Youngnam Elementary School is a very different environment than my 4 day a week school. It is 6 times larger and much, much busier. I go there on Tuesday, my busiest day, and teach 6 straight classes, at the end of which I am exhausted and ready to quit teaching all together. It's not that I have a terrible time there, it's just that teaching elementary school kids for 6 straight hours can really drag on you.
Negatives
The size of my secondary school is undoubtedly its biggest downfall. Because there are so many students, I am constantly mobbed, surrounded, attacked, shouted at, and sometimes even harassed by students who are downright dumbfounded to see a foreigner in their territory.
Also because it's so large, the teachers are very busy. Yet for reasons that I cannot figure out, I am asked not to prepare a lesson. Each week I am supposed to assist the Korean teacher by helping with their lesson plans. Initially, the arrangement was set up so that the Korean teacher would start class for 5 minutes, I would be given 25 minutes to teach the lesson and play a game, then the Korean teacher would review and end the lesson with the last 10 minutes. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out that way. Instead, the teachers usually come into the classroom with either a lesson plan that is mostly in Korean or no lesson plan at all. And since none of them really speak more than 10 words of English, they have a very hard time trying to explain to me what they want. Usually, they just say, "Ok, you teach now!" As if I'm some kind of teaching cyborg that can fly by the seat of my pants for 6 hours.
Positives
I have to say, I don't always enjoy my time at Youngnam. It is exhausting and the students literally never leave me alone (even if I want to get a drink or go to the bathroom). But there are some shining moments in the darkness. I teach three 3rd grade classes and three 4th grade classes, so I am able to teach essentially the same thing a few times in a row. This allows me to improve it and refine it, and makes me feel accomplished at the end of the day.
Positive number two is a little girl in my 3rd hour class. She's a 3rd grader, and every time she's in my classroom, she stares at me until I look at her, at which time she reveals a giant, adorable smile that makes my day every time. To make it better, she waits until everyone is gone at the end of class and comes up to me with one of her friends to remind me that they love me. So cute!
Positive number three is the food. I don't know what it is, but the food at Youngnam is just fantastic. It always tastes fresh, they give me the perfect amount, and it is very rarely something that I just don't like. I know this has nothing to do with teaching, but it is one of the better aspects of my second school.
Closing
And that's all I have to say about them. Youngnam is a good school with a dedicated and talented staff. Unfortunately, I'm not there enough to ever get totally used to the environment, and as a result am usually tossed around a bit between the teachers, who aren't quite sure how to handle my presence either. But damn...they serve some good bulgogi.
Showing posts with label Youngnam Elementary School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Youngnam Elementary School. Show all posts
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Youngnam
As promised, here is my post about Youngnam Elementary School.
In contrast to Dongbu, there are a lot of things that I wish were different about my situation at Youngnam Elementary. Since the school is six times the size of Dongbu, their entire building is understandably more busy. But since I only go there on Tuesdays, it's hard for me to settle in. I have so far only been to Youngnam twice. When we got here I started work on Tuesday and as a result was at Dongbu for the day. I was at Youngnam for the next two weeks, but then I got sick and missed the week after that. Since then they have had a picnic that I was told to stay home for and a holiday. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever really fit in there.
The good news is that the students and staff are every bit as excited as the Dongbu peeps when I'm there. Everyone is helpful and interested, so I never feel too left behind, though I do frequently feel very out of the loop. In fact, sometimes it would be nice to have a minute to myself, since I teach six classes there.
I am in charge of teaching English to 3rd and 4th graders at Youngnam. They have three sections of each grade, so I teach three 3rd grade classes and three 4th grade classes. This means I only have to prepare 2 lessons for the day. The major issue, though, is that I don't get to talk very much with the teachers. So even if I prepare a lesson, I might be told that I can't use it because they have a different lesson. Sometimes they want me to teach their lesson (which they have prepared largely in Korean) and sometimes I am reduced to a "talking parrot" as we say in Korea. That means I'm there to say words and have the students repeat me.
Of course, I can't complain too much because this job is wonderful. Even at its low points it's better than a lot of other jobs.
Either tomorrow or in two weeks (I don't know which yet) Sara and I will start teaching a Saturday English camp (after school English-language course) at Youngnam. My hope is that the English camp will give me a chance to get to know the staff and students there, so that maybe Tuesday will no longer be the day of the week that I dread.
Until then, I guess I'll suck it up. Afterall, I could be working at some university writing center or something... ;-)
In contrast to Dongbu, there are a lot of things that I wish were different about my situation at Youngnam Elementary. Since the school is six times the size of Dongbu, their entire building is understandably more busy. But since I only go there on Tuesdays, it's hard for me to settle in. I have so far only been to Youngnam twice. When we got here I started work on Tuesday and as a result was at Dongbu for the day. I was at Youngnam for the next two weeks, but then I got sick and missed the week after that. Since then they have had a picnic that I was told to stay home for and a holiday. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever really fit in there.
The good news is that the students and staff are every bit as excited as the Dongbu peeps when I'm there. Everyone is helpful and interested, so I never feel too left behind, though I do frequently feel very out of the loop. In fact, sometimes it would be nice to have a minute to myself, since I teach six classes there.
I am in charge of teaching English to 3rd and 4th graders at Youngnam. They have three sections of each grade, so I teach three 3rd grade classes and three 4th grade classes. This means I only have to prepare 2 lessons for the day. The major issue, though, is that I don't get to talk very much with the teachers. So even if I prepare a lesson, I might be told that I can't use it because they have a different lesson. Sometimes they want me to teach their lesson (which they have prepared largely in Korean) and sometimes I am reduced to a "talking parrot" as we say in Korea. That means I'm there to say words and have the students repeat me.
Of course, I can't complain too much because this job is wonderful. Even at its low points it's better than a lot of other jobs.
Either tomorrow or in two weeks (I don't know which yet) Sara and I will start teaching a Saturday English camp (after school English-language course) at Youngnam. My hope is that the English camp will give me a chance to get to know the staff and students there, so that maybe Tuesday will no longer be the day of the week that I dread.
Until then, I guess I'll suck it up. Afterall, I could be working at some university writing center or something... ;-)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Thoughts On a Month of Teaching
A new job can be scary for anyone. A new teaching job can be terrifying. A new job teaching in a foreign country where only a handful of people speak your language is downright enough to stop your heart. But here I am, over a month into this new gig, and my heart is still pumping hard. What I've realized now after starting a small handful of new jobs in my life is that there are always people there to help you, and they always understand just how scared you might be. If you get the right group, they will even find ways of harnessing your anxiety into positive energy. At Dongbu Elementary, that's exactly what the students and teachers have done for me.
You might say I got lucky here. I'm at a school with only 150 students, so I have ample opportunity to get to know each and every one of them. I may not know their names, but I recognize them all, and I feel like I've built some lasting bonds with some of the kids already. It's easy to fall in love with a school when the students seem so eager to learn and the staff are so excited by everything I do. If I bring in a chocolate bar from America or show the kids some pictures of my university, everyone is ecstatic. Literally everything I do is a learning experience because I'm so foreign to these kids. And the teachers are so excited to have me that I sometimes think I can do no wrong. Of course, that just motivates me to continue giving them a high caliber of results. I want to impress people every day, and am driven to show my students (and the staff for that matter) that I am excited on a daily basis because of that.
(Unfortunately, lately that has been hard to do. Because of my lingering bronchitis from being sick a few weeks back, the teachers all think I'm very sick and weak. I'm not, but that's hard to explain in a culture where your health is valued above almost everything else. Because I have a raspy voice and nagging cough, the teachers want to give me time to rest. They will sometimes take over more of the class or cut class short. Anyway this is a tangent, let me get back to teaching...)
Yes, I am stuck to the same boring and occasionally downright pitiful curriculum that is provided for all English education here. And yes, sometimes its hard to motivate students when the material is dull or doesn't make as much sense as it should. But finding ways to make that material fun or interesting is the best part of this job. For example, last week after the 5th graders had learned the prepositions on, under, above, inside, between, and next to (after 3 classes), I took the opportunity to teach them parts of speech. What good will random phrases do these kids if they don't understand how English works? So, with a lot of help from my brilliant co-teacher Mr. Choi, we talked about nouns, verbs, and prepositions. Now this week I am devising games to help them understand why they need to know parts of speech.
But none of it would be any fun, or productive in any way, if the students weren't so excited about learning so much of the time. I click most with the 5th and 6th graders, only because they can communicate the most with me. But I still love the 3rd and 4th grade students and their enthusiasm for learning even a new word or two to say to me in the hallways. In particular, there are a few 6th grade students who will come to my classroom between breaks or after class is done for the day just to point at things in the room and ask me what they are. Or arrange letters on my Velcro board to show me words they can spell. They also take the time to teach me a little Korean, though I make it clear that my classroom is an English only zone. These are the kids that send me home with a smile every day.
And so there you have it--any job is wonderful if you are surrounded by the right people. And at my job, I am surrounded by the perfect group of mentors, co-workers, dedicated students, and friends. I couldn't ask for a better situation.
Youngnam, on the other hand, is a completely different story--a story that I will tell you in the coming days.
You might say I got lucky here. I'm at a school with only 150 students, so I have ample opportunity to get to know each and every one of them. I may not know their names, but I recognize them all, and I feel like I've built some lasting bonds with some of the kids already. It's easy to fall in love with a school when the students seem so eager to learn and the staff are so excited by everything I do. If I bring in a chocolate bar from America or show the kids some pictures of my university, everyone is ecstatic. Literally everything I do is a learning experience because I'm so foreign to these kids. And the teachers are so excited to have me that I sometimes think I can do no wrong. Of course, that just motivates me to continue giving them a high caliber of results. I want to impress people every day, and am driven to show my students (and the staff for that matter) that I am excited on a daily basis because of that.
(Unfortunately, lately that has been hard to do. Because of my lingering bronchitis from being sick a few weeks back, the teachers all think I'm very sick and weak. I'm not, but that's hard to explain in a culture where your health is valued above almost everything else. Because I have a raspy voice and nagging cough, the teachers want to give me time to rest. They will sometimes take over more of the class or cut class short. Anyway this is a tangent, let me get back to teaching...)
Yes, I am stuck to the same boring and occasionally downright pitiful curriculum that is provided for all English education here. And yes, sometimes its hard to motivate students when the material is dull or doesn't make as much sense as it should. But finding ways to make that material fun or interesting is the best part of this job. For example, last week after the 5th graders had learned the prepositions on, under, above, inside, between, and next to (after 3 classes), I took the opportunity to teach them parts of speech. What good will random phrases do these kids if they don't understand how English works? So, with a lot of help from my brilliant co-teacher Mr. Choi, we talked about nouns, verbs, and prepositions. Now this week I am devising games to help them understand why they need to know parts of speech.
But none of it would be any fun, or productive in any way, if the students weren't so excited about learning so much of the time. I click most with the 5th and 6th graders, only because they can communicate the most with me. But I still love the 3rd and 4th grade students and their enthusiasm for learning even a new word or two to say to me in the hallways. In particular, there are a few 6th grade students who will come to my classroom between breaks or after class is done for the day just to point at things in the room and ask me what they are. Or arrange letters on my Velcro board to show me words they can spell. They also take the time to teach me a little Korean, though I make it clear that my classroom is an English only zone. These are the kids that send me home with a smile every day.
And so there you have it--any job is wonderful if you are surrounded by the right people. And at my job, I am surrounded by the perfect group of mentors, co-workers, dedicated students, and friends. I couldn't ask for a better situation.
Youngnam, on the other hand, is a completely different story--a story that I will tell you in the coming days.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Cause Sara Did It
Ok...I suppose I'll tell you all about MY teaching experiences thus far.
I was not lucky enough to be given the 2 week grace period to observe and get my feet wet. I was instead given 1 week and then had to dive in head first. It took awhile at my primary school (Dongbu Elementary) to fully understand my role since only one of my co-teachers speaks any conversational English. As nice as the other two are, it's very difficult for us to talk, much less lesson plan. And so, I end up being a talking parrot for 3rd and 4th grades. My schedule looks like this:
M: 6th grade--5th grade--3rd grade--2 hour English camp
T: 3 3rd grade classes--3 4th grade classes--2 hour teacher course
W: 4th grade (I like Wednesday)
Th: 5th grade--4th grade--2 hour English camp--2 hour teaching course
F: 6th grade--1 hour English camp (Friday's nice too)
I was told that they wanted me teaching the teacher training course on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I was the most qualified foreigner to teach a college level course. (Pat on the back) As nice as that is, though, it also makes Tuesday and Thursday an absolute nightmare.
Anyway, back to the kids. I teach 6th and 5th grade with Hyeun Bum, my main co-teacher who speaks nearly fluent English. We have a lot of fun, use a lot of activities outside of the textbook, and I really believe we get through to those kids every time.
4th grade is taught alongside Mrs. Lee, who is a joy to watch, even if she doesn't speak much English. I've never seen a group of students respect their teacher more--anywhere. Recently, Mrs. Lee worked out that on Wednesday we would teach the textbook lesson and on Thursday I could do whatever I wanted. (SWEET)
3rd grade is cute, but the kids just plain don't know much. I am there basically so they can hear a native speaker of English. It's hard to teach them much, but they're just so darn cute that I love the class anyway.
Youngnam Elementary on Tuesdays is both a blessing and absolute hell. Since I'm only there one day a week, the rockstar image will be hard to shed. I am followed everywhere by a gaggle of girls who all but sit on my lap when I'm at the computer. It's nice to be such a spectacle, but a moment's peace away from the screaming 9-year-olds would be nice. Plus, 6 straight classes is a little taxing.
The students are all at different levels, like Sara has said, but most of them can answer basic questions. At Youngnam last week, I was asking a 35+ student class how they felt that day. I asked a few students in the front row and got responses of "I'm fine," "Ok," and "vely good-uh." At the end of the row was a tiny, squirrely looking girl who I assumed didn't know what was going on. In my attempt to teach EVERY student at least something, I wanted to ask her. So I walked over to her, squatted down next to her desk and said, "How are you today?"
She looked at me for a moment before quietly squeaking out in perfect English, "I'm alright, but I have a cold."
It's times like that when I know it's all worth it.
I was not lucky enough to be given the 2 week grace period to observe and get my feet wet. I was instead given 1 week and then had to dive in head first. It took awhile at my primary school (Dongbu Elementary) to fully understand my role since only one of my co-teachers speaks any conversational English. As nice as the other two are, it's very difficult for us to talk, much less lesson plan. And so, I end up being a talking parrot for 3rd and 4th grades. My schedule looks like this:
M: 6th grade--5th grade--3rd grade--2 hour English camp
T: 3 3rd grade classes--3 4th grade classes--2 hour teacher course
W: 4th grade (I like Wednesday)
Th: 5th grade--4th grade--2 hour English camp--2 hour teaching course
F: 6th grade--1 hour English camp (Friday's nice too)
I was told that they wanted me teaching the teacher training course on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I was the most qualified foreigner to teach a college level course. (Pat on the back) As nice as that is, though, it also makes Tuesday and Thursday an absolute nightmare.
Anyway, back to the kids. I teach 6th and 5th grade with Hyeun Bum, my main co-teacher who speaks nearly fluent English. We have a lot of fun, use a lot of activities outside of the textbook, and I really believe we get through to those kids every time.
4th grade is taught alongside Mrs. Lee, who is a joy to watch, even if she doesn't speak much English. I've never seen a group of students respect their teacher more--anywhere. Recently, Mrs. Lee worked out that on Wednesday we would teach the textbook lesson and on Thursday I could do whatever I wanted. (SWEET)
3rd grade is cute, but the kids just plain don't know much. I am there basically so they can hear a native speaker of English. It's hard to teach them much, but they're just so darn cute that I love the class anyway.
Youngnam Elementary on Tuesdays is both a blessing and absolute hell. Since I'm only there one day a week, the rockstar image will be hard to shed. I am followed everywhere by a gaggle of girls who all but sit on my lap when I'm at the computer. It's nice to be such a spectacle, but a moment's peace away from the screaming 9-year-olds would be nice. Plus, 6 straight classes is a little taxing.
The students are all at different levels, like Sara has said, but most of them can answer basic questions. At Youngnam last week, I was asking a 35+ student class how they felt that day. I asked a few students in the front row and got responses of "I'm fine," "Ok," and "vely good-uh." At the end of the row was a tiny, squirrely looking girl who I assumed didn't know what was going on. In my attempt to teach EVERY student at least something, I wanted to ask her. So I walked over to her, squatted down next to her desk and said, "How are you today?"
She looked at me for a moment before quietly squeaking out in perfect English, "I'm alright, but I have a cold."
It's times like that when I know it's all worth it.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Youngnam
I am currently in the middle of my first day at Youngnam Elementary School. At about six times the size of Dongbu, this is a more hectic day than the rest of my school days combined. It is 1:12pm here, and I have already taught 4 classes, with two more coming this afternoon. And as if that weren't enough, I am somewhat of a celebrity here. It's difficult to walk through the halls without being crowded like I'm Bono or Paul McCartney.
At lunch, which was supposed to be my "break time" I shook hands with so many children that I barely got to eat anything. During second hour, I signed about 35 autographs. I told the kids to hang onto the signaure--that it would be worth something some day. I don't think they understood, but I'm unclear as to whether that's because the language was lost on them, or because it already means a great deal to them now. When I walk around this building, girls swoon and boys try their hardest to be "America cool."
Even as I sit here writing this, in their brand new English lab (similar to, but larger than, Dongbu's), students are crowding the door for a glimpse of me. Some are even brave enough to push open the door to mutter a "nice to meet you!" They probably don't know I can hear them muttering in half Korean/half English outside my door while they discuss the most appropriate way to greet me.
I'm still not sure whether I want things to calm down next Tuesday or not.
At lunch, which was supposed to be my "break time" I shook hands with so many children that I barely got to eat anything. During second hour, I signed about 35 autographs. I told the kids to hang onto the signaure--that it would be worth something some day. I don't think they understood, but I'm unclear as to whether that's because the language was lost on them, or because it already means a great deal to them now. When I walk around this building, girls swoon and boys try their hardest to be "America cool."
Even as I sit here writing this, in their brand new English lab (similar to, but larger than, Dongbu's), students are crowding the door for a glimpse of me. Some are even brave enough to push open the door to mutter a "nice to meet you!" They probably don't know I can hear them muttering in half Korean/half English outside my door while they discuss the most appropriate way to greet me.
I'm still not sure whether I want things to calm down next Tuesday or not.
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