Monday, October 25, 2010

T is for Teaching

Or maybe it’s for Exhaustion……..I can’t really remember.  I’ll just go ahead and begin by saying that teaching is greatly underappreciated (teachers are way awesome - just had to throw that in) and I definitely underestimated the labor involved. I’m specifically referring to the unceasing demand for stimulation. Uh, if I could get some help over here ..... I'm looking for the “off” button on these kids (I’ll settle for “pause”?) …..no? nothing?  It’s definitely a mental workout. Teaching is the ultimate labor of love...I suppose that's why I'm here :)

Teaching in Korea is crazy (for lack of a better word). Primary education is rigorous and taken extremely seriously. It is highly competitive, starting at middle school age. There is a lot of emphasis placed on learning English. A bit of an obsession, actually. Kids (mostly elementary and middle school) in SoKo will attend their regular public school in the morning and afternoon and then go directly to English Academy (and do not pass Go). Academy is a supplement to their regular schooling but to my surprise, it has as much bearing on their education as the regular public school, because A. the parents are now forking over hard earned money for additional school, B. academy provides concentrated learning, specifically English, on a more individual basis, C. parents have become somewhat disillusioned by the English programs in the public school so they rely on the academy to help fill the gap, and more importantly D. is there such a thing as getting too much English?!

The kids have a slightly different view:
Academy = more homework
More homework = no play time, so;
Academy = their nightmare

I can't help but sympathize. Most of these kids aren’t finishing up with school until 10 or 11 at night. A classroom full of middle school students + too cool for school attitude + going on their 13th hour of school for the day = The most PAINFUL 45 mins. of my entire existence and after about 25 of those mins. I'm wondering if maybe this thing isn't even on........ummmm helloooooo?!? Wow, tough crowd tonight.

If you don’t speak Korean, how are you able to teach these kids?  I’ve gotten this question a lot. Well, I’ll be completely honest, there’s a lot of stickers involved.  Seriously.  I’ve found that bribery is not only essential but also a very effective teaching method (sorry mom). The younger ones are a little more, how should I put this .... not as complicated and more forgiving, I mean we're talking where anything that's of real significance is settled by rock, paper, scissors. 

This is one of my classes. Good class. We have fun. These guys are 9 (in Korea, one year of life is counted when you are born so they are 8). They may look like a subdued bunch but Andrew, top row/2nd from left, is a desk jumper so don't be fooled.


Last week I posted this riddle to one of my intermediate classes:  What vegetable do you throw away the outside, cook the inside, eat the outside, and throw away the inside?
They were promised duk bok ki (a favorite snack food among Korean kids) for guessing the correct answer.

The duk bok ki ladies dishing it up (below). 13 to be exact.
My final thought: Altho, each day brings new challenges and some awkward moments; there have been just as many awestruck moments and hilarious moments. Having been fortunate to experience Montessori primary education, I am able to appreciate self-directed learning and truly believe that as a child, you possess a natural propensity to progress forward and grow.  This has become/will be for the year, my common ground with these students and I find comfort in that :)



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