Rant time...sorry
I am not entirely sure that I am going to make it for the whole year here in Korea, which I hate to admit. The majority of my time is great, but there's a lot of crappiness that makes me worried that I'm going to eventually throw in the towel before my contract is up.
Most of the problem is with my school. Today Carol and I got called in for a meeting. My boss is worried that we aren't "doing enough," and we need to "try harder." I guess some of the parents are complaining because the kids aren't suddenly becoming English geniuses over night. I'm new, and I'm still a little hesitant at times and I know this, but trying to say that I'm not doing enough in terms of teaching the kids is total bullshit. My school is part of a franchise, meaning that every JungChul in Korea uses the same books and teaching methods, although they are all under different management. All of the kids come to class five days a week: four with a Korean teacher and one day with a native English speaker. The kinds of things we tend to do with the kids is all in pronunciation. We can't really teach them anything that needs side-by-side Korean and English instruction, so we teach them things which are equally important, like intonation. And then some of the "advanced" students, i.e. whoever's parents can shell out money for the extra lessons are in an additional special class which is strictly the domain of the native teacher.
But a lot of the texts are terrible. There are multiple mistakes in the texts and the articulation and phrasing of a lot of the audio is really odd. But I don't make up the lesson plans. I am told exactly which section to teach to each class every day, because every student in the school goes through the exact same methodology in the exact same order, and the Korean teachers make up the schedules. Even with the special classes, which I'm in charge of, I have to use certain books and I'm expected to cover X amount of material in X number of days. I have to make schedules a month in advance, and I get my ass chewed if I get behind or ahead on the schedule (which is bullshit because sometimes the kids will pick up very easily on something and need to move on, and other times they unexpectedly need a lot of time on one section or activity).
My boss has no sense of what kids want to do, and what helps them learn. I used to be an art teacher, so I believe in the power of art as a teaching method. I want to incorporate more art into the lessons, because it keeps the kids entertained and engaged. It's not like I'd just throw some crayons at them and leave, I'd do pictionary-type games and "I tell you a story in English and you illustrate it" sort of things. Maybe some color-by-number types of things for the littlest kids ("Color the truck blue" They have to know what a truck is and what the color blue is to get it right: LEARNING!) But my boss is worried that the parents aren't going to be happy with the lesson plans. She won't even let us watch movies in English, because she thinks the parents won't be happy about it, even if there are comprehension questions and that sort of thing that go along with it.
A lot of these kids suck at English because they are bored. And quite frankly, I don't blame them. That's also why a lot of them can't sit still or behave to save their lives. They are BORED with repeating things over and over and reading dialogues that no English speaker in his or her right mind would ever say in real life. I adore most of the kids, although a couple of the older kids are real shits sometimes. I want to be the best teacher I can be for them, and I don't want to just leave on them in the middle of the year. I knew coming into this that I would be expected to work hard, as I am at a very competitive school, but perhaps they are expecting more of me than is realistic. I am a very hard worker, but I've only got so much to work with.
Another thing that is upsetting me is that I feel really isolated. I've met some other native English speakers in real life, and have tried joining some online communities of teachers, but most of them are huge assholes. All they want to do is bitch about Korea, because they feel like we can all sympathize and feel sorry for each other together. Whatever. Sure, living in Korea is inconvenient sometimes, but I'm TEACHING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY. Of course it's hard. I didn't sign up for Camp Convenience. And then it's expected that we're going to be friends just because we both speak English. But newsflash, if I think you're a dipshit, I'm not going to want anything to do with you, even if you are the only other English speaker my age in a thirty mile radius. I'd rather sit around with people who don't speak English and actually experience Korea than cloister myself in my little English-speaking complainathon.
So yeah, now that all the ranting is out of the way, I just want you to know that Korea still rocks. My apartment is huge; my town is that perfect combination of big and small; everything is cheap as hell here; the food is good; Koreans think I'm hot; Koreans my age all look like scene-kids, but in a totally unpretentious way; you can get coffee out of a vending machine for like 30 cents; I can look out my balcony and see the sea; teachers get tons of respect and little kids bow to me on the streets; the hip-hop scene in Korea is totally fire; no matter what I do, I am automatically the most fascinating person in the room; I don't have to pay rent; Korean game shows are the coolest things ever; and last but not least: Sunny 10. It's like Sunny D, but carbonated. It's seriously the best drink on the face of the planet.
So yeah. My job needs to stop sucking a little bit, and everything here in Korea would be pefecto. Except I really want a microwave. So job satisfaction and a microwave. Is that so much to ask for?
Most of the problem is with my school. Today Carol and I got called in for a meeting. My boss is worried that we aren't "doing enough," and we need to "try harder." I guess some of the parents are complaining because the kids aren't suddenly becoming English geniuses over night. I'm new, and I'm still a little hesitant at times and I know this, but trying to say that I'm not doing enough in terms of teaching the kids is total bullshit. My school is part of a franchise, meaning that every JungChul in Korea uses the same books and teaching methods, although they are all under different management. All of the kids come to class five days a week: four with a Korean teacher and one day with a native English speaker. The kinds of things we tend to do with the kids is all in pronunciation. We can't really teach them anything that needs side-by-side Korean and English instruction, so we teach them things which are equally important, like intonation. And then some of the "advanced" students, i.e. whoever's parents can shell out money for the extra lessons are in an additional special class which is strictly the domain of the native teacher.
But a lot of the texts are terrible. There are multiple mistakes in the texts and the articulation and phrasing of a lot of the audio is really odd. But I don't make up the lesson plans. I am told exactly which section to teach to each class every day, because every student in the school goes through the exact same methodology in the exact same order, and the Korean teachers make up the schedules. Even with the special classes, which I'm in charge of, I have to use certain books and I'm expected to cover X amount of material in X number of days. I have to make schedules a month in advance, and I get my ass chewed if I get behind or ahead on the schedule (which is bullshit because sometimes the kids will pick up very easily on something and need to move on, and other times they unexpectedly need a lot of time on one section or activity).
My boss has no sense of what kids want to do, and what helps them learn. I used to be an art teacher, so I believe in the power of art as a teaching method. I want to incorporate more art into the lessons, because it keeps the kids entertained and engaged. It's not like I'd just throw some crayons at them and leave, I'd do pictionary-type games and "I tell you a story in English and you illustrate it" sort of things. Maybe some color-by-number types of things for the littlest kids ("Color the truck blue" They have to know what a truck is and what the color blue is to get it right: LEARNING!) But my boss is worried that the parents aren't going to be happy with the lesson plans. She won't even let us watch movies in English, because she thinks the parents won't be happy about it, even if there are comprehension questions and that sort of thing that go along with it.
A lot of these kids suck at English because they are bored. And quite frankly, I don't blame them. That's also why a lot of them can't sit still or behave to save their lives. They are BORED with repeating things over and over and reading dialogues that no English speaker in his or her right mind would ever say in real life. I adore most of the kids, although a couple of the older kids are real shits sometimes. I want to be the best teacher I can be for them, and I don't want to just leave on them in the middle of the year. I knew coming into this that I would be expected to work hard, as I am at a very competitive school, but perhaps they are expecting more of me than is realistic. I am a very hard worker, but I've only got so much to work with.
Another thing that is upsetting me is that I feel really isolated. I've met some other native English speakers in real life, and have tried joining some online communities of teachers, but most of them are huge assholes. All they want to do is bitch about Korea, because they feel like we can all sympathize and feel sorry for each other together. Whatever. Sure, living in Korea is inconvenient sometimes, but I'm TEACHING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY. Of course it's hard. I didn't sign up for Camp Convenience. And then it's expected that we're going to be friends just because we both speak English. But newsflash, if I think you're a dipshit, I'm not going to want anything to do with you, even if you are the only other English speaker my age in a thirty mile radius. I'd rather sit around with people who don't speak English and actually experience Korea than cloister myself in my little English-speaking complainathon.
So yeah, now that all the ranting is out of the way, I just want you to know that Korea still rocks. My apartment is huge; my town is that perfect combination of big and small; everything is cheap as hell here; the food is good; Koreans think I'm hot; Koreans my age all look like scene-kids, but in a totally unpretentious way; you can get coffee out of a vending machine for like 30 cents; I can look out my balcony and see the sea; teachers get tons of respect and little kids bow to me on the streets; the hip-hop scene in Korea is totally fire; no matter what I do, I am automatically the most fascinating person in the room; I don't have to pay rent; Korean game shows are the coolest things ever; and last but not least: Sunny 10. It's like Sunny D, but carbonated. It's seriously the best drink on the face of the planet.
So yeah. My job needs to stop sucking a little bit, and everything here in Korea would be pefecto. Except I really want a microwave. So job satisfaction and a microwave. Is that so much to ask for?