The school year finishes Monday for my school here in Busan. My mind cannot comprehend it. I cannot fully grasp the fact that they classes I have been teaching since September I will not teach again. Monday we will have closing ceremonies/6th grade graduation. Students will be dismissed by lunch and then as teachers we will all have a school lunch together before many teachers move on to other schools. The next time I am in front of a class of students they will all be different. The 6th graders will be in middle school, the 5th graders will be 6th graders, the 4th graders will be 5th graders, and I will actually be teaching the kids that have been in 2nd and 3rd grade. It's mind-boggling. Oh and add to that that 2 English teachers are leaving and 3 are coming into the English department. I seriously have to experience for it to seem real. I might go into shock. I thought adjusting to a year-round schedule that is used throughout the Wake Forest/Raleigh area was tough. At least they changed their school year sometime in July!
But it's part of learning a new culture right? One of the best things about my job is that I am actually in a public school of Korea. I'm not in an international school and seeing the education of the students through a expat-colored school setting. I'm the only foreign teacher in the school and Korean culture is displayed on a daily basis through the school day.
I thought I would take some time to discuss some of the differences between Korean public schools and American public schools.
1. Obviously, they follow a different calendar. The majority of US schools begin their school year in August or September and few in July. Most US schools finish their school year in May or June unless of course they are year-round schools and their calendars are very different. Most US schools give a week for fall break, two weeks for winter/Christmas break, and one week for spring break before they dismiss for almost 3 months for summer vacation. Korean schools are different to say the least. They begin in March and go until mid-July I believe. They then out of summer vacation until the end of August/beginning of September (usually about 5 weeks). They are then in school until Christmas Eve or somewhere close to that date. Students then have winter vacation until the beginning of February (around 6 weeks). They come back to school for about two weeks (I've heard people staying between 9-11 school days) before finishing the school year. There is then about two weeks of spring vacation before they start a new school year. There is a period of three consecutive days off sometime in September for Chuseok (their Thansgiving) and for Lunar New Year which is usually during winter vacation anyway. Otherwise its a day or two here or there that they have off. It's just different.
2. Students where indoor shoes. Students walk into the school and take their shoes off. They carry their shoes while walking barefoot or in their socks to their classroom where they put on their indoor shoes. Americans don't take their shoes off at school at all.
3. Korean students seems to have a lot more freedom and less supervision than American children. During the 10 minute breaks between classes, most teachers are in a teachers room talking amongst themselves while their students are playing and socializing among themselves. 1st grade teachers seem to be an exception. They tend to stay in their classroom and do work at their desk. I am not sure about 2nd and 3rd grade teachers because I am not in their classrooms to observe. But students can be inside playing or outside playing. Many 1st graders play on the playground equipment between classes and there is not a teacher outside supervising them. This is also true after school where kids will be outside playing without supervision. Older students also walk to their classes that are not in their classrooms without supervision. As a teacher in America, I felt scared to leave my students alone even to literally stand with my feet in the door and talk to a teacher or student in the hallway. I along with all other teachers walked our students to all of their other classes and picked them up to walk them back even if it was literally right around the corner.
4. Korean students have more breaks during the school day. After each 40 minute class, students have a 10 minute break. They also have 45 minutes for lunch and can go and play once they have finished eating. They do not have to wait for their entire class to finish and for their 30 minutes of assigned lunch time is finished. My students were lucky if they got 10 minutes to play during a school day that is longer.
5. Most textbooks in America are hardback and are reused year after year. Textbooks in Korea are paperback and are issued to a student for them to use. They are not reused and students can write in them.
6. Class sizes are comparable. Most of my classes here had between 24-27 students. My classes in GA had 25-28.
7. Korea teaches ethics as a class to elementary school students. I find this very interesting and wonder if it is part of or in lieu of teaching social studies. However, I know they also learn some history.
8. Obviously, Korean students learn a foreign language in Elementary school: English. English education begins in 3rd grade. Some schools in America teach a second language in elementary school, but that is not standard across the nation.
9. Kindergarten is not taught in Korea. Students begin school in 1st grade and are Korean age 7 I believe which is comparable to Western age for 1st grade. Students attend preschools prior to 1st grade.
10. In Korea, 6th grade is part of elementary school. This means that the same number of years are spent in elementary (6), middle (3), and high school (4) as America. However, Korea does not continue with 7th, 8th, 9th, etc. when naming grades. In middle school they have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades and again in high school they have 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades.
11. There are not school buses in Korea. Most students walk to their elementary school. But some elementary school and most middle and high school students use public transportation to get to school. I know personally where I grew up buses are a necessity to getting children to school in a timely and safe (especially in colder weather) manner. There are buses used for some hagwons and taekwondo places that will pick up or drop off students at school or near their neighborhood though.
12. Teachers in Korea move schools every 4 years. Even while at one school they will rarely stay in the same grade level for the 4 years. Most teachers change what they teach almost yearly. In America, there are some schools that have a transient nature and change many teachers each year. However, even within those schools, the teachers who stay for many years, also usually stay in the same grade level for several years. Then you have schools like the one I went to where some of my teachers are still teaching the same grade level at the same school, or at least they retired from teaching from the school I attended and taught the same grade level throughout.
13. There is not special education classes in Korea (well mostly). Korea uses an inclusive model of education. All students are in the classroom. However, there is a classroom at my school that has been explained to me as being for students who need additional help. From what I can tell it is a form of special education pull-out. I've been told it is very rare. As is the class they have for students who do not speak Korean as their first language. They class is a remedial Korean class for them. Again its a form of a pull-out class.
14. My school does not have forks. Only chopsticks and large spoons. American schools only have forks and spoons.
15. Water, milk, or juice is not served with lunch. Neither are napkins. Occasionally a yoghurt drink is served with the meal. Otherwise, there are water fountains at the back of the cafeteria. That is also where the napkins are. Most Koreans do not use napkins during their meal or drink liquids. They are both for afterwards. I have adjusted to this and don't think much about it anymore, but in America napkins and milk are some of the first things in the lunch line in every school cafeteria.
16. My elementary school has a baseball and a T-ball team. Organized school sports does not start until middle school in America (as far as I know). Not all schools are like mine though. I think it is still pretty rare here to have organized school sports in elementary school.
17. Every classroom has a class captain and assistant. These students help the teacher. They are also the ones to get the students attention and guide the greeting at the beginning of class. There is also a school captain and 2 assistants. Students volunteer for this and then campaign for a day before students in 4th and 5th grade vote. The students who volunteer must be in 5th grade. This is done at the end of the school year so that when they begin as captains they are 6th graders. The first week back from winter vacation is when the 4th and 5th grade students voted on school captain for next year. The school captain leads announcements once a week I believe. They also run events like the talent show and sports day. Once a week the captain and assistants meet with the administration of the school. Essentially they are student voice to the school administration.
18. Most elementary school desks in American and Korea have an area for students to keep their notebooks and books in. But in Korea, students also have essentially a locker at the back of the room where they keep their textbooks and stuff. During the 10 minute break between classes is when students exchange their books and notebooks and such. This makes it easier for students to change desks when they do. Teachers do not have to move the desks just the students.
19. Most schools in America have already or a working towards having a projector and or smart board in the classroom. Technology is a huge part of education. There are usually also 1-2 or more computers in each classroom. In the classrooms I've seen in Korea, there is a large TV that works like a projector but is not like a smart board. There are not computers in the classroom. There is 2 computers in the English library, but they are rarely used by students. I have not heard mention of a computers class or even a computer lab. It does not seem to be part of the elementary education, even though technology is a huge part of Korea (think Samsung and LG - both Korean companies). All students have a cell phone, but computers and advanced technology do not seem to be part of the curriculum.
20. In America most schools serve breakfast and lunch, but here only lunch is served. In America most lunch cafeterias serve two options for the main meal that students get to choose from. Here everyone gets the same meal. In America, students are given a set amount of food. If they desire more, most of the time they have to pay for another full meal. Here students are given a set amount based (1st graders get less than 6th graders who get less than teachers), but there is a table with some large serving bowls that have extra food of most things that are served. The soup is not there and usually the meat option of they day is not there, but most of the side dishes are. Students are allowed to help themselves to extras if they so desire. Most of the younger kids have to ask their homeroom teacher first and show that they have finished what they were given in the first place. There is not a teacher or cafeteria worker that maintains this or serves the food. The students literally help themselves.
Well it's random and I'm sure not everything. It's what I could think of for now. If you have a specific question or something you are wondering about, leave me a comment and I will answer it for you. It always helps to know what others are curious about because it extends my thinking as well :)
No comments:
Post a Comment