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Well, I JUST got back from Thailand, and had been so excited when I left about all the things I was going to blog about and all the pictures I was going to post. But you know, it was such a boring vacation that I'm not going to bother you with all the details. Suffice to say I swam, ate, slept, and got bitten by mosquitoes.
I'll write about some other stuff soon.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Vacation
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.
Have fun at your day jobs, suckers.
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.
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