Thursday, November 1, 2012

Changes

Since I lost my Kindys *sob* my job has necessitated some changes. Now, instead of being primarily a kindergarten teacher (3 hours a day, five days a week), I am now teaching a wider variety of students. I am choosing to look at this as a positive thing--it diversifies my experience level, making me a more versatile employee. It also gives me the opportunity to teach writing, which is really my jam, if you know me at all.

Before, my schedule looked like this:





And now it looks likes this:



A few, slight changes.
  • My math class became a reading class with the same students. This is a relief because although I enjoyed teaching math, I really didn't feel like my students were learning English.
  • I get more planning time! What a relief! I don't think I will be scrambling as much to get my lesson plans done.
  • I am officially teaching high school students. Korea keeps trying to tell me they are middle school students, but they are 16 so I refuse to accept that they are still in middle school.
  • I am also teaching writing--this means I get to teach elements of writing, like topic sentences, identifying parts of sentences, brainstorming, outlining, proper construction of an essay, etc. This is all the stuff I live for!
Although I actually had to hold back a sob today when one of the kindergartners asked me where my students were today and then cruelly started shouting their names through the hallway, I think this will be good for me. I don't have the patient personality of The Canadian. And I haven't worked with high school students in a long time. And I'll get to sleep in later and since winter is coming, I want to spend as much time under the covers as possible. So I will keep telling myself this is a good thing, even if I am quite anxious about this change. The only thing I can do is try, right?

Photobucket

4 comments:

  1. This is a very interesting blog! I'm in education as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. These kids must have really long school days if you're there until 9pm (I do not envy them).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's Korea--the kids go to a full day of public school and then spend the rest of their day at hagwon, or Korean private schools, depending on how wealthy their parents are. I know some of my students come to my hagwon, then to a piano hagwon, and then to private tutoring, which puts them at home around 8 at night, and they're in the 4th grade! My high-schoolers generally stay until 9:30 and then stay up to do all their homework until around midnight.

      It's insanity! And sadly, explains why Korea has such a high suicide rate.

      Delete
  3. That is amazing, I really respect you for doing what you love to do. I was holding you back.

    ReplyDelete