The reason that my job has become significantly more challenging is because in the new semester, I have been given my own class. However, with this new class, my school has also breached many of the agreements of my contract. Basically, I have no co-teacher, no curriculum, and no Korean disciplinarian...all things that we are guaranteed as foreign teachers in Korea.
When I first heard I would have my own class, I was both proud to be given the responsibility and pissed that my school was taking advantage of me. I resisted, and told the other teachers at school that it was not my responsibility to create a curriculum. I don't have the experience or the expertise to do that, I explained. Their response was to bring me one textbook (mostly in Korean) and suggest that I look on the internet. Great. Big help. I quickly realized that I'm pretty much on my own now.
So far, it's been tough, but getting better each day. For me, I love the actual teaching and I'm ok with the disciplining. Most of my students are absolutely wonderful. There is only one class of fourth graders that is completely unruley, so I have demanded that their homeroom teacher come to my class and discipline. The part that is challenging for me is planning and creating lessons. It is much harder than it looks to put together a good, cohesive lesson that the kids both understand and find fun and interesting. On top of that, try making three different lessons a week for 18 weeks! It's just plain overwhelming. I find myself dreading school on the weekends and in the morning before work because I am so anxious about whether or not my lessons will work out. I'm working at it though and dedicating a lot of my free time to it, and in just two weeks I already feel like I'm doing much better.
So that's the hard part. Now, I'll tell you about the brighter side, because there always is one. Though I'm still anxious before each day, once I get through my lessons I feel a great sense of accomplishment. When I provide the students with a fun and interesting class, they actually enjoy speaking English. I genuinely have fun, too! And, by having my own class, I am really getting to know my students. They come into my classroom in their free time and love learning about me as well as sharing things (in English!) about themselves. It makes me feel like I actually am making a difference.
The beginning of this semester has definitely had its ups and downs. While I could have stood up and fought, contract in hand, I decided that by doing so the situation would only get worse. So, instead of trying to make things easier for myself, I'm looking at this as a great challenge and one that I know will make me a stronger person. Being able to live in a foreign country and teach students of another language all on my own is something I will be proud to say I've done. In the end, I know that if I keep a positive attitude and try to the best of my ability, it will be a very rewarding experience.
I don't have pictures of my new class yet, but here are some from English Camp in January:
Students performing at English Camp, January '09
English Camp Closing Ceremony
Some of my favorite students
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