Posts
I am officially on summer vacation for the next week. I leave for Phang Nga (near Phuket), Thailand tomorrow morning. But first I have to get to Incheon Airport, outside Seoul. So that means I have to take a bus at 12:30 tonight, and I won't get to the hotel until probably 9:30 tomorrow night, which is 11:30 here. All this extended traveling I've been doing the last few years makes anything under 15 hours seem like a breeze. This, of course, not being one of those instances. Still, though, Thailand.
Have fun at your day jobs, suckers.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Funny Classroom Situation
Yesterday the air conditioner at school broke for the second time this month. It was awful. Only one of the four classrooms has a window that can open, and mine isn't it. The kids were miserable, the teachers were miserable. Very little learning goes on when you're that sticky. There was a lot of moaning. Even the ice cream that inevitably gets brought in by... someone, the school or parents, I don't know, doesn't really help.
My fourth class of the day is usually pretty hard to control. There's one girl in there who has ADHD, I'm sure of it, and trying to control her is an eternal struggle. Another kid, though the smartest in the class, just sleeps the whole time most days. Other kids vary between ultra shy, overbearing, and inattentive. The age range is a little awkward, too. Most of my classes are arranged by grade, with kids not varying by more than a year, for the most part, but this class, I think, ranges from grades 3-6. There's a big difference between 3rd and 6th graders.
The heat made everything worse, but there was this odd long moment of total, awesome bizarreness that I thought I'd share. This occurred, I think, when I was asking a question to the class, and everyone was pretty much ignoring me. Here's what the class looked like (wish I'd had my video camera):
The overbearing girl, Bunny, was up by the door, swinging it open and closed repeatedly to create a breeze. Sleepy head boy, Pam (he chose the name not knowing it's a girl's name. I haven't the heart to tell him), was asleep with his forehead on the edge of the desk. Next to him, another boy, John, had changed seats to be by the swinging door, and had collapsed his head into his arms on the desk. One of the shy girls, Lauren, was just staring off into space. That was the back row. In the front row, two of the oldest kids, Ruby and Hollis, were doodling and I think making googley eyes at each other, and to top it all off, Any (pronounced "Annie"), the ADHD girl, had turned her chair sideways and was sitting backwards in it, facing the wall, and rocking deeply back and forth, saying "This is very relaxing" over and over and over and over. The only way she can control herself from screaming and running around is by putting herself into a trance. That trance lasted about ten minutes, complete with mantra.
As I paused, superficially to let them think about my question, but really because I had just given up on trying to teach them, I surveyed the classroom and that sight. Then I just started laughing at the sheer lunacy that they had settled into. Ruby asked what I was laughing at, and I told her to look at the class. She got the joke. I think she said, "Oh, crazy people," laughed, and went back to her doodling. Oh, the joys of teaching.
My fourth class of the day is usually pretty hard to control. There's one girl in there who has ADHD, I'm sure of it, and trying to control her is an eternal struggle. Another kid, though the smartest in the class, just sleeps the whole time most days. Other kids vary between ultra shy, overbearing, and inattentive. The age range is a little awkward, too. Most of my classes are arranged by grade, with kids not varying by more than a year, for the most part, but this class, I think, ranges from grades 3-6. There's a big difference between 3rd and 6th graders.
The heat made everything worse, but there was this odd long moment of total, awesome bizarreness that I thought I'd share. This occurred, I think, when I was asking a question to the class, and everyone was pretty much ignoring me. Here's what the class looked like (wish I'd had my video camera):
The overbearing girl, Bunny, was up by the door, swinging it open and closed repeatedly to create a breeze. Sleepy head boy, Pam (he chose the name not knowing it's a girl's name. I haven't the heart to tell him), was asleep with his forehead on the edge of the desk. Next to him, another boy, John, had changed seats to be by the swinging door, and had collapsed his head into his arms on the desk. One of the shy girls, Lauren, was just staring off into space. That was the back row. In the front row, two of the oldest kids, Ruby and Hollis, were doodling and I think making googley eyes at each other, and to top it all off, Any (pronounced "Annie"), the ADHD girl, had turned her chair sideways and was sitting backwards in it, facing the wall, and rocking deeply back and forth, saying "This is very relaxing" over and over and over and over. The only way she can control herself from screaming and running around is by putting herself into a trance. That trance lasted about ten minutes, complete with mantra.
As I paused, superficially to let them think about my question, but really because I had just given up on trying to teach them, I surveyed the classroom and that sight. Then I just started laughing at the sheer lunacy that they had settled into. Ruby asked what I was laughing at, and I told her to look at the class. She got the joke. I think she said, "Oh, crazy people," laughed, and went back to her doodling. Oh, the joys of teaching.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Korea Questions... Concluded?
Has teaching been more difficult than you expected? What are the kids like?
Teaching hasn't been more difficult, exactly, just less appealing. Teaching here isn't like what you would expect back home. Especially in public schools, it's mostly just a "warm body" job. So the key to not going crazy about how little the kids are learning and how poor the system is, as far as I can tell, is to just remember that you're not supposed to make the kids fluent in a year, and that you're just following what the school wants you to do. This is supposed to be your adventure, too, so don't get stressed over what happens at school. Everyone I've talked to who works in a public school feels pissed off at first about the system, but they learn to accept it and have fun. If you're in a public school, you probably won't be able to converse with the kids much, unless you have some kids who also go to hagwons (private academies). A friend of mine who has several hundred students tells me he can only talk to a handful of them, and the rest he can only communicate with through his Korean coteacher, who translates.
I've gathered that at public school, the English classes are largely taught in Korean, which is probably why the kids learn so little. That, and the fact that they memorize everything instead of learning it. The Seoul teacher gave me this example: you can ask a kid "Where are you from?" and he will respond, "I am from Korea." But if you ask, "What city are you from?" he has no idea what you're saying.
Besides the actual teaching part, you also have to get used to the kids. I was warned by a friend who taught in Japan that Korean kids are supposed to be whiny. This is somewhat true. I think a more accurate term would be "tattletale," though, to the extreme. These kids have no honor, which I found surprising since we're in the land of honor. As it turns out, the Asian concept of honor and respect are much different than ours. For example, I was told by a public teacher in Seoul that respect in the classroom means getting there on time and wearing indoor slippers to class; not doing these things merits getting hit. However, not doing homework, talking in class, hitting other students, etc. do not merit punishment.
Regarding punishment, you might have to get used to the teachers hitting the kids. It seems like a common practice. Foreigners are not allowed to hit students, so you won't be expected to punish any kids, though.
Is there anything you wish you'd known before going to Korea?
Probably the one thing I most would have liked to know before coming was that the level of English fluency among the general population is low. I was led to believe that most people speak a little English here, but I was not told that the extent of that English is usually "please," "thank you," "hello," "goodbye," and numbers one to ten. I would have come anyway, of course, but had I known that, I would have gotten Rosetta Stone before I got here and studied more. Not being able to speak to anyone was frustrating at first, but I've both gotten used to it and learned enough to muddle through when I need to. Some people do speak English well, though, like bank tellers. My hairdresser speaks decent English, too. Children also speak English, of course, and they will approach you on the street and probably tell you you are beautiful (or handsome). Every day. It's nice.
There are benefits to not knowing much of the language, though, I must say. You don't get as annoyed with commercials if you don't know what they're saying, and you don't have to listen to annoying conversations in public. You can also get away with stuff with the "stupid foreigner" ruse, should you feel the need to get away with something.
Teaching hasn't been more difficult, exactly, just less appealing. Teaching here isn't like what you would expect back home. Especially in public schools, it's mostly just a "warm body" job. So the key to not going crazy about how little the kids are learning and how poor the system is, as far as I can tell, is to just remember that you're not supposed to make the kids fluent in a year, and that you're just following what the school wants you to do. This is supposed to be your adventure, too, so don't get stressed over what happens at school. Everyone I've talked to who works in a public school feels pissed off at first about the system, but they learn to accept it and have fun. If you're in a public school, you probably won't be able to converse with the kids much, unless you have some kids who also go to hagwons (private academies). A friend of mine who has several hundred students tells me he can only talk to a handful of them, and the rest he can only communicate with through his Korean coteacher, who translates.
I've gathered that at public school, the English classes are largely taught in Korean, which is probably why the kids learn so little. That, and the fact that they memorize everything instead of learning it. The Seoul teacher gave me this example: you can ask a kid "Where are you from?" and he will respond, "I am from Korea." But if you ask, "What city are you from?" he has no idea what you're saying.
Besides the actual teaching part, you also have to get used to the kids. I was warned by a friend who taught in Japan that Korean kids are supposed to be whiny. This is somewhat true. I think a more accurate term would be "tattletale," though, to the extreme. These kids have no honor, which I found surprising since we're in the land of honor. As it turns out, the Asian concept of honor and respect are much different than ours. For example, I was told by a public teacher in Seoul that respect in the classroom means getting there on time and wearing indoor slippers to class; not doing these things merits getting hit. However, not doing homework, talking in class, hitting other students, etc. do not merit punishment.
Regarding punishment, you might have to get used to the teachers hitting the kids. It seems like a common practice. Foreigners are not allowed to hit students, so you won't be expected to punish any kids, though.
Is there anything you wish you'd known before going to Korea?
Probably the one thing I most would have liked to know before coming was that the level of English fluency among the general population is low. I was led to believe that most people speak a little English here, but I was not told that the extent of that English is usually "please," "thank you," "hello," "goodbye," and numbers one to ten. I would have come anyway, of course, but had I known that, I would have gotten Rosetta Stone before I got here and studied more. Not being able to speak to anyone was frustrating at first, but I've both gotten used to it and learned enough to muddle through when I need to. Some people do speak English well, though, like bank tellers. My hairdresser speaks decent English, too. Children also speak English, of course, and they will approach you on the street and probably tell you you are beautiful (or handsome). Every day. It's nice.
There are benefits to not knowing much of the language, though, I must say. You don't get as annoyed with commercials if you don't know what they're saying, and you don't have to listen to annoying conversations in public. You can also get away with stuff with the "stupid foreigner" ruse, should you feel the need to get away with something.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Korea Questions Continued
Do you pay for everything in cash? What's the bank account situation?
Cash: I hardly ever use it. I use my debit card, which is widely accepted, and which draws from my Korean bank account. Getting the bank account set up was a little harder than I thought, but still not very hard, just time consuming. Although you can get a bank account with just your passport, it takes longer to set up than if you wait to do that until after you get your alien registration ID. Getting the ID takes a week, though, and you can't exchange American money at the bank until you get a bank account. It all seems a bit complicated. The way I did it (and really was not given a choice by my bosses, and was guided through this whole thing) was to get the registration card first and have one of my bosses take my money to the bank and exchange it himself. For some reason was not allowed to withdraw it from his bank account right away, so his mom gave me 100k won to borrow. By the time I got the ID card, payday had come, so I got my first paycheck, plus the money I exchanged from American money, in cash. Once I was able to take the alien card to the bank and open the account, I put some money in my account and wired the rest to my American account. I was given a debit card at the time I opened the account. During this whole process, I was with either one of my bosses or their parents to help me and translate and such.
What's with the alien registration/ID card?
When you get here, you have to go to the immigration office to register as a foreign resident. You are issued an identification card, which you need to carry around as if it were a driver license or other important ID. You use it to identify yourself at the hospital, to pick up bus or train tickets you get online, etc. You also need it should you ever get stopped by a police officer, or whatever, as unlikely an event that is. Important: I was not told I would need any more passport pictures, but you need two to get your alien registration ID. Having to get them done here delayed everything above by a couple days, because they place my boss took me to didn't have one hour photo, and I think we had to wait a couple days because they were closed on Sunday or something. Bring two passport sized photos for the ID. If you need any more photos, you can get them here for pretty cheap (ten photos for 10k won was what I got), but already having them expedites things.
Are credit cards accepted anywhere?
Visa/Mastercard seem extremely widely accepted. I carry around an American Express, and ironically, the only place that's ever been rejected was at a restaurant on the American air force base up north, which runs on American currency. You'd think the military would take AMERICAN Express. Jerks.
Is it difficult to get clothing that fits? What about shoes?
Purchasing clothes has been somewhat difficult, less because of size issues than because they're freaking stuck in the 80s here. It's hilarious and awful. I go to the stores and just laugh and cry. Since most Koreans are quite thin, most clothing here is small. There are a lot of foreigners here, though, and it seems like the country caters more and more to them as time goes on. Even if you can't find good clothing in your city, you can always try shopping in Seoul, Busan, or other big cities. Larger people be warned, though. It's difficult to find clothes that fit no matter where you go in this country, or so I hear. The two other Western teachers at my school aren't particularly fat, but have like beer bellies, and even they can't get clothes here.
It's possible that shoes would be okay anywhere. People are taller here than I expected, so that might result in larger feet. I have small feet, so I haven't noticed shoe sizes too much.
Bras could be a big problem for some women. They only have A and B cups here. So if you're bigger than that, make sure you stock up, because you'll have to mail order them if you don't. Or pay a ton from some sort of specialty store, if there are any.
Also, good luck figuring out the way sizes work here. I haven't. My shoe size is 235, my shirt size is 90, and the jeans I bought here are 71-94. The only size that makes sense is the bra size, which is measured in centimeters.
Is everything cheaper in Korea than in the US?
I originally had the idea that things cost less here than back home, but I was WRONG. I don't think I've seen a single thing in this country that costs less than it does in the US or Canada. I bet rice does, but I don't buy rice, so I don't know. Oh, and food from street vendors, but we don't have those anyway. Clothes don't cost more, per se, unless you're shopping at the department stores. Then the prices make you want to vomit. Most of what little clothing I've bought here was from E-Mart, which is like a Super Target, and an easy to find chain. You pay 15-30k won for a button down shirt, 7-25k won for a t-shirt, 10-30k won for pants, and so on. There are many American shoes here, like Converse, Adidas, Nike, Puma, etc. They seem to cost exactly the same amount as in the US.
What are the differences between public and private schools?
Let me talk about public schools first, based on what I've heard from others:
Teaching in public school involves very little responsibility, from what I can tell. As a teacher, you are mostly responsible for coming up with lesson plans and fun activities for classes. You don't have to work very much, usually between 20 and 30 hours a week, and you don't have to give or correct homework. You work with a Korean coteacher, who translates for you and runs the class. Because you have that coteacher, you can actually use your sick days if you need them, and you get plenty of them. You can also choose your vacation because the coteacher is there to conduct the class. You get a lot of days off when the school is not in session.
There are disadvantages. One is that the classes are huge and the kids don't really speak any English, unless they also go to private school on the side (rich kids). This means you don't get to talk to the kids much. That kind of sucks, I'm sure. Another is that the education system in this country is complete and utter bullshit and it gets frustrating that you have to follow such a slowly paced curriculum. For example, a teacher told me he had to spend two weeks on "hello," "hi," and "goodbye." Ouch. A major drawback I've noticed is that the contract stipulates that you have to be at school for certain times even when school is not in session, and they don't give you work to do, as far as I know. This means you sit at your desk and read or play solitaire for 8 hours a day, and you can't leave. Finally, you don't get the personal attention at a public school as you do at a private school. Consider the following example regarding a teacher in Seoul, who came here through a program called EPIK, and was placed at a public school:
One guy I talk to in Seoul said that his apartment, although I think it had everything it needed in it, was not professionally cleaned before he moved in (the school should be paying for that), and the place was a nightmare. I don't remember if he dealt with it himself or if he paid to have it cleaned, or what, but that situation was bad. Also, his landlord was bothering him a lot at first because the previous tenant (an English teacher, too) had skipped out on three months of utility bills. The school apparently didn't help him out in all this, at least not at first.
I'm teaching at a private academy (hagwon). This has its pros and cons, too, of course. The pros are as follows: I'm in charge of my classes and I do pretty much whatever I want, whether it's in the book or not. My classes have no more than eight kids. I would get a bonus each month for any class that has more than eight kids. There are only four teachers at my school, so it's all very personal, and I can get lots of help from my boss without feeling like I'm one of many teachers nagging her for something. I think private school teachers get paid a little more than public, at least at the entry level.
The cons: I have to work very, very hard, and I hardly get any days off compared to public school teachers. The first few weeks I was here, I didn't have that many classes, so I wasn't working long hours, but in March, the schedule changed, and my class load was increased by over 50%. For the first few weeks, while I was getting used to both teaching and the new schedule, I was working about 50 hours a week, because I taught about seven hours a day and corrected and prepped for about three. I've streamlined it now, so I'm only working 40 hours a week, but that's about 10 hours more per week than the average English teacher here. I do get overtime, though, so it's a good deal. For days off, I get national holidays, and one week at the end of July and one week at the end of December. This is considerably less time than public schoolteachers. I get sick days, I think, but it's difficult to use them, and I haven't used one yet. If I call in sick , my boss has to teach my classes, or cancel them. She gets kind of pissed off when someone calls in sick.
Cash: I hardly ever use it. I use my debit card, which is widely accepted, and which draws from my Korean bank account. Getting the bank account set up was a little harder than I thought, but still not very hard, just time consuming. Although you can get a bank account with just your passport, it takes longer to set up than if you wait to do that until after you get your alien registration ID. Getting the ID takes a week, though, and you can't exchange American money at the bank until you get a bank account. It all seems a bit complicated. The way I did it (and really was not given a choice by my bosses, and was guided through this whole thing) was to get the registration card first and have one of my bosses take my money to the bank and exchange it himself. For some reason was not allowed to withdraw it from his bank account right away, so his mom gave me 100k won to borrow. By the time I got the ID card, payday had come, so I got my first paycheck, plus the money I exchanged from American money, in cash. Once I was able to take the alien card to the bank and open the account, I put some money in my account and wired the rest to my American account. I was given a debit card at the time I opened the account. During this whole process, I was with either one of my bosses or their parents to help me and translate and such.
What's with the alien registration/ID card?
When you get here, you have to go to the immigration office to register as a foreign resident. You are issued an identification card, which you need to carry around as if it were a driver license or other important ID. You use it to identify yourself at the hospital, to pick up bus or train tickets you get online, etc. You also need it should you ever get stopped by a police officer, or whatever, as unlikely an event that is. Important: I was not told I would need any more passport pictures, but you need two to get your alien registration ID. Having to get them done here delayed everything above by a couple days, because they place my boss took me to didn't have one hour photo, and I think we had to wait a couple days because they were closed on Sunday or something. Bring two passport sized photos for the ID. If you need any more photos, you can get them here for pretty cheap (ten photos for 10k won was what I got), but already having them expedites things.
Are credit cards accepted anywhere?
Visa/Mastercard seem extremely widely accepted. I carry around an American Express, and ironically, the only place that's ever been rejected was at a restaurant on the American air force base up north, which runs on American currency. You'd think the military would take AMERICAN Express. Jerks.
Is it difficult to get clothing that fits? What about shoes?
Purchasing clothes has been somewhat difficult, less because of size issues than because they're freaking stuck in the 80s here. It's hilarious and awful. I go to the stores and just laugh and cry. Since most Koreans are quite thin, most clothing here is small. There are a lot of foreigners here, though, and it seems like the country caters more and more to them as time goes on. Even if you can't find good clothing in your city, you can always try shopping in Seoul, Busan, or other big cities. Larger people be warned, though. It's difficult to find clothes that fit no matter where you go in this country, or so I hear. The two other Western teachers at my school aren't particularly fat, but have like beer bellies, and even they can't get clothes here.
It's possible that shoes would be okay anywhere. People are taller here than I expected, so that might result in larger feet. I have small feet, so I haven't noticed shoe sizes too much.
Bras could be a big problem for some women. They only have A and B cups here. So if you're bigger than that, make sure you stock up, because you'll have to mail order them if you don't. Or pay a ton from some sort of specialty store, if there are any.
Also, good luck figuring out the way sizes work here. I haven't. My shoe size is 235, my shirt size is 90, and the jeans I bought here are 71-94. The only size that makes sense is the bra size, which is measured in centimeters.
Is everything cheaper in Korea than in the US?
I originally had the idea that things cost less here than back home, but I was WRONG. I don't think I've seen a single thing in this country that costs less than it does in the US or Canada. I bet rice does, but I don't buy rice, so I don't know. Oh, and food from street vendors, but we don't have those anyway. Clothes don't cost more, per se, unless you're shopping at the department stores. Then the prices make you want to vomit. Most of what little clothing I've bought here was from E-Mart, which is like a Super Target, and an easy to find chain. You pay 15-30k won for a button down shirt, 7-25k won for a t-shirt, 10-30k won for pants, and so on. There are many American shoes here, like Converse, Adidas, Nike, Puma, etc. They seem to cost exactly the same amount as in the US.
What are the differences between public and private schools?
Let me talk about public schools first, based on what I've heard from others:
Teaching in public school involves very little responsibility, from what I can tell. As a teacher, you are mostly responsible for coming up with lesson plans and fun activities for classes. You don't have to work very much, usually between 20 and 30 hours a week, and you don't have to give or correct homework. You work with a Korean coteacher, who translates for you and runs the class. Because you have that coteacher, you can actually use your sick days if you need them, and you get plenty of them. You can also choose your vacation because the coteacher is there to conduct the class. You get a lot of days off when the school is not in session.
There are disadvantages. One is that the classes are huge and the kids don't really speak any English, unless they also go to private school on the side (rich kids). This means you don't get to talk to the kids much. That kind of sucks, I'm sure. Another is that the education system in this country is complete and utter bullshit and it gets frustrating that you have to follow such a slowly paced curriculum. For example, a teacher told me he had to spend two weeks on "hello," "hi," and "goodbye." Ouch. A major drawback I've noticed is that the contract stipulates that you have to be at school for certain times even when school is not in session, and they don't give you work to do, as far as I know. This means you sit at your desk and read or play solitaire for 8 hours a day, and you can't leave. Finally, you don't get the personal attention at a public school as you do at a private school. Consider the following example regarding a teacher in Seoul, who came here through a program called EPIK, and was placed at a public school:
One guy I talk to in Seoul said that his apartment, although I think it had everything it needed in it, was not professionally cleaned before he moved in (the school should be paying for that), and the place was a nightmare. I don't remember if he dealt with it himself or if he paid to have it cleaned, or what, but that situation was bad. Also, his landlord was bothering him a lot at first because the previous tenant (an English teacher, too) had skipped out on three months of utility bills. The school apparently didn't help him out in all this, at least not at first.
I'm teaching at a private academy (hagwon). This has its pros and cons, too, of course. The pros are as follows: I'm in charge of my classes and I do pretty much whatever I want, whether it's in the book or not. My classes have no more than eight kids. I would get a bonus each month for any class that has more than eight kids. There are only four teachers at my school, so it's all very personal, and I can get lots of help from my boss without feeling like I'm one of many teachers nagging her for something. I think private school teachers get paid a little more than public, at least at the entry level.
The cons: I have to work very, very hard, and I hardly get any days off compared to public school teachers. The first few weeks I was here, I didn't have that many classes, so I wasn't working long hours, but in March, the schedule changed, and my class load was increased by over 50%. For the first few weeks, while I was getting used to both teaching and the new schedule, I was working about 50 hours a week, because I taught about seven hours a day and corrected and prepped for about three. I've streamlined it now, so I'm only working 40 hours a week, but that's about 10 hours more per week than the average English teacher here. I do get overtime, though, so it's a good deal. For days off, I get national holidays, and one week at the end of July and one week at the end of December. This is considerably less time than public schoolteachers. I get sick days, I think, but it's difficult to use them, and I haven't used one yet. If I call in sick , my boss has to teach my classes, or cancel them. She gets kind of pissed off when someone calls in sick.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)