Cooper Darby was a Chartered Accountant before he became inspired to teach in a public school in Korea and the only teaching experience he had was educating his clients on tax laws and the proper way to fill out their tax forms. After working as an accountant for 3 years he decided it was time to give life abroad a go. Money was a motivating concern as he had student loans and looming credit card debts so he chose to teach in South Korea, a place where housing and airfare were covered and where he was going to earn enough to send money home and still live well. Here is his story:
I was playing tennis with some friends one day and one of my friends had a friend who had just come back from teaching in Korea. I hadn't really heard about that sort of thing before but it struck me as a really interesting thing to do. I had never experienced South Korea and knew nothing about the country or the culture. I didn't even really know there was a north and south... this is a bit embarrassing but it's true. In all senses I was a complete newbie, ignorant of everything.
In my conversation with this teacher I quickly learned from his experience that it is important to pick who you go with and it is best to go with a recruiter who is there to protect your interests. He told me stories about teachers who had gone over on their own and didn't get picked up at the airport or who had their contracts changed when they arrived or who were supposed to have single housing but had 3 other roommates. He had done it for 5 years and highly recommended Footprints, who he went with for year 2-5, so that night I searched for Footprints Recruiting and started the process.
This is more about me and life in Korea than about the process to get there but I assure you that if you are in the process of researching jobs in Korea and you are reading this article for the purpose of trying to decide what company to go with, I unequivocally endorse Footprints. My life has been amazing here and I owe everything to them.
I have now taught in a public school in Korea for the past 3 years and I can tell you that I have never been happier in my life. I love teaching. The students are amazing. My schools have been fantastic. The people are warm and inviting. I have learned so much about Korean culture, food, and language and at the same time I have learned that there is a lot more to life. I experience things here on a daily basis that are invigorating and challenging and inspiring.
Teaching in a public school in Korea was daunting to begin with but it really quite easy. The students want to learn. They see that I am genuinely interested in their well-being and they respond to me and respect me. Yes I get the odd mischief maker - I laugh with him at his efforts to control the class. Yes I do a lot of planning and work at home and I don't get paid for it but I love it. I want to be that teacher that makes a difference. What I am teaching is important and it will make a difference in these students lives.
I decided to teach in a public school in Korea because I wanted a certain paycheck. I had heard stories about private language schools in Korea not paying on time and going bankrupt so I wanted the stability of a Ministry of Education paycheck with a public school in Korea. Since coming to teach in Korea I have learned that there are literally thousands of reliable private language schools as well and that most of the negativity you see on the web is upset people trying to find a place to let their voice be heard where 95% or more people are truly happy and never find a place to comment (like this) until they are prompted for a story (like me). I do often wish I started in a private language schools for the social element.
I have found that being a teacher in a public school in Korea is great from a Korean cultural learning perspective but if you want to hang out with other foreigners or learn how to teach from what others are doing you are heavily reliant on your Korean co-teacher in the public school system in Korea. I figure a year in a private language school is a great stepping stone to help teachers develop a social network and to learn valuable skills in classroom management, lesson planning and teaching in general.
In terms of the actual teaching, I don't know where to start... teaching in a public school in South Korea is a bit like being a famous actor or person wherever you are from. Where ever I go I am constantly watched, people stare and girls giggle and put their hands over their mouth to whisper something to one another and then they laugh. Some students run up to me and beg for attention while a trail of students follows me around the corridors of the school. This took a lot of getting used to. I am the only foreign teacher on staff and as a result I have superstar status. I knew this was going to be a challenge from day one when I was greeted with cheers as I was introduced to the students alongside the new Korean teachers... I felt very embarrassed. Be aware as a public school teacher in Korea, whether you are male or female, HEED THIS ADVICE.
NEVER, EVER, EVER have a meeting with a student in your office with the door shut and better yet, never have a meeting with just one student unless another teacher is present. Culture, language, etc etc - so many things can go wrong and just like in any other culture, whether what is said is true or not, the teacher is permanently damaged. Be careful.
I tell you this because I was sitting in my office one day grading papers and a young student came into my office, she was regularly hovering somewhere near by and she kissed my cheek and ran out. I immediately chased after her and sat her down in the hallway and immediately addressed the inappropriateness of the behaviour. This is something all teachers need to be very careful of. Do not put yourself in a compromising position.
Back to the teaching and what life is like in a public school in Korea... it is intense. The students are incredibly focused to try to get into a good college. Good marks in high school is everything to most students. They are desperate to do well.
It should also be noted that corporal punishment in Korea public schools is still accepted and it isn't our place as foreign teachers to try to change this mentality. You are not expected to participate or exercise these strategies in your classroom for discipline purposes but it is important to realize that it will happen around you and my recommendation to you is to watch your own garden unless there is something really malicious occurring.
The politics in a Korean public school are really quite amazing. As a foreign teacher you are often exempt from many of these formalities and stresses but the levels of hierarchy, big brother, big sister stuff that goes on here is challenging to understand. The junior staff members bow deeply to the older teachers who often go on without a second glance to the junior member. I show everyone the same level of respect and give everyone a little bow and this seems to serve me well in terms of getting along with everyone.
Don't expect the staff members to immediately shower you with the same glorification as the students. The staff will be much more reserved in their disposition toward you and it wasn't really until about week 6 or so that I felt like people were actually seeing me instead of looking straight past me. As a critical comment to foreign teachers in the public schools in Korea I have considered that the local teachers might not feel like we are actually real teachers and thus treat us with indifference until we can prove to them otherwise and in my humble opinion, this seems fair. I am afterall, a trained accountant...
In terms of the classroom, I have heard several different account on how things are run. I am the only person in my classroom teaching but do have a co-teacher. This co-teacher and I plan together but we teach in separate classrooms, I get half the class at a time and she gets half the class. She focuses on grammar and writing while I focus on speaking and pronunciation. It works really well, the classes move quickly and we are able to plan well together. My only criticism of this type of situation is it can be a bit boring at times as your classes are short and you double up on all your lessons, in some cases I am teaching the same lesson 8 times in a week. Other teachers have told me that the share the classroom with their Korean co-teacher who is physically in the class with them. This would be a challenge and I hear positive and negative reports from my foreign friends who are teaching in other public schools.
Teaching in a public school has been incredibly rewarding. I no longer consider myself an accountant. Since arriving in Korea I have taken a TEFL course provided through Footprints or sponsored by them and I have taken steps to become a teacher. I love what I am doing and am in the process of working with my Footprints placement coordinator to find out more information about getting a Masters in Education while teaching in South Korea. Life couldn't be better.
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