What’s been going on…

So, some of you may have gathered from my tweets over the last two years, or have heard it straight from me. Either way, I am gearing up to apply to teach abroad for a year.

What took you so long to decide this?

Ideally, I would have loved to do this 5 years ago, when a few friends had decided to go after graduation. But they had degrees, whereas I did not. Then I pursued Early Childhood Education (ECE), while eventually ending up back at the University of Toronto to finish that piece of paper.

The other thing was, it took my time in ECE to realize how much I did love facilitating learning with children.

I mean, I have always enjoyed/loved working with children and youth since I was in high school. Makes sense, as the first occupation that I was serious about as a kid, was to be a teacher (then I wanted to be a Police Woman, or Fire Fighter lol…I had flirted with the idea of going in to policing…but the last year made me realize how jaded the profession can be :T). In any case, the majority of the last decade has been dedicated to work with the youth. It was something I have loved and enjoyed, as I volunteered in whatever way possible at our church. And seeing as it was one of the largest Korean churches in Toronto, there was always a capacity for me to help out. This meant I got to work with the Kindergarteners, school agers, to the high schoolers. Then there is the fact that I have worked with a number of students over the last decade, by tutoring them in math, or acting as a medium to teach an online course for the high school diploma. There was also the years I spent as a teacher for the academic summer camps.

Generally, a week felt incomplete without the kids, as there was just so much we could learn from each other.

Even now, I ponder a teaching issue that I hit when trying to explain a mathematical concept to a student late last week. The usual methods of helping to explain the concept, was completely lost on the student. Not his fault, as he brought up a number of legitimate questions as to why the concept couldn’t equal what he knew it should be. I mean, it seems like a little thing, a little roadblock, but it isn’t when you just can’t get over it. Basically we ended up leaving it for now, so that we can tackle it with fresh eyes next week. But since then, I have been looking into, and asking advice from others about any unusual alternatives to teaching the concept.

This is a concept that I have taught…well…I don’t know how many times, but I would approximate that I have taught it to 40 different students over the last 5 years. That might not seem like a lot, but in a way it is. In any case, my point is that, despite having taught it so many times…his confusion made me look for yet another way to try and explain it to him.

So back to the school thing. I finished up my classes at the end of August, and convocation was actually this past Monday (which I did not attend). As such, I am ready to move on.

The only problem is trying to find an employer who is willing to let me take my vacation at a different time than they normally make their teachers take it. But, it is necessary as I need to be back for a wedding in the fall. Not sure how this will work out, as two of the recruiters I have asked…have basically ignored my question. I didn’t have my paper work then, so that might have been the issue. Hopefully though, I find something decent.

My fingers are crossed.

I’m going to take a TEFL course soon, and hope to have that done ASAP. I have also been browsing/planning random lessons/ideas in the event I do go.

It should be interesting.

Mostly because it seems age can be a huge factor OTL

But keep your fingers crossed for me??

 

There are a lot of blogs, and youtube channels. However, the few listed at the moment are the ones that have caught my eye, so I figured I would share them.

Grrrl Traveler Youtube – Blog 

Red Dragon Diaries Youtube – Blog (He also posts job ops)

Ninja Teacher Youtube

Glen GoGo Youtube (So straightforward. Found myself enjoying the videos)

Korealizations Blog