First experience teaching English in Korea part 2 (2010)

After 3 months in Korea, I definitely   found a groove and loving it.  enjoying a new culture im unfamiliar with and new lifestyle im not accustomed to.  now work is easy.  probably the easiest job Ive ever had and sometimes the kids can be great, sometimes.  There is a wall between you and your students compared to the Korean teachers and their students.  You don't speak their language.  its that simple.  so teaching can be a workout.  obviously kids dont listen generally, but kids that dont speak your language, its takes not listening to another level.  but thats the challenge, right?   this is why i love teaching, because there is a challenge everyday.  if there wasnt it would be boring and i would hate it.  Korean students are very different from kids I know and love back home.  FAct: korea is now #1 in the world in education.  #1.  after 3 months of teaching here I can see why too.  Kids are staring at a book probably 16 hours a day.

 First, kids go to there regular school at about 9am then finish at about 3pm, then they go to what is called a hagwon (where i come in) which is an academy.  there are English hagwons, math hagwons, music, really any subject, you name it.  typically students go to about 2 hagwons a day.  so, say they finish at 3 they would go to my hagwon and start at about 3:45 and go to 3 different classes at mine, first my class then 2 Korean teachers which are 45 min each.  then they would go to say a math hagwon.  so we are looking at children going to school for about 12 hours a day.  Oh and kids go to school on Saturdays too!  damn.
Ive never seen children so tired in their life.  Too make matters worse, my hagwan is not hesitant to give homework either.  The amount of homework these kids do is unbelievable, and that's just from the hagwans, I cant imagine what the their normal school gives them.  Now my school really focuses on memory when learning english, which I dont think is helpful because they are not learning anything.  but whatever i just do what im told.  while we are on the subject of my school, i shed some light on my schools management.

I will first say this is the most unorganized business that I have worked for.  none of the kids learn the same material throughout their visit at Elite.  for instance, in my class, I teach speaking with and essay book, and the other teachers teach grammar and listening.  My essay book is not tied in with the grammar and listening classes.  So one can see how kids would get confused and stressed out because the work is hard.  they would understand it better if we were all on the same page. anyways, my immediate boss seems likes she drinks 5 cups of coffee every morning, everyday before she comes to work.  shes all over the place, not direct, and always seems flustered.  AND she always makes us feel like we did something wrong. Then there is the assistant director of the school, who is this massive Korean version of the hulk

He walks around with a huge rubber stick in his hands and looks like hes gonna wack the next person who looks at him the wrong way. He walks around slowly, bending the rubber mallet in half and holds it behind his back.  He strategically walks silently around with a death stare on his face.  I have heard him yelling numerous times, tearing some kids head off for cheating or not doing homework.  One the major culture shock moments I have had was when I walked in to a room and I saw the assistant director hammering his huge stick on some kids hands who just stood there with his hands out and head down in shame.  Then I noticed all of the Korean teachers carry a stick with them everywhere the go.  They carry long wooden sticks.  I have also seen  some of the teachers bringing kids to tears just by yelling at them, but I have never seen physical harm since I came to Korea. 

One major problem I have had with the school is that I, the foreign teacher, don't feel as valued as I should be.  I am the native speaker and came across the world to share.  I feel as if we are just a commodity, which i soon learned thats how all hagwons run their schools.   Im just here sucking off of the korean economies teet.   For example, I wont be told about changes about my class until the very last minute.  There is no communication at all, which is a major part of good management, you'd think.  A lot of times they expect us to get things done that probably take a couple of days to do, to get done in an hour.  Just a strange system that they got going.  So many kids quit as well, and so many new kids arrive at the same time.  The Books are way outdated and and pretty corny too.  I just glad that they leave us alone enough to where I can sort of be myself and teach how I want to.  Thats whats good about the freedom I have here.  the only thing that keeps me goin is piss laughing with my kids, singin songs, sometimes making fun of them  and them givin it right back to me.  I wont trade those moments for anything.