To describe the institution Michael and I are working at is...impossible, but I will attempt it. Our school, named "Do Your Best," is a corporation of sorts with about 8 branches located throughout the Seoul area. From an educator's viewpoint, it definitely seems to be business first, education second. Children come here after their normal school day, and we teach 6 groups of kids--two main groups--MWF and T. Thurs. Sat. The kids come for two hours after school, so there are 3 groups of kids who come through each evening, making for a 6-hour shift. Older kids (typically in high school) come even later--as late as 1:00 a.m.
Michael is teaching grades 5 and 6, using a rote curriculum developed by the DYB corporation. He does that about half the time, and the rest of his time he grades stacks of essays assigned by the Korean teachers he teaches with. I teach the elementary students, using a mixture of books determined by the school, Time for Kids magazine, and my own stuff. I have a lot more freedom in my lesson structure and material and am now wishing that I had had the room to pack some of those teaching resources I had considered bringing. I'm teaching reading, writing, and speaking skills. It's pretty fun. My classes are small (1-10 kids), and Michael's classes are larger (15-20 kids). We work in conjunction with many Korean teachers who teach English grammer, reading, and composition to the kids in Korean and English. We are a small part of the machine, offering our native speaking expertise.
The most challenging part of this job is the absence of standards and grading criteria. The teachers will say, "Grade this essay." If you ask, "What is an A and what is an F?" they cannot tell you. Teachers do not assess students to track their progress and help them make specific improvements. Assessment is always summative and high-stakes, like moving a child into a new level of class.
Despite these significant differences, this is an interesting challenge. Our work day is only six hours, and we are able to do our grading and prepping within the 6 hours. Yay! I'm excited to be allowed to develop some material for myself for now and the future.
1 comment:
So interesting. I think it sounds fun, but miles different from what Western just gears you guys up for. In so many ways its probably good. Just an amazing perspective, for one thing. How do you like your students? Are you getting to know a few?
Post a Comment