Students were on Spring Break this week, so I did not gain as much insight as I would have liked. Since our application assignment this week involves re-evaluating our professional goals, I decided to ask Dr. Yurica what some of her professional goals are.
One goal she is currently working on is having every teacher utilize the resources that they have available in their classrooms. She said that every teacher has a smart board in their classroom, but few teachers are using them. At the beginning of the year, she spent time training her student aids and teachers the basics of using a smart board. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it is like a white board. Teachers can pick a game or a lesson and all the students can interact with it. I was surprised to learn that such an expensive resource is available in each classroom, yet many teachers are not using them. Korea is very modern and advanced in their technology. They take pride in this and start exposing children to technology at a young age.
Another goal that Dr. Yurica has is to close the gap between the teacher’s aides and teachers. In the past, teachers put a lot of pressure on their aids to run errands and gather materials for the classroom, but her goal is for them to help teach. This is so true because the aid is there to assist the teacher teach. I was once a teacher’s aide and felt belittled at times. I felt that my job was not as important as the teacher and that I was just an errand girl. When I was teaching Pre-K, I made sure my aid was well respected by my class, and I gave her the opportunity to help me teach. A professional partnership among colleagues is also one of my goals.
I have a few more tidbits to share about South Korea. Teachers are very well respected here. They really respect anyone who is dedicated to preparing children for the future. In America, it seems that teachers are not well respected until about Kindergarten. Tutors are very popular here. There are many Americans that come here to teacher English at a foreign school and teach English on the side as a tutor. A tutor makes about $30-40 and hour. Anyone who holds a bachelor’s degree and a passport can apply to be a teacher here. The foreign schools here do not care if your degree is in Engineering. They are more interested in the fact that you speak fluent English, and people will pay big bucks for that. The people here dress very conservatively. You will not walk into a classroom and see a teacher in jeans, but you will see a teacher wearing high heels, skirts, and button up blouses. The people do value modesty and presentation. Another interesting tidbit is that children are walking around the streets and taking the subways at a very young age. It is not uncommon for a seven year old possibly younger child walking around by themselves. The country is very safe. I would never let my children walk around the streets alone in America sadly.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog about South Korea. I had somewhat of an advantage because I live here, but I have really learned a lot from Dr. Yurica. I knew a lot about the culture, but I did not know as much about early childhood here. I hope to one day be a Principal of an Elementary School. It was very beneficial for me to communicate with Dr, Yurica about her role in early childhood as well as the field itself in another country.