In Korea, I teach 4th and 5th grade English, "after school" classes and a dance class for the 6th graders. My students are really funny and sweet, and I'm glad I've gotten to spend so much time with them. One of the most interesting parts of being a teacher in South Korea is getting a firsthand look into how different school is in Korea and America! My school is probably the biggest glimpse of Korea I have, simply due to the amount of time I spend there every day. Last week, I shared a little bit about my host brother's day-to-day life, and this week, I wanted to talk a little bit more about what schools are like in South Korea, and what life is like for a lot of my students.
For the most part, the day-to-day life of my students it pretty similar to what primary school is like in America. In elementary school, the emphasis is on foundations, creativity and enjoying education, so there are a lot of fun art, math, science and history projects hung up around the school. Students go to school from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., after which they either hang out around school, play with each other or do extracurriculars. A lot of my students like to play soccer!
That said, there are a few big differences between student life in Korea and America.
