So I haven’t written in a week because I’ve been trying to adjust to the rigors of teaching. I know I know it sounds silly but these little guys are full of manic energy! It actually has been a little tough for me. I’m not used to these hours nor to the kids all looking up to me as an authority figure who knows exactly what he’s doing and why.
A big part of the adjustment for me has been the ebb and flow of the classroom, interacting with the students and working fewer hours. This is my first time working in the “real world” without serving at night. What I’m used to is dealing with customers, the mad rush and then the slow down. But when you slowed down and finished your shift your brain didn’t automatically stop. Sometimes it would be 2 or 3 in the morning before you could fall asleep. You also were stressed about interacting with people. As a server it was rare if you had a table that you interacted with because you liked them, it was because you had a job to do. In that sense you saw dollar signs. What they were wearing, what they were drinking, if they weren’t drinking, how they ordered their food, if they looked you in the eyes or not. Every social cue was used to ascertain whether you not you were getting a good tip. Eventually you get over that and treat everyone as professionally as you can but in the back of your mind you can still tell what they’re going to tip.
Now as a teacher I’m no longer thinking in terms of money. I’m no longer directing people so I can give them the best experience and be paid for it. (If you’ve never worked in sales then ask someone who has and they’ll tell you the same thing.) Instead I am responsible for the improvement of a child’s language skills. This is a huge adjustment for me. I feel that it’s actually been a bigger adjustment for me than being in a foreign country. You expect things to be different when you’re in a foreign place but this is retraining your brain to work in a new way. It’s been hard for me but this week I finally got it. I realized that instead of trying to push the kids to understand everything I need to only work with what I’ve got. It’s like in serving you can’t expect every table to order a bottle of wine. You have to use the skills you’ve gained to judge how to approach them, which words to use and what they might want to order.
In Laymen’s terms I’m not teaching the kids Shakespeare I’m teaching them how to give directions. It’s my job to make it fun for them, so they enjoy learning English. But the way that they are supposed to learn has been tough for me as well.
The way the classes are structured are simple since you only have your textbook to use. The textbooks are divided into units instead of chapters and the units are broken down into mini sections. They have a listening section, a grammar section, a writing section, a unit test and then a speaking test to assess if they understand the material. Also the classes are never more than 30 minutes for the little kids and an hour for the middle school students.
But what’s expected by the school is that they go through each unit in a week. That rapid development is because of the exams held by the state. It’s No Child Left Behind on steroids and it’s a little frustrating for me. These kids can answer anything in the textbook but when I break away from the textbook by asking what they would do or what they think they’re lost. So that’s why I use supplement activities to have them practice on what they’ve been learning. Thus far I’ve noticed that as long as the activities are fun and practical the kids seem to learn pretty well. After some trial and error I’ve realized that I have to incorporate writing, listening and pictures! Pictures are the key to them understanding the material and this is true for all the students no matter the age.
To switch gears one of the things I’ve noticed is that the kids have an entire social hierarchy that’s determined by some funny stuff. First, they love their pencils and erasers. But these things must be separate from one another. So they have to have the mechanical pencils with the lead in a separate case. There are no number 2 pencils here! Second, they live for the moment when they make a mistake and have to use the giant eraser! It’s hilarious to see them misspell a word and then watch them flip out erasing the mistake on their paper. Third, the pencils and erasers have to put into a pencil case. That pencil case must either be blinged out or have the right label on it. I have no idea what the labels are and I’ve only seen one kid with a logo I recognize, the Polo pony.
Do have any experiences when you started a new job or had a challenge where you had to change your way of thinking? I’d love to hear about it so let me know!
3 comments:
I enjoyed what you wrote here Landon. The adjustment more to the rigors of your daily professional life mroe than the adjustment to the country. And what a crack up with their pencils and erasers. It's rather cute.
I remember my internship for my Bachelor's distinctly. I was working as a Social Worker int he City, dealing with things that totally blew me away. I remembered one day walking up to the school, with my briefcase in hand. I felt like I was playing dress up. I felt so inept, so completely out of place. I remember about midway, I had an epiphany and everything just fell into place. That internship was a huge adjustment for me. I have learned much and gone through many frightening and mind blowing things since then as a social worker and then therapist. There are still days I feel like a kid in a grown up world.
Hahaha... Good eyes Logan. The pencil box is an Asian kid's pride and glory second to parental praise for academic perfection and material enough to store in their backpack. Why?
Think about it...What does an Asian kid own that is theirs? Actually theirs. The privacy western children take for granted is unheard of. The only real possession a child in Korea has that hasn't been combed through by parents and grandparents is literally their book bag. Sometimes even that is arranged for them. So the pencil box becomes the epitome of privacy - on the same note, a venue for personal expression.
A for your Q in the last paragraph, Sure, I had to change my way of thinking to be successful in a "real job." You're like me when it comes to adapting. We learn rapidly from our environments. The experince I'm writing about though, is one where I took a hit for missing the bus. Coming into the company, I was a hot-wired bullet train ready to make an impact...ASAP. I understood the meaning of humility but didn't come close to realizing how my confidence was perceived as entitlement. This provided a good kicking down the road. Not something I'm proud of. It really wasn't until I had the chance to work with a hot-headed intern that I started seeing my frustration at the slow moving corporate structure, personified through him, with perspective; the way everyone else in the solar system who had any life experience did: solo artist, entitled, and arrogant. Lesson learned for me what you get by reaching your goals is not nearly ad important as what you become by reaching them. There's no point turning the world around you into Wall Street.
Look forward to the follow up post on your progress.. try not to make the kids use erasers too much, they really love to keep those giant rubbery fruit scented things pristine.
;)
Yunyi
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