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Bloopity Bloop
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul yo
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 Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:30 pm Post subject: Drained by the job |
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I am a little more than halfway through my first contract. I teach at an elementary PS and over the course of the past few weeks, I've rapidly lost any and all passion I had for the job and teaching. It's a struggle to get through each class. Would it crazy for me to renew with SMOE and try for highschool? I'm thinking that it might just be kids I'm sick of dealing with. Maybe older kids/young adults would be different. I'd greatly prefer sleeping students over those that are constantly yelling, jumping, asking me for candy everyday, and running around. I'm beginning to genuinely dislike children.
The thing is, I'm not even at a bad school. The students are nice, albeit loud. I'm on great terms with the administration. School lunches here are deeelicious. Only major problem is that my new co-teacher, who replaced the two veterans I had last semester, can barely speak English and is fresh out of teaching school.
Anyone else go through a rapid depression during a contract here? I'm just not sure if I'm in a funk, I'm just not cut out for teaching, or if I'm not cut out for working with kids. |
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Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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First off, referring to Korean high school students as "young adults" is just wrong. You're likely to see little difference in maturity, interests, life experience, maybe even English ability, than with your better elementary students.
You're a little unlucky to have a young teacher who doesn't speak English. In my experience, the young teachers are getting better and better.
You probably are going through a funk. Wait for the sun to come out(this might sound weird, but your vitamin D levels have a massive impact on your state of mind) and if you aren't feeling better you should consider your options.
It's too early to know whether you are cut out for teaching, or working with kids, or whatever. Even if you don't have those innate abilities, you can learn them. DRs. don't have the innate ability to diagnose disease, after all. |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:22 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm fairly certain SMOE doesn't deal with high schools; only elem and middle. |
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Bloopity Bloop
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul yo
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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| moosehead wrote: |
| I'm fairly certain SMOE doesn't deal with high schools; only elem and middle. |
Thanks for the sound advice Senior. I've been trying to get myself into a better state of mind.
moosehead: a bunch of my SMOE friends are positioned at high schools. Maybe it's changed since August, I don't know. |
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SW
Joined: 08 Sep 2009
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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I'm in a very similar situation. This is only my second year in Korea (and first at a SMOE middle school), so I can't say I'm really qualified to give advice, but I will try to provide some perspective and tell you what I would do (what I'm going to do, actually).
| Quote: |
| Would it crazy for me to renew with SMOE and try for highschool? I'm thinking that it might just be kids I'm sick of dealing with. Maybe older kids/young adults would be different. I'd greatly prefer sleeping students over those that are constantly yelling, jumping, asking me for candy everyday, and running around. I'm beginning to genuinely dislike children. |
Completely understandable, but be careful how much blame you place on the children. Keep in mind that many of them are sorely lacking in attention and discipline from adults, and behave accordingly. I teach at a middle school, and the behavior of my students is sometimes genuinely frightening. They are constantly screeching, hitting each other, making bizarre noises, running around, and destroying things. But such is what you'd expect from children who only spend time with other children from dawn until dusk.
Personally, I think transferring to a high school could be hit or miss. The students might be more well-behaved just as a result of maturity, but would they care any more about learning English than elementary/middle school students? That might be what's exhausting you - the fact that you can't really make much headway with actual teaching. It's certainly what exhausts me.
So, I don't think renewing with SMOE and trying for high school would be totally crazy, but I will say I think trying to sniff out a good hagwon or some other type of private institution would be a better idea. That's what I'm doing. I could go on for quite some time about why I prefer the private sector to public schools, but I'll cut it down to this: it seems to me that, for all the showmanship involved, actual education matters more at hagwons. There, I saw my first grade classes 7 1/2 hours a week. This means that I saw them more in 6 weeks than I see my PS students in an entire year. And these were 8-year olds, in classes of 3-12 students. Who would argue that having 15-year olds meet a NSET for 45 minutes a week in groups of 35 is a more effective approach? What's more, at the hagwon the biggest issue was demonstrating that the students were actually learning English, or at the very least, making it look like they were. At the PS, the priorities seem to be good relationships with co-teachers, spending tons of time making fancy lesson plans and materials for the higher-ups to glance at, crowd control, entertaining the students, endless paperwork and bureaucracy... everything but teaching.
What's more, if you are in a funk, you might have more people to lean on in a hagwon. I'm not just talking about other FT's, but it seems that there are more younger Koreans who are used to speaking English working in hagwons.
Long story short, don't assume you're not cut out for teaching just because you're having a rough time at a PS. From my own experience, I could say that teaching at PS barely feels like the same line of work compared to both my earlier hagwon and teaching adults in Europe. So I'd say save up some money as a safety net, and get to work in sniffing out a good private sector job. Your choice, but that's my 20 won anyway. |
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buildbyflying
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: To your right. No, your other right.
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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Seconding the funk. Check out the U curve: http://www.freshmanseminar.appstate.edu/Faculty/Fac_Manual/Transitions/U_Curve.htm
You're in a natural cycle. Go home, take a month to relax, and you'll be recharged to experience the same drain at about the same time next year. 
As for the jab at Korean kids... I think these kids are plenty mature considering their age and the stress they're under. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Elementary is the easiest . If you take a job in a high school you'll be playing second fiddle to the high school entrance exams. The kids will consider your class a joke, Either stay where you are or consider a complete career change. |
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waynehead
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Location: Jongno
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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| moosehead wrote: |
| I'm fairly certain SMOE doesn't deal with high schools; only elem and middle. |
Nope, wrong. I'm in a high school via SMOE. I know lots of other folks in the same boat. |
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bde2
Joined: 19 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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| SW wrote: |
I'm in a very similar situation. This is only my second year in Korea (and first at a SMOE middle school), so I can't say I'm really qualified to give advice, but I will try to provide some perspective and tell you what I would do (what I'm going to do, actually).
| Quote: |
| Would it crazy for me to renew with SMOE and try for highschool? I'm thinking that it might just be kids I'm sick of dealing with. Maybe older kids/young adults would be different. I'd greatly prefer sleeping students over those that are constantly yelling, jumping, asking me for candy everyday, and running around. I'm beginning to genuinely dislike children. |
Completely understandable, but be careful how much blame you place on the children. Keep in mind that many of them are sorely lacking in attention and discipline from adults, and behave accordingly. I teach at a middle school, and the behavior of my students is sometimes genuinely frightening. They are constantly screeching, hitting each other, making bizarre noises, running around, and destroying things. But such is what you'd expect from children who only spend time with other children from dawn until dusk.
Personally, I think transferring to a high school could be hit or miss. The students might be more well-behaved just as a result of maturity, but would they care any more about learning English than elementary/middle school students? That might be what's exhausting you - the fact that you can't really make much headway with actual teaching. It's certainly what exhausts me.
So, I don't think renewing with SMOE and trying for high school would be totally crazy, but I will say I think trying to sniff out a good hagwon or some other type of private institution would be a better idea. That's what I'm doing. I could go on for quite some time about why I prefer the private sector to public schools, but I'll cut it down to this: it seems to me that, for all the showmanship involved, actual education matters more at hagwons. There, I saw my first grade classes 7 1/2 hours a week. This means that I saw them more in 6 weeks than I see my PS students in an entire year. And these were 8-year olds, in classes of 3-12 students. Who would argue that having 15-year olds meet a NSET for 45 minutes a week in groups of 35 is a more effective approach? What's more, at the hagwon the biggest issue was demonstrating that the students were actually learning English, or at the very least, making it look like they were. At the PS, the priorities seem to be good relationships with co-teachers, spending tons of time making fancy lesson plans and materials for the higher-ups to glance at, crowd control, entertaining the students, endless paperwork and bureaucracy... everything but teaching.
What's more, if you are in a funk, you might have more people to lean on in a hagwon. I'm not just talking about other FT's, but it seems that there are more younger Koreans who are used to speaking English working in hagwons.
Long story short, don't assume you're not cut out for teaching just because you're having a rough time at a PS. From my own experience, I could say that teaching at PS barely feels like the same line of work compared to both my earlier hagwon and teaching adults in Europe. So I'd say save up some money as a safety net, and get to work in sniffing out a good private sector job. Your choice, but that's my 20 won anyway. |
Word. After a tough year at a hagwon last year, I thought I would be on easy street with my new PS job, but that's not the case at all. Sure, it's fewer teaching hours and more vacation, but I find it difficult to deal with a lot of these public school kids. I don't expect them all to love English and sit in rapt attention during my lessons, but it's important for me, personally, to be treated with at least a modicum of respect when I'm teaching. In a hagwon, if a student really gets out of line, the threat of calling their parents carries a lot of weight. In a PS, on the other hand, I've come to find that it often carries none. Some of my kids (middle school) are truly awful, but there's just nothing to be done about it. Other teachers tell me to just ignore them, that there's nothing anyone can do... but gosh darnit, they just suck the joy right out of teaching.
I'm also hoping to find something worthwhile in the private sector. I feel sorry for the K-teachers, who are more or less stuck here, but shucks... I didn't come half-way around the world to be disrespected by some punk kids.
Whew... trying not to be bitter. Guess I had to vent... sorry folks. |
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longlivetheclash
Joined: 08 Aug 2009
Location: Bundang/Seoul
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