Thoughts VIII

I'm still daydreaming about teaching English abroad and finding more and more of my mind wandering overseas.  Recently, I've taken on a few young students here in the good ol' US of A and have been teaching some private music lessons.  My heart tells me that teaching is my calling in life, but my mind keeps asking, "How?"

Originally, I went to college to become a music teacher and I was disillusioned by the tough years of schooling (in order to graduate in four years you need to go to summer school for three years so you can free up the final semester for student teaching), tough laws on teachers (too many lawsuits in recent years), tough odds (jobs getting cut left and right), and tough salary (I make more now than a first-year college professor!).  Even though I was never interested in the money, it seemed like the amount of time needed to get into a field that is losing its respect and admiration while slowly being removed from schools year after year.  Maybe I allowed myself to be too easily convinced that this was not for me, and maybe my professors lacked enthusiasm for the field for the same reasons.

If I could turn back the clock and talk to myself again at age 20, I would say, "Stop!  Don't go to the Administration Office and change your major; stay with it, trust me, and finish your degree in music ed."  But regrets are like water passing under the bridge- when you look back, you can't change the flow of the river of your life.  I am proud of where I am today, but I wish I had chosen to stay in education for the children, not for myself.  I love teaching, I love kids, and I have no greater joy than when I see a child succeed, see that lightbulb come on, and watch him or her achieve.

It's not too late to start again, but if I do that, I want to do it in Korea.  There would be a couple of things I need to take care of before embarking on that journey first, though.  From what I have read and in thinking long-term, I would need to prepare myself for a career, not just a one- or two-year gig.  Here are a few adjustments I think would benefit me in the long-term:

1. Learn to speak Korean better.  I can get by, but one can't just get by as a foreigner for an entire life.  If I can speak like a native, or even close to a native speaker, I can fully immerse myself in the culture and in the country.

2. Earn some sort of certification.  Whether it is a TEFL certificate, a teaching license, or some other sort of documentation, I think that this would be pretty helpful in making myself more marketable as a teacher, in addition to my experience.

3. Forget about turkey.  Turkey is my favorite food.  I could eat a turkey sandwich for lunch and a Thanksgiving feast for dinner and never grow tired of it, but turkey is hard to find in Korea, so I should prepare myself to live without it.

4. Dress better.  Men in Seoul dress impeccably!  My wife always guffaws at my outfits and asks me, "You're wearing that?!"  I like the way Koreans dress, but I usually choose my clothes for comfort, not fashion.  I would definitely need to dress better!