My first teaching Monday
Well, it was my first teaching Monday today, and I was really nervous about it. I prepared a bit for my classes, and then met with Barbara again, and again, she gave me some useful ideas. I walked into my 3pm class and addressed the errors from Friday's test. The kids in that class are good as gold! They're just a wonderful bunch to teach, really. Both my 4pm AND my 5pm classes surprised me by being better behaved than they were on Friday. In fact, they were fairly delightful, and I had three classes in a row that I would call enjoyable! I had only a very few problems with the 5pm class (the one that has 14 students in very cramped conditions), and none at all with my 4pm class. I guess I ended out being stern enough after all on Friday, when Joo-Ah noticed my face reddening with frustration!
Today one little girl came to my 5pm class with about one third of her face red and swollen. She wouldn't open her notebook and do any work, and she wouldn't answer my questions either. So, very tenderly, I led her by the hand to the office, and asked the staff there to find out what was wrong. Apparently she had many mosquito bites, although I'm still a little skeptical. If she had some kind of reaction it might have been possible, I suppose. I asked specifically if they thought she was beaten, but they said no. Certainly there are many mosquitoes here (I'm swatting at two right now!), a surprising fact to be sure, given the size of the city and the reputation for air pollution (not altogether deserved, I must say). Anyway, the girl came back, and I gave her only easy questions to answer orally for the rest of the class. I asked her if she wanted any water, and she said no. Of course, when she heard that, my rambunctious front-row student Joo-Ah immediately wanted water, but I declined her request. She could have had one in the break only 5 minutes before, and besides, LTRC rules state that drinks of water are to be had only during the breaks! As for the little girl, I should giver her her name: Suhl Kee. Suhl Kee was talking normally by the end of the period, and I hope that she is ok. Suhl Kee has a last name, too, but I forget it. All Koreans have a two-part first name (or, two first names), and one last name. When you ask a Korean his name, he will say, "Kim Young Joon," putting his last name first. We do not use English names in my school, which makes things harder for the teacher, although I think it likely for the best. Having said that, you try memorizing a class of names when there are five Kims, two Ohs, three Parks, two Woos, and a bunch of first names consisting of Hyoung, Young, Yohng, Joon, Joo, OO, E, Kyung, Sahng, etc.! By the way, my favorite name is "Min-Soo." It's a guy's name, apparently, although many names are unisex.
The last class of my day was my MWF class of middle schoolers. They gave me their warmest greeting yet when I greeted them, but as usual, there were some focusing problems. Still, they're good kids, too, even if they really don't want to be there.
And, my thanks to: Alexandra, Ben, Lyle, Sylvia, and Jeff for their emails!
Today one little girl came to my 5pm class with about one third of her face red and swollen. She wouldn't open her notebook and do any work, and she wouldn't answer my questions either. So, very tenderly, I led her by the hand to the office, and asked the staff there to find out what was wrong. Apparently she had many mosquito bites, although I'm still a little skeptical. If she had some kind of reaction it might have been possible, I suppose. I asked specifically if they thought she was beaten, but they said no. Certainly there are many mosquitoes here (I'm swatting at two right now!), a surprising fact to be sure, given the size of the city and the reputation for air pollution (not altogether deserved, I must say). Anyway, the girl came back, and I gave her only easy questions to answer orally for the rest of the class. I asked her if she wanted any water, and she said no. Of course, when she heard that, my rambunctious front-row student Joo-Ah immediately wanted water, but I declined her request. She could have had one in the break only 5 minutes before, and besides, LTRC rules state that drinks of water are to be had only during the breaks! As for the little girl, I should giver her her name: Suhl Kee. Suhl Kee was talking normally by the end of the period, and I hope that she is ok. Suhl Kee has a last name, too, but I forget it. All Koreans have a two-part first name (or, two first names), and one last name. When you ask a Korean his name, he will say, "Kim Young Joon," putting his last name first. We do not use English names in my school, which makes things harder for the teacher, although I think it likely for the best. Having said that, you try memorizing a class of names when there are five Kims, two Ohs, three Parks, two Woos, and a bunch of first names consisting of Hyoung, Young, Yohng, Joon, Joo, OO, E, Kyung, Sahng, etc.! By the way, my favorite name is "Min-Soo." It's a guy's name, apparently, although many names are unisex.
The last class of my day was my MWF class of middle schoolers. They gave me their warmest greeting yet when I greeted them, but as usual, there were some focusing problems. Still, they're good kids, too, even if they really don't want to be there.
And, my thanks to: Alexandra, Ben, Lyle, Sylvia, and Jeff for their emails!
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