Though it may seem as though I'm always travelling, the reality is that the majority of my time is spent at the exact same spot: at work.
I am writing this post in mid-November, and as such, I've now been in Korea for nearly five months. In these five months, I've greatly improved my technique as an English teacher at a hagwon, and, well, it may differ from what you would expect.
First off, the term "hagwon" is the Korean word for private academies. I teach at a hagwon in the Mokdong neighbourhood of Seoul. I work at an English hagwon, though there are many different types of hagwons that Korean students attend, such as math, science, music, art, sports, etc...
Hagwons are ingrained into Korean culture. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Korean student who does not attend a hagwon. In fact, most Korean students attend several hagwons, and it's not uncommon for students to attend at least one academy every day. One of my students, who is about 10 years old, told me she attends 10 hagwons, and she says that she's the norm, not the exception.
Students attend hagwons at a really young age, and most of them stay at hagwons until they start university. It's a part of their life. Their super-charged life.
This strongly epitomizes the culture in Korea: study hard, work hard. Korean students are trained, at a very young age, to study a lot and work a lot. At my hagwon, we MUST assign homework every single class to every single student. It's rare that a student comes home without homework, and it's actually happened where the moms of some of my students have called to complain that their kids aren't getting assigned enough homework. It's all quite intense, and quite the experience, from the management's perspective, the teachers' perspective, the student's perspective and, of course, the parents' perspective.
Management's Perspective
Although hagwons brand themselves as centres for education, which they are, it's crucial to understand that hagwons are, first and foremost, a business - a pretty lucrative business, at that.
Considering my own experience, as well as the experiences of some other English teachers I've met who teach at other hagwons, most hagwon owners prioritize cashflow and income as opposed to what's ideal for the students. My workplace is no exception, as management is always thinking about the best way to maximize cashflow and bring in more students to the hagwon. Naturally, management does not want to lose students, so they do everything they can to insure that students remain enrolled at the hagwon. Seeing as the parents are the paying customers, hagwons tend to take parental complaints very seriously, and often make changes based on what the parents say they want happening.
Whether this is the right approach or not to managing a hagwon is something that can be debated. I personally believe that factoring in some parental feedback is a very good idea, but taking every single complaint seriously is a bit much.
The Parents' Perspective
Whether they know it or not, the parents wield all the power. Hagwons take parental complaints very seriously, and definitely do their best to cater to every parent who voices their displeasure. Some of these Korean parents, in particular the Korean mothers (since the fathers are working) are very intense and vigorous toward their children and toward what gets done at the hagwons. Since I've been here, I've heard a wide variety of complains, but some have stuck out more than others. I had one mother call to complain that her daughter was not receiving enough homework, even though, well, I believe they receive too much homework. At one point, one parent called to complain that classes were too much fun, while another complained that they were too boring. Parents very often call the front desk asking for clarifications, to follow up on how their kids are doing or to inquire about certain tests/homework, etc...
Parents here are very demanding about two things in particular: finishing the books, and testing. The parents pay for the textbooks and storybooks that their kids are using throughout the term (terms last two months), and it's very important that all books get finished by the end of term. For the teachers and the students, this means covering several pages per day in an attempt to get everything done. Additionally, parents want their kids tested as often as possible. Students are usually given one quiz per day (can be either a vocab quiz or a grammar quiz), and are given a big unit test every two weeks.
We send home a syllabus every month for every student, so the parents are able to see exactly what homework is assigned to their children, when their tests are going to be, etc... One guideline for us teachers is to always use vocabulary that pleases parents. For example, when giving a quiz, call it a "test," because parents don't consider quizzes to be demanding enough. Also, avoid the word "review" as much as possible. Doing an activity that revolves reviewing what we learned last class? Call it a "challenge," parents prefer that.
Parents are also very keen on homework getting corrected. Every 1-2 weeks, we have a homework collection day, where we collect all the students' homework books and pore through them in order to correct every single mistake they've made.
I've met some of these parents personally, and even though I believe that some are being too demanding on their kids, from meeting them I understand that they simply want what's best for their kids. Seeing as hagwons are culture in Korea, these parents have never really been exposed to any alternative system of education, so it's important for us foreigners to keep that in mind when considering all of this.
The Teachers' Perspective
As teachers in a hagwon, our job is not simply to teach in the best way we see fit, but to listen to management and parents when designing our lessons. First off, as mentioned above, syllabi must be written in accordance to finishing all the books, testing the children often and using the right terminology as to not upset the parents.
Well, on that note, it is more important for us to act in a way as to keep the parents happy than to do what we believe is best for the students. For example, I would rather go through some material more slowly as to insure that the students grasp the material more efficiently, but the parents want the books finished as quickly as possible. I, along with the vast majority of hagwon teachers I've met, believe that the students are given way too much homework, but there's nothing we can really do in that regard, because if we assign less homework we risk causing a parent to pull their kid out of the hagwon.
It's been reiterated to me several times, by several people, that we work at a business, not a school, and keeping our paying customers happy must be our first priority At the end of the day, however, I believe it should be all about the kids.
The Students' Perspective
Kids will be kids. Kids just want to have fun, and I think that's a pretty universal rule. The kids I work with are no exception, and let me just say that I absolutely love every single one of them. I've taught kids from all ages, ranging from kindergartners to middle-school students, and each age group brings about its own unique set of challenges.
Korean children are used to the egregious amounts of homework, the rigorous testing and the high demands from their parents. Unfortunately for them, however, the kids still don't like homework, they don't like tests, and, simply put, they just want to play and have fun. I try my best to make my lessons as fun and engaging as possible (though it's hard to make grammar fun eh!), and overall I think I'm doing a good job at it. Unfortunately, the kids are the recipients of all the bureaucracy that goes on between the parents, the teachers and management, and wield no real power of their own. I believe that we should be catering our lessons and our approaches a little bit more to suit what's best for the kids, but that is not always the case.
Despite all of this, the kids are a lot of fun to be around, and we have tons of fun in class!
So, in the past four and a half months, what have I learned?
First off, I've gotten a great insight into the real Korean culture, into the Korean way of thinking. I can now see and understand better how all these pieces fit together, and I have now witnessed firsthand how rigorous some families can be in their approach toward education. I'll write more about this in future posts, but Korea has developed incredibly in the past 60 years, when it was poorer than several African nations. Economically, Korea is strong, and this country's rise came from the belied that success comes with education... but at what cost?
Second, I've brushed up on my own teaching skills. I came to Korea with zero teaching experience, and now I believe I've gotten much better. Am I the best teacher ever? Absolutely not, I still believe there are many ways to improve, but at least I learned how to manage class behaviour, how to manage class time, and how to have a relationship with the kids.
Among one of my greatest work accomplishments since I've got here, in my opinion, has been my organization. I keep all of my notes, my lesson plans, my quizzes and tests and my grades very well organized, and I have a very structural approach to how I prepare for my lessons. I write my own tests and quizzes, design my own worksheets and really work to provide the kids with all the materials they may need to succeed.
I think, however, that the most important lesson I've learned is to have fun. As I wrote above, kids will be kids, and they probably spend more time per day at school or at a hagwon than they do at home, so our jobs are also to make sure they're enjoying themselves. I make it a point every single day to speak to the kids, to ask them how they're doing, how their day went, what they did on the weekend, etc... We play games together when we can in class and we try to make the most of the time we spend together.
One of the things I've discovered about myself, therefore, is the amount of love I actually have for these kids. I spend all day with them, and some of them I've been teaching since my first ever day at here (I've specifically requested to keep certain classes when we've started new terms). We have a great bond, and I am truly invested i helping them be happy and helping them succeed.
When people ask me if I enjoy my job, I always tell them the same thing: I love it because I love spending time with the kids. And really, that's all that matters.
-Daniele
