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LateBloomer
Joined: 06 May 2006
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 Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:34 am Post subject: public school teachers.... |
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How closely do you have to follow the teachers' guide that your school uses? One of my co-teachers (in a public elememtary school) insists that the sky would fall if I don't cover all the headings in the teachers guide--boring and ineffective as they may be.
I naively thought that if the purpose of a lesson is to teach the kids to use the past tense, getting them to use lots of real life examples (instead of repeat, repeat, repeat the same example) would meet the objective. However, at least in the mind of my co-teacher.... I am wrong. So, it got me wondering about how much freedom the rest of you have in preparing your lessons. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:26 am Post subject: Re: public school teachers.... |
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| LateBloomer wrote: |
How closely do you have to follow the teachers' guide that your school uses? One of my co-teachers (in a public elememtary school) insists that the sky would fall if I don't cover all the headings in the teachers guide--boring and ineffective as they may be.
I naively thought that if the purpose of a lesson is to teach the kids to use the past tense, getting them to use lots of real life examples (instead of repeat, repeat, repeat the same example) would meet the objective. However, at least in the mind of my co-teacher.... I am wrong. So, it got me wondering about how much freedom the rest of you have in preparing your lessons. |
I don't know about the others, but I have almost absolute freedom within the class. Cover the basic curriculum but do what I think is best to make sure the kids absorb what is necessary.
Occasionally I have been asked to dumb the stuff down cause we were getting too far ahead of the requirements. Kids aren't supposed to learn to write until 4th and 5th grade. We kinda messed up on that and started teaching our Gr 1 & 2 classes to read and write as well as simple conversations.
For those who usually only SKIM and then make stupid comments, YES, I am in a PUBLIC elementary school and NO, I am NOT in a hakwon. Yes I am sure.
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:31 am Post subject: |
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| I have complete, 100% freedom. I work in a separate area (well equipped room for English) with no co-teacher and complete control of the curriculum and, well, everything. It has it's downfalls, but I prefer it to some things i hear at other public schools. |
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Boodleheimer
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:37 am Post subject: |
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you have a teachers' guide? huh.
i've got a co-teacher, which kinda bites.
the principal made me create a BOOK for all the classes for this entire semester during summer break -- for all three grades of our high school, which really ticked me off. but it's nice to have my own material.
i'm only the second native speaker EVER at my school, so we don't have anything in English. oh, G-d, how i hate staff meetings. |
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LateBloomer
Joined: 06 May 2006
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:23 am Post subject: |
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The inconsistency between schools is unbelievable. Since I'm the first non- Korean teacher at my school, (in Incheon) I think they're afraid to deviate from the status quo. They don't know what's possible and fear the unknown. Besides, we all know that the Korean system works so well.
After a great summer camp where I had total freedom and a feeling that in addition to having fun, the kids really did learn something, it's a downer to be so restricted. It could be a long 9 months. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| LateBloomer wrote: |
| The inconsistency between schools is unbelievable. |
True. Anywhere from total autonomy to total straitjacket. Depending on the person, either extreme can be frightening.
If youre new & handed the first, dont freak out. Apply your native wits, dont be shy to ask for advice, & give it your best shot. You'll count yourself lucky in a few weeks.
If youre an old hand & get dealt the latter, dont despair. Appear obliging but show your own initiative too. You'll earn substantial leeway before long.
Who knows what background went into whatever set-up you find yourself in. The whole system is in flux. Wherever youre coming from you will be making an imprint.
Best luck to the evidently huge intake of new foreign public school teachers. Others will follow -- keep a thought out for them too. |
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vox
Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Location: Jeollabukdo
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:20 am Post subject: Re: public school teachers.... |
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| LateBloomer wrote: |
How closely do you have to follow the teachers' guide that your school uses? One of my co-teachers (in a public elememtary school) insists that the sky would fall if I don't cover all the headings in the teachers guide--boring and ineffective as they may be.
I naively thought that if the purpose of a lesson is to teach the kids to use the past tense, getting them to use lots of real life examples (instead of repeat, repeat, repeat the same example) would meet the objective. However, at least in the mind of my co-teacher.... I am wrong. So, it got me wondering about how much freedom the rest of you have in preparing your lessons. |
I teach at a public school gig, I had 100% freedom to create my lesson plan curriculum for this semester. I was given a teacher's guide resource book (by the placement program, not by the school) but I didn't look at it except for the occasional classroom idea. Instead, my other native speaker teacher and I looked at the curricula in tables of contents for some published series of English books that we respected or just had good experiences with. Then I customized and mixed and matched according to some priorities (I wanted the lessons to support one another, and to refer to past lessons, plus some remedial stuff according to what they didn't learn last semester with the previous program)
I had to get it approved by the teaching staff, and I did have to prepare for the possibility of a re-write, but that was only remote. I know what I'm doing and my co-teacher knows it. Smooth as silk. Sorry to hear about your anal co-teacher. But they all have quirks. Mine's a patsy and can be expected to translate poorly-thought-out suggestions by the senior staff into ridiculous commandments that I have learned to ignore.
Good luck |
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Roch
Joined: 24 Apr 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:26 am Post subject: Re: public school teachers.... |
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| LateBloomer wrote: |
How closely do you have to follow the teachers' guide that your school uses? One of my co-teachers (in a public elememtary school) insists that the sky would fall if I don't cover all the headings in the teachers guide--boring and ineffective as they may be.
I naively thought that if the purpose of a lesson is to teach the kids to use the past tense, getting them to use lots of real life examples (instead of repeat, repeat, repeat the same example) would meet the objective. However, at least in the mind of my co-teacher.... I am wrong. So, it got me wondering about how much freedom the rest of you have in preparing your lessons. |
This is another example of the blind forcing themselves upon the enlightened. |
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passport220
Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:19 am Post subject: |
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Frankly, I would just cover the headings in the teachers guide as you co-teacher would like you to. Cover the headings and make them as interesting and with the greatest education value as you can manage. It seems to me if that is what your co-teacher is doing than the kids will benefit by having the lessons reinforced.
I�m not sure what your arrangement is in your school but in mine the kids spend MUCH more time with their Korean co-teachers than with me. In the end the English education, supervision and responsibility falls to the Korean. I just try and support them as much as I can. |
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mack the knife
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: standing right behind you...
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:22 am Post subject: |
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| I have complete, 100% freedom. I work in a separate area (well equipped room for English) with no co-teacher and complete control of the curriculum and, well, everything. It has it's downfalls, but I prefer it to some things i hear at other public schools. |
Don't you ever tire of going on about how wonderful your job is? Seriously, enough already.  |
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kat2
Joined: 25 Oct 2005
Location: Busan, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm pretty much the pronunciation teacher in myclass. Don't do anything else. I don't make any lesson plans and do no prep. I just repeat a few things and the kids repeat after me. Its not the most rewarding, but its easy. From my few attempts to question it, I can tell there is no possibility of changing the system. "It is Korean way." Whatver. |
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Boodleheimer
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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my school decided that this semester i should teach the 1st and 2nd grades (high school) and that the 3rd grades should just prep for the SAT. in that case, i would only have 12 hours, which i guess is unacceptable. so i also attend three hours that a Korean teaches for 1st graders (different 1st graders each month). and i attend three hours that a Korean teaches 3rd graders "listening" in prep for the SAT. yesterday, i guess the teacher thought it would be fun if he tested my listening. what a compleat beep.
6 of the most pointless hours ever, just to make sure i'm doing something. |
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I_Am_Wrong
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: whatever
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| ksonnen wrote: |
| I'm pretty much the pronunciation teacher in myclass. Don't do anything else. I don't make any lesson plans and do no prep. I just repeat a few things and the kids repeat after me. Its not the most rewarding, but its easy. From my few attempts to question it, I can tell there is no possibility of changing the system. "It is Korean way." Whatver. |
hehe...you can get a shirt made that says "I'm a walking tape recorder!" |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject: Re: public school teachers.... |
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| LateBloomer wrote: |
How closely do you have to follow the teachers' guide that your school uses? One of my co-teachers (in a public elememtary school) insists that the sky would fall if I don't cover all the headings in the teachers guide--boring and ineffective as they may be.
I naively thought that if the purpose of a lesson is to teach the kids to use the past tense, getting them to use lots of real life examples (instead of repeat, repeat, repeat the same example) would meet the objective. However, at least in the mind of my co-teacher.... I am wrong. So, it got me wondering about how much freedom the rest of you have in preparing your lessons. |
What teacher's guide? |
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Pak Yu Man
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Location: The Ida galaxy
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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When I worked public schools I was supposed to have a co-teacher. first week of class I told them i didn't want them around and they agreed.
If you co-teacher has even the most basic concept of English...tell him or here to politely shut up and let me do my job.
Or even mix classes. One class you do your way, the other class the co-teacher's way. Maybe they will see which one is more effective. |
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