Chungnam Epic Reunion

It was an Epic reunion indeed, complete with special effects and
hordes of unruly native English teachers waiting to be brought to
order. The days were cold and snow capped – I think we all felt a
subzero as we clamoured onto buses and trains, responding to the
promise of yet another adventure in Korea. We were not disappointed,
like our very first orientation meeting it turned out to be a
fulfilling experience. It doesn’t often happen that such a diverse
group of people are thrown together like a batch of ill-matched
ingredients in a mixing bowl and produce outstanding results.


It was clear from the initial introduction – Mr gong and Racquel were
looking for exceptional people when they conducted the interviews.
Having mostly come from different industries and having no prior
teaching experience, we were all belly flopping into a stream with
scant hope of floating let alone riding the current.



But what I saw last week was testament not only to the fact that we
have some great swimmers but that some are individuals with great
talent for teaching. On the first day, after brief introductions we
were all allocated rooms then taken through the time table. It took a
while to get settled but as soon as lunch was over we got straight
into the presentations. A few peers spoke to us about their personal
experiences, giving us their insight into daily life and teaching in
Korea. Others gave examples of lessons that had worked well and shared
some advice on issues such as discipline and cultural differences.

I found it to be a very rewarding encounter, as many of the topics
covered were matters which I had been struggling with throughout the
year. The greater thing being that one of my fellow teachers who was
presenting even took some time out afterwards to answer more of my
questions. Some thorny issues were raised and met with much
resistance. Although when tempers cooled, it really brought to light
how much Mr Gong had fought for all the native teachers in Chungnam.
Many people got a chance to express their opinions and share ideas.
Most of us agreed that this was a very helpfull workshop with the
suggestion that it rather take place in the middle of the year.

To Mr Gong and Racquel thank you again for organising an awesome trip.