Classroom Management: Korea vs Colombia
Classroom management in Colombia was not what I expected. After coming from Korea, it was in truth a shock to the system. The hardest thing I had to deal with in the all female environment was student silence. They often appeared disengaged and their silence was a heavy weight. At times, it felt like they were waiting to absorb presented answers instead of trying to construct the answer with me. Still, as such, I often structured my classroom around ways to encourage engagement and participation. I arranged desks in groups and peppered lessons with partner and group activities to foster a collaborative learning environment.
Unfortunately, when I came to Colombia, I learned quickly that this same approach would not work in the same manner. I now had the opposite problem: my students wouldn't stop taking. I would start saying something and within seconds a smattering of voices rushed on the heels of my words. “Let me finish the directions, please,” I would say. “It will take me 5 minutes to explain this activity and then you can talk,” but no. So many battles, in nearly all of my classes, were wrought over speaking—and often during the explanation of the period’s activity alone.
My first couple of months in my new environment were hard. Discipline was a new issue I had to navigate amisdt being an unkonwn to these students as well. I had no reputation to proceed me and I also had the obstacle of the ghost of my classroom's previous occupant, a teacher my students were rumoured to abhor. I could feel the apprehension in the cohort: would I be just like her?
Still, onward we went. I had the support of my principal and confidence in my own abilities. I found I had to I revert to rowed seating until routines were set. I had attempted groups of threes and fours at first, and found that in nearly all of my classes, it led to chaos; as soon as they made eye contact with that one friend (or enemy), the plot was lost and I was left waiting again, the minutes slipping by in rapid succession. I was left feeling frustrated that we hadn’t accomplished my goals for the period. Still, we muddled through and I percevered, discussing strategies and seating arrangements with coworkers. It wasn’t instantaneous, but it got better and it became easier.
Now into year 3, I am more accustomed to the constant chatter and it is easier to tell when it hinders progress vs when it can be tolerated. I have learned that for the most part, my students mean well—sometimes they are just too excited—and I try to think about how to direct that excitment and energy into more productive avenues. I have been asked over the years if I have enjoyed teaching in one culture more than the other and I suppose the easy answer is that it was easier teaching in Korea. But, at the end of the day, my job is with human beings and I have loved my students from both environments for their quirks and personalities. Just like I miss the students I left behind in Korea, I know that when I one day leave Colombia, too, they will equally be missed, growing pains and all.
