Today is an important day for teachers at my school. Why, you ask? It's because it's the day they find out what they'll be teaching for the next year.
Ok, let me pause and explain the Korean public school year to you. It's quite different than the one back in the States. Here's a little rundown of the year:
March - New school year starts
March to June - First semester
July to August - Summer break (~5 weeks)
September to December - Second semester
January - Winter Vacation (~6 weeks...including last week of December)
First two weeks of February - Weird time of the school year (Students must come but it's not really part of the semester)
Last two weeks of February - Spring Break
Side note: Before you say, 'Wow, they have lots of vacation,' please know that students in Korea never actually have vacation like students in America. Students still go to their hagwons (academies) and lots of them come to school for extra classes. So they're pretty much learning all year round.
Ok, back to the point. Today is an important day. This morning the teachers found out their new assignments for the next year and now they're all busy shuffling things around. But, if you do the math, it means that yes, the teachers find out their teaching assignments three days (Thursday is a national holiday) before the students come to start school on Friday. THREE DAYS!! This includes moving classrooms for a lot of teachers, settling in for new teachers, and getting everything ready to see a classroom full of 30+ students on Friday.
Honestly, I don't know how they do it. The way the Korean education system is set up (I'll explain at the bottom of this blog) means that a teacher could go from teaching 6th grade to 2nd grade and have 3 days to prep for all of that. Or a teacher could go from being an English teacher to being a science teacher and have 3 days to prepare. Either way, it seems like a stressful situation all the way around. There's kind of a feeling of 'Trial by Fire' around here, and it just seems to me that it's not the most effective way to do things...but maybe that's because I'm a planner and an organizer and I like to know what I'm doing more than three days ahead of time. But, it seems to work for them, and I guess if that's what you're used to, then you don't know any differently.
As for me, I'm still waiting for word of what classes I'll be teaching exactly and with whom I'll be teaching. My fingers are crossed for an awesome last 8 months in the Korean public school system!
(For Korean teachers in Korea, it's a bit different than in the States. Each school doesn't do it's own hiring, but instead is controlled by the Department of Education. So pretty much, once you're in the system, you're set. You don't have to go interview at different jobs around the city. Instead, you apply through the DoE and request certain cities and schools that you want. You might get what you want, you might not. Also, they aren't applying for certain positions, they're just applying to move. They won't find out what they're actually teaching until the week of the new school year...i.e. today!
But Korea has an interesting policy. Teachers cannot stay at the same school for more than five years. Whereas at home, teachers might start and finish their careers at the same schools, this is not the case in Korea public schools. Usually after the third year of teaching, teachers will start applying to their preferred cities and/or schools.
As for how teachers are given preference over other teachers in this process, it goes on a point system. For each year you teach, you receive a certain amount of points. You can earn extra points by doing extra things, like coaching a sport or winning a contest, etc. The teachers with the highest amount of points is given their preference first, then it works down the list. So with hundreds and hundreds of teachers wanting/having to move around each year, it makes me curious to see how they organize all of that!)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Riley!
It had been building up. And after I returned from my trip to the States in October, I just knew it was time! Time for me to get a dog!! I love dogs but I've always been a bit of a commitment-phobe. I like having my freedom and going and doing as I please. But finally I just knew it was time.
So I searched the web for a while, until I found an ad for a 2-year-old Miniature Schnazuer on Craigslist. The ad said the owner was leaving Seoul in January and needed someone to adopt his dog. Perfect! I thought! It gave me time to go home for vacation in December and get back and get the dog. Well, after email the guy, he let me know that the date had been moved up a month...mid-December. I automatically thought there was no way. I was about to leave the country for two weeks and I would only have the dog for a couple of weeks before that. But with some encouraging from my friend, Liz, and a perfectly (already) planned trip to Seoul, I met the little man and knew I couldn't possibly say no!
And so began my journey with Riley. Liz and I brought him back from Seoul on a cold December day and I welcomed him into my home. It's been amazing so far! I've had him about 2.5 months, and now, I don't know what I did without him! He's so much fun and add so much joy to my life! We've been adjusting to each other and forming our bond that will hopefully last many years to come!
Here are some pictures of my precious little man:
Here's to many more years of precious time with my companion, Riley!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Lessons Learned
As I've grown older, I've learned that every person you come across should teach you something about life. Whether it be absolutely known at that moment or maybe realized 10 years down the road, each person we come in contact with has some way of impacting our lives and teaching us something useful.
Here's my story...Today, with the Korean school year ending, I said a sorrowful good-bye to a teacher that I've worked with for the past year at my country school. It's weird, right?! You can be around someone only once a week for a year and for a limited amount of time in those meetings, but they can still become someone that you desire to see and talk with. But as I reflect back on the year of working with him, I can immediately know what lesson he has taught me that will carry with me forward. Let me explain:
A year ago, when the new school year started and I met Mr. Kim for the first time, I was a bit hesitant...as I usually am about working with new people. He didn't seem overly friendly or happy about speaking English with me. Our time was brief on that first meeting. The second week when I saw him, it was for about a minute before he left me with his class full of rambunctious 6th graders. I was a bit flushered, since I always had a Korean teacher in the room at this school for translating and controlling the students. So there I was...standing there...thinking what a jerk this guy was for leaving me there....not even asking if he needed to do anything during our class. I was distraut. I didn't want to teach with him anymore. I didn't want to see him. I thought he was a major jerkface!
Well, if you read the beginning of this blog, you obviously know the story takes a turn for the better. As the weeks went on, I figured out it was fully 'my' classroom, and he started to stay to help with translating. Along with that, because of the schedule, I got about 20 minutes to sit and chat with him everyday before my class started with his students. We started forming a respect for each other and a friendship. I started really looking forward to seeing him every week and to getting our weekly conversation.
So the whole point of this blog, and what I'll take away from my time with his, is not to dismiss someone completely just because you get a bad first impression from them. I'm sure this is common sense to most people, but having it so clearly lived it in recent days, I just wanted to share it with you!
Here's my story...Today, with the Korean school year ending, I said a sorrowful good-bye to a teacher that I've worked with for the past year at my country school. It's weird, right?! You can be around someone only once a week for a year and for a limited amount of time in those meetings, but they can still become someone that you desire to see and talk with. But as I reflect back on the year of working with him, I can immediately know what lesson he has taught me that will carry with me forward. Let me explain:
A year ago, when the new school year started and I met Mr. Kim for the first time, I was a bit hesitant...as I usually am about working with new people. He didn't seem overly friendly or happy about speaking English with me. Our time was brief on that first meeting. The second week when I saw him, it was for about a minute before he left me with his class full of rambunctious 6th graders. I was a bit flushered, since I always had a Korean teacher in the room at this school for translating and controlling the students. So there I was...standing there...thinking what a jerk this guy was for leaving me there....not even asking if he needed to do anything during our class. I was distraut. I didn't want to teach with him anymore. I didn't want to see him. I thought he was a major jerkface!
Well, if you read the beginning of this blog, you obviously know the story takes a turn for the better. As the weeks went on, I figured out it was fully 'my' classroom, and he started to stay to help with translating. Along with that, because of the schedule, I got about 20 minutes to sit and chat with him everyday before my class started with his students. We started forming a respect for each other and a friendship. I started really looking forward to seeing him every week and to getting our weekly conversation.
So the whole point of this blog, and what I'll take away from my time with his, is not to dismiss someone completely just because you get a bad first impression from them. I'm sure this is common sense to most people, but having it so clearly lived it in recent days, I just wanted to share it with you!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Cultural Difference - Child Abuse / Child Neglect
Last week, I was talking with a Korean friend of mine. She told me a story like this:
"Sara, did you hear about the news last week? In America, there was a man that was a preacher at a church. One morning, he had to go to a meeting very early and his young child was still sleeping. So he left his child at home sleeping while he went to the meeting. Later, while the man was at the meeting, the child woke up and was crying and couldn't find his parents. So the child went outside and was crying and looking around for his parents, then a neighbor saw him and called the police. Isn't that surprising?"
Let me pause my story to reference the story she was talking about.
After she told me the story, I was feeling a bit shocked as well...but as I thought about further discussion with her, I knew we would have different reasons for being surprised at this story.
So I asked her, "Which part of the story is surprising to you? That the man left his child home alone, or that the neighbor called the police when they found the child?"
And this is where the cultural difference comes into this story. For me, an American with Western beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the man left his young child at home alone while he went to church. For her, a Korean with Eastern beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the neighbor called the police and ultimately, the parents were arrested.
I tried to explain to her that in America, there are many different reason we might call the police in this situation, i.e. someone could have snatched the kid, the parents could have been neglecting the kid, etc. Still she was quite in shock that this story even happened and that it made it's way all that way to CNN in Korea. (I'm pretty sure it aired because the couple in the story is Korean.)
All of this being said, I thought it was a good time to discuss the cultural difference regarding child abuse/neglect in Korea and America. I first learned about this a few months ago when I was talking with a co-worker of mine. I asked her if there is such a thing as child abuse in Korea. She looked at me a little funny and told me that isn't a matter that is dealt with by officials in Korea. From my understanding after our conversation, Korea views child abuse and likes as a private home matter and they won't intervene on issues like that. To me, of course, I was completely shocked...especially after having a friend that works for CPS in Texas and knowing how often officials must intervene with this stuff at home.
Do I still think Korea is a much safer place that America? Definitely! Do I think abuse happens in Korea even though it isn't reported? Of course! Will I continue to find cultural differences in Korea and America no matter how long I'm here? For sure!
"Sara, did you hear about the news last week? In America, there was a man that was a preacher at a church. One morning, he had to go to a meeting very early and his young child was still sleeping. So he left his child at home sleeping while he went to the meeting. Later, while the man was at the meeting, the child woke up and was crying and couldn't find his parents. So the child went outside and was crying and looking around for his parents, then a neighbor saw him and called the police. Isn't that surprising?"
Let me pause my story to reference the story she was talking about.
After she told me the story, I was feeling a bit shocked as well...but as I thought about further discussion with her, I knew we would have different reasons for being surprised at this story.
So I asked her, "Which part of the story is surprising to you? That the man left his child home alone, or that the neighbor called the police when they found the child?"
And this is where the cultural difference comes into this story. For me, an American with Western beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the man left his young child at home alone while he went to church. For her, a Korean with Eastern beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the neighbor called the police and ultimately, the parents were arrested.
I tried to explain to her that in America, there are many different reason we might call the police in this situation, i.e. someone could have snatched the kid, the parents could have been neglecting the kid, etc. Still she was quite in shock that this story even happened and that it made it's way all that way to CNN in Korea. (I'm pretty sure it aired because the couple in the story is Korean.)
All of this being said, I thought it was a good time to discuss the cultural difference regarding child abuse/neglect in Korea and America. I first learned about this a few months ago when I was talking with a co-worker of mine. I asked her if there is such a thing as child abuse in Korea. She looked at me a little funny and told me that isn't a matter that is dealt with by officials in Korea. From my understanding after our conversation, Korea views child abuse and likes as a private home matter and they won't intervene on issues like that. To me, of course, I was completely shocked...especially after having a friend that works for CPS in Texas and knowing how often officials must intervene with this stuff at home.
Do I still think Korea is a much safer place that America? Definitely! Do I think abuse happens in Korea even though it isn't reported? Of course! Will I continue to find cultural differences in Korea and America no matter how long I'm here? For sure!
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