How does your work day start? Probably something like turning on your computer at 9am and grabbing that much needed filter coffee. All before you begin your 8 hours of answering emails, meeting monthly sales targets and avoiding your uptight bosses ever watchful gaze. As a teacher, my day is comparatively extremely different.
By 9am, I am well into my second period and my coworkers, or 'students' as we like to call them, arent privy to sitting quietly at their work stations and sipping a cup of coffee. Walking into my classroom I could find anything from students 'play-slapping', to girls plucking each others eyebrows. The atmosphere ranges from peaceful desk napping to high-pitched sobbing over lost boyfriends.
Anything is possible.
For your work place, this would be something out of the ordinary or extreme, but for mine, the peace and the chaos is just the standard for the hour.
You better roll with it. Sink or swim, teacher.
Coming to Korea again has been an awesome crash course in thinking on your feet in the classroom, especially when you belong to 4 different schools at once. I got on a plane in South Africa being fairly certain I would be at an elementary school this time around, but was surprised to find out that this contract would be at high school level again. I winced a little thinking of the 'typical Korean teenager' - a body of ragging hormones, with a never quite satisfied hunger and nagging need for sleep. Why couldn't I have sweet singing grade 3's?
However, teaching these 'child-giants' has been an awesome surprise. Most of my student are quick-witted kids, who enjoy learning English and rise to the occasion every week. At a particularly high level school on Thursdays, I keep increasing the difficulty, and the students keep matching it, calling it too easy. I think I didn't realize how low level my previous school was until I got to teach in Haman this time around.
Although there are times when I get a little jealous of my elementary school teacher friends, who get to sing songs and teach fruit - I wouldn't trade the sarcastic, yet clever answers for the world.
"Byeong- Ju, why does your alien have no eyes or mouth? It's just a square?" (Me essentially remarking on his laziness).
"Teacher, because it is a superior race, they do not need to eat or talk, they are finished with that", replied my student with an annoyed air, rolling his eyes at my apparent inability to keep up with the intricacies of alien advancement.
Or better yet, when students challenge you. "Teacher, Mars is smaller than earth, not bigger - your thinking of Jupiter". I am forced to stop the lesson and google the size of Mars, in the middle of my ESL class - because this is so much more important than the vocabulary we have to learn.
For everyone's information, Nicky (her English name), is correct.
Mars is almost 3 times smaller than Earth. Nicky laughed and dived to the front of the class to make damn sure I gave her extra points.
"I know teacher...I KNOW" said Nicky loudly dragging me by the hand to the computer for points and simultaneously smacking her friend across the head for ever doubting her.
This week has seen me teaching summer camp classes. Yesterday we ordered the whole class pizza's. I have never seen 16 students faces light up quite as quickly, as when they saw the Pizza Etang delivery man walk into school. Watching them eat pizza was like watching a strong infomerical-type vacuum cleaner suck up even the tiniest morsel in its path. Or maybe one of those terrifying snakes who eat small animals whole. Regardless, I have learned that the Korean teenager eats swiftly and without hesitation. Blink and your pizza will be gone.
Regardless, of the teenager-ie chaos I face at work on a daily basis, I am also having the best time teaching them about the world. Here's to a long vacation and a new semester of crazy teenagers to come.
xx
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| Ready for class teacher? |
Anything is possible.
For your work place, this would be something out of the ordinary or extreme, but for mine, the peace and the chaos is just the standard for the hour.
You better roll with it. Sink or swim, teacher.
 |
| What's your morning work routine? |
However, teaching these 'child-giants' has been an awesome surprise. Most of my student are quick-witted kids, who enjoy learning English and rise to the occasion every week. At a particularly high level school on Thursdays, I keep increasing the difficulty, and the students keep matching it, calling it too easy. I think I didn't realize how low level my previous school was until I got to teach in Haman this time around.
Although there are times when I get a little jealous of my elementary school teacher friends, who get to sing songs and teach fruit - I wouldn't trade the sarcastic, yet clever answers for the world.
 |
| Class presentation time! |
"Teacher, because it is a superior race, they do not need to eat or talk, they are finished with that", replied my student with an annoyed air, rolling his eyes at my apparent inability to keep up with the intricacies of alien advancement.
Or better yet, when students challenge you. "Teacher, Mars is smaller than earth, not bigger - your thinking of Jupiter". I am forced to stop the lesson and google the size of Mars, in the middle of my ESL class - because this is so much more important than the vocabulary we have to learn.
For everyone's information, Nicky (her English name), is correct.
Mars is almost 3 times smaller than Earth. Nicky laughed and dived to the front of the class to make damn sure I gave her extra points.
"I know teacher...I KNOW" said Nicky loudly dragging me by the hand to the computer for points and simultaneously smacking her friend across the head for ever doubting her.
 |
| Discussing their aliens for a class on description. |
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| My Students devouring pizza at their English camp. |
xx
