Open class number 1

It was fall. The summer intensives had finished, and I had a relatively light schedule and an actual break during the day. At the end of September, however, there was a dreaded event. Open class. This was a day where we came in on Saturday to teach a special class that parents sat in for.

At first, I figured this would be fine. I would teach a regular class, and the parents could watch. I wasn't an amazing teacher, but I had gotten the hang of it and knew how to get students to understand the material and remember it. I was told to pick a topic to teach and to make a lesson plan which I would submit to the president/director/boss/wanjangnim.(One day, I'll choose a title and stick with it.)

I had started planning a lesson on the daily life of American kids. It was a lesson which was somewhat related to the chapter I was covering with the class I had to do an open class with, and I decided to talk about what American kids do for fun as well as what I did when I was a kid. I included open ended topics for the kids to discuss, a grammar lesson about gerunds, and game vocabulary. I was then told that I needed to do a science class.

So, I went back to the drawing board and devised a science lesson about how soap works.(While this doesn't sound particularly interesting, volcanoes had already been done, and I included lots of colors and pictures to liven up the lesson) I had a demonstration which involved the kids and myself, and it was a pretty fun class. Everyone approved, and so I prepared materials and got ready for the big day. Then, I was told that I needed to practice the class with the kids. I had to teach the lesson every day the week before the open class. The kids had to memorize their responses to my questions. In the end, instead of teaching a lesson, I directed a performance for the parents.

On the day of the open class, although all of the kids answered all of my questions perfectly and in unison, the parents seemed very happy. After my class, the parents then had to meet with the supervisor and discuss their views of the class and opinions about the school.

The next day I was told that I was doing a terrible job. All of the parents didn't like me and liked the previous teacher more. I was a little surprised and asked "So, what specifically are the parents upset about? What would they like me to do differently?" I was then told "Everything. Your teaching is terrible. They want you to be a better teacher." I wasn't sure what to do with this information. I later found out from my co-teacher for this class that one parent had a complaint that I didn't focus on her student enough but the other parents were quite happy. Apparently, the teacher before me favored this particular student and would always let him sit on her lap during class and give him hugs and candy.

A year later, I also learned about Korean management style. While in the west, it is common to give positive reinforcement when employees do well, Korean employers often tell you that you're doing terribly in order to keep you on your toes.