Korean Job Discussion Forums

Heisenberg87 · Joined: 08 Jan 2012

I really want to work in Seoul but every job posting I have seen on this site plus the ones sent to me by recruiters consist of kindie + elementary age kids. I have seen all of the countless warnings on this site about teaching kindergarten.

Right now I work with kindergarteners in an after school program and they are not bad at all. If anything, the older kids tend to present the most behavior problems. Is there some sort of Korean cultural thing where Korean kindergarteners would be more difficult to deal with than western ones?

ironclad80 · Joined: 13 Sep 2009

Kids are kids everywhere. If you already have experience teaching kindergarteners and prefer younger kids then I would say go for it. For as many people who said they hated it, I met many who I would I expect who said it's not so bad.

I already know it's not for me, but you seem to already have one foot in the door.

YTMND · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Location: You're the man now dog!!

If you like it then it's not a problem. The reason why you are seeing warnings is that there is a bigger market for teachers to teach younger kids. This means you will get more people who don't like it having to take those jobs. They take them, don't like it, and now they are posting on Dave's.

Again, it's up to you. Me personally, 3rd grade and older.

comm · Joined: 22 Jun 2010

tanklor1 · Joined: 13 Jun 2006

This pretty much sums it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz7W4qlIZak

dmillika · Joined: 24 Nov 2011 Location: Changwon

I was pretty petrified of the younger kids when I started at my hagwon because I never thought that I was that great with kids back home.

Turns out, I like the younger kids more and the older kids less. The younger ones can be wild at times, but all that energy makes teaching more fun for me, as opposed to the older kids who are either exhausted or moody, or both.

That's my experience at my place though.

I will admit that if every class I had was the kindie level, I would burn out in a flash, so it's largely dependent on your tolerance and ability to entertain kids for that long.

banjois · Joined: 14 Nov 2009

I find that if you are firm and fair from the start, kindergarteners follow classroom routine better than the older kids. Plus, they haven't had all of their personality sucked out by the system yet, so sometimes you can actually present more nuanced, complex topics than you can to later elementary aged kids.

Heisenberg87 · Joined: 08 Jan 2012

I should clarify that I'm not really responsible for teaching the kindies in my program, more like babysitting than anything...

YTMND · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Location: You're the man now dog!!

IslandmanPT · Joined: 13 Jul 2010

I teach Kindergarten and find it a lot of fun. The kids are energetic and they pick up English so quickly. They are at the perfect age to pick up a new language, so it's amazing to see them progress. When they don't listen, they are easier to manage in the classroom and it is easier to distract them with fun activities or just acting stupid in class. Just be ready for them to try to climb on you and hang on your leg a lot.

I find elementary and middle school much more difficult. Dealing with problem behavior in class is so much more difficult at this age, and the kids who don't want to learn can be extremely disruptive to the class flow. It takes a lot more effort to get this age involved in classroom activities.

furtakk · Joined: 02 Jun 2009

i loved teaching kinder, but i hated the hours.

the problem with most of the kinder schools is that on top of a 5 hour shift teaching kinder, you have to do another 3-4 teaching elementary. it's just too much to handle (at least for me it was).

that said, i much prefer that age group.

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

CentralCali · Joined: 17 May 2007

Kindergarten, itself, is great. The kids are great for the most part. What I found that rotted was the simple fact that the kindergarten was owned and "managed" (yeah, right Rolling Eyes

) by the hagweon owner. In other words: ignorant and incompetent boss with unrealistic expectations of both the teachers and the children.

If I could find one with a professional, competent boss who doesn't cave every single time to "the mothers" who are constantly harping with, yet again, unrealistic expectations, I'd be more than happy to teach only at kindergarten. But this is Korea and no such place exists.

And don't try to tell me that there are some kindergartens run by the public schools. In case you haven't noticed, the public schools are following the university trend of not that long ago: they are becoming hagweons. Hey, they're even using hagweon management software for the so-called extra classes and camp classes.

Heisenberg87 · Joined: 08 Jan 2012

Public schools are turning into hagwons? This is the first I've heard of this.

fezmond · Joined: 27 Oct 2008

i just finished 2 years teaching kindy + ele.

it was my second job but first with 5/6/7 year olds. took a few months to find my feet and i felt like quitting once a week. in my school we really did push those kids hard, no glorified babysitting as i'd been told by friends at other kindies.

now i wouldn't change kindy kids for any other age group, as long as they're 5 and above. i covered 2 days at a YBM for a friend recently and had to babysit kids of 3 and 4 years old (korean age). that was pure hell.

elementary kids are ok until they hit about 11 years old and they become buggers.

as the above posters said, if you hate young kids, don't do it. you'll be stressing out and shouting at them, the kids will dislike you and it'll be a long year.