Renewed! Staying a Second Year in South Korea



I am renewed! ^^
Therefore, I felt compelled to renew my teaching contract as of yesterday. I will remain as the English Foreign Langauge Teacher at 대전맹학교 (Daejeon Public School for the Blind). I enjoy my work environment and students, in a way I never thought I could. There are several reasons I have loved working at my school for the past 12 months. I will share three:
1. Small classroom sizes and very few behavior problems. There are times when a student might be upset and choose to stop speaking or participating in an activity. This is human behavior with which I am very familiar with, especially from working with students diagnosed with Emotional Disoders. However, the absence of inappropriate language and violent behavior have left me feeling safe and RENEWED, in the workplace.



 
Yearbook picture day, Fall 2016 (above) English Zone classroom (below)


2. Utilizing my special education (SPED) academic background to build curriculum and create lessons with activities that are relevant and relatable for my students. I never intended to obtain a degree in SPED, because I was convinced that I did not want to work with students that required modifications, adjustments and universal design. How foolish of me! Working in the SPED field for the past 4 years has been rewarding in ways I couldn't imagine. Of course there are challenges and the paperwork is neverending, but when your students demonstrate progress and acheivements towards the goals set by themselves, family and teachers it is fulfilling.

Halloween 2016 (English Zone)

3. Being able to laugh and joke with my students. Nearly every US secondary school teacher that I know, public or private, knows the "Don't smile to until January" mindset. Meaning you establish classroom management early on with consequences and hold a stern demeanor to prove you will not tolerate disrespect and laziness - then you relax a bit. The school year starts in August/September (depending on your location), so we are talking 5 to 6 months of strict posturing. That is a LONG TIME, but in many schools it seems necessary based on the current conditions of many schools. The teachers who fail to adhere to this style often times have a hard time getting through their first year - trust me, I have seen the damage and heard some horrible stories of walkouts and no-shows due to a lack of classroom managment. 

Following this pattern meant I couldn't joke with my students or laugh with them until second semester. That was not a good cycle for me to be a part of. There were missed opportunties to build connections with students, because I listened to mentors and veteran teachers. Learning can be fun is something I didn't bring into the classroom when I was stateside. The point I am making is that since teaching in SK I not only laugh with my students, I can be my witty, humorous self without having to worry about a student trying to manipulate me or not take me seriously after sharing my authentic self.
This position has been a blessing to me in many ways. I have grown as an educator and recognize the benefits to co-planning and -teaching. My wonderful coteachers will exit at the end of February due to completing their 5 year contracts. This makes me a bit anxious, because I don't know if there are better co-teachers on this peninsula; we work very well together. I pray the new teacher/s are as understanding and open-minded.
Dream High Class (DH) Fall 2016 Picnic
DH Summer 2017 Picnic
One of my professional goals for my second academic year is to plan more games, to assist the content. My students get a lot of reading, speaking and writing practice. I am not the best with building fun activities into lessons; I have tunnel-vision  on accomplishing the goal when it comes to assignments or completing a task. My personal goals are to save more money and travel more locally. (I have yet to visit the DMZ, Daegu, Daecheon, Gyeongpo, Dodko, Ulleungdo, Ulsan and Gyeongju.)

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