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Public schools: Middle or Highschool

 
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Teaching in Public Schools: Middle vs High School
I prefer teaching at Middle Schools (both genders)
9%
 9%  [ 1 ]
I prefer High Schools (both genders)
9%
 9%  [ 1 ]
I prefer Middle School All Boys
18%
 18%  [ 2 ]
I prefer Middle School All Girls
27%
 27%  [ 3 ]
I prefer High School All Boys
18%
 18%  [ 2 ]
I prefer High School All Girls
18%
 18%  [ 2 ]
Total Votes : 11

Author Message
katsu



Joined: 15 Mar 2007
Location: here and there

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:08 am    Post subject: Public schools: Middle or Highschool Reply with quote

I know that over the years students' attitudes in both middle schools and high schools have generally gotten worse. I've heard that they are hard to teach and harder to motivate. At the same time, I'm quite interested in the challenge if you will. I used to teach at a public elementary school and while it was fun, it wasn't as challenging or stimulating. I think I would want to work with older kids, but I"m not sure whether middle or high school kids. (I have experience working with both levels at an English Village, but I know that is totally different than working in public schools with those kids).

So I wanted to know if you are currently working in either public middle or high school, how do you find it. What challenges are you facing? Is there something you really like about the kids you're teaching? Have you perhaps worked (recently as in the past 2-5 years) at both middle and high school and could compare it?

Could you also state which province or city you taught in.
Any feedback would be much appreciated.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are aware that the majority of those jobs (and their funding) are scheduled for the chopping block over the next few years (in many cases, funding is being cut from this year)?

If you want to stay employed then I wouldn't be in a big rush to get out of elementary schools.

.
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jvalmer



Joined: 06 Jun 2003

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

By far all girls middle school. All boys middle schools are probably the second worst, barely ahead of an all boys technical high school.
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katsu



Joined: 15 Mar 2007
Location: here and there

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@ttompatz, yes, I am aware of a lot of jobs being cut. However, there are still quite a few public schools positions out there, and working in a public middle or high school would be a good experience for me to have.

I also heard that GEPIK is cutting out a lot of benefits, so many teachers at Elementary Levels aren't too happy and transferring over to private institutions.

I don't care too much about the benefits, and how they are changing the schools, I'm more interested in the actual experience in terms of Teacher to student (attitude, motivation, English skills).

It's not like all the public schools in Korea will stop taking in foreign teachers, so there still are good possibilities here and there.
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katsu



Joined: 15 Mar 2007
Location: here and there

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jvalmer
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 4:47 pm Post subject:
By far all girls middle school. All boys middle schools are probably the second worst, barely ahead of an all boys technical high school.


All girls middle school? Really? I actually heard that was the worst.
And I thought all boys high school would rank at the top.

What is a all boys technical high school? And why do you think it is the worst?
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jvalmer



Joined: 06 Jun 2003

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

katsu wrote:
jvalmer
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 4:47 pm Post subject:
By far all girls middle school. All boys middle schools are probably the second worst, barely ahead of an all boys technical high school.


All girls middle school? Really? I actually heard that was the worst.
And I thought all boys high school would rank at the top.

What is a all boys technical high school? And why do you think it is the worst?

A Technical High School is a vocational school where most of the students aren't expected to go onto 4-year universities. A lot will go to 2-year colleges or less. There names usually have Industrial, Agricultural, Technology, Culinary, or whatever name you can imagine.

A few are actually good, but most have mostly very unmotivated students and can be difficult to control if you set your expectations too high.
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katsu



Joined: 15 Mar 2007
Location: here and there

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@jvalmer, thanks. Did your recruiter tell you by any chance what type of schools you'd be teaching at prior to you accepting the contracts? (as in technical high school or regular one).

Do those terms only apply to HS, or are there technical middle schools as well? I'm assuming that elementary level is the same at all schools?
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jvalmer



Joined: 06 Jun 2003

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

katsu wrote:
Do those terms only apply to HS, or are there technical middle schools as well? I'm assuming that elementary level is the same at all schools?

Only high school.

Just wondering how much Korean experience you have? I am under the impression you had one or two years under your belt in Gyeonggi.
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katsu



Joined: 15 Mar 2007
Location: here and there

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@jvalmer, I have a bit more than one or two years in Gyeonggi alone, but only now I started being interested in knowing the real feel of public middle and HS.

anyway thanks for your answers Very Happy
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Weigookin74



Joined: 26 Oct 2009

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 4:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

katsu wrote:
@ttompatz, yes, I am aware of a lot of jobs being cut. However, there are still quite a few public schools positions out there, and working in a public middle or high school would be a good experience for me to have.

I also heard that GEPIK is cutting out a lot of benefits, so many teachers at Elementary Levels aren't too happy and transferring over to private institutions.

I don't care too much about the benefits, and how they are changing the schools, I'm more interested in the actual experience in terms of Teacher to student (attitude, motivation, English skills).

It's not like all the public schools in Korea will stop taking in foreign teachers, so there still are good possibilities here and there.


Define benefits. What's going on at GEPIK? What's being cut? FIrst I heard of this.
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itiswhatitis



Joined: 08 Aug 2011

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 5:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You sure are right about how the students' attitudes have gotten worse recently. Of course this refers to middle and high school students.

Pretty much everyone I speak to these days tells me that teaching in a public middle or high school is more about surviving each class than about being challenged. If you want a challenge (to become better at TEACHING) then do elementary and be creative. With elementary you will be able to experiment with teaching ideas and challenges, with middle or high school just keeping the class under control and avoiding being sworn at by your students is already setting the bar pretty high.


My little cousin thought that teaching at an all girls middle school would be alll fun and sweet. As a 22 year old naive Canadian she thought that Asian students were all sweet and respectful and of course even more so with Asian girls. She also thought that Asians were very tiny and short and of course even more so with Asian girls. It didn't take her long to become indifferent to bullying and unmotivated students. Things were a little bit better when she was with her Korean co-teacher but English camp was brutal for her because she had to teach alone.
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jvalmer



Joined: 06 Jun 2003

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 5:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

itiswhatitis wrote:
My little cousin thought that teaching at an all girls middle school would be alll fun and sweet. As a 22 year old naive Canadian she thought that Asian students were all sweet and respectful and of course even more so with Asian girls. She also thought that Asians were very tiny and short and of course even more so with Asian girls. It didn't take her long to become indifferent to bullying and unmotivated students. Things were a little bit better when she was with her Korean co-teacher but English camp was brutal for her because she had to teach alone.

I guess the experience is a lot different form a male's perspective. I know a few Korean-Americans and they say girls' schools are the easiest to teach.
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itiswhatitis



Joined: 08 Aug 2011

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A big problem for her was that she was only 22 and she looks much younger. Most people would guess that she was a high school student and she could easily pass for being a middle school student. She is also very small.

Once during her English camp she took a student into the hallway and told the student to stay home for the rest of camp if she was only going to play games on her phone and complain that the work was too easy. The student became very angry acted the same as if my cousin were another student and it was very scary for her.
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some waygug-in



Joined: 25 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="itiswhatitis"]

If you want a challenge (to become better at TEACHING) then do elementary and be creative. With elementary you will be able to experiment with teaching ideas and challenges, with middle or high school just keeping the class under control and avoiding being sworn at by your students is already setting the bar pretty high.


Not so, or at least not always. A lot depends on your co-teacher and what

their expectations are. Most of the ones I worked with wanted me to be

a human tape recorder and repeat sentences out of the book.

I was not allowed to be creative or to bring in anything outside of the

textbook. My experience was not uncommon. I worked at rural

schools within EPIK, so perhaps that is part of the reason.
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