I think that there are a lot of people who would rather not have us here... and the fact that we are here making what we make is causing a LOT of resentment. It doesn't really have anything to do with education so that's not really even worth talking about. The one universal constant in education everywhere is ego-- and Korea is no different. This has absolutely nothing to do with whether we're 'effective' or if native speakers work or not... because if that were the case then perhaps they would be more set on actively trying to design a coherent program for us and not just have us sitting around wondering if we're doing it right while our co-teachers try to make us over into glorified clown acts. Most teachers give up on actually caring about education about 5 years after they start teaching... it's a fact. I saw it back home as well, they'll bring up 'the kids' when they want to get what they want... but education is maybe 10% about the kids and 90% about the adults... just like everything else in life, with a few rare exceptions.
I would even go so far as to say that the majority of KOREANS-- not just co-teachers, not just principals, vice principals, superintendents, etc, but also normal everyday Koreans... are completely 100% against the idea of native speakers being able to live the kinds of lives we live here. They don't like the idea that foreign workers are being paid more than Korean workers, plain and simple. They don't like that we're being handed the kind of money at 23 that they've worked for ten years to get. A wide-eyed 23 year old can come to Korea, get walked over by the kids, 'improvise' structureless activities every day, and be at the same salary level as a 38 year old educated perfectionist who not only commands the respect of the kids but is also actively involved in their lives. There are so many things that are wrong with that... but at the same time, that's how it is.
The system has set us up to elicit nothing but resentment-- the only disappointing thing is that instead of demanding better conditions for themselves, everyone demands 'revenge' and wants to kick us out... some of them going so far as to willfully sabotage us as if they wouldn't jump at the opportunity we have if it were presented to them. They're not even really angry at us (or they think they are and shouldn't be), they're just angry at the system because they feel betrayed by it--- and they have been. It's similar to the US beef protests a while ago-- and we're the beef.
I think there's actually a lot of hope in Korea that when 2013 rolls around the new president will dispose of us all completely... it's what happens when recessions hit and people start to feel desperate-- they start choosing their targets, and along with 2MB, we're the most obvious. To be fair, I don't think that the lack of training, guidance and curriculum help to make us seem any more professional... mix that with Korean nationalistic groupthink and low English proficiency scores, then there's going to be some pretty serious power struggles going on.
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"Just leave then!" is never a valid response when someone raises legitimate points.
I will say, to Hilarity, that I think resentment is a bit part of the overall xenophobia at work here in the GPC, but I don't believe we actually make more than long-term professional teachers...I think there are threads elsewhere on Waygook that discuss this. Counting our apartments we may well make more than other new teachers our own age though.
But you're right, looking at it from a big-picture perspective. There's a lot of apathy in education in
all countries, which is what I think feeds the whole hands-tying, enforced-clown-act thing with many NETs. I can definitely understand someone looking at the current program and thinking that NETs could be used more effectively as teachers--given better training, given a more structure to follow--having some kind of standardized curriculum for all Native teachers would be a huge asset, IMO. I still really believe strongly that the true value of NETs is in our ability to put a name and a face on Western culture for Koreans, who tend to overgeneralize, misunderstand and by turns, idolize or demonize it. Korean teachers with even perfect English skills, robots and people on Skype can't provide the sort of cross-cultural experience Korea needs if it wants to grow into a respected global player. But honestly, beyond perhaps a few ideological politicians, I don't really think that's what Korea wants at all. I think Korea wants to obtain the (perceived) luxurious lifestyles of Westerners, and perhaps impress the West with their success, but they want to remain culturally isolated. That's their right, ultimately, and they seem to pull off a sort of self-contained yet thriving economy pretty well for now. I still think the isolation is going to be detrimental to their future in the long run though.
