north and south and east and west of your life?
great song.
recently, i have been thinking a lot about what i want to do (and i repeat) for the rest of my life. when i was in the states this past summer, there was this article that appeared in the new york times magazine, titled “what is it about 20-somethings?”, that caught the attention of my peers. i read it, read reactions to it, and i admit, the article kinda rubbed me the wrong way. the writer doesn’t say anything that’s particularly exaggerated or untrue about people in ‘my generation,’ but still, i didn’t enjoy being put in a box of any sort (i also didn’t like her writing style). and it made me feel like some sort of aimless bum for having taken a teaching job in korea.
i recently wrote about feeling (temporarily?) dissatisfied with korea. my thirtieth birthday is looming (korean age). this is my fifth year in korea, my third teaching at this high school. my friends in america are doing bigger and better things. my friend roshni bought a house. my friend michelle is getting her phD from stanford. my friend darney just got engaged. my friend chumkee came back from neutering dogs in nepal (she’s at tufts vetinerary school). my friend gina is touring with dana falconberry (indie singer). and this goes on…
me? i rescued two dogs off the streets. the significant other and i celebrated three years being together. my job is comfortable. my house is comfortable. i live comfortably. but lately, on the inside, i am uncomfortable.
my friend yumi (who was an elementary school teacher in california before coming to korea) recently started teaching at a department of defense school in one of the military bases in daegu, and she told me that i should get certified to be a teacher. she said, “you should totally get certified. i know you can do more. being a native english teacher…you’ve gotten as far as you can go with that job. there’s no future in it.” after mulling that over for a few days, i agreed.
at present, i am at a crossroads. the past four years have been great, don’t get me wrong. i value the experiences i had teaching at the middle school, and i continue to learn from my current job at the high school. i adore my gifted kids. and most importantly, i still want to go into work every morning.
i am now thinking: i can see myself doing this for the long haul.
the internet gave me information on how i can get myself certified to teach in the united states. there are several ways, and all of them scare me. while browsing through the options, i stumbled on a teaching fellowship web site. i was immediately attracted to the process. you get trained, you get placed at a school, you teach for a specified period of time, and you get your certification. this method attracted me for several reasons:
1) there appears to be a support system for fellows.
2) the next couple of years of your life are pretty much planned out.
3) there is a high possibility of being hired by the district (that you are placed in) at the end of the fellowship.
soliciting the help of my close friends was the next step. michelle said that if i didn’t want to go back to school (and i don’t) then a fellowship would be a good idea. she suggested boston teacher residency because, according to her, they give you a lot of support (and you also get a master’s degree in education from umass boston after three years). her advice came with two warnings: these fellowships are tough to get into, and the schools fellows get placed in are…well, you know.
my heart was set on boston teacher residency. forget the fact that 600 people apply every year and they only accept 75—i was going to boston! the next morning, i told the significant other, “get ready to move to boston.” all i got in response was a suspicious “okay.” boston is a big city. my friends roshni and elisha live there. massachusetts is kind of liberal. three years in boston—awesome.
and then i talked to ms. berner, my ninth grade pre-AP english teacher. she told me not to waste my time. and that a degree in education was pretty much worthless. she told me that i could study theory and stuff on my own. and that i would be teaching idiots and future prisoners. ms. berner is blunt and kind of an elitist. she encouraged me to get certified in texas via an alternative method: take some online courses, pass some tests, and boom! you’re a teacher (you get fully licensed after one year of teaching). she told me to get a master’s degree in the subject that i plan on teaching while i’m already teaching. and that i should think about teaching really smart kids because while they’re the ones who need good teachers, they’re the ones who frequently get overlooked by the education system.
i think ms. berner thinks that i already know how to teach and manage a classroom. and i do. in korea. now i haven’t been in a classroom in the states in a long time, but i’m pretty certain that being an educator in the states is a completely different thing than being a native english teacher in korea. i kind of want some theory and support and practice. but i don’t want to go back to school. so i’m still kind of leaning towards the fellowships. dive in and pray to buddha that i survive.
currently, i’m undecided. and this is sooooo not a good time to want to be a teacher in the united states. i was hoping to get some credentials, get some experience, build up my resume, and eventually move back to korea to teach on a base or an international school. that seems like a good plan, right?
anyway, i am signed with EPIK until next august. i have several months to think about this. i could change my mind. a lot of things can change. who knows what the future holds?
October 23, 2010 at 9:54 pm
and that i would be teaching idiots and future prisoners.
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Well, if you make a connection and teach them well, you could be educating people so they don’t become future prisoners.
As a side note, the teachers who view their students as idiots, or future prisoners, or unable to learn are usually unable to teach them. It really does come down (a lot–not all the way) on teacher attitude.
and that i should think about teaching really smart kids because while they’re the ones who need good teachers, they’re the ones who frequently get overlooked by the education system.
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In public schools in America? Absolutely. But I’m getting my endorsement in gifted ed, so I’m biased. (Of course, even if I weren’t, do any bit of research and you’ll see it’s true.)
Do be advised that most endorsement areas (gifted ed, ESL, etc) expect a certain number of successful years with the unwashed masses Ms. Berner hates so much first.
Of course, if you want to do gifted at a high school level, it’s different than elementary so don’t quote me.
now i haven’t been in a classroom in the states in a long time, but i’m pretty certain that being an educator in the states is a completely different thing than being a native english teacher in korea.
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Yes. Parents will argue with you instead of supporting you (not all, but more) and your classroom management is 100x different, and if the kids don’t learn NONE of the responsibility is on them or their parents. It’s ALL on you.
October 24, 2010 at 10:18 am
Agree with Amanda. Classroom management here is opposite town. You have to win the respect of your students first, then you can do fun things with them. In Korea, you could assume respect and break them out of their boxes a bit at a time.
But maybe you shouldn’t listen to me since my three years in Korea shot my classroom management skills straight to shit. Spoiled as hell we were at TFLHS.
That said, you might enjoy it once you can get through the worst bits. Hobo Teacher (linked on my blog) got his start with ESL in Japan and manages to keep his sense of humor about the whole ordeal. I’m moving towards getting my theater certification because I hate teaching to tests (although I kind of ironically enjoy AP classes… go figure). You could get set up as an English teacher and move into TV production at the right school. The main advantage US teaching offers over Korea is career opportunities.