For most of the past twelve months, Wednesday classes have been a troublesome experience. From teaching lessons that were too high for the students level, having parts of the classes dedicated to repeating some sentences that the kids only saw for a few seconds and also the repetition of material that makes you feel like you only just taught that to the same bunch of students two months ago. Oh, and no breaks. And classes are just thirty five minutes.
Every Wednesday was a struggle to teach. It just didn't fit in with the rest of the things we taught in the week and I think nobody took it very seriously, including students. I used to joke that the week ended on Tuesday because Wednesday classes 'didn't count' and Thursday/Friday classes were very easy to teach.
Now the schedule has changed. Firstly I get two breaks which helps a lot. I can prepare stuff for the rest of the week or just take a breather. The curriculum has changed and I am using some new, perhaps better books and it finally seems like some of my students can really do the levels they are in - they're doing great. Also I have got some new classes and some great new kids. It really makes a difference to be teaching somebody that you haven't taught many, many times before - all my cynical kids have moved to Middle school classes. I can now enjoy Wednesday's and hopefully the kids can too. Wednesday's are back.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
20 weeks left
A quick check of the calendar this morning and I see that I've twenty weeks left working in Korea.I say a quick check but it feels like I've been checking it all the time for about eighteen months or so. That may read as if I desperately want to go or I hare it here. Well neither are true. I love a lot of how my life goes by here and I've liked Korea pretty much since day one back in 2005 but the job is sapping my energy a bit and twenty weeks from now will be a good time to say goodbye to 'this way of life'
I went to the coffee shop today for an hour after taekwondo and sat thinking about how things are going. I will miss a lot of the things I take for granted and come across every day. Thinking positively, these will change to a whole bunch of new things and I'll develop a new daily routine back home. The winter has been a cold one so far and not enjoyable. The move to the new workplace has helped brighten up my mood though. I think I will feel better once the holidays come round in February. My wife leaves her job in three weeks time. The countdown really is on.
I went to the coffee shop today for an hour after taekwondo and sat thinking about how things are going. I will miss a lot of the things I take for granted and come across every day. Thinking positively, these will change to a whole bunch of new things and I'll develop a new daily routine back home. The winter has been a cold one so far and not enjoyable. The move to the new workplace has helped brighten up my mood though. I think I will feel better once the holidays come round in February. My wife leaves her job in three weeks time. The countdown really is on.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Never trust your students
After a few cancellations I had my final observation from my manager two weeks ago. She arrived before classes and would be watching my first. I was happy with this as it was a lesson I had taught the previous day twice so I knew what I was doing. And because they are one of my youngest but brightest, enthusiastic, creative and are enjoyable to teach. Yes they were my favourite class.
I rolled into class expecting everything to go well. I did everything the manager wanted which was basically repeat, correct, give everyone their chance to speak and try and make the class fun. And then I was thrown under the bus by the students.
Betrayed by five boys who should know better and who I've always tried my best to help whist making every class as enjoyable as I can! Perhaps I exaggerate but they really let me down and embarrassed me with their bad timing. So what did they do? Mocking me, parroting me, making ridiculous sentences and shouting out answers when it was someone else's turn, making fun of my questions and the repeating we did. I am relieved that there was no contract riding on this.
Doesn't sound like much but it was obvious at the time that they were doing this deliberately for a joke. All of those things they had never done before and won't do again. There was also little I could do because the previous branch manager had watered down the teachers capacity to deal with things like this. I let them know several times that this was out of order as I tried to manage the situation. If the manager was not watching me, then I would have dealt with this easily but I didn't do it so well because quite frankly I was shocked at their behaviour.
With about fifteen minutes left the manager left and the atmosphere changed. They stopped being silly as they knew I was not happy with them. Oh students! After the class I let them know they had done something wrong. I didn't punish them or shout at them but I was really disappointed. Now the class has changed. Three of the five have moved to another group and someone else now has the 'pleasure' of their company and I am left with a great bunch of kids again.
Otherwise the class went OK. Despite one horrible grammar explanation of mine I did what was wanted from the particular class. I didn't expect a good write up but I could live with that as I'm going in a few months. got the evaluation last week and it was not as good as my previous one but was probably better than average. I got some decent comments and the evaluation was positive and fair. But never trust your students. Et tu brute?
I rolled into class expecting everything to go well. I did everything the manager wanted which was basically repeat, correct, give everyone their chance to speak and try and make the class fun. And then I was thrown under the bus by the students.
Betrayed by five boys who should know better and who I've always tried my best to help whist making every class as enjoyable as I can! Perhaps I exaggerate but they really let me down and embarrassed me with their bad timing. So what did they do? Mocking me, parroting me, making ridiculous sentences and shouting out answers when it was someone else's turn, making fun of my questions and the repeating we did. I am relieved that there was no contract riding on this.
Doesn't sound like much but it was obvious at the time that they were doing this deliberately for a joke. All of those things they had never done before and won't do again. There was also little I could do because the previous branch manager had watered down the teachers capacity to deal with things like this. I let them know several times that this was out of order as I tried to manage the situation. If the manager was not watching me, then I would have dealt with this easily but I didn't do it so well because quite frankly I was shocked at their behaviour.
With about fifteen minutes left the manager left and the atmosphere changed. They stopped being silly as they knew I was not happy with them. Oh students! After the class I let them know they had done something wrong. I didn't punish them or shout at them but I was really disappointed. Now the class has changed. Three of the five have moved to another group and someone else now has the 'pleasure' of their company and I am left with a great bunch of kids again.
Otherwise the class went OK. Despite one horrible grammar explanation of mine I did what was wanted from the particular class. I didn't expect a good write up but I could live with that as I'm going in a few months. got the evaluation last week and it was not as good as my previous one but was probably better than average. I got some decent comments and the evaluation was positive and fair. But never trust your students. Et tu brute?
Monday, 10 January 2011
Allergic to work?
Sick again. No surprise really as I've been sick on and off now for about three months. Nothing significant just a bunch of colds that come and go straight after each other. This is worst so far though. I have the usual runny nose, sore throat but now I have a headache. A headache that only occurs when I move, or exert myself physically, e.g. blowing my nose or coughing. The headache is quite violent but goes away seconds later
I'm a bit weak but nothing serious, it's just the headache which is slowing things down. I could really do with taking the day off work but can't afford to and I actually do like working. Today is going to be a sit down and just be there in the class kind of day. Fingers crossed my students take the hint and behave.
My wife took me to the doctors today. We tried a different one for a change. I've been going to an English speaking doctor for five years but my wife has no confidence in her. I've been a few times over the past few months with the same symptoms and just been given cold medicine.
This time the doctor said, yes I do have a cold but also probably an allergy to something. This backs up what a pharmacist said a few weeks ago. This would explain the ongoing runny nose and sneezing I've been going through. I'm going to have to try and delve deeper into and have some tests this but probably not till the weekend as my wife is very very busy at work right now. The doctor also told me I should try not to speak, which is impossible with today's classes!
**Update**
Just hours after taking the medicine the headache was gone which seemed like a minor miracle. God bless Korean doctors and their prescriptions! However as I got home from work I found my wife in bed, very sick so perhaps I've either given my cold to her or I'm going to get hers any day soon.
I'm a bit weak but nothing serious, it's just the headache which is slowing things down. I could really do with taking the day off work but can't afford to and I actually do like working. Today is going to be a sit down and just be there in the class kind of day. Fingers crossed my students take the hint and behave.
My wife took me to the doctors today. We tried a different one for a change. I've been going to an English speaking doctor for five years but my wife has no confidence in her. I've been a few times over the past few months with the same symptoms and just been given cold medicine.
This time the doctor said, yes I do have a cold but also probably an allergy to something. This backs up what a pharmacist said a few weeks ago. This would explain the ongoing runny nose and sneezing I've been going through. I'm going to have to try and delve deeper into and have some tests this but probably not till the weekend as my wife is very very busy at work right now. The doctor also told me I should try not to speak, which is impossible with today's classes!
**Update**
Just hours after taking the medicine the headache was gone which seemed like a minor miracle. God bless Korean doctors and their prescriptions! However as I got home from work I found my wife in bed, very sick so perhaps I've either given my cold to her or I'm going to get hers any day soon.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Boys and girls
Recently one of my elementary grade 5 students revealed that she had a boyfriend. The others in the class made fun of her but not to the point of upsetting the girl. I suggested to them that maybe they were jealous of her. One actually admitted it. The girl has now broken up with her boyfriend and seems happier than ever but before that happened one boy wrote down what he thought about her relationship.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Motivational letter from the boss
"Although we have many great teachers that have done very well in their classes, I regret to inform you that some classes have fallen short of my expectations..."
Last night all teachers got a letter from the company owner. Due to the move, things not being ready, hassle on the first day of the session and a very cold building the mood wasn't great. Then we got the letter. I was going to type it all out and post it here but it doesn't read as bad as it first did, though it was not as 'good' as the one we got over two years ago.
I am guessing some classes not meeting expectations are from other branches and not necessarily ours because he hardly ever comes to our branch though perhaps this will change now. There are no threats, no warnings and no consequences for not doing what they want. The letter adds that the owner will push branch managers harder which basically means that we will be observed more and more often. Here is my favourite part of the letter.
"When you teach an awesome class, you can see the satisfaction in your students' eyes and know that you have done well. If you have seen beaming pleasure in your students' eyes, then you know what it means to have taught an awesome class."
I don't have any problem with the owner and he is entitled to do whatever he does because it's his business. He has been generous a few times with things like my Christmas bonus. Teachers at my academy are on a good wage for an ESL teacher in Korea and the job is secure. Also, the structure of classes and preparation for us foreign teachers means that we prepare little and the classes are relatively easy to teach once you know the format and have some experience. We got a lot out of the job considering what we have to put in.
It would be told we're doing a decent job for change but I won't hold my breath. The letter adds that prizes for teachers winning best teachers at the end of the year (December 2011) will go up. Perhaps it would have been better to say, OK, if standards go up, everyone gets a slice of that cake instead of a select few hogging all. In fact there are many ways to give teachers beaming eyes of pleasure.
As I am leaving in a matter of months it does not concern me. It's too late in the game to be changing things around for me. That sounds good, leaving soon if five months away is soon. In fact it sounds awesome.
Last night all teachers got a letter from the company owner. Due to the move, things not being ready, hassle on the first day of the session and a very cold building the mood wasn't great. Then we got the letter. I was going to type it all out and post it here but it doesn't read as bad as it first did, though it was not as 'good' as the one we got over two years ago.
I am guessing some classes not meeting expectations are from other branches and not necessarily ours because he hardly ever comes to our branch though perhaps this will change now. There are no threats, no warnings and no consequences for not doing what they want. The letter adds that the owner will push branch managers harder which basically means that we will be observed more and more often. Here is my favourite part of the letter.
"When you teach an awesome class, you can see the satisfaction in your students' eyes and know that you have done well. If you have seen beaming pleasure in your students' eyes, then you know what it means to have taught an awesome class."
I don't have any problem with the owner and he is entitled to do whatever he does because it's his business. He has been generous a few times with things like my Christmas bonus. Teachers at my academy are on a good wage for an ESL teacher in Korea and the job is secure. Also, the structure of classes and preparation for us foreign teachers means that we prepare little and the classes are relatively easy to teach once you know the format and have some experience. We got a lot out of the job considering what we have to put in.
It would be told we're doing a decent job for change but I won't hold my breath. The letter adds that prizes for teachers winning best teachers at the end of the year (December 2011) will go up. Perhaps it would have been better to say, OK, if standards go up, everyone gets a slice of that cake instead of a select few hogging all. In fact there are many ways to give teachers beaming eyes of pleasure.
As I am leaving in a matter of months it does not concern me. It's too late in the game to be changing things around for me. That sounds good, leaving soon if five months away is soon. In fact it sounds awesome.
Monday, 3 January 2011
New building, same job
Today was the first day teaching on the new premises. It's a new building, literally next door to the one we used to work in. New building, new classes, new students, new Manager and the first day of the new session. Things were a little difficult for both teachers and students but these things will get ironed out as they go on. Here are my first impressions.
I know it's Winter but the new building is damned cold. Cold classrooms, cold teachers room and freezing stairs. I think everyone will be bringing at least one extra layer of clothing tomorrow. I know one co-worker wore gloves and most of the Koreans wore coats up to and inside the classroom. This is probably one of those buildings that are cold in Winter but boiling hot in Summer. After work we were greeted by yet more snow. Four times I think this Winter and it's probably going to stick so it's not going to be warming up at work any time soon.
It's a new building and it shows. Parts haven't been finished and dust is prevalent on the stairs. Classrooms and most of the rooms on the two floors we occupy are finished and look good but others parts don't including the lift. These are minor details though and do not affect the job.
Yes there is dust in some places but the rooms that we prepare in, use the computer in and teach in are a lot superior to those we used before. For a start they are clean, with no graffiti on the walls. It feels good to teach in a fresh environment. How long will it last? I've lectured all my students on how they must not write on the walls. A small downer is that all the whiteboards, desks and chairs are from the other building so they have the dirt, markings and probably chewing gum that students 'love'. Also the clocks in my two classrooms don't work.
A lot of people were unprepared today which is mostly due to the move. Not everything was where it should be and some teachers were lacking a lot of the materials. I came in a little earlier than normal and was lucky that today's classes involved very little preparation. Also with two new teachers starting today the staffroom was more chaotic than usual. I got lost twice in the building and kids were walking around a lot looking for classrooms. A few of my students hadn't done the homework too which didn't help either.
The teachers room has been split into two. By that I mean that the higher level teachers have a room on the 5th floor and everyone else is on the 4th. Our room is smaller than before but with less people feels better and has more space. However, one teacher heard a rumour that this will change soon and everyone will again be in the same room. I cannot see how this will work, it is simply not big enough.
For me, classes went fairly normally just at a slower pace. I like the new building but it really is very cold and the Korean female teachers seem to really hate this aspect. Everyone was glad the day was coming to a close and then just before the last class we all got 'a letter' from the company owner...
I know it's Winter but the new building is damned cold. Cold classrooms, cold teachers room and freezing stairs. I think everyone will be bringing at least one extra layer of clothing tomorrow. I know one co-worker wore gloves and most of the Koreans wore coats up to and inside the classroom. This is probably one of those buildings that are cold in Winter but boiling hot in Summer. After work we were greeted by yet more snow. Four times I think this Winter and it's probably going to stick so it's not going to be warming up at work any time soon.
It's a new building and it shows. Parts haven't been finished and dust is prevalent on the stairs. Classrooms and most of the rooms on the two floors we occupy are finished and look good but others parts don't including the lift. These are minor details though and do not affect the job.
Yes there is dust in some places but the rooms that we prepare in, use the computer in and teach in are a lot superior to those we used before. For a start they are clean, with no graffiti on the walls. It feels good to teach in a fresh environment. How long will it last? I've lectured all my students on how they must not write on the walls. A small downer is that all the whiteboards, desks and chairs are from the other building so they have the dirt, markings and probably chewing gum that students 'love'. Also the clocks in my two classrooms don't work.
A lot of people were unprepared today which is mostly due to the move. Not everything was where it should be and some teachers were lacking a lot of the materials. I came in a little earlier than normal and was lucky that today's classes involved very little preparation. Also with two new teachers starting today the staffroom was more chaotic than usual. I got lost twice in the building and kids were walking around a lot looking for classrooms. A few of my students hadn't done the homework too which didn't help either.
The teachers room has been split into two. By that I mean that the higher level teachers have a room on the 5th floor and everyone else is on the 4th. Our room is smaller than before but with less people feels better and has more space. However, one teacher heard a rumour that this will change soon and everyone will again be in the same room. I cannot see how this will work, it is simply not big enough.
For me, classes went fairly normally just at a slower pace. I like the new building but it really is very cold and the Korean female teachers seem to really hate this aspect. Everyone was glad the day was coming to a close and then just before the last class we all got 'a letter' from the company owner...
Saturday, 1 January 2011
12 hopes for 2011
Back to five months left in South Korea after extending my contract by a month recently. I'm excited about this year which is the year I am set to return home. I've been back a few times since leaving over five years ago but this time I am returning permanently.
Even though I'm going home I am taking a bit of a step into the unknown. There are a lot of things that I'll be doing that I haven't before with responsibilities on my mind that have never troubled me before. I'm thankful to have an amazingly supportive wife and together I'm sure this year will be fantastic.
My 2011 targets
Even though I'm going home I am taking a bit of a step into the unknown. There are a lot of things that I'll be doing that I haven't before with responsibilities on my mind that have never troubled me before. I'm thankful to have an amazingly supportive wife and together I'm sure this year will be fantastic.
My 2011 targets
- Be a better husband for my wife at a time when she needs my attention, love and support. Moving to a different country won't be all plain sailing for her.
- Help my wife get the visa she needs for living in the UK. There are some things I need to do and they seem to be straightforward but are essential.
- Save a decent sum of money over the next five months. Again, this comes under being a better husband and being more financially responsible for the both of us. We're on target to meet the figure I think we will need to support ourselves for a while in uncertain times.
- Try and not let my teaching deteriorate. The end is nigh! I have seen so many teachers just not try as they come closer to leaving. I'd like to be fair to my students.
- Push myself at taekwondo and finish on a high. I think I only have two or three months left there so I'd like to improve my kicking and push myself more.
- Have a few holidays and spend some time on a beach relaxing, enjoying the sun and Summer because I haven't done that here in a long time. When my time is up there will be plenty of time (if not money) for holidays but we really need a few weeks relaxing.
- Leave Korea and the ESL teaching world for now to settle back to life in England. No more extensions now and no more living in a bubble. I'm looking forward to finally having a nice family Christmas back in England.
- Find a decent apartment in city centre Manchester. I've checked some prices and they're affordable so we'll see what comes up. A city centre pad is what we need because we'll have all the transport links and my wife can gently ease into life in a city I know.
- Lose a bit of weight and exercise more often. Perhaps a pipe dream but I would like to lose between 5-10 kilograms before I arrive back home.
- Leave Korea on a positive note with no regrets and no bitterness. Many of my former co-workers have left on a sour note and have negative images and thoughts in their mind. I would like to go feeling appreciative for what this place has given me and feel positive about the times I'll be returning with my wife in the future.
- Explore my country in more depth than I have previously and show my wife around the UK. Money may be tight at certain points and exploring my homeland may be a better alternative to expensive trips abroad.
- Get a new job if possible. I have no idea what job I want. It's a clean slate but I wouldn't rule out some kind of teaching.
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