Teaching in South Korea has
been—at once—exactly the same as, and completely different than, teaching at
home. I’m pretty sure everyone who either has a child or has worked with one
knows the ridiculous ups and downs involved.
I have been working with elementary age kids…well, most of my life. Most recently, working as teachers and aides,
I have begun to understand the ins and outs of working in a classroom and
working under the direction of a school district. I am so passionate about travelling, but part
of the point of coming to Korea
(nerdy- I admit) was to expand my knowledge of how different societies educate
their children. My goal is to learn how
to better face our education challenges at home.
So here we enter our first Korean
teaching experience. As Scott mentioned,
we LOVE our school. We were blessed with
kind and generous coworkers and bosses, beautiful facilities, and new books,
curriculum and materials. We got a crash
course in teaching (a few hours of observation, a “thrilling” video
presentation, and a stack of books) and jumped right in. Honestly, I was terrified. I knew I could wrangle my special ed
classrooms into some semblance of order- but this seemed totally out of my
realm of expertise. Unlike special ed,
there was no team of English speaking teachers in the classroom, and I had work
books, projects and deadlines expected of me.
But unfortunately I still had the same old setback- these tiny,
adorable, chubby cheeked kids could not understand a single word I said. I was assigned to the 5 year old class,
meaning they are really 3-4 years old by American standards. They have never
before been to school, let alone been asked to figure anything out in a foreign
language. Kindergarten is traumatizing
enough at first for a lot of kids, and I could see the terror in their eyes as
their mommies left them with some crazy lady who spoke gibberish and danced
around a lot.
I stressed out quite a bit during
that first month. Am I doing this
right? Do my kids understand anything I
am trying to act out for them? What on
earth are the parents going to say when number worksheets come home a complete
mess of scribbling? Honestly, what got
me through the lack of confidence, expertise and sanity were the cultural
differences. I was told as I was meeting
the children for the first time- “make sure to touch the children.” Hug them, kiss them, hold their hand, pick
them up- otherwise you appear standoffish and cold and uncaring! I honestly had to shake my head and make sure
I heard right. You don’t even give a kid
a pat on the back at home for fear of a lawsuit! It was the most beautifully refreshing thing
I have seen in any classroom. Probably
for that exact reason the toddlers under my care hopefully understood one thing
only at first- that I loved them. I say
(and mean it) every year- I have the cutest class ever. And yet, these kids are the most beautiful,
adorable little tykes that ever crossed my path.
A few short months later, it’s hard
to remember how different things were at first.
This has been my first experience seeing students really learn and
progress. You see amazing things in
special ed, but changes are slow to come, and progress can sometimes be
devastated by sudden regressions. Now I
see by example the genius of immersion programs at a young age. I couldn’t possibly prepare myself for how
amazing these tiny kids would be. They
are learning the excruciating art of sitting at a desk, looking at the teacher,
recognizing shapes and letters and numbers- and all in a foreign language!!!!! They sing songs with me, consistently laugh
at my “hilarious” sense of humor, and risk the fury of the Korean teachers when
they scream my name and jump into my arms for a hug. I am so impressed with my kids and how much
they have grown already. I have learned
maybe six essential Korean phrases (hideously pronounced), during which time
they have mastered writing their English names, identifying shapes, numbers,
letters, etc on top of all the other learning you do as a small child.
Now don’t misunderstand me: it’s not all dancing and daisies. Sometimes I swear there is a vein in my
forehead threatening to burst at the end of some days. There are definitely times when I am counting
down the minutes to the end of school.
And it seems like in every classroom there is that one kid that
challenges your ability to love. But, if
you can REALLY think outside the box, those kids usually end up being the ones
I love most.
Some days I swear I am still
teaching special ed with a few of my kids.
Most days, though, I giggle my head off and wipe out exhausted but full
of gratitude for the overwhelming adorability factor that fills my days
here. Thanks, Sun Class, for reminding me why life is awesome.
