One thing that differentiates a new teacher and from an experienced teacher is confidence. While most people think confidence means knowing, it actually means listening and learning. An experienced teacher goes with the flow of things, and doesn’t stress out about the small details. Showing confidence is really is all about managing your words and actions. If you want to be well-liked among your fellow teachers, and have a good status within your ChungDahm academy, then follow my tips below.
Ask for Help
Coming to a new country has many benefits, but primarily it means you get to try new things! There are places to go, things to see, new foods, smells, and a million people to meet. But with these things comes uncertainty. You have a lot to learn and experience, which can be great but sometimes stressful. Also, with a your new job as a teacher you have to learn about treating students fairly, how to interact with fellow teachers, figuring out how to furnish your apartment or getting a new phone. While some of these activities can be fun, they can also be very stressful.
If you want to show confidence, my advice to you is to ask questions, listen, and learn. There are other teachers who have been here and have a good amount of experience. So, they are a great resource for information and help. Many teachers are willing to help you, you just have to ask. It can be nerve wracking to ask others, especially when you are new, but ultimately it will make you seem more warm and confident. A person who is warm, inviting, and interested is a natural leader, and will draw others to them. By asking genuine and well thought-out questions, it shows that you are interested and intelligent.
However, be wary to ask the right people for help. If you lean towards others who might be inexperienced themselves, or unwise, it naturally places you in the same category. Therefore, it is best to go to the managers and team leaders for help when you have questions. Just try to be conscious of their time, as most are consistently busy with different things to do. However, they would prefer to have a new teacher who asks questions, than someone who has to be told.
Student Management
Managing students is a difficult task for everyone. This is because people in their very nature are unpredictable, and children even more so. Therefore, no one is perfect at managing students. However there are some teachers that are better than others. The number one tip about student management is try to consider your students as being intelligent. If they don’t talk, or don’t answer the questions you ask, maybe you are asking the wrong questions. It might also be that you are talking too slow. But occasionally there will be one or two students that you might really struggle with. In these cases, don’t complain to other teachers, as they won’t be able to help you. Instead, go to your team leader, and tell them about the problem you are having. Listen to their advice and try to see if there is a better way for you to interact with this student. You might be surprised to find out they act completely different in another class.
If all of the other teachers know your bane towards a student it is going to make you look like a bad teacher, no matter how difficult a student can be. So to seem confident, keep the issue to a minimal amount of people.
Hopefully, if you follow these tips you can seem confident. Eventually, your status at work will improve as you learn more. Then others will begin to come to you for advice. Just remember your place though by redirecting them to the managers and team leaders when need be.
Neil Frazer has been teaching with Chungdahm for a little over two years. He comes from a small town in Wisconsin, named Spooner and graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a Bachelor's of Social Work. After traveling to Korea in college he quickly fell in love the culture, food, and quality of life that Korea has to offer and immediately knew he wanted to come back. He looks forward to sharing his experiences of living in Korea and working at the Pyeongchon branch, near Seoul.