Teaching the Teachers

Korean culture is a delicate thing. I think I am given some leeway because I am western and don't know any better, but generally the social structure is rigid and unforgiving. Saying "I don't know," is seen as a weakness, especially in a teacher. Asking, "why," to a superior is rarely done. These aspects of society put me in a weird spot a few times a week as I settle in to teach the teachers at my school and in Pohang in general.

I am younger than all but one of the teachers in my school. I am younger than many of the teachers in Pohang. A few times a week I have to teach these same teachers English. At my school I spend much of class sitting there, being ignored by the older teachers, as they chat away in Korean. I hate teaching the beginner teachers as they are often terrible students. They refuse to talk, they refuse to listen, and they refuse to be called to order. One told me, earlier this week, that it was very difficult for her to learn English because I was younger than her and she wasn't sure it was right. Fine, I am younger and you are trained to think that I am not worth as much respect, but can we all agree that I speak English better than you and you signed up to take an English class? I am not sure why she, or any of the others, show up. I am not going to narc on them for skipping my class. I could be using that time to play scrabble online.I am hoping next week's lesson will be better, when I teach them cooking terminology.

The intermediate class is a little better. A friend of mine is in the class, as well as my co teacher and a teacher who I think views me as a fascinating pet. They talk very little, but they at least listen when I speak. I have decided to make their classes more fun by just teaching them slang. Last week the word was "cougar." This week the word was "jacked." My friend is my age and speaks English the best, the other two just stare at me. I think I fascinate them. I feel like some strange creature from another planet in their eyes. They look at me, and I think they see this humanoid who embodies every stereotype they have every heard about western culture, true or not. They have asked me if I own guns, if things they see in movies are true, and have intimated that my brothers are smarter than me simply because they are boys. I take it all with a grain of salt and a big pinch of different culture. I try to set them straight when I can, and the rest of the time, I just sort of smile and nod. They will never really listen to me because I am younger than them.

I also teach classes at the Middle School next door. I don't do it every day, but once or twice a week I go there to teach the Pohang teachers. I have only done a few, but here is what I have noticed: The older men don't respect me at all, the older women seem to pity me as I certainly can't take care of myself. The teachers closer to my age seem to want to be my friend, and two teachers who are younger than me look at me with such disdain, I want to knock their heads together like coconuts. Oh, and one asked me out. The older men in the class obviously see me as someone who is below them, and I am fairly certain they were forced to take the class. The older women also see me as below them, but they want to take care of me. A younger, unmarried woman is some for which you must feel sorry. She is lonely and needs to be married off as soon as possible. Most of the English they speak involves asking me about my love and personal life. Do I have a boyfriend? Can I cook? Am I lonely? The female teachers closer to my age want me to hang out with them. I think they are a little jealous of the freedoms the perceive western women to have. The two young men teachers who I want to bop on the head are just jerks. They remind me of my smug elementary school students.

I hear a screaming child in my stairwell which means it is time for me to close up shop and jump in the shower. Happy April Fools Day!