Children in Korea

So intensives are FINALLY over. 4 weeks of 8 classes per day (of those 8 classes, 5 of them were different classes), which means you need to create 5 different lesson plans per day! Geez...its probably like teaching elementary school! (haha)

We have a week off so we are heading over to Jeju Island, which is like the Hawaii of Korea. We will definitely take pictures and I'm sure we will have hilarious stories to tell considering we are taking a ferry and going to attempt to navigate the Korean transportation system (which has been a source of laughter in the past).

Anyway, many people kept asking for us to post about the differences between American and Korean kids. Although they are very different - kids are kids. It is actually quite different to teach in Korea vs. America. Part of that could be due to the fact that we are teaching in a hagwon, which is a private language institute, not a public school. So we can't really compare similarities/differences there. However, there are numerous differences that I thought you all might find interesting (and somewhat entertaining - especially for you school teachers!)...

• Names - all the elementary kids take on English names so they are easy to pronounce and easy to figure out. However, in middle school, many students begin using their actual name (ex. Choi Jin Young, Dong Young, etc). Seriously - those were actual names from students in a class. Anyway, so the first day and all days after, the "name" thing became an issue. I found that I would not call on certain kids for fear of complete embarrassment for butchering their name. For example Eun bi....yeah...we don't have the "eun" sound in English - so unless I pointed or commented on her shirt (like - you with the Adidas shirt); she wasn't getting called on. Which almost makes you feel bad for the kids that do continue using their English names. I could go days without using anyone's name in class. Aside from that, when they write their name it is written like Last Name First name Middle...that took some getting used too because some kids would not write it like that and others would. So half the time, you didn't know if you were calling them by their last name, first name, or middle. And yes...we ask them to phoentically spell their name for us so it isn't in hieroglyphics.
• Respect - A sign of respect in Korea is when people hand you items with both hands. It is also respectful if they just touch one hand to the other or to their arm (hard to explain). Anyway, so you know which students have respect for you as a teacher based on the way they would hand you a paper. A couple of times, I did say "is that how you hand a paper to me?" and they would put both hands on it (and probably roll their eyes at the same time). So they always receive with both hands and give with both hands. The problem is that they know that is not a custom in American culture, so often they will not do it for the English teachers, only the Korean teachers. They also shouldn't look at you in the eyes, but that was in a previous post.
• Participation - It is virtually impossible to get students in Korea to volunteer. Not the elementary kids - they have a lot to say and are really rambunctious and fun, but the middle school kids will just sit there because they fear being wrong. Risk taking and creativity are two things that Korean children do not learn. Participation is very frustrating because 1)You can't pronounce their name to call on them 2) Even if you do, they are likely to stare at their paper in front of them. (They probably do have an answer written down, but will not say it). So annoying.
• Discipline - Aside from the fact that corporal punishment is allowed...if you yell at a student THEY DO NOT TALK BACK! Yep - that's right. You can insult them and they won't say a word!! haha Its so nice. Seriously.
• Hours of school - Middle school students go to school from about 7am - 4pm and then attend different academies in the evenings for art, math, English, even Taekwondo! Usually middle school children go to school until around midnight. Then they get home and have to complete all their homework. So most of them work on little or no sleep. Couldn't you just imagine what the middle school children in America would say if we made them do that? At this rate, the kids in Korea, China, and Japan (since they all do that) are going to overtake the world in about 15 years.
• Classroom incident - If there is ever a problem in class where the kid goes home to complain (i.e. we gave too much homework, etc) the parents will call the school. For those of you that were/are classroom teachers - you can truely appreciate this. We (teachers) are supported in whatever decision we make. It is almost always the kid is in the wrong - not the teacher! Can you believe that! Boy I wish that would have happened in America! In America, I always felt like I was watched under a microscope. Its so nice to be able to do what I feel is right and not be challenged on it. For example, I had my students write a summary on what they learned in class today. I had many students state how "they are not good at notetaking, but they will continue to work on that and get better." They always take the blame. Its never that the teacher didn't teach it well or right - its that the student didn't try hard enough. How great is that!

Anyway, those are some of the basic differences between American and Korean kids. Sorry its so long, sometimes there is so much to say! Leave us comments! We love to get them! Also - if we forgot anything, just ask in the comments and we'll let you know the answer. :)