How involved are you?

[Ollie84]

The average contract for a NET in a public school is, well, limited. That said many of us come here with hopes of making a real impact in our departments.

My school is great. I have good co teachers and a good system in place. However, I find that the Korean dynamics interrupt any progess I can make.

I find that because I'm not Korean that I am always excluded from Department meetings. My classes dont count towards the kids grades. I've fought for some recognition in that area but even that's falling by the wayside. I constantly have to 'fight' to be heard.

How involved  are you in your department? Does your class even matter?

[bjinglee]

I'm not involved at all. I attended a couple teachers meetings when I very first started but there was zero point in me doing so. They all just speak in Korean, I can't understand a word of what they're saying, so they stopped inviting me which is fine. I have few complaints about how things are run at my school, and if there's a problem I work it out with my head co-teacher or call a meeting with all my co-teachers if needed. 

[heyitslep]

The average contract for a NET in a public school is, well, limited. That said many of us come here with hopes of making a real impact in our departments.

My school is great. I have good co teachers and a good system in place. However, I find that the Korean dynamics interrupt any progess I can make.

I find that because I'm not Korean that I am always excluded from Department meetings. My classes dont count towards the kids grades. I've fought for some recognition in that area but even that's falling by the wayside. I constantly have to 'fight' to be heard.

How involved  are you in your department? Does your class even matter?

In my after school program I'm given very loose rules for what I'm supposed to actually do. Beyond that I have to make up everything. In the classroom, I have a pretty straight-forward lesson plan set by the school, but I'm allowed to swerve a bit and spend extra time on something if necessary. Apparently, if I re-sign, next year choosing the text books will be my decision.

[jamey26]

I'm somewhat involved. I help choose questions for the test, and I get to choose what I want to teach the kids for my portion of the class. However, I still feel as my opinion as a person who is fluent in English is extremely undervalued during critical times.

[merle]

I have some involvement.  I've created a workbook, help produce the school newspaper, and have also created some questions for their exams.  My class accounts for 20% of their grades, with 10% focused on writing, 10% on speaking.   

My classes are my own and I can choose what to teach.  However I don't really have much say in what happens in the English department as a whole.  Probably because I wouldn't be able to do all the accompanying paperwork!

[Ectofuego]

I work in an elementary school.  i am told they do not get any grades in any english classes.  I only teach afterschool programs.  They give me some kind of theme such as phonics or reading or cooking and say GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!  As first, this was a problem, but the situation has grown on me a little.  I can teach pretty much whatever i want whenever I want.  The freedom is nice.

[DeMayonnaise]

I'm not involved at all. I'm so sick of the education system in this country and I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to change anything, so why bother. 5 more months and I'm out. Meanwhile, I'll do my job and give some fun lessons, but I've stopped expecting any help from coteachers or the students to pay attention.

[meggie107]

I don't attend teachers' meetings either because I can't understand anything they are saying, and so I do feel quite left out most of the time as I am always the last to know about a school trip or tests or schedule changes.   However, I do feel like I am mostly treated as a real teacher of equal worth as the Korean teachers.  My classes are my own: I make the lesson plans and lead the class, my co-teachers have only asked that I focus on speaking and find a way to include the main expressions from the textbook into my classes.  My after-school classes I teach alone and have the freedom to do whatever I please.  I also set some questions for the tests and exams, and I shall conduct the speaking exams at the end of the semester.  Overall, I can't complain:)  I feel like I do make some difference, because I change and adapt the textbook lessons to focus more on spontaneous speech and real-life English and less on pure memorization.

[portlandzach]

Ive formed a zen state of mind in relation to my role at my school and Korea in general. I see myself more as a cultural ambassador who teaches English on the side...I mean, imagine if these kids never had exposure to foreigners. People who show up to a school and think they have performed some sort of miracle in relation to their acquisition of the language...more power to you but i just don't believe it personally. I put alot of effort and enthusiasm into my lessons and that's the most i can do...I just think teachers here inflate their supposed roles here at English teachers and i think they would have much more peace of mind if they did not do that. my two cents....

[ladyrhavyn]

I'm not involved at all. I'm so sick of the education system in this country and I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to change anything, so why bother. 5 more months and I'm out. Meanwhile, I'll do my job and give some fun lessons, but I've stopped expecting any help from coteachers or the students to pay attention.

Nice to know I am not alone. I have pretty much zero involvement with my school. I stay out of the politics - I don't want to be a part of that mess - (My principal makes ALL the teachers lives hell at the school I am at).

My co-teacher pretty much dictates everything I teach at me, with the exception of k-2.
My co-t has taken full control of morning classes, and no matter how much I have talked to her about being allowed to teach, she won't let me. Most of the time I stand there wondering what she wants me to do next or parrot. I write lesson plans for mornings, but they practically never get used, and I feel like I am wasting my time writing lesson plans that never get used. Its all for show.

In afterschool:
 I finally am allowed to teach phonics - So I am blanketing k-2 with it. Maybe by 3rd grade, they will be able to read? But I won't be here the second term, so it will probably get lost.

I am not allowed to teach phonics to 3-6th. Even though some of the kids are so low, they desperately need it. I have to teach role play theater to 3rd thru 5th. (which I think is not helpful. No one says some of the things said in theatrical plays!)  I lost my 6th grade class to my co-t completly in after school. Its turned into an additional English class, in which I am pretty much not allowed to teach and stand around waiting for her to tell me what to do, because when ever I ask, she says No.

so - I am counting the months and weeks till I am done with this school and I am NOT accepting a renewal. The principal is miserable, and the co-t - is anything but a team teacher. I really hate that I am not being allowed to teach most the time. The only time I feel like a teacher is with the little guys. Otherwise, it royally honestly - is the pits - and most of the time I can't wait to get out of the school and go home and cant wait for the weekends to get here fast enough.

Which is sad, because I really wanted a postive teaching experience and its been absolutely miserable.

[Gillod]

Not involved. All the meetings are in Korean and only my Co-T's speak a word of English. At work, I sit in the classroom instead of the English office because when I sit in the office everyone just gossips in Korean. Earlier this year they asked me to come and sit in the office again. I did this for a whole week, no one spoke a word of English the whole 5 days.

I dunno. I'm a friendly enough dude, but it's exhausting to always have to be the one to start and carry a conversation .

[erik1986]

Ive formed a zen state of mind in relation to my role at my school and Korea in general. I see myself more as a cultural ambassador who teaches English on the side...I mean, imagine if these kids never had exposure to foreigners. People who show up to a school and think they have performed some sort of miracle in relation to their acquisition of the language...more power to you but i just don't believe it personally. I put alot of effort and enthusiasm into my lessons and that's the most i can do...I just think teachers here inflate their supposed roles here at English teachers and i think they would have much more peace of mind if they did not do that. my two cents....

I agree with you for the most part, but keep in my that we were invited here to be English teachers. In fact, that is what a lot of us want to do. It's just unfortunate that a lot of the time we aren't looked at really as teachers, let alone equals. But, like you're saying I think, there is only so much you can do at the end of the day. Just being there, and helping them learn whatever English is at least a start right!

[natale_laplante]

What do you mean by "involved"? Do you mean involved as in department meetings, school politics, etc. or do you mean involved as in going out with your co-workers to dinner or taking part in school activities?

[Damien]

I teach at an vocational school and my staff have given up on the students achieving much. I was told, I have to entertain them. I have free range on my classes. I first had no involvement in the school and I was just propaganda. This started to change during Winter camp and post grades. Attendance went up over 600% at Winter camp and their grades jumped up. Students were registering for English programs and seeking more help.

They then offered me after school classes and I was able to make whatever lesson plans I wanted. They later asked me to teach a class to the non-English teachers and I accepted. They are even talking about having a mixed class of the "top" English students. They now have me recording videos, attending events, writing English headlines for things, and speaking at school events. The last NET was never offered any additional classes. A non-English teacher refers to me as the "English Monarch," because I control my floor lol.

[willem.n.dutoit]

I don't really matter at all at my school. It's a great school and the teachers are nice, but my lessons are basically just there to keep them busy.

[actualstarfish]

Ive formed a zen state of mind in relation to my role at my school and Korea in general. I see myself more as a cultural ambassador who teaches English on the side...I mean, imagine if these kids never had exposure to foreigners. People who show up to a school and think they have performed some sort of miracle in relation to their acquisition of the language...more power to you but i just don't believe it personally. I put alot of effort and enthusiasm into my lessons and that's the most i can do...I just think teachers here inflate their supposed roles here at English teachers and i think they would have much more peace of mind if they did not do that. my two cents....

I agree with you for the most part, but keep in my that we were invited here to be English teachers. In fact, that is what a lot of us want to do. It's just unfortunate that a lot of the time we aren't looked at really as teachers, let alone equals. But, like you're saying I think, there is only so much you can do at the end of the day. Just being there, and helping them learn whatever English is at least a start right!

Second. I'm trying my best to be a good teacher but overall I think English education in Korea is a failure at least in the public school level. I just do my best to act as a cultural ambassador who happens to teach some English as per his requirement. Not trying to take a jab at Korea but there are a number of other countries who are much more successful with ESL and it shows through how fluent the majority of students in those countries have become. I just think Korea doesn't quite know what it wants to do with English is all.

I'm going to ask my co teacher why she thinks Korea wants to learn English. If she thinks cultural exchange is part of it then I will start bringing more culture-related topics into the classroom. I think my students will really benefit from it. I know that when it comes to public schools in Japan, one of the main reasons they mention they want foreign teachers for is to help the students to become more comfortable with gaijin/waygookin/people who are different from them. I wish there was more of an emphasis on that in Korea. The people could really use it.

Anyways yeah I'm pretty much like everyone else. I don't get invited to the teacher meetings because I can't understand them. I always try to connect with my students both in and out of class so I am getting along very well with my kids. They are just teeming with curiosity at all times haha. I go to the teacher dinners even when I'm informed of them last minute and it conflicts with my schedule, I play volleyball with my principal and some other teachers, I go to all the volleyball tournaments, and I never complain about how things are. My school and I have a very good relationship although I don't think my opinion would be valued when it comes to decisions that affect me unless it goes through my co teacher first. Just the life of a foreign teacher in Korea I guess.

[Freeto]

I'm the main teacher in all the classes that are supposedly co-taught while my co-teachers are quite happy to be the disciplinarian and/or translator. Mind you the curriculum is fairly rigid but I have leeway to decide whether or not to stick with activities in the textbook. I'm also the solo teacher for an afterschool and an adult class and I decide all the content for these.

I would have liked to start a regular English newspaper to get involved with the students but I wind up planning 5 to 7 lessons a week so I decided to keep my mouth shut to save my sanity.

Outside the classroom I go to the school meetings even if they're all in Korean and make myself available for most of the social outings. I'm friendly but happy to be left alone.

[nardthefox]

I've gotten pretty involved as much as I could manage. I've invested in the social climate, and it seems my school has a really special relationship as a whole. I bring bread I bake at home regularly and always provide cold related teas to any teacher that appears sick in the least, and most everyone at the school can say at least a few sentences to me. A number of them speak English to the point of pretty decent communication, and seem to be willing to learn more.

I don't expect to make my kids fluent, but they are listening very well to what I say, my pronunciation and on the whole are learning what I put in front of them. I have a good system of classroom management, as I can penalize the kids as far as grades are concerned. I don't really need to bust out the big guns though, as the little buggers are generally more than apt enough to know when it's time to shut up and pay attention.

I'm busy as hell and the other teachers all know it. I teach 24 classes a week, so I get overtime and all that for the additional 2, from grades kindie through 3rd middle school. I do tend to work at home plenty, but the pay out is that my kids generally all love my classes and engage me any and every chance they get.

I've been here for a bit over two years now, 28 months counting vacation times, and I've learned you just gotta play ball. I've been fortunate in that I have little to no restriction and the Korean teachers are young and want me to do what works, and provide me good insight on their kids' ability levels and what is and isn't working. I came in and laid down the ground rules for both the students and the teachers, as well as the management on what I can and was willing to do.

I owe this all to my little sister. She's awesome and taught me (a non-education major just winging it overseas). 

[hankmcmasters]

my co-teachers used to require that i attend department meetings.  they tried having them in English, but they couldnt talk fast enough for their tastes.  not surprisingly, they have their own way of conducting a meeting.  nobody even tried to explain the process to me, and i guess i really slowed things down.  there was one meeting where they said some things in korean that they thought i understood, but i didnt.  as a result, i didn't know about a deadline and i had to grade a bunch of listening tests over the weekend.  about 4 hours worth.  i wasn't really happy about that, and i let that be known.  after that they stopped inviting native teachers to the department meetings.

my school has a sports club, which i used to go to.  sometimes the organizers of the sports club would pressure me to go around 3pm, an hour and a half before work was over.  when i caved and played sports, my English co-teachers felt like i wasnt working hard enough, and they resented it.  now, i don't plaly sports, and the gym teachers all stopped talking to me. its impossible to please everyone

[cinamon]

What I've noticed is that if you do your work well, you'll be given more responsibilities.  That goes for every job here or back home.