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[dungareesinjapan]

We are hiring! Please spread the word about this online tutoring opportunity! https://onestonelearning.com/employment-opportunities #teachingonline #teachingesl #teachingenglish #onlineteaching #onlineteacher https://www.instagram.com/p/CBCd6udDsIO/?igshid=12iwkqojfvvdu

[thepurplehairedteacher]

South Korea and Coronavirus (Corvid-19)

Before leaving for South Korea, I was aware of Corvid-19 spreading through East Asia. However, I was not concerned. The year was 2003 and the middle of February when I flew from the City of Angeles to Beijing for a six-month language study abroad program at Beijing Film Academy.  So, let’s just say, I’ve been here before.

Unlike 2003, the internet was and is a good source for information. There are up to date status reports for the spreading of the virus and safety measures being taken by various governments. In addition, there is a widespread campaign to teach the general public, far and wide, about hygiene. Go to Youtube and checkout the Tik Tok video put together by some choreographers for their citizens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twjjX4lBJTs

I did try to purchase some masks before my departure, but was unsuccessful. Vendors on Amazon were price gouging. Luckily, I arrived to orientation where, on a daily basis, they supplied us attendees with disposable mask to ware.

As the situation would have it, we were not allowed to leave the campus we were staying on, which was about an hour drive south of Seoul. Yes, quarantined. In addition, and understandably, the day for the cultural excursion was canceled.

At this time, it has been a week since completing orientation, and I am in my digs provided by the school. Whilst I feel safe, I am also being safe. I wear a mask when out in public (walking, buying groceries, riding the subway/bus, etc.). I wash my hands frequently, for 20-30 seconds, and use hand sanitizer.

The start of the school year has been delayed by three weeks for the students. However, I still go to work on Mondays and Fridays. I haven’t had a lot to do, as of yet, as I am not in the system. Although I have been given a laptop, I do not have the lines/cords/outlets which would allow me to sign-in and use the internet. But I digress.

Corvid-19 has surpasses SARS in regard to infection and casualties. People are scared, here and all over the world. Flights in and out of China and South Korea are being canceled. People are using the virus as an excuse to openly display their xenophobia and racism. Checkout the Code Switch podcast over on NPR.  https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy&episode=NzNjZWEyNTctNThmYS00OTIyLWJhMDMtZDAyMTk5ZDMyM2Ey&hl=en-KR&ved=2ahUKEwiaqe7v95ToAhWDE4gKHanvAsAQieUEegQIDxAG&ep=6 Don’t get me wrong, I always want to know if a person is racist or not, so I know who I’m dealing with. But, you know….damn.

I digress.

The Coronavirus is real. There is no vaccine or cure. Whilst the person that currently occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue initially held a presser to tell the American people that everything was under control. He now says, with the warmer months coming, by April the virus will disappear. What a bunch of pee-pee-ca-ca. That’s right, I have no confidence in the current administration, which is presiding over the United States of America. As it stands, come fall, Corvid-19 will mostly likely be even deadlier than it is now. More people will likely be infected and more will succumb to the disease.

So, with that, please take precautions and be safe.

[thepurplehairedteacher]

As an LA, communicating with my co-teachers is extremely important. I try to stay on top of what is being taught in each of my classes. And, from time to time, I am asked to come up with games or ideas to review with the students before an exam.

However, one of my great joys is being allowed to come up with projects to teach the students to my culture. While I try usually do this for holidays celebrated in the US, introducing my students to Dr. Maya Angelou for Black History Month has been a source of joy and pride.

Once a week the students would read and watch video clips of and about Dr. Angelou. With this, they created personal notebooks, expressing their thoughts and understanding on the weekly lessons.

[thepurplehairedteacher]

I have been assigned to assist at CEIP Magerit, in Parla. It is a bilingual primary school. With the exception of Math and Language (Spanish), all classes are taught in Engish. While it is quite the commute to the outskirts of the capital, Parla is in the Community of Madrid. 

Establishing a positive relationship with the Coordinator, teachers and other LAs is very important. I feel very lucky as all of my co-teachers are fantastic and allow me to interact and assist with the students in every class.

With the exception of one class period, I mainly work with the 6th graders. The kids are smart, engaged and respectful. I really enjoy working with them

[stacylaughs]

I have talked about how to find a teaching job in Korea and what it’s like to work at a private academy (hagwon) —but I want to share a bit about my experience teaching at a Korean university for two years.

A lot of college graduates come to teach in Korea for a new experience and/or the hope of saving a lot of money. A university job in Korea is ideal because you work less hours (12-18 teaching hours a week) and have a fantastic amount of paid vacation (3-5 months of the year). These days, university jobs are very competitive; it’s based on who you know and how great your resume is. 

Every contract and school is different. I was lucky to have my own student assistant (to make copies and do grading), my own office (with a sweet view of the ocean), decent pay with full benefits, a ton of flexibility with picking books and teaching materials, a nice staff, great students, money paid into a private pension, and the opportunity to do research I was semi-interested in. 

I have a master’s degree and taught public speaking at a public university in the U.S., so I did have prior university teaching experience. Also, I taught at private academies and a public elementary schools in Korea, as well, so I had experience with teaching in Korea. So, why would I leave my cushy university job in Korea?

1. I hated my commute. Yes, I only had to go to school for seven months of the year. Some semesters, I only taught four days a week. I didn’t want to live near the university and my students, which were far from downtown, so my commute was 80-minutes of walk, subway, and bus twice a day.  For two years, I accepted a housing stipend, which was small and only covered half of my rent and commute costs. Choosing to commute was my decision, but I didn’t want to do it anymore.

2. No flight or severance pay. All full-time teaching jobs in Korea should pay for your flights (coming and going) and an extra month of pay, after completing a year of teaching. Private universities fall into some loophole and my school didn’t have to pay these two things to me. This really pissed me off, given that...

3. The pay was minimal and didn’t increase. My university paid everyone the same, regardless of what kind of experience or teaching degrees you had. 

I have been teaching in Korea since 2010. I have seen housing and school + academy costs increase while foreign teachers' pay remain stagnant. Also, there are no pay raises. Having life expenses increase while salaries remain the same (regardless of how hard you work) is really demoralizing. 

Many times, my school put way too many students in a class, at all varying levels, and yet, under-paid teachers. No one benefits this way. 

4. It’s kind of a dead-end job. No matter how great of a professor you are at a Korean university, there is literally nowhere to move professionally but sideways or down. It’s impossible to get a tenured position and if you can get a “head teacher” position, it usually involves a lot more work for no extra pay. 

Also, given the poor academic integrity in Korea, you will be given very little respect from international universities. Korean universities are world-famous for cheating, plagiarism, lying, grade-fixing, and bribery. I don’t publish anything academic from my Korean university for a reason.

5. This job may not exist in five years.  Korea has an extremely low birth rate and, in fact, it’s one of the lowest in the world today. From 2013 to 2023, the number of university students in Korea will decrease by 160,000. Each year, there are fewer university age students in Korea and there are no signs that this will change in the future. It’ll likely just get worse. 

While the median age of Koreans increases, the need for foreign teachers is decreasing. The market here is over-saturated with native English teachers —many of them with no experience, fresh out of college, who accept pretty much any pay. Granted, those teachers won’t be getting jobs at universities, but if you lose your university job that’s who you’re competing with for another teaching position in Korea. 

If you’re interested in teaching in Korea, at a university or otherwise, think about why and for how long. And, always keep your options open.

[yyz2ngo]

July 7th, 2015: Training day 6. Another day of training another day of training finished. We’ve been doing demo lessons and learning how each level of teaching is supposed to flow. We desperately needed to go grocery shopping tonight and thats when I found a bottle of mystery liquor... 4 L of 25% for $16!? (20%alc. for $14 right next to it) I have a very strong hunch this may be nail polish remover, Google translate tells me is some form of Sake.

[yyz2ngo]

July 6th, 2015: Training Day 4. Tonight we finished later and were pretty wiped after training but on our way home through the Asunal shopping center we saw this awesome neon tree. This was our first time passing it at night and during the day its a little hard to conceptualize random neon on the side of a building as a tree. It was pretty cool none the less!

[yyz2ngo]

July 2nd, 2015: Today was a bit of a slow day, day 2 training, but on our way out the door we saw this pretty rad beetle hanging out next to our front door. It’s a Japanese Beetle, I remember these bad boys back in Canada destroying my Grandma’s raspberry garden, but this one was at least double the size of any one I saw in Canada.