Anyeong,chingu!
This is my first post about my job as an on-line teacher for Korean
students. As we are all aware of, teachers do their best to teach the
students. However, I believe that teachers can also learn from their
students.
That
case applies to me as well. My students taught me some Korean
expressions like “anyeong” (hi!) “mianheyo (I am sorry). Aside from
that, I also learned
several things from them:
several things from them:
1. Be practical.
I've
read a lot of articles about the relationship between age and
fertility; that as women grow older, it will be difficult for them to
conceive. As they get older, their ovaries age along the rest of their
body parts and their egg cells become less viable. They are also prone
to genetic abnormalities as well as pregnancy and child birth
complications. That's why in the Philippines, women who haven't
conceived in their late twenty's to thirties become subjects of ridicule
or pressure as some people might call them “baog” or “makunat”.
Korean mother with a baby |
I
remembered my thirty year-old Korean student named Luna. One day, she
cried while we were talking on the phone because she found out that she
was six weeks pregnant. She explained that it took several years before
she graduated from the university and that she was still a newbie in the
company where she was working.
My
Korean students taught me that age should not the only factor to enter
marriage and childbirth. In times of economic instability, we should
first consider several things. Are we financially stable? Can we still
go back to work after childbirth? Where will our family live? How will I
raise my child? What values can I teach him?
We
should not get married just because of peer pressure or just because we
had already graduated. We should also think of how to raise children.
We should not be in a hurry to have children if we are not ready: we
should think about the future ahead of us. Also, we should not be too
dependent to our parents that we are too comfortable to marry and have
children at the right age; remember that our parents are not getting any
younger too, so let them enjoy life as well.
2. Value your work.
They
work hard to earn for a living. When you work in a Korean company, you
might notice that most of them work for more than eight hours a day.
Rain or shine, they still go to work, even they are not feeling well. In
fact, it was revealed in a study conducted by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that Korea ranked first in countries with longest period of working hours with an average of 2,190 hours per year .
Working
with Korean boss in an online industry is not that easy. You cannot
skip working when you just want to. Headache and fever are not
acceptable and most of the times typhoons are not being used as excuses.
Sometimes, it is not easy to file for a leave of absence even it is our
privilege as workers for their business operations will be at stake.
That's why, most online teachers like me still go to work as much as we
could, except for some circumstances which are beyond our control like
being involved in accidents and being affected by calamities like Ondoy
and Sendong.
3. Study and prepare for the future.
Aside
from studying in a classroom setting, students also study in
educational institutes called Hagwon to learn Computer, Math, Taekwondo,
English and others. Children of all ages, including pre-schools,
professionals and even stay-at-home mothers attend classes in Hagwons.
Some of them also have classes at home with their personal tutors.
Online
teaching industries have been established to enhance the students'
abilities. Unfortunately, most Koreans have difficulty in speaking
English due to the influence of their mother tongue. They commit
pronunciation errors especially with [z], [w], [p]. [f],[r] and [l] and
they also tend to prolong the vowel sounds at the end of the word (for
example, they pronounce “manage” as “ma-na-gee”). Hence, they wanted to
speak with an online tutor on the phone or through Skype.
If
you were an on-line tutor, you might handle students who go home late at
night and still have to attend your classes. I even taught English
online to high school students who had gone home at twelve midnight
because they still had to attend three different classes in Hagwons to
prepare for the university entrance exam.
My student, Emily (right) with her friends |
In South Korea, “College” and “University” are two different things, the former offers two to three-year courses while the latter offers courses which are equivalent to Bachelor's degree in our country. They consider “college” a “lesser” institution.
4. Value your honor.
I know that there were a lot of people who committed suicide but who would ever forget Roh Moh Hyun? He was the president of Korea from 2003-2008 and he committed suicide amid an investigation into a bribery scandal that had tarnished his reputation. He left a suicide note where he said :
I am in debt to so many people. I have caused too great a burden to be placed upon them. I can't begin to fathom the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others.
I am not in favor of what he did. Committing suicide is not the only solution to preserve one's honor or dignity. However, I can't help but compare him to some people who, after victimizing others by stealing and doing other petty crimes, can still sleep and eat peacefully as if nothing has ever happened. I wonder why there are some people who can still have the guts to be interviewed by the media after being involved in controversies.
5. Have fun and explore.
Most of my students save money for vacation. They go abroad in winter and summer to learn English or just to have fun. Some of them just travel domestically like Jeju Island. Once in a while, they spend time with their friends or colleagues to drink.
They taught me that we need some time to relax. It doesn't have to be expensive; watching TV while eating snacks with your love ones is enough.
Okay, I'm done. I hope that you like my first post about them and I promise to share more. Daume bayo! (See you next time) (다음에 봐요)
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