Welcome to HR (Honors Review)

So much has happened since I have arrived! I have been having so much fun and staying so busy that I haven’t really had time to sit down and write. There are also so many things to say. I’m hoping to write a lot today and have posts ready for later in the week.

Logically I should start by talking about work, considering that is why I am in Korea in the first place. I work at Honors English Review. It is a Hagwan (학완), or a after school academy. The students are there because the parents want them to have extra education. There is a great article in Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2094427,00.html) which talks more about the culture of education in Korea which may help you understand why a kid would go to school after school.

The school has 7 other foreign teachers and 6 native teachers. The kids range from 2^nd grade to 9^th grade, I teach 4^th through 8^th grade classes. I told a number of you that I teach from 2-10PM, but that is not entirely true as it turns out. My hours are 2-10, but each day I will teach 4-6 classes, each a 40 minute block. Every class (based on grade level and skill) will be at the school for 3 or 4 blocks. Each block will be a different teacher, teaching a different subject. Korean teachers handle mainly grammar and parent phone calls while foreign teachers teach reading, writing, speaking, science, and novels.

It has been a struggle getting used to the system. There are a lot of small things which are confusing like the way the syllabus is set up, when I need to assign certain work, and grading expectations. It is also hard to connect to a class that does not understand what I am saying. These kids are all extremely intelligent, but they are uncomfortable using what they know. If they understood how envious I am of them for knowing a second language (Korean isn’t easy to pick up on the fly), I know they would be much more willing to share. There is also a large cultural barrier which makes it difficult. Also, they are intimidated by a 6 foot 2 white male, it is just not something you see every day.

There are a ton of positives though. I absolutely love my coworkers! They are all so much fun! We joke, hang out, plan, eat, travel, drink, and help each other at work and outside of work. It is such a close knit group since we are what we have from back home. We rely a lot on each other, and especially the Korean teachers, to help navigate through the rest of the world. I also love the fact that I am constantly reading. I have read abridged versions of a few classics, books on history, science, and children’s stories. I have learned a lot from doing it all. Also when I have a class that ‘gets it’ or can have real conversations, I feel so good and successful. It is also nice that I live a 3 minute walk from work, it is an easy commute.

Just one quick story to add about one of my classes, for many reading classes in the younger grades, there is a writing journal to go with it. The teacher picks the topic to write on. I just gave a writing assignment on helping others. Most of the outlines were about helping mom, dad or siblings. However there was one little girl’s essay that really caught me. She wrote about how she helps her friend/classmate who has Autism. It was very sweet and touching and made me think of everyone at camp and the schools.

That’s all I have for now on the school. I will for sure be updating you on work a lot. I know I will find some silly English use that will need to be posted, updates on my classes, stories from the teachers work space.