Sessions

Building Financial Health While Teaching English in Korea

The last year, 2020, will go down in history. How did your bank accounts fare? Financially, 2020 was an excellent year for the "haves" but a terrible year for the "have-nots." The purpose of this panel is to help answer questions that our colleagues have about improving their financial health, particularly in light of the impact of COVID on an expatriate lifestyle. The panelists have experience in debt reduction, investing, building “set-asides,” F.I.R.E., retirement planning, managing pensions, passive income, Korean taxes, tax in other countries we know about, planning based on your age, life after Korea, some legal issues, etc. Our goal with this panel is to provide you with a few of our top tips to improve your financial health and then answer any questions you have regarding your individual needs and situations. Working together can help everyone's financial health improve.

The Great Blind Spot: Finance Ed!

There is a major blind-spot in the education system: financial education! Schools have addressed almost every manner of practical life, from PE and sex ed to driver's ed and cooking classes. These classes have yielded positive results for students. But even the most basic financial education has been ignored, and the results of this failure on the part of the education system are widespread and devastating. More people struggle financially than not. This need not be the case! In this presentation, I shall first reveal and analyze how and why financial distress is more common than financial security. In the second part, I will offer basic education and tips for how to achieve financial stability. Finally, I shall offer tips and ideas for how to incorporate basic financial education into lessons for various student levels.

Social Gaming Session with the Busan Chapter!

Online conferences allow participants a chance to continue to grow professionally by attending virtual presentations and panels, but does not allow for the traditional wine and cheese mixers, dinners, and other social gatherings associated with conferences. Through the use of Zoom and a couple of online games, the KOTESOL Busan-Gyeongnam Chapter would like to invite conference participants to an online social event from the safety and convenience of their own homes. Busan-Gyeongnam will play host to those that want to socialize with colleagues, experiment with online social games, or just want to be around other people. Different Zoom breakout rooms with different games (via social networking sites and games offered across platforms) will be offered. Attendees need not worry about their skill level or experience when it comes to games, but they must have access to Zoom on a computer and an additional smartphone or tablet. The KOTESOL Busan-Gyeongnam Chapter Officers are Anika Casem (President), Daniel Jones (Treasurer), Kirsten Razzaq (Secretary), Rhea Metituk (Membership Officer), and Brittany Cardamone (Webmaster). Cumulatively, they have been in South Korea and teaching for over 40 years and have taught the gamut of elementary to adults in the private and public setting.