Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It's a somewhat humbling experience as a teacher to realise how much you're at the mercy of your co-workers and institutional environment, but I've sure learned that in a huge way over the past year. I teach most of my high school classes solo and have few problems doing so. I know I count on the full support of the homeroom teachers if I run into any major problems, which I rarely ever have.

On the other hand, I have co-teachers for most of my middle school classes, and it's astounded me how a co-teacher can turn a class around for better or worse. Today I watched a grade 2 MS class turn around right in front of my eyes. As their usual English teacher, and my co-teacher, they've had two rookie temps over the past 12 months. For 12 months I've watched them slide under two successive teachers who simply should not be middle school teachers. Between the two of them they possessed every conceivable inadequacy, and to top it off one of them couldn't confront a difficult situation without covering her mouth and giggling and the other one looked all of 19 years old.

Today they got to meet my co-worker who's finally back from leave, during a blcok I'm schedulted to teach. I went to class early to get them all in their seats with their textbooks, went over how they're supposed to greet her, and as she walked in the door I said '시작!' and 30 voices called out 'Good afternoon, ma'am. Nice to meet you!'. The (usually late) arrival of the previous co-teacher was usually the occasion for things to break down again but instead I stayed at the back and left her up front as I got the students to ask her questions. I don't think the students quite knew what to think. There, for the first time in over a year, was a Korean English teacher standing up at the front actually speaking to them in English. What an absolutely amazing tone that set. From there on, it was like they weren't even the same students, with me teaching with someone who actually understands that if many or most of the students can understand something in English, it should be kept in English, and that both teachers should actually work to get the students paying attention to whichever teacher (or student, if one is responding or contributing) is speaking. I left the last part of the lesson for her to go over her curriculum, and explain how participation will actually count for a huge % of their mark, how their homework books, including all of my hand-outs completed, will actually count for a huge % of their mark, and all the other obviously useful things that I just simply wasn't able to get into the previous two teachers' idiot heads.

Now, I'm sure that over the coming weeks the students will test her like any MS students will test any new teacher. But I'm also sure that she'll be able to get them taking public school English seriously and that that will make my job infinitely more enjoyable. While we might like to think that with the right experience, training, and theory we have the agency to motivate, in the end, it really is about 20% us and 80% various institutional factors. Thank goodness that the single most important institutional factor with my grade 1 and 2 MS students should leave me feeling a lot less like 'bad cop' and a lot more like super-teacher again.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Yes, teaching truly is a "heaven and hell" profession!

[chris_J2]

It's about time your luck changed. Win - win situation. The kids benefit too.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[oldfatfarang]

Yep. Your co-teacher is definately a big determiner in your classes success (and enjoyment for you and your kids).

I co-teach with several Korean teachers. And the differences in the students' attitudes, enjoyment and learning is definately correlated to their K co-teachers. (I won't mention anything about their 'competence' because that's not for me to judge.)

One of my co-teachers classes are very dismal affairs. The kids are cringing - frightened to open their mouths. They are afraid of their scowling, unfriendly teacher. They don't participate - and don't learn anything either.

I recently had a class of kids who were very upset when my class was cancelled and they had to go to another 'scary' co-teacher's class (kids mimed being beaten).

East meets West - education philosophy wise: East = control - West = communication. Sadly, never the two shall meet in all classes.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[luvnpeas]

My best co-teacher has the ability to scold the sh*t out of the kids. They are scared to death of her and it is great. (She is also affectionate when needed.)

[waynehead]

I completely agree. I teach middle school (1st & 3rd grade) and the difference in dreading or looking forward to a certain class is determined by who my co-teacher is. I don't have a problem so much with their english levels as I do with their willingness to discipline and help me control the class. Some of them just stand there and don't help me at all when I'm trying to quiet the class or get them focused...I even have one co-teacher that will show up 10 minutes late, hang out for 10 minutes, then leave and not return until the end of the period. It can be really frustrating b/c it's difficult to quiet a class of 40 teenage boys when you can't communicate well with them in their native language...I really need a stern co-teacher...

[Snowkr]

I'm just in my first week of teaching in a public high school. My only real issue with it so far is the size of the classes and the fact that all the students look the same to me. I can't tell if I've taught them before or not when I see them in the halls.

Regarding the co-teachers... I've learned that some of them can be quite instrumental and some can be useless... I've learned this in just 4 days!
My experience so far has not been bad but it has been just less than a week. I'm dreading those miserable first period classes of low level students who really should be in bed asleep considering that they were probably up till 3am studying something they're told will matter a lot more than learning English!

[mrsquirrel]

I have mentioned before my crap preggers co-teacher. I now fear her lessons for the complete lack of anything from her.

I just lost an excellent co-teacher for six monts. She has been replaced by a very good co-teacher (thankyou Allah, Jesus, Buddha and Gobar the God of Thunder)

This week with the preggers one as the class suddenly span out of control she sat in a chair looking at the floor, the students were about to explode and start turning into winged demons and fly off the to darkest corner of hell, yet she was content to look at the floor, I decided that it was time to join her and pulled up a seat and looked with her, she eventually came around and I was ever so polite in asking after her health and was she ok, did she need something, did she want me to help her up to the nurses room, I was worried about her.

She just sat back and looked around as the students went wild, she didn't try to stop them, nothing just looked at them. Wasn't much I could do as they had gone way past breaking point and needed a double handed approach to getting them under control.

Sad really, got her again in a minute and I know it's going to be shite again.