I haven't written in awhile. I haven't been freelancing, I haven't been writing at all really, and I've barely been bitching. No longer am I in a space where I can freely complain about a culture. I am a visitor here in Korea and there are very few instances where myself as a white, temporary, inhabitant has the place to speak my grievances. It is simply not my place, especially given that I am here based on the racist world structure in general, and the business monopoly that has been granted to (stolen by) the Western world.
That being said, while being here I am an educator. I teach young children, age 6. I teach them 75% of their lessons that they receive, and I teach them in English. I teach them Math, Science, Social Studies, Grammar, Language Arts, Phonics, Arts & Crafts, Cooking and Geography. I also read them the odd book (or 5...a day). They are upper-class students from upper-class families. They contribute to part of a $14 billion hagwon (private school) industry that thrives in this country because English education is so highly revered and sought-out. This is the business of education at it's finest. And in many cases I am merely a pawn at the bottom of the stepping ladder.
It is the overwhelming concern of appearances within this industry that frustrates me most. From what I can tell, performances (Christmas, or Graduation, or the like) are of the utmost importance to even the most caring (and legitimate) Hagwon owners. What this means is that in order to prove how "good" the education at a particular school is, the educators are required to spend hours upon hours teaching inane dances, songs and skits (to actual perfection) instead of actually teaching valuable lessons. From a person who values education and the role of the student within this system, it is frustrating beyond belief having to force a 6-year-old to sing "Silent Night" when they'd much rather be learning about dinosaurs, the continents, what the word "enjoy" means and what they want to be when they grow up. And yet it is this charade of appearances (that supposedly proves educational worth) that in fact robs these children of lessons they are so interested in learning.
I should mention that I am not saying by any means that song, dance, theatre or the like is inane. I feel much the opposite. In fact, I feel that these subjects have an extremely valuable place in the education system and in most (Canadian) cases are under-represented. What I am trying to say is that to force a young child to do repeat something to the point where they are nearly crying of boredom (as am I) serves absolutely zero educational worth. As the dictator at the front of the class (which is how I feel in these moments) it is aggravatingly painful to endure.
I'd be much happier talking about Triceratops. Oh, by the way it's pronounced "Try-care-a-tops" in Korean. My student, "V-Rex" told me.
