By David Thiessen
Some years ago I was discussing with another Westerner how Korean hagwon owners were finding out that hiring older native English teachers (NETs) was a good thing. It was a good idea back then and it is a good idea today.
Yet I see there is a trend to hire young teachers via the many people who complain that recruiters do not respond to them any further after learning their age. It is a sad state of affairs as discrimination of any sort is not right. Over the years I have been impressed by the number of creative ways this country has used to employ its elderly population but unfortunately, that desire rarely extends to the older Westerner.
I say unfortunate because older Westerners still have a lot to give to the students of Korea especially when it comes to teaching their own language. Not only are they more stable, they were taught a lot differently than their younger counterparts.
I will not get into the ``party hard, do as we please, let’s have an adventure” argument as that is a topic for another day. Suffice it to say that the Korean students have enough temptation in those areas from their own peers. They certainly do not need that influence from the young Western teacher hired to teach them English.
When I say that older Westerners were taught differently than the younger generation who comes to this country, I am referring to the fact that since about 1980 the Western nations started to implement the only successful education program of the past 33 years. Younger teachers were dumbed down
A few years back I was at an open class and in walked one Korean teacher with her NET and you could see by the expression on her face that she was embarrassed to be seen with the guy. When he opened his mouth, we all understood immediately why she was embarrassed and left the open class as soon as she could.
He is but one example among many and it is appalling. Older teachers have an advantage over younger ones because we know and can see the difference. The idea that older teachers cannot relate to young students is a myth and Korean employers shortchange their students when they focus on hiring young NETs. If they want to give their students the best English education then they need to hire those NETS who are older because, for the most part, we know our language.
Does this mean that every older NET is a good teacher or can teach English? Of course not, there will always be those exceptions to the rule and for young, under-30 teachers as well. Some do know their own language.
Does that exception mean that we deprive those NETs in their 40s and 50s of employment simply because of their age? No. Those are the people Koreans should be hiring because of the wealth of information and experience they bring to the classroom. Giving students the best education means an adjustment in thinking about how age factors into the classroom.
Jesus started teaching at the age of 30 and that is a good boundary to use in this day and age as our young students need good, stable examples to learn from, not the kind they are getting from the western younger generation of today.
The writer lives in North Gyeongsang Province. His email address is archaeologist@fastmail.fm.