Working the J-O-B

I work for a private academy in Mokdong, South Korea. Private schools are referred to as "hagwons". Every teacher will have a different experience, and I've heard my fair share of horror stories. Thankfully, I haven't been stuck in such a bad situation. My school's name is Fortian English School. There are 3 branches of the school, I work in the newest school. The building itself is very nice. It's brand new and looks shockingly stylish and modern for a school. It looks more like an upscale law firm than a place where "THE CAT RAN UP AND DOWN THE TREE" is shouted on the regular.

I work with 2 other western teachers (both Canadians,eh), and 4 Korean teachers. The western teachers have been great and we're always going out for dinner and drinks on the weekend. I'm thankful that everyone has been very nice and helpful. 2 of the Korean teachers are now pregnant, and if you know me, you would know how much that freaks me out. It's fun though, being able to talk to them about the female universal language that is pregnancy. My director is are really cool guy in his early 30's. He was born in Korea but spent most of his time in Australia, so he is very laid back and is a lot more comfortable to speak to than most other male directors. When he was younger, he was in a Korean pop band named (get this) "Bikini Party". How can you not love that???

I teach 8 40-55 minute classes a day, from 2:10pm- to 9:10pm. The ages of the kids range from 8-14 years old. When the kids want to enroll at Fortian, they must take a qualifying test which will determine what level they should start at. I can't believe how smart the kids are. It also pains me to know that most children start their school days at 8am and don't make it home until 10pm. For being in school that long, I'm shocked at how happy go lucky they seem to be in class. However, I have had students tell me they had a bad day because "teacher hit me" at school. Corporal punishment is still alive and well in Korea, so if you don't do well at work, be prepared to feel it. My class sizes are perfect, usually 6-8 per class. One of my classes has only 1 student (lucky guy...). In some schools, teachers are saddled up with over 30 kids per class. Nooooo thanks, buddy.

When it comes to how well behaved the kids are, it really depends on the teacher. I learned in my years of nanny experience, that you have to draw the line from the get go. So, I let them know I was fun, silly, a complete nut, but at the same time, try farting in my direction and you'll be standing in the corner with your arms above your head for the rest of class. Thankfully, it appears I've done a good job, because I haven't had any problems. One thing that the Korean boys just looooove to do to their peers and teachers (usually to the guys) is "dongchim" them. It literally means "perfect position". They put their hands together to form somewhat of a gun shape, and then jam their pointer fingers up your butt when you least expect it. To top it off they then ask you to smell their finger. Kids...aren't they precious????

There will be plenty to come about these little darlings, as well as photos! Halloween is just around the corner and I can't wait to scare the crap outta these kids :)

Cheers