Our cultural backgrounds and national histories shape our perspectives and what we teach in the Korean classroom. Picking up from our last gathering, Gangwon Chapter is happy to announce that we will once again feature the perspectives, experiences, and insights of three teachers of color. In an ever more pluralistic world, we recognize that the voices and contributions of teachers of color are necessary and are of great value to the wider EFL community.
Our chapter meeting will be specifically tailored to the needs of elementary, middle, and high school teachers. It will fulfill 5 hours of professional development of the required 30 hours that EPIK teachers need to accomplish for contract renewal. But no matter your teaching context, we are sure you’ll be able to glean valuable takeaways from our chapter meeting.
We’ll kick things off with Joey Belfon. Fluent and knowledgeable in Korean culture, he’ll share with us several cultural concepts that will be useful to both newly arrived teachers, as well as the more seasoned set. From teaching us the etiquette of pouring soju during school dinners to the rules of engagement in giving and receiving feedback from Korean teachers, he’ll presents useful insights into Korean culture from his position as an African-American man and a US certified teacher who’s been living in Korea for many years.
Another returning presenter, Justin Harrison, will then share with us engaging classroom games and activities that were successful in his classroom. Though, they’re meant for middle and high school students, they can also be adapted for elementary students. As part of his activity, we ask that you bring an item that comes with a story.
Travis Frank, a hagwon teacher will then present on how social power dynamics are portrayed, exhibiting excerpts from Korean textbooks as evidence. He’ll point to many examples of inequity that are disseminated through our teaching materials with a special attention on racial stereotyping. His presentation will be a distillation of his sustained contributions to discussions on race within the POC Teachers SIG. We are very lucky to have him.
And finally, Leslie Huang will pick up where Travis leaves off. From the perspective of a Taiwanese-South African woman, Leslie will show how to positively and more accurately represent the racial/cultural diversity of South Africa in the context of a Korean middle school classroom. The hope is that teachers can take away some ideas to implement within their own teaching context when choosing to challenge the stereotypical, limited, and racist representations of people of color in ALL our teaching materials in Korea.
For those who are interested and see value in the description above, do join us for what will be thoughtful and frank discussions on this topic.
