Cheers!

I got quite a few helpful comments on my cover letter yesterday, so thank you for that. I've been working on my teaching philosophy today and I'm going to stick it on the bottom of the blog again in the hope of similar pointers. Some of it is a case of obvious enough stumbles that are less apparent to the writer, but your private constructive criticism is also more than welcome. Especially you Gallagher; you're an International School teacher! Don't worry, it's not your job I'm going for... I got the whole application together as a .pdf file and, once I have checked it over again in the morning, I'm going to get it off to it's intended destination and hope it is well enough constructed to take me to the next stage. A few new jobs popped up online today, including a pretty inviting one in Egypt...

I'll be extending my visa here in Korea until the end of August once my current E2 visa expires at the end of February (assuming that my passport and ARC make it back from the Chinese embassy in Busan in one piece). There had been a lot of talk about changing visa restrictions here, so I took the precaution of getting a criminal background check and ordering signed University transcripts when I was back in Ireland. I had another look into it all today and, wow, it's a complicated mess. Just take a look at this thread at Dave's eslcafe. Talk of needing to have an apostille put on your original degree by a lawyer in the country from which you qualified, etc. Nightmare! Thankfully, Catherine is usually a step ahead of me with things like this. It turns out that this time around (because of the huge problems posed by bringing in such ringing changes so suddenly), teachers extending need only have a passport, ARC, application for extension of stay (available at immigration), employment contract, a reference (from employer) and the princely sum of W30,000. So, for now at least, I have been spared from totally-avoidable-red-tape-hell.

Further hoops to jump through in Korea, huge numbers of qualified teachers out of full-time work in the UK and Ireland, and now the growing problem of teachers being bullied by pupils and parents online. Who would be a teacher, eh? In all honesty, my time teaching in England was the most challenging yet fulfilling of my career so far. For the majority of my PGCE I got to school at 7am and was usually still there 12-hours later. My to-do list took up both sides of my wee notebook, the thought of having a mid-week meet-up with friends over a beer couldn't even enter my head. Still, I loved it. However, with each passing year in a job where I have the free time to do multiple other things, work with respectful and (mainly) hardworking students, read more and more about the growing loss of common sense in UK teaching, I'm less and less inclined to move back to the British Isles as soon as I had previously thought I would. Mind you, plenty of the people I qualified with seem to be enjoying their careers and laughing off the horror stories. On top of that, I do often miss the challenge. It's nice having good classes but on such a regular basis you can almost take them for granted. It doesn't, however, come near the feeling of cracking that tricky Monday morning class you'd been wracking your brains over for weeks. We'll see what the future brings. It's not as though going back to the UK to find a teaching job is a realistic option for me anytime soon anyhow!

A word on a neglected topic - football! I stupidly stayed up late last night to watch South Korea's opening Asian Cup match against Bahrain in Qatar, home-to-be of the 2022 World Cup! They did alright without injured striker Park Ju Young, but wound up frustratingly holding on at 2-1, having been 2-0 up and looking comfortable. Kwak Tae Hwi never deserved a red card, but there was no need for him to jostling with an opponent at that stage of the match. Ku Ja Cheol got both goals and looked decent in an all-round comfortable but cluttered midfield. It was nice to get a look at two young strikers Ji Dong Won and Son Heung Min, but it's hard to take much from this performance in terms of predicting what impact they might have overall. Australia had a convincing opening win over India, so Friday night's match-up between the Socceroos and the Red Devils might even be described as mouth-watering. Yet another occasion when Matt and I will likely be on opposing sides of the fence. Quite annoyed to see how promising Lee Yong Rae looked, considering he's another one who has just signed up with Suwon Bluewings... As the FC Seoul exodus continues (bye bye Kim Jin Kyu and your 'rocket' free kick). Stay positive, stay positive...

All right, I'll leave you with my draft teaching philosophy and an earnest request that you email me with any comments/suggestions. The application goes off tomorrow, and I want it to go with as much weight behind it as possible...

I believe that teachers should have a passion for their job that brings them beyond the normal expectations of other occupations, so that they are willing to go the extra mile for the welfare of their pupils and school. My teaching is grounded in respect for universal human rights, which are equally applicable to children and adults alike. For me, a school can act as an example of the kind of community we would like to see in existence beyond the parameters of the school grounds and it can prepare pupils for confident, informed active citizenship as fully-fledged members of society.

My teaching career thus far has involved using a broad range of skills and working in varied educational contexts. Prior to the completion of my teaching certificate, I was involved as a volunteer with a youth group and was intrigued by education for peace during my undergraduate studies. As I navigated my way through my Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, I began to fuse these ideals with the everyday demands and realities of challenging high school classes. I developed a behaviour management style that focussed on collaboration with pupils in drawing up rules that were mutually agreed and respected. I also devised pre-determined consequences for when standards were not met. In challenging circumstances, classroom discipline gradually became less and less of an issue.

My teaching experience has also involved working with a broad range of ages (from kindergarten to senior citizen) and abilities. This has allowed me to appreciate the development of learners at different levels, as well as understand the importance of acting as a facilitator in their lifelong learning. It is not my intention to merely teach within the constraints of examination preparation (although they are, of course, important), but to instil passion for learning and go beyond textbooks to enable pupils to determine their own outcomes, which will have consequences for their personal development long after they complete their formal education.