Looking back at the chapters of my life that make up my
career as an ELT, entering the STG program to pursue a master's degree in TESOL
was the largest turning point in my professional life. However, this would
never have been possible if I hadn't taken the first step of moving to Korea. Johnston
talks about having to make the momentous decision of moving his family to the
states from Poland and that he was putting so much distance between his wife
and her family, and the issue of moving their three young children. Disrupting
the coziness (I'm assuming) that his family had established in Poland, for the
pursuit of his doctoral studies. Looking at the opposing values that came with
making this decision. In my case, I didn't have to weigh such moral dilemmas
about family distance, but selling all my belongings and moving to Korea to
pursue a teaching career was pretty high on the chart for me. This move though
was the start of my journey of professional development in the field of ELT
that has led me to the point that I'm at today, which is the pursuit of my
master's degree in TESOL. This new passion and hunger for academic knowledge is
something I am not accustomed to. When I had first attended university, I was
definitely not there for the scholarly aspect as much as the partying and
moving away from the parent. However, this time around it's for me, my own personal
and pedagogical development as a professional teacher.
The core value that has guided me to this new chapter in my life
is that of finding happiness. From losing my entire family to random diseases,
cancers and Alzheimer; it has taught me that life is not something to waste
being in a shitty job that you hate. Instead, to wake up and be happy to go to
work; knowing that you're making your life into something that has meaning by being
able to have an impact on others. This is precisely what has pushed and
motivated me to choose the career path that I've chosen.
The biggest conflicts that I've had with my value of
happiness have stemmed from previous girlfriends. It deals largely with the same issue Johnston mentioned
with Rafal's materialistic goals, in that my girlfriends were concerned more
with money and status over the fact that I loved being a kindergarten teacher
working with kids. They always wanted me to become a university professor
because it looks better and pays more money. To this I always responded with "I
don't care about money" (I do but not like this) and that "I love
teaching the little ones." I don't know whether it's a cultural thing, but
this concept of happiness doesn't seem to be a value of theirs. These
conversations usually ended badly and would start the relationship into a nosedive
that never could get straightened out. This being said, I have now reached a
point that I'm looking for that career development that Johnston mentioned:
changing jobs; taking on different kind of teaching; and returning to school to
study for a master's degree.
In my opinion, teachers for the most part, are all
marginalized. This be especially prevalent in Korea, since they are strong advocates
of the "if you can speak the language, you can teach it" who Phillipson
(1992) has labeled the "native speaker fallacy" (pp. 193-199). However,
if it weren’t for this native speaker fallacy, like Johnston stated
"marginality can in some circumstances lead to opportunity", I
would've never gotten my first teaching position in Korea, that subsequently
set me on the path to a master's degree (HOPEFULLY if I get into the program).
Looking at my school in regards to this issue of marginality, I feel that I am
marginalized in the sense that the native speaker fallacy is prevalent, but since
I have been at this school for almost three years now, I have established my worth
that I am not like other teachers and it's reflected in my yearly request/demand
for a raise, which they have begrudgingly given me twice now.
For me, I don't think that there are any forms of advocacy
that would or has been useful for me in my ELT career to this point.
