Today I took a group of elementary teachers from Korea to the university early childcare centre near my work. I have been doing a training course with them over the last 4 weeks focusing on teaching English to Young Learners. Ideally we would have like to have taken them to a primary school but it is school holidays here in New Zealand until February. To say they were shocked at the differences between New Zealand and Korea was an understatement. Here are some of the things they said in post observation which they found very different:
1. The children were all dirty from paint and sand/water play.
2. They were allowed to run around with no shoes.
3. The teachers didn't wear uniforms.
4. There was no swimming pool.
5. The teachers weren't all New Zealanders ( white Europeans)
6.There was no structure just play.
7. The rooms didn't have a specific function or theme.
8. There were no books!
What is totally fascinating about being a teacher is cultural difference and as I have never experienced a Korean early childhood centre it is hard for me to give my opinion about their system. The centre they visited is seen as a model of excellence in Auckland for it's philosophy and multiculturalism.
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