Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yu_Bum_suk]

... busier I am. Granted, things have really slowed down this week, but, with a better idea of what to expect, knowing more about how to make myself useful, and having to hold a rookie KT's hand, I've found myself much busier than last year. I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all, but there have been more stressful (though usually still productive) days than last year. The number of students with whom I do extra work and amount of time I spend with them has really increased, too.

... more comfortable with I feel in the classroom. This is completely to be expected, of course. However I have no classes that worry me. I know how to handle them all.

... less the novelty factor exists and the more I have to rely on ideas that keep the students engaged.

... more realistic I've become about goals. Teaching vocational HS students English is going to produce few results for most of them. Teaching academic students at certain times like the week after finals or February is almost pointless.

... less other teachers and the administration are worried about what I'm doing. My co-workers have finally got used to having a white person amongst them.

... more I feel unappreciated by my school district.

... more I feel appreciated by my school. If I have a problem with my house, they fix it. If I have a problem with my computer, they fix it. If I have a problem with a student, they fix it. If I make a suggestion, like having an English speech contest at the HS, they often act on it. They've tried their best so far to provide me with whatever extra benefits they can. Favours and gifts I initially got because I was the foreigner I now get because I'm a teacher whom most people like.

... more I realise the importance of the official story vs. whatever actually happens. It's my school's responsibility to make it look like I'm teaching effectively if they like me, and it's my respeonsibility to make sure that I am in fact teaching as effectively as I can.

... more the students address me in (formal) Korean and less they do in English.

... more the crappier students who hate learning English, for the most part (because there are some exceptions), dislike learning English with me.

... more I realise how much English certain students who had previously been quite anonamous actually know.

... more small victories I have. The other night I had a conversation with a student who phoned me wondering if it was all right if she could miss my evening class because she had to study for finals. She finished the conversation by saying 'cheers!' and I went fucking A, I know she only learned that from me.


What differences have you noticed after being around a school a while? Is it a generally upwards trend? Downwards? Things going both ways?

[sheba]

When I first arrived I was so busy preparing and keeping records of everything I did in class etc then when I got into a routine I didnt know what to do with all my prep time! Now I have busy weeks and quiet weeks.... I like the quiet weeks cos I can socialise with the teachers more.

Im definately more comfortable in the class. I started off fumbling my way through each lesson, everything from teaching to the pressure of kids liking me was a worry..... Of course I know much better now!!

Novelty long gone!! Except with new students and the ones that love me regardless of how angry, tired or sick I get!

Im certainly more realistic about goals.... I try to teach where I can, even if it may be a lost cause. But I know I cant help those that dont want ot be helped (Im not saying I wont try, but Im not going to get disheartened if I fail).

My co workers dont worry about me too much. They know that if I have a problem then Ill come to them. I do feel appreciated by my school though... everything Ive asked for I have been given with a smile (I have been fair though!). If I have any problems then the teachers/boss do what they can to help me.

Ive found some students who hate learning English also hate my class, but there are also many students who like my class (even if they hate learning english) - not to learn anything but they seem to get a kick out of talking to me, even if its the same 3 sentences over and over.

My smartest students are the quiet ones who dont say a word and blend into the background. I dont give tests, so I didnt even know who they were until the korean teacher pointed them out to me!! (At the time the smartest student in the hagwon happened to be a 5th grader!)

My school has always been good to me. My teaching has improved a lot since I first arrived.... the students are up and down all the time - usually around vacation periods or holidays they get excited and noisy. The one thing that has an upward trend is the relationships I develop with the kids.... Some kids are horrendous little monsters in class but theyll throw me completely off guard when I see them in the street and they come up all excited and start chatting to me with a big smile on their face....

Also the longer Im here the more I realise how much Im going to miss it when I go home........

[Homer]

Good question.......


I have been in the same place for a few years now.

The more I know how the place works (administration, support...) the more effective things become.

The more I teach students of the type I teach the better my classroom ideas become. My lesson plans become more effective.

The longer I work in this place, the greater the appreciation for what it brings and what it provides for me.

The routine does set in however and it sometimes gets hard not to fall into a rut.

The longer I stay in this job, the more friends I make and see leave as most teachers are mid-termer where I work.

I do miss teaching kids sometimes as well.

As for the impact you have on students Yum (you teach middle or high school right?) don't under estimate it as it can be measured down the road when they reach university. Beleive me...it does make a difference and that is starting to show up in the classroom at university. Between now and when I arrived in 1997, there have been visible changes and this seems to be getting stronger. Sometimes we cannot measure results directly and immediatly.