- Hi, I'm Tim Unaegbu.
I'm your video ambassador for International TEFL Academy,
here in South Korea.
In today's video,
we're gonna talk about the benefits of teaching
in a public school.
So, here we go.
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I chose to go the public route
because of the research I did before coming to South Korea.
I knew that I would be working
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday,
which was big for me,
as well as 18 days paid vacation,
11 sick days, and some time for emergency leave,
just in case we needed it.
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So in a week, I teach 22 classes
and I have three different schools.
I live in the rural area,
so it's very common to have multiple schools.
But the best thing about that is for each school
you get, you get an allowance.
So I have three to four classes on average per day.
As well as a co-teacher that teaches next to me.
Sometimes, the co-teacher lets you take the reins
and you have the classroom to yourself.
That's what I really love.
Then you can really connect with your students.
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Well my class sizes, I have three schools.
I have two high schools and a middle school.
They actually range from six all the way to 25.
And the ages are usually around 13, all the way to 18.
So, you get a wide variety of students coming there,
with different levels, so you have to be prepared.
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Lesson planning for me can be quite a bit of a task,
since I have a high school and middle school.
For each school you're gonna have to have different
lesson plan because they learn from a different textbooks.
Also, the students are at all different levels.
So you gotta make sure you have materials
that reach student's needs.
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The resources I use to help me lesson plans
are some that you can just find on the internet.
Some of them are free
and some of them cost a little bit of money.
But they're worth it.
The one that costs $20 per year is called Waygook.
And I think that's the more popular one,
for people coming to South Korea.
The other one is a free one and it's called Core Share.
Waygook is really helpful because you can find
all the textbooks online,
as well as download any materials that you'll need
for your lesson plan.
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So, how long do I spend lesson planning?
Well it depends.
On average I spend one hour a day lesson planning.
And it can be done at my desk during school hours,
so it's perfect, I don't have to take anything home.
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I find teaching with the co-teacher very useful and helpful.
Through my experience I got really lucky.
I was blessed with three good co-teachers,
that are able to help me connect with the students,
and get my message across.
Some people aren't so lucky,
I've heard a lot of different stories
where people did not have the best co-teachers
and it kind of affected their experience
here in South Korea.
But for myself, outside of classroom,
my co-teacher and I are very close.
So my experience with my co-teacher is a positive one.
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Do my co-teachers help me lesson plan?
Yes and no.
One of my teachers for my middle school help me lesson plan.
And in the classroom,
we are able to teach the students together.
My other two co-teachers in my high schools,
don't help me lesson plan.
They actually give me complete control over what I teach
and the lessons.
So, I think it's good.
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So, how do I handle classroom management?
Well first, I like to get to know my students personally.
At the beginning, it was really hard.
We did not share the same language, or the same interests.
However, later on as the months went on, we found stuff.
Sports, eating lunch together and music
are all things that my students and I can connect with.
And I think that's very important for classroom management.
There you have it.
Those are some basic reasons
as to why I chose the public school route.
There are many teachers that do prefer a private school.
However, in my opinion, I think the public school
is where it's at.
However, whatever you choose,
make sure you have fun and enjoy the ride.
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