tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post7711585978940647589..comments2023-10-11T05:10:59.975-07:00Comments on kimchi-icecream: Day 1 of Korean Elementary Teacher Winter CampJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14403839433187045342noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-4080576778582966482009-01-09T05:48:00.000-08:002009-01-09T05:48:00.000-08:00I didn't write this blog in a clear enough way, I ...I didn't write this blog in a clear enough way, I think. I CHOOSE to dress up because the other professors do, but I think I'd be okay with wearing a collar shirt without a tie and and some kind of slacks or something nice . . . but after four years here I choose to go the more formal route (if I'd had a suit jacket to wear I would've worn it, but don't right now). First impressions are very powerful here, and the expectations for what a university professor should LOOK LIKE are a great example. <BR/><BR/>Even in public school I'd wear a shirt and tie the first week of classes and then bring it down a notch and lose the tie. I did this on the island, and later in Incheon too.<BR/><BR/>Another part of the image issue is that I have to battle the stereotyped thinking that men with shaved heads can only be monks or gangsters/criminals/rebels . . . so I try to counter this with a formal dress appearance . . .<BR/><BR/>I think I should also say that there have been days where I wore jeans and a sweatshirt to teach when I was teaching public school . . . I just didn't include all this info in the story . . . oh well.<BR/><BR/>JJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14403839433187045342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-3509511881360333152009-01-09T03:48:00.000-08:002009-01-09T03:48:00.000-08:00Interesting that you have to dress up so much. He...Interesting that you have to dress up so much. Here in Jindo, in the summer I wear polo shirts and capris, and my co-teacher has been wearing patched jeans for awhile now.Kelseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02057778340760717886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-35786202532416570672009-01-08T05:42:00.000-08:002009-01-08T05:42:00.000-08:00Something I just realized when reading your commen...Something I just realized when reading your comment is that if I think about the word "brainSTORM" and just think about the meanings of the word "storm" (a disturbance of the *normal condition* of the atmosphere, manifesting itself by winds of *unusual force* or direction, often accompanied by rain, snow, hail, thunder, and lightning, or flying sand or dust) and how Korean culture has, as a friend presented at KOTESOL, a major 'uncertainty avoidance' paradigm in how thoughts, feelings, and actions are produced and regulated in order to pre-empt any kind of uncertainty . . . well, it begins to crystallize more in my mind, in combo with all the other factors in play, as to why things didn't work the way I was hoping they would . . . <BR/><BR/>Add to the mix that I just finished teaching a course called "Group Discussion" and a major unit in the book I was using had content about the 4 basic kinds of brainstorming, and the student-teachers (4th year English education majors) struggled to brainstorm using the western cultural method of not judging any idea in terms of value, and just getting ideas out in the air quickly and as many as are possible.<BR/><BR/>They really struggled with the idea of not judging, and pre-discussing each and every idea an individual produced as a group, they just kept approving and disapproving each idea (essentially having the discussion in the brainstorming stage, and then they looked at me in confusion as if to say, "Okay, we're done the brainstorming stage AND we already finished the discussion too--so much for learning the PROCESS of group discussion where brainstorming takes place BEFORE having the group discussion), before moving on to the next tentative suggestion/idea . . . <BR/><BR/>something else at play here is probably 'gibun' . . . if my idea is 'smarter' or 'better' than your idea I lose face or you lose face, and each of us has our emotional center disturbed as well as damaging the harmony and peace of the group as a whole . . . <BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comment. I'd like to write more but I'm tired . . . <BR/><BR/>Take care,<BR/>JJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14403839433187045342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-11632894043262511182009-01-08T03:56:00.000-08:002009-01-08T03:56:00.000-08:00Having someone ask if I'm married (or if I have a ...Having someone ask if I'm married (or if I have a girlfriend) has yet to be annoying, although I'm still undecided on how I feel about the follow-up "why not?". At least it's not as forward as the Mongolian guy who asked 1. Are you married? (No) 2. What's wrong with you? (!!)<BR/><BR/>I was going to suggest a similar video (same audio track but different images) for the many uses of the "f-word" until I saw that you had one posted already.<BR/><BR/>I can relate to your experience with open-ended tasks in class. I usually get mixed results when I try it myself, but I dislike narrowing things down too far for the students. A very explicit set of directions feels more like I'm telling everyone that I want a specific answer - similar to what you mentioned - which means no one does any real brainstorming of their own. On the other hand, there are certainly times when it seems like my (elementary school) students are otherwise overwhelmed by what they've been asked to do.<BR/><BR/><I>I am still shocked by the degree to which Korean learners struggle to do things like brainstorming </I><BR/><BR/>I wonder if there's a perceived relationship between brainstorming and going outside traditional mores. Something like, "brainstorming implies the current state of affairs isn't good enough", which I could see being problematic in some (many?) instances. In the United States (and presumably the other "E-2 nations") there seems to be less social stigma attached to being an outsider and going against the grain - an identity that pretty much requires brainstorming in order to differentiate oneself from everyone else - and more emphasis placed on being an individual. I suppose it also goes along with the emphasis on critical thinking and essay-writing that takes place in secondary schools in western nations that doesn't seem to take place here. This is just, euhh, brainstorming on my part though.<BR/><BR/>I hope everything works out so that they other half of the class catches up with their peers quickly. I'm interested in seeing how that goes!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com