Korean Job Discussion Forums

DeLaRed · Joined: 16 Oct 2008

have an interview with a public school in Seoul and apparently if I get the job i would be teaching on my own rather than with a Korean teacher (not that I am bothered about teaching on my own).

I was under the impression that for PS here you have to have a K teacher present in the classroom according to law? Yes I know it's Korea so anything goes but just wanted some clarification on this point.

Note it's not an SMOE/GEPIK position.

uhfotis · Joined: 01 Jan 2009

About half of my classes that theoretically have co-teachers don't because they just don't show up or they leave as soon as I show up. As you mentioned it is Korea so the laws and the whole education system is a bit of a mess. Depending on the school it might be an issue though. The school I'm at is very high level so the kids all behave and their English is good but if you got stuck at a low lvl school you might have behavioral issues or language issues.

dean_burrito · Joined: 12 Jun 2007

Last semester I had 11 different coteacher for 22 different classes. This semester I have 1 coteacher for 9 classes and the rest of the classes I am on my own. I don't know about the legalities of it all. But in my experience it has simply meant one less person to explain the lesson plan to.
Personally I'd say condisder yourself lucky.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

There's no law stipulating that you need one. Whether you'd want one depends on the level of the students and the CT. For higher level students it's usually better without a CT. For lower level students it's usually better to have one, though there are some CTs who are so bad as to be counter-productive.

antoniothegreat · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Location: Yangpyeong

agreeing with OPs, it depends on you, your CT, and the students. it could be bad, could be good

gregoriomills · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Location: Busan, Korea

I must agree with masses here. Having a co-teacher in the classroom isn't always a good thing. I had no experience upon moving here and felt I really always needed one in the room (I work in a high school). When one stopped showing up, however, I realized I felt much more 'in ownership' of the class, and I really came out of my shell. With a co-teacher, I always felt second in command; on my own, I needed to take control and felt much more confident after that.

That being said, it's fabulous to have them there for translation purposes. Especially true for lower level students...

QbertP · Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Location: Seoul

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

cruisemonkey · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:58 pm Post subject:

oldfatfarang · Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: On the road to somewhere.

You should have a co-teacher in the room with you (especially for low level students). I insist on it.

I'd be wary. Why is there no co-teacher for some classes. Is the school dumping the lower-level and behavior problem classes on you to teach solo?

My co-teachers are invaluable - and we try and co-teach. You better be very experienced at crowd control if you want to teach solo all the time. Frankly, our wages don't pay enough for me to go through the stress of student behavior management. I just plan and deliver. Anything else is not my brief. This works for me, but then I've only ever had 2 problem co-teachers - the rest have been fantastic (and professional) to work with.

Good luck.

ESL Milk "Everyday · Joined: 12 Sep 2007

I tend to get along well with guy co-teachers, girls not so much. This is because guys tend to be able to keep the kids in line while not making small problems big, women on average are somewhat the opposite... and they're more likely to be critical and complain.. which is absurd, because all I expect them to do is yell 'Ya!' without a funny accent whenever things are getting too rowdy.

On the other hand, I prefer teaching without one by far... it sucks to see them doing very little and complaining about it when you're up there the whole day doing everything by yourself.

curlygirl · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong

Cerriowen · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Location: Pocheon

I've got 3 co-teachers who come to class most of the time. One of them I would love to beg to stay OUT of class. Another one I could take or leave. Only one is pretty useful most of the time.

adamosity · Joined: 10 Jun 2008

i teach in a private high school, and i'm completely on my own..no co-teachers ever.

that being said, i prefer it to the co-teaching quagmire, and i have teachers i can refer disciplinary issues to (as well as homeroom teachers, whom are the "parents" of the kids)

if you know how to handle a class, and can handle 35 boys, then go for it.

keep this in mind--if you're teaching by yourself, make sure that you have some sticks to go with carrots. I can punish the kids, they get grades from me, etc, so they have to take my class seriously.

if they get no grades and you can not punish them, it's your will against them.

BS.Dos. · Joined: 29 Mar 2007

Of my 4 CTS, the two that are okay are always present and contribute about <15% per lesson. Of my two crap CTS, one (my handler) likes to add his incomprehensible pennies worth, while the other is a classic 'no-show'er, which suits me fine.

A good CT is worth having in the classroom. The bad ones always seem to come up with ingenious new ways of derailing proceedings in some way.