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Sincinnatislink
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Location: Top secret.
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 Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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"PLUS workshops"?
Is that the stuff we gotta do if we've been here a bit? |
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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| same here. Dec 7-8 |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 12:35 am Post subject: |
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| Catfisher wrote: |
| Be prepared to see some of the strangest, wierdest and most hostile foreigners (not all, but a lot) you have ever seen. I still get the creeps from the Everland orientation/teacher training/whatever the hell it was, back in 2007. |
Let's have an Everland, II.  |
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Loza
Joined: 28 May 2006
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 2:14 am Post subject: |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
| Catfisher wrote: |
| Be prepared to see some of the strangest, wierdest and most hostile foreigners (not all, but a lot) you have ever seen. I still get the creeps from the Everland orientation/teacher training/whatever the hell it was, back in 2007. |
Let's have an Everland, II. |
Yeah bring it on! I had a great day (But I'm guessing they don't have the budget for it these days). I know the lectures weren't so good, but we spent most of the day on the roller coasters and eating- awesome! I reckon these GEPIK meetings are good for a laugh and I've met some very cool people there, many that I'm still friends with. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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Just got back from training on Wednesday. I have to say it was actually pretty good. I was not looking forward to attending but after going I felt it was worthwhile.
Yeah the games and stuff were cheesy, but fun. Everyone there from the coordinators to the other teachers were really cool. A lot of the workshops were very interesting and reminded me of some of my Grad school classes! Some high level teaching theory we were hitting on there.
Go into it with a postive mind and take the chance to meet new people and learn something. |
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Sincinnatislink
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Location: Top secret.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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| How much of the GEPIK queen was there? |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Will Andrew Finch be there? |
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Sincinnatislink
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Location: Top secret.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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Perhaps we could get some business tips from his MBA coursework at Phoenix International.
I'm not joking. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 1:07 am Post subject: |
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| jrwhite82 wrote: |
Just got back from training on Wednesday. I have to say it was actually pretty good. I was not looking forward to attending but after going I felt it was worthwhile.
Yeah the games and stuff were cheesy, but fun. Everyone there from the coordinators to the other teachers were really cool. A lot of the workshops were very interesting and reminded me of some of my Grad school classes! Some high level teaching theory we were hitting on there.
Go into it with a postive mind and take the chance to meet new people and learn something. |
The GEPIK workshops were on par with your graduate work? In what way? BTW, did you enjoy the pep rally? Sounds like it. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 1:31 am Post subject: |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
| jrwhite82 wrote: |
Just got back from training on Wednesday. I have to say it was actually pretty good. I was not looking forward to attending but after going I felt it was worthwhile.
Yeah the games and stuff were cheesy, but fun. Everyone there from the coordinators to the other teachers were really cool. A lot of the workshops were very interesting and reminded me of some of my Grad school classes! Some high level teaching theory we were hitting on there.
Go into it with a postive mind and take the chance to meet new people and learn something. |
The GEPIK workshops were on par with your graduate work? In what way? BTW, did you enjoy the pep rally? Sounds like it. |
I didn't say they were on par with my Grad level courses, but we were "hitting on" (as I said) a number of theories that we discussed in them. One of the lecturer's talked about Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theories. They discussed the progression of language learning theories. I find that stuff interesting, but we only scratched the surface, so people who have never heard of it might not have gotten a lot out of it. But it is good to expose new teachers to it. The lectures also served as a nice reminder for me though.
The "co-teaching" workshop didn't really teach me to be a better co-teacher, but I learned a couple of activities that have been very successful in my classes. I was hoping to learn some new strategies about how to actually co-teach effectively instead of having one teacher walk around and give the kids dirty looks while the other leads the group like my co-teacher prefers.
I consider myself an extrovert, and I don't mind getting on stage in front of 100 people. (I like being the center of attention....sad, I know....) I'm also very competitive no matter what I'm doing. So yeah, I actually liked the pep rally. I met a bunch of cool people too. A lot of people were having fun and everyone was getting along. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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| jrwhite82 wrote: |
| sojusucks wrote: |
| jrwhite82 wrote: |
Just got back from training on Wednesday. I have to say it was actually pretty good. I was not looking forward to attending but after going I felt it was worthwhile.
Yeah the games and stuff were cheesy, but fun. Everyone there from the coordinators to the other teachers were really cool. A lot of the workshops were very interesting and reminded me of some of my Grad school classes! Some high level teaching theory we were hitting on there.
Go into it with a postive mind and take the chance to meet new people and learn something. |
The GEPIK workshops were on par with your graduate work? In what way? BTW, did you enjoy the pep rally? Sounds like it. |
I didn't say they were on par with my Grad level courses, but we were "hitting on" (as I said) a number of theories that we discussed in them. One of the lecturer's talked about Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theories. They discussed the progression of language learning theories. I find that stuff interesting, but we only scratched the surface, so people who have never heard of it might not have gotten a lot out of it. But it is good to expose new teachers to it. The lectures also served as a nice reminder for me though.
The "co-teaching" workshop didn't really teach me to be a better co-teacher, but I learned a couple of activities that have been very successful in my classes. I was hoping to learn some new strategies about how to actually co-teach effectively instead of having one teacher walk around and give the kids dirty looks while the other leads the group like my co-teacher prefers.
I consider myself an extrovert, and I don't mind getting on stage in front of 100 people. (I like being the center of attention....sad, I know....) I'm also very competitive no matter what I'm doing. So yeah, I actually liked the pep rally. I met a bunch of cool people too. A lot of people were having fun and everyone was getting along. |
But do you see the point that "touching" on theory, talking about kimchi, and having pep rallies doesn't do anything to prepare new foreign teachers for the realities of teaching in Korea? If you don't understand now, you will by the end of your year in GEPIK. The GEPIK orientation could be so much better for giving newbies a clearer idea of what this job is really about. So many sticky issues are simply ignored. That doesn't make the issues "go away", in fact, it makes many of them worse. In simple terms, GEPIK don't tell you what you need to know; they tell you what they want you to know. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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I guess I might not be looking at it from a newbie perspective.
We didn't once mention kimchi unless we were joking about it. They had a seminar comparing Korean culture to the west. They tried to explain the complexities of the Korean hierarchy. They tried to explain the reasons why your handler never seems to give you a straight answer about anything. They went through the Korean education system and the differences between it and the West.
If you didn't learn a few things about how to teach better during the teaching seminars, then I don't know what to tell you. The sample lesson thing I admit was not very effective and took up a big chunk of time.
I don't see what the big deal is with doing the pep rally. If you didn't find it fun or meet anyone you liked during it then I think you have no one to blame but yourself. If you'd prefer to sit outside the store and drink beer, there is plenty of time for that after it's over.
We reviewed our contracts. Everyone who had an issue was able to have it explained to them either in the contract seminar or by making a personal appointment with their coordinator.
I enjoyed the calligraphy lesson. I don't think being exposed to culture activities like that is a bad thing. I think it has a place at an orientation meeting.
I think the best thing they can do to improve the orientation is to replace the sample lesson with a classroom management seminar. Because there comes a time when every teacher has to be in a room by themselves. (Camps, after school program, emergencies)
My "you's" above were hypothetical "you's". Not "you" as in Sojusucks. But a direct question for you.
What do you think they should do with 16 hours of your time? Remember this is orientation. Not intensive teacher's training. They are just trying to point you in the right direction.
Edit: And a few other points. A number of first time teachers left telling me, "Wow. I never realized so much went into teaching." Giving teachers a chance to meet other foreigners and make friends so they feel less isolated here is a great thing. I think almost everyone exchanged numbers with at least 2 other people during the seminar.
As I mentioned earlier, I went into this with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. How long ago was it that you went to one?
Last edited by jrwhite82 on Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:09 am; edited 1 time in total |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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What do you think they should do with 16 hours of your time? Remember this is orientation. Not intensive teacher's training. They are just trying to point you in the right direction.
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You asked for it and here it is. No one will totally agree with any of this but use it as a guide for what I see lacking and go from there. This is just my opinion but I'm telling you that many new teachers have no idea what they are getting into and their schools either drop the ball with explaining thing to them or simply don't care.
Much more needs to be done about co-teaching, even practice, instead of writing up practice lesson plans for the millionth time.
There's so muc to do there shouldn't be any time for useless pep rallies.
Things that should be fully explained-
Medical benefits and sick days, and when I mean "sick days", I mean it should be fully explained that some schools are hardbutts about sick days and what you should do about it.
Pension benefits
Common sense explanations of the legal and other pitfalls of dating at work and sexual harrassment policies (This trips up many foreign teachers)
For those who need it- basic banking in Korea, how to handle utilities and payments. This could be done by someone from a bank
For certain areas- an explanation of how to use the bus and subway systems
There should be mixers, (maybe the first night), for teachers from different areas held in different rooms so they can meet socially. It's very important to meet people in your area. These can be lifesavers in many ways. These "friendships" will be more helpful, in the long run, than those with roommates or just the usual clumping, especially by the South Africans. They tend to socially clump together, in case you didn't notice. That's not a positive thing.
Experienced foreign teachers could help with these events instead of those useless 19 year old coordinators who have NO IDEA what foreign teachers face in Korea. There are some foreign teachers with many years of experience who could really help with advice, stories, whatever, but instead seminars are led by young ladies who spent the entire time at my last GEPIK event talking about who had the cutest butt. Yeah, hate to hurt their feelings but those jobs could and should be done by people with real experience as foreign teachers in Korea.
One more suggestion that will be ignored, like so many others over the years, by the GEPIK officials. The evening activities should be something positive, and not just leaving everyone with too much free time so all they do is drink. There are so many things that could be done in the evenings like simple Korean cooking lessons. I keep reading all over the internet about Dan Gray with souleats and Korean cooking lessons. Why not set something up like that? If I can think of one I'm sure others can think of more.
Isn't it time for GEPIK to start holding these events in some cities where everyone could go do something fun in the evening? Holding these things so far out in the middle of nowhere makes them seem so much like a weekend in jail. Why not have them in Ilsan? That would be so much better than the dreary places GEPIK uses. besides, that GEPIK attitude of leaving everyone with nothing to do but drink and then acting all "huffy puffy" when people drink is so self-defeating. It creates such a negative vibe. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
You asked for it and here it is. No one will totally agree with any of this but use it as a guide for what I see lacking and go from there. This is just my opinion but I'm telling you that many new teachers have no idea what they are getting into and their schools either drop the ball with explaining thing to them or simply don't care.
You're right about both! I agree with many people on both sides being clueless! : D
Much more needs to be done about co-teaching, even practice, instead of writing up practice lesson plans for the millionth time. Agreed. 100%
There's so muc to do there shouldn't be any time for useless pep rallies.
You say they're useless, but then below you say that people need a chance for a mixer. I met a lot of cool people during the pep rally. Maybe it's different since you've been there.
Things that should be fully explained-
Medical benefits and sick days, and when I mean "sick days", I mean it should be fully explained that some schools are hardbutts about sick days and what you should do about it.
Discussed in my orientation.
Pension benefits Good point.
Common sense explanations of the legal and other pitfalls of dating at work and sexual harrassment policies (This trips up many foreign teachers)Agreed.
For those who need it- basic banking in Korea, how to handle utilities and payments. This could be done by someone from a bankI think this should be handled by the host school, not GEPIK. Just get a KEB account, every KEB has an English speaker available.
For certain areas- an explanation of how to use the bus and subway systems
I'd like to think that if you were able to make it half way around the world to Korea by yourself, that you can figure out how to ride a bus. I am a little nieve though and this goes back to your first point about many people being clueless. I guess it wouldn't hurt but time could be better spent on the coteaching, sexual harrasment and banking.
There should be mixers, (maybe the first night), for teachers from different areas held in different rooms so they can meet socially. It's very important to meet people in your area. These can be lifesavers in many ways. These "friendships" will be more helpful, in the long run, than those with roommates or just the usual clumping, especially by the South Africans. They tend to socially clump together, in case you didn't notice. That's not a positive thing. In my orientation we were grouped by area the entire time. I was with Goyang teachers every minute. Maybe this has changed since you went. And our pep rally was the first night. After the pep rally we all got together for beers. In the group I connected with there was a kiwi, two girls from SA, 3 US, 2 canadians and a Brit. I think I might be lucky, but a lot of the groups seemed pretty diverse that I saw the second night.
Experienced foreign teachers could help with these events instead of those useless 19 year old coordinators who have NO IDEA what foreign teachers face in Korea. All the GEPIK coordinators are former GEPIK NET's. None are under 25 years old. (Korean age)There are some foreign teachers with many years of experience who could really help with advice, stories, whatever, but instead seminars are led by young ladies who spent the entire time at my last GEPIK event talking about who had the cutest butt. Yeah, hate to hurt their feelings but those jobs could and should be done by people with real experience as foreign teachers in Korea. All the lecturers (except the cultural one) were done by experienced teachers. Again, I think this has changed since you went to one.
One more suggestion that will be ignored, like so many others over the years, by the GEPIK officials. The evening activities should be something positive, and not just leaving everyone with too much free time so all they do is drink. There are so many things that could be done in the evenings like simple Korean cooking lessons. I keep reading all over the internet about Dan Gray with souleats and Korean cooking lessons. Why not set something up like that? If I can think of one I'm sure others can think of more. I've met with Dan Gray personally. He is a friend of my cousins and a very cool guy. So I'd like to see him get involved. But this time they offered calligraphy, basic reading, basic writing, Korean dancing, Korean paper art, and K-POP seminar. Also one night they had an optional Korean movie you could go watch (no beer allowed). Only about 20 of us went to the movie. The rest of the NETs (80+) were drinking at the store or sleeping. So I fully agree that these are good things, but some of the problem lies with us in not taking advantage of some of the opportunities. Maybe make it mandatory?
Isn't it time for GEPIK to start holding these events in some cities where everyone could go do something fun in the evening? Holding these things so far out in the middle of nowhere makes them seem so much like a weekend in jail. Why not have them in Ilsan? That would be so much better than the dreary places GEPIK uses. besides, that GEPIK attitude of leaving everyone with nothing to do but drink and then acting all "huffy puffy" when people drink is so self-defeating. It creates such a negative vibe.So by fun do you mean going to Bar Boom in La Festa and getting in drunken brawls?  I think a big problem with that is lodging, and the fact that you will have far too many people abusing the chance to go party at bars. Granted, we are all adults and should be able to be responsible, but it seems that you put 100 waygooks together and you are going to have trouble. Is it us or GEPIK? I hope the answer is GEPIK, but I feel it is us. We can't even control ourselves at a convenience store that sells only beer. Throw in soju and cheap tequila shots. The group think mentality that takes hold when you put 100 isolated people together will be disastrous. |
I agree with a lot of your points, but on the other hand, I think a lot of them have been improved on since you last went. So I think they are listening to your's and other's suggestions. It sounds like they've come a long way. I'm still not sure when you went to one.
Are you still involved in GEPIK? Shoot them a email about what you think. I don't want to sound like a GEPIK fanboy (too late though probably) but most of what we did was useful. I'd say 90%. |
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Sincinnatislink
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Location: Top secret.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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| What's this shit about a pep rally? |
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