One would think that after the first term of teaching, things would settle into a routine of familiarity. To some extent that is true, but on the other hand each term is unique and provides its own challenges. This term is certainly proving that to be true.
As the title says, last term the other two teachers left and we came back to Suncheon after Christmas to meet our two new fellow teachers. They are both quite experienced, having lived and taught in Korea for 3-4 years. While that is definitely an asset in some ways, providing the experience we needed, it has also proved a bit challenging at times to blend the way our small southern school does things with the way they have been doing things for 3+ years. However, I think after three weeks now we have more or less worked out our kinks and are in the process of making our programs and methods better than ever.
Also new this term, Jon and I are both teaching a junior class called Debator, teaching older children (12-16 year olds) the art of giving speeches, doing research, writing essays, and debating each other on different issues. It is much more challenging to teach, but now that we have a clear schedule and have done it for three weeks, I think I can tentatively say I like it better than the regular junior classes. You engage much more with the students and feel like you are actually teaching and interacting with them, rather than just having them memorize and repeat after you. One of the difficulties comes in the students that make up your class. If you have uninterested students, or very low level of debator class, it is difficult helping them make that transition from repition to actually thinking for themselves.
One nice thing is that I only have two adult English classes, both are level 3 (which is proving fun to teach), and one class is made up of the exact same students I taught last term in level 2. Unfortunately, Jon did not have any religion students again, so he joined my class and we decided to split the class between our two topics- Women of the Bible and Steps to Christ. It seems to be working well so far. We are also both giving Bible studies this term to several students, (please keep them in your prayers).
So there's a brief overview of this term. A bit busier schedule (which equals a bit bigger of a paycheck :) ) Students are starting to get more and more comfortable with us, which is fun. The other day Jon's level 1 class took us to Outbacks Steakhouse. We had rice and cheese fries :) And today one of my students took me grocery shopping. Other than the normal day to day schedule, not much else is new. This weekend is especially nice since we have Monday and Tuesday off for the Lunar New Year; gotta love those lunar calendars! We are taking this opportunity to stay home and rest. We have, however, decided to go to Fukuoka Japan at the end of February for our term break! :)
As the title says, last term the other two teachers left and we came back to Suncheon after Christmas to meet our two new fellow teachers. They are both quite experienced, having lived and taught in Korea for 3-4 years. While that is definitely an asset in some ways, providing the experience we needed, it has also proved a bit challenging at times to blend the way our small southern school does things with the way they have been doing things for 3+ years. However, I think after three weeks now we have more or less worked out our kinks and are in the process of making our programs and methods better than ever.
Also new this term, Jon and I are both teaching a junior class called Debator, teaching older children (12-16 year olds) the art of giving speeches, doing research, writing essays, and debating each other on different issues. It is much more challenging to teach, but now that we have a clear schedule and have done it for three weeks, I think I can tentatively say I like it better than the regular junior classes. You engage much more with the students and feel like you are actually teaching and interacting with them, rather than just having them memorize and repeat after you. One of the difficulties comes in the students that make up your class. If you have uninterested students, or very low level of debator class, it is difficult helping them make that transition from repition to actually thinking for themselves.
One nice thing is that I only have two adult English classes, both are level 3 (which is proving fun to teach), and one class is made up of the exact same students I taught last term in level 2. Unfortunately, Jon did not have any religion students again, so he joined my class and we decided to split the class between our two topics- Women of the Bible and Steps to Christ. It seems to be working well so far. We are also both giving Bible studies this term to several students, (please keep them in your prayers).
So there's a brief overview of this term. A bit busier schedule (which equals a bit bigger of a paycheck :) ) Students are starting to get more and more comfortable with us, which is fun. The other day Jon's level 1 class took us to Outbacks Steakhouse. We had rice and cheese fries :) And today one of my students took me grocery shopping. Other than the normal day to day schedule, not much else is new. This weekend is especially nice since we have Monday and Tuesday off for the Lunar New Year; gotta love those lunar calendars! We are taking this opportunity to stay home and rest. We have, however, decided to go to Fukuoka Japan at the end of February for our term break! :)
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