Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rand Al Thor]

I'm curious How many of us consider ourselves real teachers. This does not mean that you have pieces of paper saying you are a teacher, but rather you actually try to educate your students in some sort of principled manner.

If you plan your lessons, act professionally, & care about the quality of your teaching you probably qualify. How many people have decided on ESL as a career.

If you are a fly by night, just here for the booze, women, and good-times kind of teacher, or you only play games day after day without a clue of what you are doing tomorrow let alone next week you probably do not qualify.

I have personally met what I call non-teachers when I was working at hogwans, Hell I was one for my first 18 months or so.

[mack the knife]

real teachers are from mars

ESL teachers are from venus

[eamo]

I'd like to be a good teacher and use all the cool stuff I learned in Teacher-training.
However, I can't. No time.

My hagwan insists I fly through crazy amounts of pages each lesson. I barely have time to take the attendence.

I do the most teacher-centered classes you can imagine when actually all my training is in student-centered style. It's frustrating.

[matthews_world]

I'm qualified and I actually teach at my school.

We do use the Scott Forsman ESL textbooks for junior classes and it's nice to cover two pages per class period.

A challenge is making the material fun cuz the books are quite boring in my opinion.

Toughest part about teaching in a hakwon in Korea is the lower level junior students, especially if you don't speak Korean.

Cramming 10 or more kids with different abilities in one room and trying to teach them English is tough.

No wonder we get complaints from the mothers. Come spend a day in our classrooms.

[crazylemongirl]

Eamo,
I've only been here two months but I keep on getting really frustrated with my hagwon that inisits that I get through x pages per lesson no matter what. It doesn't seem to matter if the material is way too complex to cover in 3 lessons let alone 1.

I worry that all my kids seem to be learning is how to memorize pages (since the korean teachers just photocopy bits of the workbook as tests) then how to learn strategies to cope with different situations, which is obviously a far more important skill since it's nigh on impossible to memorize an entire language. It drives me nuts, but I suppose they who pay the teacher call the pedagogy.

CLG

[gajackson1]

real in some senses; surreal in others.

(I have the papers, and use 'real' mats, but my students still think I am a little on the mi-ch'in side)

M_W, I know how you are feeling - I taught Scott Foresman for a few months before our school switched to Harcourt~Brace. It is all I teach (Social Studies, Gr 1 - 5).

At our school, in a separate part of the program, there are Alpha~Omega teachers/students . . . ((((((SHUDDER)))))) No way, no way. I would quit before I would teach from their History/Science/Social Studies programs . . .

Regards,

G.

ps ~ Rand, the first 3 kinds are the ones I get along with best. The others don't bother me, as long as that is what everyone involved expects and is happy paying/getting paid for it . . .

[panthermodern]

Qualifications do not a teacher make ...

Get real ...

You forgot ...

unReal Teacher with qualifcations.

BTW: what exactly is a COWBOW ?

[gang ah jee]

I'm made of balsa wood and a painted drop cloth...

[kimcheeking]

[denz]

i'm not even a fake teacher.

denz

[weatherman]

It is pretty hard being a real person some days, not to mention a real teacher.

[rudyflyer]

I was a "real teacher" when I got here. I have the piece of paper etc. thought I could do something. However since I got here many days I feel like I'm a pretend teacher given the attitude, belligerance, lack of respect and level of my students along with some of the edicts we get from our admin on things like cancelled classes, passing students who never show up etc.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dream of trading this job for a hogwon; there are some students who I do feel I have a real impact on but it seems this year those students are fewer and further between *heavy sigh*

[Blue Flower]

[Zyzyfer]

I point to pages, put my hands in my pockets, and burn any ne'er-do-wellers at the stake, then eat their carcasses.

In other words, I kinda try to teach, but I definitely don't want to make a career out of teaching anything other than writing at a university.

[Mashimaro]

I'm not a teacher's A**hole but I try hard