The president [Park Nam-sheik] stressed that a teaching license doesn't mean competence as an English teacher. ``Schools should open their doors more to those who can speak English well. Still many teachers are opposing to give opportunities to English teachers without teaching certificates to teach students at public schools,'' Park said. At the same time, he was very pessimistic about the increasing number of foreign English teachers from the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
``Most of the native English speakers don't have much affection toward our children because they came here to earn money and they often cause problems,'' Park said. ``If we need native English speakers, it would be better inviting young ethnic Koreans who have hometowns here. Also, we have to invite qualified English teachers from India, Malaysia and the Philippines as English is not a language only for Americans and British people.''
``Above all, we should produce qualified teachers who can replace native English speakers. I can assure you our school will produce such teachers,'' he added.
If by lacking affection you mean that we don't beat the students to study harder, then yes, we are not as affectionate as our Korean peers. And it's remarkable how the industry is so eager to attract foreign teachers, then so resentful of them once they're here.
Yes, yes, it's our job to lead by example and buck these stereotypes, but it would also be helpful of policy-makers and business leaders didn't have such severe cases of cranio-rectal inversion. There was a lot of what I liked in the KT's profile, but I've got to be dismissive of a guy so ill-informed about who we are and what we do.
7 comments:
At a certain point, students are able to distinguish the quality of the English teacher. The parents won't stand for it. That's why "we" were hired in the first place. Maybe if we counted for more than 5% of their English mark, it would make the students work harder on their pronunciation and word order.
I also think "we" are here to help introduce different ways of thinking to the students. The first thought of Korean adults is to Koreanize and monopolize. This doesn't go very far in the international community.
I would have thought Park had a reasonable grasp of the place of foreigns in Korea. He certainly employs a large number! Both as English teachers and Teacher trainers.
I know this guy isn't as big of a jerk as he seems.... Koshibo????
Speaking of those Filipino teachers...
A friend told me a story just last night of a woman in Mokpo who has left her job, and was responsible for finding a replacement. The replacement she found was a Filipino woman, fluent in English, Tagalog, and Korean, with a master's in Education and her own apartment already taken care of. The school thought all was great...until she showed up to work and was a dark-skinned Filipino woman.
They called the original woman that day and said she had not found a satisfactory replacement and would still need to find one.
While I think allowing those who speak English fluently because of it being an official language in their country could be a good thing, I can't imagine it working here based on the Koreans' often blatant racism against those who are not Caucasian.
matt wrote:
I know this guy isn't as big of a jerk as he seems.... Koshibo????
Why me? What do I have to do with this?
Oh dear. To unpack this:
Most of the native English speakers don't have much affection toward our children because they came here to earn money and they often cause problems,'' Park said.Actually, that we're not beating them, letting them get away with murder in our classes, and not assigning them a ton of homework is because we HAVE affection for them, if not a lot of sympathy. Anyone who hasn't fed a hungry kid, bandaged a wound, or consoled a 10 year old crying uncontrollably because she failed a hagwon test and knew it meant no dinner, well, raise you hand. Anyone? Anyonne?
If we need native English speakers, it would be better inviting young ethnic Koreans who have hometowns here.Right because
1) A Korean American isn't there for the money.
2) A Korean American will have amazing affection for Mother Korea when he finds he's treated like crap and paid less as compared to his whitey counter part. Yep. Solid plan.
Wasn't there a plan a couple years ago to invite them over and pay them 1 million won a month?
Also, we have to invite qualified English teachers from India, Malaysia and the Philippines as English is not a language only for Americans and British people.Sure. But first convince the moms that the person they assumes is only good enough to clean their hotel room is now good enough to teach Harvard english. Solid plan. And these workers aren't going to cause problems, especially when they discover they're being treated like typical 3D workers.
``Above all, we should produce qualified teachers who can replace native English speakers. I can assure you our school will produce such teachers,'' he added.Will? Err. What happened to that plan a couple years ago to send Korean teachers abroad to turn them into super English teachers? Hey, best of luck.
Certification does not imply competence which is why we should question those graduates that any school or program turns out. This is nothing new but they are acting like it is breaking news. We, in the West, are not the ones whose entire life depends on getting into Seoul National University as if that meant that one is competent!
This is why we have to look at other merits besides mere certifications. Not every degree holder is smart and, likewise, not every non degree holder is stupid. I think we should require a greater burden of proof from those lacking certifications but we should also question those who have certification and not assume that it is the case. What if you get someone from a good school who is not a good teacher? Does it mean the school is bad? Certainly not.
I don't think that Koreans are necessarily more affectionate than any other race, or even the reverse. I think we can assume that the environment often determines the attitudes of the teachers--Hagwons will ultimately turn good teachers bad because of the low standards required and lack of concern for foreigners as people.
We Westerners have higher standards than Koreans in so many areas and we demand it more often than not. We don't want students to simply get good grades and get into a good university, we want them to behave. It's not enough to come to class, they have to participate. It's not enough to take your test, you have to learn to apply it. It's not enough to go to Seoul National, you actually need to use what you are taught.
We're hired to open the minds of young Koreans whether older generations like it or not. The future of Korea is not Korea-centric, it's much more global and I think Korea needs to adjust its lenses to this. Hiring native Koreans doesn't fix anything, it simply reinforces the view that Koreans are everything, the whole world, and everyone in this world looks just like them and thinks like the Korean machine tells them to think. It's difficult to make huge advances in this world when no one questions social barriers and does not have the social freedom we take for granted in the West.
Hire anyone qualified to fill the job, just make sure the person is not only certified, but also intelligent. Teaching demonstrations are a must! Lesson plan templates, show some initiative. Filipinos are great as long as they are held to the same standard! Everyone must adhere to the standard, even Koreans.
Hiring or not hiring because of color or race is not going to advance Korea a desirable place to live.
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