Everything is moving at lightning speed now that I am done with quarantine. And everything is different from the way I thought it would be. They told me I didn't need any experience teaching. They told me I didn't need to know Korean. They told me I would need to be flexible. They told me there would be training. That all sounds quite reasonable, right?
Well.
I was VASTLY unprepared for the realities of the teaching abroad experience.
I have been teaching for one week and it feels like a lifetime has passed in those five days.
Here is the reality of the situation. I finished quarantine on a Thursday and at noon on that same day, I started "observing" the classes I would be teaching starting the following Monday. That's right. Including Friday, I would only have one and a half days to observe and learn everything necessary to begin teaching full time.
At the school, each of the kindergarten classes is named after a famous city around the world, i.e., Vienna, New York, Mexico City, Sydney, etc. I teach London Class. The foreign teacher who was responsible for teaching London Class before me was the one who showed me around. She went over her schedule, which was to become my schedule, and tried to explain each class. I get to school a little before 9AM every day. From 9AM to 9:40AM is morning prep time, during which students begin arrive. Then, from 9:40AM to 3:20PM every day I teach London Class.
London Class has 7 students. I teach them 7 subjects ranging from English to Math to Coding. (The Coding textbook is entirely in Korean.) I also teach Cairo Class (another kindergarten class) two subjects: Drama and Science.
From 3:20PM to 6PM I teach elementary students in afterschool classes. They come to my school for extra English classes. (after they are done with their regular school classes).
I teach four different subjects for elementary classes.
At this point in time, I think I prefer my elementary classes. The students are a little more responsive and I feel like they might actually be learning something. My London Class is a little bit more like herding cats. They are quite capable of doing the work and they are very smart, BUT their motivation is garbage. I spend a third of class time just yelling at them to get back in their seats.
It is similar to yelling at a brick wall.
One of the biggest struggles during my day and a half of training was to figure out what the expectations were for me as a teacher. And to be honest, after a week, I am still not sure if I understand.
Here's the thing.
I teach at a private school, otherwise known as a hagwon. Private schools in Korea are NOT the same as in the States. As far as I understand, private schools are not subject to any sort of regulation. In Korea, a private school is a 'for profit' institution. They are privately owned and run like a business. There is no kindergarten equivalent in public schools, so if you want your child to have an early start on their education you send them to a hagwon. Korean elementary students attend classes at hagwons IN ADDITION to their regular public school classes.
Essentially, the more clients...aka students...you have, the more money the hagwon makes. Therefore, teaching the students is not the ultimate goal. Making sure the parents are happy is the ultimate goal. Because if the parents are happy the school continues to make money, and they can promote themselves as a place where other parents would want to send their kids.
So, as long as I finish all the textbooks/workbooks in the expected amount of time, it doesn't seem to matter if the children actually learn the material. In some cases, I have been told that if you are running behind finishing a workbook you should just tell the kids exactly what to write so that the book is done. Not finishing is NOT an option.
If the kids are "doing their work" the parents are (usually) satisfied. There are, of course, always parents who are more...umm..."particular".....and that is usually when sh*t hits the fan.
The director of my school DOES NOT tolerate anything short of 100% parent satisfaction. And it is ALWAYS the teacher's fault.
Now, I know this post sounds a little negative, but I think it is more complicated than that. This is my first experience teaching. So, I already feel behind the curve. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like feeling like I don't know what I'm doing. In addition, my Korean co-teacher is the Vice Principal of my school, so she has A LOT on her plate. I don't like feeling as though I might be a burden to her. I want her to feel as if she can leave me alone to teach and everything will be ok.
There are also several other responsibilities that foreign teachers have. We are responsible for writing monthly progress reports on the students in our kindergarten classes, ordering new textbooks when necessary, writing monthly lesson plans, and helping to co-ordinate "special event" days at the school.
Trying to process all of my new responsibilities while also attempting to teach for the first time ever made my first week feel quite overwhelming. I sincerely hope that after a few weeks I will be able to better settle into the routine of school life.
I will say that my first week would have been absolutely impossible if not for the help of the other foreign teachers at my school. They will never know just how helpful their encouraging comments and advice were.
If you are reading this and trying to figure out if teaching at a hagwon is the right choice for you, please feel free to email me with any questions!
Now.
Listen, and listen well . If you know a teacher, or if you have small kids in school, you need to stop what you're doing, get on your knees and thank them for their service. We all hear how much teachers have to deal with at school and not one of those sources was overselling it. Kids will be kids, sure, but trying to teach 4-6 year old students about the country of Mexico in their second, or even third, language is like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree...it sorta works but mostly you just watch all your hard work slowly slide down the bark, bit by bit.
Kids are exhausting.
OK. Are you all as anxious as I am to talk about something a little more fun...like EXPLORING KOREA?!
Stay tuned!
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