out war of fates.
And you thought it was only a child's game.
By whatever name you choose to call it, it's importance in the land of the morning calm is of no trivial matter. It is the hand that determines the fate of it's people. There is no issue too little, nor too surmounting that it can't be decided with a game of kai ba bo.
So much weight is given to the game, that tensions can rise and special "techniques" are given over to winning the decision you most desire. Girls will, before throwing down a rapid succession of rocks, paper, and scissors, intertwine their arms from their elbows to their palms before kissing the place where their wrists meet.
Then it's an all out war of fates.
And you thought it was only a child's game.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Crap shoot
today was all sorts of crappy. crappy weather (it was raining & there was this big concern that there would be radiation), crappy schedule (today all the students at my school had to take a big English exam & all the other classes go moved around), and I felt pretty crappy (I'm sick, finally).
However, there was this handball match that was going on in the middle of the day where Korea's national team was playing in the finals so basically the school shut down to let the students watch. Since I didn't even know handball was a national sport in any sort of country, I sat around and took videos of my kids watching. They all get suuuper shy and they cover their faces, saying that they don't want to be seen since they have bad faces--which really just means they aren't allowed to wear makeup at school haha.
However, there was this handball match that was going on in the middle of the day where Korea's national team was playing in the finals so basically the school shut down to let the students watch. Since I didn't even know handball was a national sport in any sort of country, I sat around and took videos of my kids watching. They all get suuuper shy and they cover their faces, saying that they don't want to be seen since they have bad faces--which really just means they aren't allowed to wear makeup at school haha.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
April Fools Day 2011
During the orientation we had a lot of advice, recommendations, and general know-how, thrown at us. What we should do, what we need to do, what we're really doing here in Korea. Out of all of that information, the one that has resonated the most with me was this:
You are here to teach culture.
I mean, yes, officially, I was brought in by the Korean government to teach english, and yes, when we say "teach english" we really mean "teach english conversation." But how do you teach conversation without having to deal with culture? English is, fundamentally, a western construction. Korea, with all of its modernity and western things, is still rooted in a culture that is not western. Culture, then, must be covered when teaching/learning english.
The reason why I'm bringing this up is that I always try to expose my students to western culture and customs as much as I can. In general, I'm not a big "April Fools Day" kind of person. I don't plan pranks, and if they happen to me, eh, whatevs.
But because of I aim to expose my students to western customs, I had to plan for jokes and pranks for April 1st. Little did I know that students call "April Fools" "Liars/Lying Day." In truth I wasn't exposing them to anything new, but we still had fun, I think. I won some major points with them for my pranks.
I, however, felt really sorry to my co-teachers, who had to endure my pranks haha.
By the end of the day, I had students coming up to me saying I was a liar. Not even just a liar, but a really good liar. They asked me why I lied to them. I told them I had to because they almost exposed my lie, so I had no choice but to keep lying...
I had told them that I was leaving their school to go back to the US, and that they would get a new teacher next week. They asked me why I was telling them this information on that particular day, and I could hear whispers of (liars day) among the class. I told them it was my last day, that's why. They didn't believe me & told me that it was liars day. I asked them if they were calling me a liar lol. Because I knew they were on to me, I had to pull out something convincing... aka, my super awesome ability to cry at the drop of a hat! I pulled out a misty-eyed, throat clearing, pausing for a few moments of recollect myself moment/performance that made everyone quit with their calling my bluff. After that, there was no more talk of liars, only, "teacher, what is your email address?" HAHA
I played a few more pranks, but it got harder as the day went on since everyone wised up to the fact that they couldn't believe anything that was happening that day. Overall though, I thought it was a very nice was to "play" with my students, since I am, almost always, on the other side.
Exchanging stories with other native english teachers... I've now got plenty of tricks up my sleeve for next year's April Fools! muahahahhha
You are here to teach culture.
I mean, yes, officially, I was brought in by the Korean government to teach english, and yes, when we say "teach english" we really mean "teach english conversation." But how do you teach conversation without having to deal with culture? English is, fundamentally, a western construction. Korea, with all of its modernity and western things, is still rooted in a culture that is not western. Culture, then, must be covered when teaching/learning english.
The reason why I'm bringing this up is that I always try to expose my students to western culture and customs as much as I can. In general, I'm not a big "April Fools Day" kind of person. I don't plan pranks, and if they happen to me, eh, whatevs.
But because of I aim to expose my students to western customs, I had to plan for jokes and pranks for April 1st. Little did I know that students call "April Fools" "Liars/Lying Day." In truth I wasn't exposing them to anything new, but we still had fun, I think. I won some major points with them for my pranks.
I, however, felt really sorry to my co-teachers, who had to endure my pranks haha.
By the end of the day, I had students coming up to me saying I was a liar. Not even just a liar, but a really good liar. They asked me why I lied to them. I told them I had to because they almost exposed my lie, so I had no choice but to keep lying...
I had told them that I was leaving their school to go back to the US, and that they would get a new teacher next week. They asked me why I was telling them this information on that particular day, and I could hear whispers of (liars day) among the class. I told them it was my last day, that's why. They didn't believe me & told me that it was liars day. I asked them if they were calling me a liar lol. Because I knew they were on to me, I had to pull out something convincing... aka, my super awesome ability to cry at the drop of a hat! I pulled out a misty-eyed, throat clearing, pausing for a few moments of recollect myself moment/performance that made everyone quit with their calling my bluff. After that, there was no more talk of liars, only, "teacher, what is your email address?" HAHA
I played a few more pranks, but it got harder as the day went on since everyone wised up to the fact that they couldn't believe anything that was happening that day. Overall though, I thought it was a very nice was to "play" with my students, since I am, almost always, on the other side.
Exchanging stories with other native english teachers... I've now got plenty of tricks up my sleeve for next year's April Fools! muahahahhha
Monday, March 28, 2011
Teach ESL Korea
I just wanted to make a little post about how I actually managed to end up in Korea.
There are a few ways to apply for EPIK (English Program in Korea)/ SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education):
I went with TeachESLKorea since I had heard good things about them from current EPIK/SMOE teachers in Korea. Their website was well put together, informative, and user friendly. They seemed to know what they were talking about and had placed teachers not only in Seoul but also in Korea, so I thought they were a reliable recruiter. The fact that I am now teaching in Korea is a testament to their credibility.
TeachESLKorea is run by Dan & Aggie and they are extremely professional, proficient, and friendly. Any questions I had were answered in a timely manner, and they always kept me in the loop (especially during the dreaded waiting process which was basically weeks of not knowing anything while EPIK/SMOE looked over all applications). Aggie handled my case specifically, and she went above and beyond to make sure I was being taken care of during each of the many steps of applying with EPIK/SMOE. She would even send follow up emails to check on how I was...even after I landed in Korea.
I can't say enough good things about Dan, Aggie & TeachESLKorea. If you are thinking about teaching in Korea and are debating how to apply, I would highly recommend going through a recruiter, and TeachESLKorea at that :)
There are a few ways to apply for EPIK (English Program in Korea)/ SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education):
- Directly to EPIK/SMOE
- Through an EPIK coordinator
- Through a university
- Through a recruiter
I went with TeachESLKorea since I had heard good things about them from current EPIK/SMOE teachers in Korea. Their website was well put together, informative, and user friendly. They seemed to know what they were talking about and had placed teachers not only in Seoul but also in Korea, so I thought they were a reliable recruiter. The fact that I am now teaching in Korea is a testament to their credibility.
TeachESLKorea is run by Dan & Aggie and they are extremely professional, proficient, and friendly. Any questions I had were answered in a timely manner, and they always kept me in the loop (especially during the dreaded waiting process which was basically weeks of not knowing anything while EPIK/SMOE looked over all applications). Aggie handled my case specifically, and she went above and beyond to make sure I was being taken care of during each of the many steps of applying with EPIK/SMOE. She would even send follow up emails to check on how I was...even after I landed in Korea.
I can't say enough good things about Dan, Aggie & TeachESLKorea. If you are thinking about teaching in Korea and are debating how to apply, I would highly recommend going through a recruiter, and TeachESLKorea at that :)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
My Birthday: part one, or why my students & teachers are awesome
To be honest I hadn't given too much thought about me celebrating my birthday for the first time so far away from home. After I finished writing my last blog post, I thought that I was in a good space. A few times previously, some of my students had come up to me asking me if I missed home, and while there are certain things I do miss, on the whole, I'm too busy trying to experience Korea to miss home. Because the thing is, if you think of the concept of "home" as a generality, you won't miss it...mostly because you'll be in the process of building a new concept of home.
But if you start thinking about particulars--the people, the weather, the food--that's when you can find yourself a bit homesick.
In any case, I went to school on Wednesday and went ahead teaching like normal. I hadn't really told anyone it was my birthday, since I didn't want it to be a big deal. I had told some of my students in passing the week before, and only because we were on the subject of birthdays.
It wasn't until maybe 3rd or 4th period that news broke that it was, in fact, Michelle teacher's birthday. I got sung to a lot that day. It was very cute. I actually didn't feel sad at all, until I thought about it. My voice lodged in my throat when, in the middle of expressing my thanks to my classes for their kind thoughts, I thought about how it was my first birthday away from home.
I'm telling you, you don't feel it until you stop and actually think about how far away you really are.
But then, came my very last class.
The bell rang for class to begin, and I hear my co-teacher tell the class to begin, and they all started singing "happy birthday" to me in english. I was suprised, of course, but what really got me was when I saw one of the students walking up with a "birthday cake" made out of choco-pies with a candle in it that was the number 2 lit. Taped onto the #2 candle was a paper question mark, since they didn't know how old I was turning. So everyone was singing, and then there was this cake, with its candle, and I thought about how I was so far away from home, and then I broke down into tears.
I had to turn away from my students for a good couple of minutes while I got myself together. And they were SO SWEET about it. "Teacher don't cry!" Don't cry!" they chanted at me. I was really moved, so I let them have the choco-pies.
And as if that wasn't enough! After school, a few students came to my desk with presents! They gave me a card that had a freaking cute message on the back, and this sandwich they purchased from a convenience store across the street. Incidentally, our chapter that we're studying is on tea--and I did this super elaborate lesson on all things tea because I love it so much--and in the process, I told them that I usually go out for tea on my birthday every year. So these girls got a tea bag and paper cup (I don't know where from), and gave it to me so I could have some tea on my birthday. I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world. What got me, was that I thought about how they must have ran to that convenience store RIGHT when school ended...and how they were probably looking at all the cards, trying to pick out which one they thought I would like. And the same with the sandwich. The sandwich was almost like a tea sandwich--crustless, filled with melon mousse. I kept thinking about how they were in the store, looking at what they could afford and what they thought I would like, and then running all the way back to school to give it to me before I left for the day.
I didn't cry, but I was super moved.
Also, I got a bunch of random things/candy/food. Since I hadn't told anyone, people were basically just giving me the things they had around, but the sentiment was there. My vice principal gave me some juice in the glass bottles they enjoy so much here. I was walking home, and a student saw me, stopped me, said "happy birthday teacher!" oh gift, gift!" Then reached into their coat pocket, pulled out a chupa-chup lollipop, and gave it to me. All while we were at an intersection. Another teacher MADE this crazy box and filled it with candy, wrote me a note in ENGLISH and passed it to an english teacher to give to me. He is a MATH teacher...and I'm not entirely sure I've ever met him before!
Today, the day after my birthday, another student wrote me this super cute note about feeling sorry that they didn't realize that yesterday was my birthday.
I've said this before and I'll say this again, Korean hospitality is so heart warming. I feel so undeserving, and yet truly grateful. I was, and still am, truly touched by the thoughts and sentiments of those I work with, and work for. I couldn't have asked for anything more on my birthday.
The gifts I got on the way home
The back of the card
today's belated birthday letter
But if you start thinking about particulars--the people, the weather, the food--that's when you can find yourself a bit homesick.
In any case, I went to school on Wednesday and went ahead teaching like normal. I hadn't really told anyone it was my birthday, since I didn't want it to be a big deal. I had told some of my students in passing the week before, and only because we were on the subject of birthdays.
It wasn't until maybe 3rd or 4th period that news broke that it was, in fact, Michelle teacher's birthday. I got sung to a lot that day. It was very cute. I actually didn't feel sad at all, until I thought about it. My voice lodged in my throat when, in the middle of expressing my thanks to my classes for their kind thoughts, I thought about how it was my first birthday away from home.
I'm telling you, you don't feel it until you stop and actually think about how far away you really are.
But then, came my very last class.
The bell rang for class to begin, and I hear my co-teacher tell the class to begin, and they all started singing "happy birthday" to me in english. I was suprised, of course, but what really got me was when I saw one of the students walking up with a "birthday cake" made out of choco-pies with a candle in it that was the number 2 lit. Taped onto the #2 candle was a paper question mark, since they didn't know how old I was turning. So everyone was singing, and then there was this cake, with its candle, and I thought about how I was so far away from home, and then I broke down into tears.
I had to turn away from my students for a good couple of minutes while I got myself together. And they were SO SWEET about it. "Teacher don't cry!" Don't cry!" they chanted at me. I was really moved, so I let them have the choco-pies.
And as if that wasn't enough! After school, a few students came to my desk with presents! They gave me a card that had a freaking cute message on the back, and this sandwich they purchased from a convenience store across the street. Incidentally, our chapter that we're studying is on tea--and I did this super elaborate lesson on all things tea because I love it so much--and in the process, I told them that I usually go out for tea on my birthday every year. So these girls got a tea bag and paper cup (I don't know where from), and gave it to me so I could have some tea on my birthday. I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world. What got me, was that I thought about how they must have ran to that convenience store RIGHT when school ended...and how they were probably looking at all the cards, trying to pick out which one they thought I would like. And the same with the sandwich. The sandwich was almost like a tea sandwich--crustless, filled with melon mousse. I kept thinking about how they were in the store, looking at what they could afford and what they thought I would like, and then running all the way back to school to give it to me before I left for the day.
I didn't cry, but I was super moved.
Also, I got a bunch of random things/candy/food. Since I hadn't told anyone, people were basically just giving me the things they had around, but the sentiment was there. My vice principal gave me some juice in the glass bottles they enjoy so much here. I was walking home, and a student saw me, stopped me, said "happy birthday teacher!" oh gift, gift!" Then reached into their coat pocket, pulled out a chupa-chup lollipop, and gave it to me. All while we were at an intersection. Another teacher MADE this crazy box and filled it with candy, wrote me a note in ENGLISH and passed it to an english teacher to give to me. He is a MATH teacher...and I'm not entirely sure I've ever met him before!
Today, the day after my birthday, another student wrote me this super cute note about feeling sorry that they didn't realize that yesterday was my birthday.
I've said this before and I'll say this again, Korean hospitality is so heart warming. I feel so undeserving, and yet truly grateful. I was, and still am, truly touched by the thoughts and sentiments of those I work with, and work for. I couldn't have asked for anything more on my birthday.
The gifts I got on the way home
The back of the card
today's belated birthday letterThursday, March 17, 2011
Word, White Day, & Work Friends
I’m at work, sitting at my desk, typing this on Microsoft word… English version. If you think I’m way too excited for this, you haven’t been condoned to doing heavy word/ppt/excel files using a non-english version (if English is your first/primary language). Plus, I’m a mac person. At work, I have to use PCs. And the MS office they have on these computers is XP…aka, all these mini-menus that I can’t read in Korean and all I want to do is make my margins smaller so all the text fits on one page and I don’t have to waste paper and why is this taking me 30 minutes to try and figure out?
When I called that man my opposition, I just meant that the first day I met him, I wasn't sure if he liked me at all. He would tease some other teachers for talking with me. So I thought that he didn't like me/think I was of any value.
But today, we passed each other on the staircase, and we almost passed each other without saying anything when out of the blue he just says, "Michelle, right?" & all I say is yes & greet him in my limited Korean. Then I go on my merry/shocked way. But then later on, we were in the main office & we were about to pass by each other again, so I meekly bowed to him like I meekly bow to everyone EXCEPT the principal & vice principal, and I guess he didn't see me or anything because he just kept walking. But I guess someone saw me bow & told him that I greeted him, because he came to my desk and started talking to me. I, of course, needed a translator but he was making jokes and stuff. At first, I thought it was at my expense...but it happens to not be the case at all. AND THEN, he started showing me all this stuff, like his book he published!
Let me just say, I had a complete OMG moment. His book, from what I can tell, is a study. He keeps these crazy notebooks where he studies flowers, draws them with oil pastels, and then writes his observations about them. Theres even their freaking latin names in the description. These are honest to God, old school Rousseu-esque freaking notebooks. Like, who does this any more? I was so impressed. First he showed me his published book, then the notebooks he's complied over the years, then his expensive set of oil pastels, and a few other of his publications. He was swinging by my desk every few minutes with something new for me to look at. My co-teacher said that she thinks he really wants to be my friend LOL.
Who knew a few insas was all it took to win someone over? If only it were always this easy!
So yeah, they got me an English version of MS office. And it’s freaking glorious.
I meant to talk about this earlier, but a few days ago was White Day here in Korea. To explain what White Day is, I have to talk about it’s more familiar counter-part: Valentine’s Day. In the west, Valentine’s Day is celebrated (usually) between couples where both parties give presents to the other in commemoration of their couplehood. In Korea, on Valentine’s day, ONLY the girls give presents to the boys. Then, a month later, on March 14, aka White Day, the boys return the gesture and give presents to the girls.
Since I teach at an all girls high school, there was no way that I was going to get anything -___-. But omg, my girls are so cute, I got some candy (yay) AND a GD & TOP poster!! SCORE ^^
When I called that man my opposition, I just meant that the first day I met him, I wasn't sure if he liked me at all. He would tease some other teachers for talking with me. So I thought that he didn't like me/think I was of any value.
But today, we passed each other on the staircase, and we almost passed each other without saying anything when out of the blue he just says, "Michelle, right?" & all I say is yes & greet him in my limited Korean. Then I go on my merry/shocked way. But then later on, we were in the main office & we were about to pass by each other again, so I meekly bowed to him like I meekly bow to everyone EXCEPT the principal & vice principal, and I guess he didn't see me or anything because he just kept walking. But I guess someone saw me bow & told him that I greeted him, because he came to my desk and started talking to me. I, of course, needed a translator but he was making jokes and stuff. At first, I thought it was at my expense...but it happens to not be the case at all. AND THEN, he started showing me all this stuff, like his book he published!
Let me just say, I had a complete OMG moment. His book, from what I can tell, is a study. He keeps these crazy notebooks where he studies flowers, draws them with oil pastels, and then writes his observations about them. Theres even their freaking latin names in the description. These are honest to God, old school Rousseu-esque freaking notebooks. Like, who does this any more? I was so impressed. First he showed me his published book, then the notebooks he's complied over the years, then his expensive set of oil pastels, and a few other of his publications. He was swinging by my desk every few minutes with something new for me to look at. My co-teacher said that she thinks he really wants to be my friend LOL.
Who knew a few insas was all it took to win someone over? If only it were always this easy!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
My School Schedule
What a typical week looks like. Twenty classes, level one @ twice/wk; level 2 @ thrice/wk:
I'm supposed to be at school at 8:00AM each day, but I don't actually start teaching until 8:30. Unless it's Wednesday, which means we have a staff meeting at 7:45 & its usually 45 mins of me sitting at my desk & not understanding what's going on, but being unable to work on my own things since I should be paying attention & focused on the meeting like all the rest of the teachers.Anyway, on most mornings I have roughly 30 mins to get myself ready for the 4-5 classes I'll teach that day. It's nice to ease into things in the morning & gather my thoughts for the day ahead.
Also, at 4:10PM each day is designated as homeroom teacher time, I guess as a sort of planning period, but since I'm not a homeroom teacher, I just sit at my desk and try to lesson plan. This period, however, is also the cleaning period for the students, so everyday I have some high schools sweep and mop around my desk, clean it off if I need it, or throw out my trash if I had some. Child labor at it's finest. I'm kidding of course.
This time is also sort of fun for me because it's when I get a few students who come up to my desk and just want to talk to me. Even if they don't have anything in particular they want to say to me, they just look so EAGER that I stop whatever it is that I'm doing just to shoot the breeze with them for awhile.
With this many classes, and me seeing them so often each week, I'm responsible for roughly 7 lesson plans per week. When I went through training, EPIK estimated that I would be lesson planning for about 2-3 classes/week. Right. But on top of all that, everyday during student's lunch, the english classroom is open for conversation and activities. Activities that I have to plan. Everyday. It's exhausting trying to figure out so many activities for one week. And it's only the second week!
But once 4:40 hits, I'm out the door. I sort of feel bad because the rest of the teachers, that is, the ones who are full time teachers, have to stay a bit longer. My desk is in the main teacher's room, which is essentially a big room with like cubicles in it. All the rest of us bounce and it's a bit awkward because everyone can see you leaving. And sometimes these same teachers that I goodbye to first, are at school the next day BEFORE me.
I also never know what language I should speak with the other teachers. With the students for sure I only speak english with them, since I am their english teacher. But with the other teachers I never know if I should speak english or korean. I try to bow to everyone I know, and say hello to them when I see them, but it's a bit funny because they'll try to speak to me in English and I'll try to speak to them in Korean. Broken English meets Broken Korean. ^^
I'm supposed to be at school at 8:00AM each day, but I don't actually start teaching until 8:30. Unless it's Wednesday, which means we have a staff meeting at 7:45 & its usually 45 mins of me sitting at my desk & not understanding what's going on, but being unable to work on my own things since I should be paying attention & focused on the meeting like all the rest of the teachers.Anyway, on most mornings I have roughly 30 mins to get myself ready for the 4-5 classes I'll teach that day. It's nice to ease into things in the morning & gather my thoughts for the day ahead.
Also, at 4:10PM each day is designated as homeroom teacher time, I guess as a sort of planning period, but since I'm not a homeroom teacher, I just sit at my desk and try to lesson plan. This period, however, is also the cleaning period for the students, so everyday I have some high schools sweep and mop around my desk, clean it off if I need it, or throw out my trash if I had some. Child labor at it's finest. I'm kidding of course.
This time is also sort of fun for me because it's when I get a few students who come up to my desk and just want to talk to me. Even if they don't have anything in particular they want to say to me, they just look so EAGER that I stop whatever it is that I'm doing just to shoot the breeze with them for awhile.
With this many classes, and me seeing them so often each week, I'm responsible for roughly 7 lesson plans per week. When I went through training, EPIK estimated that I would be lesson planning for about 2-3 classes/week. Right. But on top of all that, everyday during student's lunch, the english classroom is open for conversation and activities. Activities that I have to plan. Everyday. It's exhausting trying to figure out so many activities for one week. And it's only the second week!
But once 4:40 hits, I'm out the door. I sort of feel bad because the rest of the teachers, that is, the ones who are full time teachers, have to stay a bit longer. My desk is in the main teacher's room, which is essentially a big room with like cubicles in it. All the rest of us bounce and it's a bit awkward because everyone can see you leaving. And sometimes these same teachers that I goodbye to first, are at school the next day BEFORE me.
I also never know what language I should speak with the other teachers. With the students for sure I only speak english with them, since I am their english teacher. But with the other teachers I never know if I should speak english or korean. I try to bow to everyone I know, and say hello to them when I see them, but it's a bit funny because they'll try to speak to me in English and I'll try to speak to them in Korean. Broken English meets Broken Korean. ^^
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Riding down Seoul City 3: First Week
Let me preface this post by saying that I'm exhausted. After teaching a full day's worth of classes & organizing activities & preparing for tomorrow's classes, I walked 25ish minutes in the bitter cold back to my apartment, where I spent the next oh, 1.5 hours getting trolled by G-market when all I wanted to do is order a table for my apartment so I'm not eating, sleeping & doing work all on my bed, and watching Mnet Music Countdown for Big Bang's comeback ^^. I forget that in Korea, at least Seoul, websites are optimized for internet explorer...which means things plain just wont work on my mac. saddness. oh but after being trolled & being ecstatic because my boys won again this week, I spent the next 2 hours riding subways, getting lost, and finding my way again...all for an iron, hair dryer, silverware organizers, and some aloe vera...juice?
The reason why I mentioned all of that is because if this post doesnt make sense, that's why.
So yeah, my school. This week was my first actual week of teaching classes. I teach 20 classes per week. I have 4 level one classes (sophomores) twice a week, and 4 level two classes (juniors) thrice a week. But then I also am in charge of this random english time during lunch, when the english classroom (my room) is open & I'm supposed to come up with some activities for the students. This means besides the 5-6(!!!) lessons I teach a week, I have to come up with engaging things for students to do during that lunch time thing...but only like 5 students ever show up at one time. It's a whole lot of effort for only a small result. But whatever, its fine. At the moment I'm trying to find "high school musical" so I can play that tomorrow for 30 mins (I've designated fridays as a movie day, but I can't decide if I want to include subtitles, and if so, should they be in korean or in english...).
I teach with 3 other teachers, 2 for level two & the other for level one. I like teaching for level one because my co-teacher lets me have free reign, I get to decide the activites, I lead the class, its essentially my class. In the other classes, I play a less active roll, I'm there to do activities and to explain vocab...and I walk around the classroom to make sure students are on task, and when I'm not doing that, I'm reading "Catcher in the Rye" in the back of the room, the book shoved in my textbook to make it seem like I'm just following along in the grammar lesson, which is taught in korean.
The students seem nice, and sweet and none of my classes are more than 27 students. I only found out this week that the high school is a private high school, with a fairly decent reputation to uphold, so it's rather stern with the students without crushing them, which makes for students who are fairly well behaved. Plus, they aren't 10 years old so their attention can be held longer.
I have to say, I was reeeeally nervous when I found out that I got an all girl's high school. I, by nature, don't get a long very well with people. And girls, even less so. I didn't get along with high school girls when I WAS ONE. And, let's be honest, high school girls can be vicious bitches.
So you see why I was nervous.
But for now at least, they seem very shy. I dont think it's just because they are afraid to speak in front of a native speaker because my korean co-teachers tell me that they have a hard time getting students to talk. The korean school system stresses reading and writing and even listening...but not speaking or conversation, which is why they bring in foreigners like me. These girls are smart. Some of them go to private academies after school to take extra english lessons, but even not, these girls are smart. They just don't have the confidence to speak because they don't practice enough. I find this to be more true, surprisingly, of my level twos. Because I set the precedent from day one with my level ones that they MUST speak & that I WILL randomly call on them... I can get them to give me answers. With my level twos, even if I randomly pick on someone, they will just shut down on me.
This is just a first impression, but it seems to me that my level twos are like this because they are used to it. I'm not saying that this is bad, but my co-teachers teach grammar and even if they ask a question to the class, they almost immediately answer it. So the students dont try to answer because they know that even if they dont respond, and answer will still be provided. And I've had this happen to me a few times--oh I should mention that my students are intermediate & advanced level students--some teachers have said that I shouldn't expect too much from the students. I suppose they were trying to prepare me, as a native english speaker, not to think that these students were on the level of the western counterparts, but I do want to push these girls. I don't want to make it impossible for them, but I definitely dont want to "dumb things down" for them either. These girls are smart. They ought to be able to speak english as well as they can write it and read it.
Oh, and they were all thoroughly impressed with my knowledge of KPOP! I tried to keep my Big Bang bias a secret, just so I could find out what groups they liked without them saying Big Bang just to kiss up to me, but when one girl said, "My favorite actor is TOP and my favorite singer is TOP," I couldn't help my reaction. The girl won me over LOL. What else, oh EVERY single class asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said no...and my level ones, bless them, were like "WHY TEACHER???" Well shoot. If you know Big Bang, send them my way please, and then teacher will have 5 boyfriends. ^_______^
Aside from all that, the other teachers are great. I got introduced about 1000000000 times & had to speak both english & korea, which I'm sure was lulzy. Last night all the english teachers went out for galbi and it was delish! Did I mention that I'm eating pork again? When I'm getting free (or almost free) meals, I'll eat whatever deliciousness you throw at me. Also, it's just easier for me to eat the pig rather than try to ask if the dish has pork in it, or if I can get something else.
On the agenda this weekend: meet ups with other EPIK teachers, maybe visit the YG building & a visit to se7en's restaurant, and definitely want to get on top of a mountain already! Oh, and maybe lesson plan -____- I love that everyone has these really detailed lesson plans, but I've taken after my college professor, Pollard, and I write my lesson plans as scribbles on scrap pieces of paper & napkins...because that's how you do it at university! lol
The reason why I mentioned all of that is because if this post doesnt make sense, that's why.
So yeah, my school. This week was my first actual week of teaching classes. I teach 20 classes per week. I have 4 level one classes (sophomores) twice a week, and 4 level two classes (juniors) thrice a week. But then I also am in charge of this random english time during lunch, when the english classroom (my room) is open & I'm supposed to come up with some activities for the students. This means besides the 5-6(!!!) lessons I teach a week, I have to come up with engaging things for students to do during that lunch time thing...but only like 5 students ever show up at one time. It's a whole lot of effort for only a small result. But whatever, its fine. At the moment I'm trying to find "high school musical" so I can play that tomorrow for 30 mins (I've designated fridays as a movie day, but I can't decide if I want to include subtitles, and if so, should they be in korean or in english...).
I teach with 3 other teachers, 2 for level two & the other for level one. I like teaching for level one because my co-teacher lets me have free reign, I get to decide the activites, I lead the class, its essentially my class. In the other classes, I play a less active roll, I'm there to do activities and to explain vocab...and I walk around the classroom to make sure students are on task, and when I'm not doing that, I'm reading "Catcher in the Rye" in the back of the room, the book shoved in my textbook to make it seem like I'm just following along in the grammar lesson, which is taught in korean.
The students seem nice, and sweet and none of my classes are more than 27 students. I only found out this week that the high school is a private high school, with a fairly decent reputation to uphold, so it's rather stern with the students without crushing them, which makes for students who are fairly well behaved. Plus, they aren't 10 years old so their attention can be held longer.
I have to say, I was reeeeally nervous when I found out that I got an all girl's high school. I, by nature, don't get a long very well with people. And girls, even less so. I didn't get along with high school girls when I WAS ONE. And, let's be honest, high school girls can be vicious bitches.
So you see why I was nervous.
But for now at least, they seem very shy. I dont think it's just because they are afraid to speak in front of a native speaker because my korean co-teachers tell me that they have a hard time getting students to talk. The korean school system stresses reading and writing and even listening...but not speaking or conversation, which is why they bring in foreigners like me. These girls are smart. Some of them go to private academies after school to take extra english lessons, but even not, these girls are smart. They just don't have the confidence to speak because they don't practice enough. I find this to be more true, surprisingly, of my level twos. Because I set the precedent from day one with my level ones that they MUST speak & that I WILL randomly call on them... I can get them to give me answers. With my level twos, even if I randomly pick on someone, they will just shut down on me.
This is just a first impression, but it seems to me that my level twos are like this because they are used to it. I'm not saying that this is bad, but my co-teachers teach grammar and even if they ask a question to the class, they almost immediately answer it. So the students dont try to answer because they know that even if they dont respond, and answer will still be provided. And I've had this happen to me a few times--oh I should mention that my students are intermediate & advanced level students--some teachers have said that I shouldn't expect too much from the students. I suppose they were trying to prepare me, as a native english speaker, not to think that these students were on the level of the western counterparts, but I do want to push these girls. I don't want to make it impossible for them, but I definitely dont want to "dumb things down" for them either. These girls are smart. They ought to be able to speak english as well as they can write it and read it.
Oh, and they were all thoroughly impressed with my knowledge of KPOP! I tried to keep my Big Bang bias a secret, just so I could find out what groups they liked without them saying Big Bang just to kiss up to me, but when one girl said, "My favorite actor is TOP and my favorite singer is TOP," I couldn't help my reaction. The girl won me over LOL. What else, oh EVERY single class asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said no...and my level ones, bless them, were like "WHY TEACHER???" Well shoot. If you know Big Bang, send them my way please, and then teacher will have 5 boyfriends. ^_______^
Aside from all that, the other teachers are great. I got introduced about 1000000000 times & had to speak both english & korea, which I'm sure was lulzy. Last night all the english teachers went out for galbi and it was delish! Did I mention that I'm eating pork again? When I'm getting free (or almost free) meals, I'll eat whatever deliciousness you throw at me. Also, it's just easier for me to eat the pig rather than try to ask if the dish has pork in it, or if I can get something else.
On the agenda this weekend: meet ups with other EPIK teachers, maybe visit the YG building & a visit to se7en's restaurant, and definitely want to get on top of a mountain already! Oh, and maybe lesson plan -____- I love that everyone has these really detailed lesson plans, but I've taken after my college professor, Pollard, and I write my lesson plans as scribbles on scrap pieces of paper & napkins...because that's how you do it at university! lol
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