Teaching is challenging.
This past week was really busy and I was seriously lacking creativity for lesson plans in a time when I needed creativity the most. Sometimes all I can do is throw together some crappy lesson and hope that student return the next week. (That's what I'm doing today.)
Co-teaching is slowly improving. Mr. Nam is still incredibly difficult to work with. I think that perhaps we could work out our problems if he just had better English. It's not hard to figure out why his students have such a low English abiltiy--just look at their teacher. He is the worst English teacher in our school. In fact, I think the music teacher (who has not studied English at all) has better English than him. But I guess that's acceptable here in Korea; you don't really need to know English to teach it in a Korean classroom, you just have to read the text book and assign the pages. Many of my students had never even heard their English teachers speak English until I came! Shocking, huh?
My girls debate class is blossoming. Those girls are so intelligent! I am really proud of them. Their work is amazing and they catch on quick to new concepts and ideas. In addition, pro/con discussions are really interactive with them which makes my extra, upaid teaching hours a little more bearable. The boys debate team, however, seems to have stunted in their growth. I'm not really sure what happened. I can't tell if it's my fault or theirs that their interest is waining and their proficiency is starting to decline. I'm a little nervous for them. This week, in both classes, I am showing a video taped debate in Korean to give them an idea of how a debate should look. The topic is: The US military should leave South Korea. I really wish I could speak Korean because I think this topic is so great! Perhaps I will make it a topic at the tournament in December... Next week they will watch another debate (in English!) with the following topic: English should be made the second official language of South Korea. I hope that watching these debates will give them a better understanding of how to debate and maybe spur that inner warrior on to battle!
As far as relationships go, they change from day to day. A Korean will be the best friend you've ever had but it can be a real challenge to become a truly close friend with one. Because Confucian social rules prohibit the outward expression of one's true emotions, it's often difficult to really understand how someone feels. Of course this tradition is disappearing but friendships still take a long time to make. In fact, Koreans have a special term for making a good friend; I can't remember it exactly but it's something along the lines of "brewing a pot of tea;" it should take a long time in order to extract the full flavor. Since I've only been here for three months, I can't say that I've made any best friends (Koreans may take up to 6 years to make a best friend).
However, I'm doing good with what I have. I've become really close to Mi Hyang which is so great and refreshing. We are much closer than any of my other friends but I think that's mostly because she is a very progressive woman with liberal ideas (by Korean standards) and incredibly animated and outgoing (I guess you have to be if you're a dance star). All of those things make being friends with her a joy. I'm starting to get close with several other ladies too--my two lady co-teachers are among them and as well as another English teacher who sits next to me in the office. Of course I'm not super close with any of them, but I'm to the point now where they are talking about meeting for dinner and actually making jokes with me which is encouraging. Other teachers have also commented on my personality. One teacher left me a note that literally said, "Your smile and happy facial expression makes me have a fresh mind. Thank you!" He went on to say that the other teachers are too boring and so tense. It was just a nice reminder that even though I don't always follow the cultural customs, I am still being incredibly effective. The power of a smile is amazing...
But friendships in Korea are complicated even when you have a good one. You're never friends just because you like each other; there is always at least one person who maintains a good relationship because they see the friendship as advantageous for their own needs. Mi Hyang, even though I know she likes me a lot and we have so much fun together, has been hinting for the past couple weeks that she wants me to tutor her daughter. I kind of played dumb because I REALLY don't want to be tutoring kids when I'm doing it all day at school (I'm just too tired) but she gives me free dance lessons as often as I want (which she doesn't do for anyone). Well, Saturday night she text messaged me and finally outright asked if I would tutor her daughter I felt so obligated to grant her request. How could I possibly say no without coming across as a greedy, inconsiderate jerk? She has done so much for me. To say no would have been a slap in the face. I had to say yes.
It's not that I don't want to help her and it's not that I don't want to hang out with her daughter (I really do!) but I don't want someone to guilt me in to it. If I were Korean, of course I wouldn't see it that way though. I would see it as a fair and expected exchange of skills. However, that just doesn't translate well into American culture. You just don't ask your friends to tutor you or teach you something; you wait for them to offer, and if you hint too much as to what you want, you will probably damage the relationship. You will be seen as insincere and fake and most likely discourage the person from ever helping you in the future. And that's my dilemma: fighting my heart's feelings of betrayal and instead embracing my brain's knowlege of cultural expectations. This is just one of those instances where Korean culture trumps my American roots and I just have to go against my grain, no matter how abrasive it may feel.
Spiritually, God is really changing me. In the last month, I've found real freedom from several things that have haunted me for years (woo hoo!) as well as broken through numerous myths about myself and other people. He's turning my insecurities into prized features, my painful memories into opportunities for growth and forgiveness, my conclusions on life into starting points for future living, my pride into humility, and my stone-like will into a much more flexible and plyable ball of playdough. In March God told me that he was re-writing my story and now I really feel and see the difference a second draft makes. I can't say that everyday is one big party with God--actually I can't say that any day is like a party with God. It's more like a continuous care-frontation. Sometimes the loneliness of having no one around and the insane boringness of attending church in another language brings me down, but it's good none-the-less. The "sinking" feeling is only bringing into a deeper relationship with Christ, one where I rely on him a lot more and other people a lot less.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Problems
I just posted a new entry with video of the girls from my school and it went in under November 17th--the day I started it, not the day I finished it. So, if you would like to see some videos of my girls and their cheers from the city festival, scroll down. :)
Happy Tuesday!
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, November 26, 2007
More lovin' from Korea!
Thought I would share with you a photo from one of my latest adventures! 
This photo was taken Friday before a school assembly at Munchang HS. The school had invited a movie star/comedian to come speak to the students. I guess he was really funny because everyone laughed, I, however, did not understand a single thing he said. Instead, I sat there in the unheated gym in my NU sweater, freexing my butt off for two hours. Holy cow, it was cold! Remember last year when Seattle lost it's power for a whole week due to that windstorm and we all had to sleep through the night with no heat? It was deja-vu... Anyhow, in the photo, to my left is the principal of the girls school (she came to watch the performance; unfortunately I can never remember her name) and to her left is Mrs. Lee (an English teacher at Munchang who picks me up for school each Monday and never stops telling me how bad she wants me to meet her handsome, genius, single son). Behind the principal is a teacher from Munchang. I'm not sure which one...
As for my weekend adventures, I went shopping in Daegu on Saturday with Mi Hyang and her family. It was okay. I didn't get much except some swimming gear (flippers, anti-fog goggle juice, a new towel). Saturday night, Courtney came over and we watched Signs together, which freaked her out enough that she didn't want to walk home in the dark (lol) so she stayed the night with me. Last night, I made friends with one of my dear neighbors upstairs--a really nice lady with two daughters (one of them goes to Courtney's school). I've seen her before and she has invited me to her house before too, but I never got around to visiting. However, last night I saw her again and this time remembered to visit. I had such a good time talking with her. She is hilarious and her daughters are incredibly sweet. They even took me out to dinner at Mr. Pizza! (Mr. Pizza is like the Pizza Hut equivalent in Korea except it's pretty much 2 or 3x's more expensive!) She even wants to teach me Korean! Yay!! I'm super excited to start visiting her more. :)
A MUST SEE VIDEO
This link is to a video made by some of my students starring Hyo Sik. The song, Tell Me, is CRAZY popular in Korea. Not a day passes that I don't hear it. Apparently, the boys made this music video for a music video contest. I sure hope they win! You will laugh your butt off. I hope you enjoy it!
Click here.
Click here.
Friday, November 23, 2007
These Days
Courtney, Romeo and me at pizza for Thanksgiving. So, there wasn't any turkey but we did have a bulgolgi pizza, a lobster pizza, and a sweet potato pizza. Close enough, right? Happy Thanksgiving from Korea!
On Sunday Courtney and I went for a walk out in the country. It was absolutely FREEZING! The wind was blowing like crazy (evidenced by my hair) and I think I had ice forming in my nose. However, the sun was out and all the little farms sparkled with the charm of autumn.
A little farm house with some cabbage in the garden.
I'm not really sure what this is (some sort of weed like thing) but the sun was shining on it and I thought it was beautiful enough to take a picture of. Wish you guys could have been there.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
15 Things I'm Thankful For
1. Graduating from college!
2. God's incredible faithfulness when I have no clue where I am going or what I am doing.
3. Improved relationships with my family.
4. The most amazing support group of friends and spiritual leaders.
5. Mi Hyang and Shin Eun Jeong--my partners in crime here in Korea. Everyday here is blessed because of them.
6. For the courage (or stupidity) to actually step out of my comfort zone and move away for a year.
7. For old friendships resurrected: Emily, Dave, Melia, Dan, Ryan, Will.
8. For new friends: Dawn, Lindsay, Elise, KJ.
9. For the most AMAZING jobs: Curves, The Highland Center.
10. For the kindness of individuals whom I can never repay:
2. God's incredible faithfulness when I have no clue where I am going or what I am doing.
3. Improved relationships with my family.
4. The most amazing support group of friends and spiritual leaders.
5. Mi Hyang and Shin Eun Jeong--my partners in crime here in Korea. Everyday here is blessed because of them.
6. For the courage (or stupidity) to actually step out of my comfort zone and move away for a year.
7. For old friendships resurrected: Emily, Dave, Melia, Dan, Ryan, Will.
8. For new friends: Dawn, Lindsay, Elise, KJ.
9. For the most AMAZING jobs: Curves, The Highland Center.
10. For the kindness of individuals whom I can never repay:
- Helen--You bought me groceries when I was hungry, poor, and desperately needing someone to care. Thank you.
- Polly and Bill--You gave me a home to live in when I was in transition and a family to be a part of when I often felt like my own was non-existent.
- Donna--You encouraged me to keep trying when nothing seemed to work.
- Marilyn--You supported me when I made the agonizing decision to raise my voice and make a choice for The Talon. I sincerely believe that I did the right thing and I know that I could never have done it without you.
- Gary--You made me aspire and accomplish more than I expected of myself.
- Sabrina, Karla, Bekah, and Adrienne--You were the most understanding, most exciting roommates ever. I couldn't have made it through the last year without you.
- Sarah Davison--Whoa! You helped me discover me. I am a higher functioning individual because of you. Too many times you were the one talking me back from the edge of my cliff; you have undoubtedly saved me from the pit of despair.
- Sara Kelly--You pray for me like no other! What would I do without you? ;)
- Ruh--You inspire me to do more and really make a difference. The world needs more people like you.
11. The amazing financial blessings that have allowed me to make it through school, pay off my car, travel the world, and now pay off my student loans. There is amazing freedom in being debt free.
12. The wonderful people who bought my car last minute. God bless you!
13. Aunt Judy and Uncle John. Everyday I love you more than the day before. Thank you for sharing your life with me.
14. All of the wonderful people who've sent me cards and packages in Korea. Your encouraging words and thoughtful gifts make everyday a little less lonely.
15. The endless opportunities that I have as a native English speaker, a college graduate, and an America. Because of those three things, I am more privileged and educated than 90% of the people in this world.
Monday, November 19, 2007
SNOW!!
I just thought I would share my hopes: tonight's forecast says we might get snow here! Woo hoo!! Oh, I'm just dying for something familiar! It's so cold here and while I like being cold, I still think it's a complete waste if there isn't any white stuff! Send a prayer up for me!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!
Post Card Update
So, next week I am going to send out the post cards (I just finished grading them). That means you should get yours the first week in December. Here are your instructions:
1. You must write back within one week of receiving your post card. If you don't, then my students may not get your response before school ends. (The school year ends in December here.)
2. You do not need to respond to every post card you receive (though the more the merrier)! However, you MUST write at least one post card in return. Try to choose a great post card from your city or country that you think captures the culture.
3. You are free to write pretty much anything, but let me offer some suggestions: students will want you to answer their questions but if it's something goofy like, "Can you play Starcraft with me?" then don't bother. DO say how old you are; talk about what your job is or if you are a student, what you are studying; state whether you like to travel or any other hobbies you might have; share your favorite things to do in your city (movies in the park, visiting a big tourist attraction, watching live music at a club, drinking coffee morning, noon, and night, etc.); share a favorite memory about growing up as a kid or talk about your favorite vacation. If you like Korean culture or food, mention that--my kids will seriously love you for loving anything Korean! You can even say how you know me if you want to! Write as much as you can in as much detail as you can. The more the better! I plan to have my students read your post cards out loud in class so make them long and interesting (but stay away from advanced vocabulary words)! Bottom line: be creative and have fun!
4. Many of the students are asking for your email or want you to email them. I strongly discourage this because right now there is a huge controversy in Korea regarding foreign teachers and the exploitation of students. I don't want to be held responsible for some crazy high schooler who thinks he's got some new American girlfriend--and believe me, they will. Many of them have written things like, "Come to Korea and I will kiss you," or "I'm popular because I'm handsome and a gentleman." These boys go to an all boys school--they are desperate to meet girls! It's just as much protection for you as it is for me and my boys. Don't put your email on the postcards! They WILL stalk you! They STALK me!! lol.
5. Please address your post cards to me, though you should open the letter with something like: "To my new Korean friend!" While the post card should be addressed to me, the letter shouldn't. I hope that makes sense. My address is:
Kortney Thoma
Yoondo Villa #104
963-3 Mojun-dong
Mung Yeoung, Gyeongsangbuk
South Korea
745-885
I hope that you like the post cards and I hope that you enjoy responding to them! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me! If you are really interested in being a pen pal to one of my boys, let me know. We can arrange something.
Take care!
Kortney
1. You must write back within one week of receiving your post card. If you don't, then my students may not get your response before school ends. (The school year ends in December here.)
2. You do not need to respond to every post card you receive (though the more the merrier)! However, you MUST write at least one post card in return. Try to choose a great post card from your city or country that you think captures the culture.
3. You are free to write pretty much anything, but let me offer some suggestions: students will want you to answer their questions but if it's something goofy like, "Can you play Starcraft with me?" then don't bother. DO say how old you are; talk about what your job is or if you are a student, what you are studying; state whether you like to travel or any other hobbies you might have; share your favorite things to do in your city (movies in the park, visiting a big tourist attraction, watching live music at a club, drinking coffee morning, noon, and night, etc.); share a favorite memory about growing up as a kid or talk about your favorite vacation. If you like Korean culture or food, mention that--my kids will seriously love you for loving anything Korean! You can even say how you know me if you want to! Write as much as you can in as much detail as you can. The more the better! I plan to have my students read your post cards out loud in class so make them long and interesting (but stay away from advanced vocabulary words)! Bottom line: be creative and have fun!
4. Many of the students are asking for your email or want you to email them. I strongly discourage this because right now there is a huge controversy in Korea regarding foreign teachers and the exploitation of students. I don't want to be held responsible for some crazy high schooler who thinks he's got some new American girlfriend--and believe me, they will. Many of them have written things like, "Come to Korea and I will kiss you," or "I'm popular because I'm handsome and a gentleman." These boys go to an all boys school--they are desperate to meet girls! It's just as much protection for you as it is for me and my boys. Don't put your email on the postcards! They WILL stalk you! They STALK me!! lol.
5. Please address your post cards to me, though you should open the letter with something like: "To my new Korean friend!" While the post card should be addressed to me, the letter shouldn't. I hope that makes sense. My address is:
Kortney Thoma
Yoondo Villa #104
963-3 Mojun-dong
Mung Yeoung, Gyeongsangbuk
South Korea
745-885
I hope that you like the post cards and I hope that you enjoy responding to them! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me! If you are really interested in being a pen pal to one of my boys, let me know. We can arrange something.
Take care!
Kortney
Saturday, November 17, 2007
School Tube
Here are a few videos from school. On Tuesday a couple weeks ago, we had an assembly for the third year students to wish them good luck on the University Entrance Exam. The girls on the gym floor are all my students (first and second year girls) and they are performing the cheers they did at the city festival. (The third year students were unable to come to the festival because they had to study for the exam.) In one of the videos, the girls use pom-poms and bend over to spell out "girls school" in Korean. In the song they chant, they are are singing "Mung Yeoung Girls School." I love these kids. :)
Why are you even here?
I'm so disappointed in some of the foreign teachers here.
I just returned from a teacher's training conference in Gyoungju where I met so many foreign teachers that don't care at all about teaching. So many people are here just to party and make money and they don't care at all about their jobs. They don't want to plan lessons, they don't want to discipline students, they don't want to build relationships with their co-teachers, they don't want to partake in the culture, they don't want to do anything except drink their beer and soju (vodka).
There was this one British guy who sat by me in all of my sessions who had absolutely nothing positive to say about teaching in Korea. Every time the speaker proposed a new learning or teaching method, he would shoot it down with, "Oh that doesn't work. Sorry guys, but Korean teachers just can't do that." He was literally insulting the intelligence of all the Korean teachers in our room! He had absolutely no tact. But the sad part is that he wasn't the only one! There was another British teacher who literally said, "I can't change the system so why bother? These teaching methods are only idealistic; we can't make them work. Nothing works." I totally understand their frustrations, but how can they just do nothing? Why keep working here if your miserable and hate your job? Honestly, do something to fix it or go home. Stop making learning a burden for students and teaching a burden for teachers.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and I'm far from figuring out the most effective way to co-teach, but I do know one thing: if I don't have a decent relationship with my co-teachers, my students will pick up on that and won't be learning at an optimum level. It's the same thing with raising kids. If your parents fight and dislike each other, it doesn't matter if they smile in front of you; you are unhappy because you know they're not happy. Well, in this culture, the teachers are pretty much the parents. If we can't create a comfortable and secure learning environment, then we will fail. We'll fail at making our students want to learn and we'll fail at making them secure and confident individuals.
So, when I see teachers like these yahoo's, I get so angry. They go to work thinking, "Only 8 hours until I go home," but if they only went to work thinking, "Today I'm going to make things better," then perhaps they wouldn't have the frustrations they do. Perhaps they would see results. We need to stop using the system as our excuse when our students fail to meet our expectations. It's not the methods, it's not the co-teachers, it's not the curriculum. It's us. We are the variable. It's our ability to communicate and our ability to relate to them. If there's no effort, of course there will be no results.
And I beg the question: why are you even here? If your only purpose in life is to make money doing the least amount of work, stop teaching and start begging. At least the work/results ratio is your favour.
I just returned from a teacher's training conference in Gyoungju where I met so many foreign teachers that don't care at all about teaching. So many people are here just to party and make money and they don't care at all about their jobs. They don't want to plan lessons, they don't want to discipline students, they don't want to build relationships with their co-teachers, they don't want to partake in the culture, they don't want to do anything except drink their beer and soju (vodka).
There was this one British guy who sat by me in all of my sessions who had absolutely nothing positive to say about teaching in Korea. Every time the speaker proposed a new learning or teaching method, he would shoot it down with, "Oh that doesn't work. Sorry guys, but Korean teachers just can't do that." He was literally insulting the intelligence of all the Korean teachers in our room! He had absolutely no tact. But the sad part is that he wasn't the only one! There was another British teacher who literally said, "I can't change the system so why bother? These teaching methods are only idealistic; we can't make them work. Nothing works." I totally understand their frustrations, but how can they just do nothing? Why keep working here if your miserable and hate your job? Honestly, do something to fix it or go home. Stop making learning a burden for students and teaching a burden for teachers.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and I'm far from figuring out the most effective way to co-teach, but I do know one thing: if I don't have a decent relationship with my co-teachers, my students will pick up on that and won't be learning at an optimum level. It's the same thing with raising kids. If your parents fight and dislike each other, it doesn't matter if they smile in front of you; you are unhappy because you know they're not happy. Well, in this culture, the teachers are pretty much the parents. If we can't create a comfortable and secure learning environment, then we will fail. We'll fail at making our students want to learn and we'll fail at making them secure and confident individuals.
So, when I see teachers like these yahoo's, I get so angry. They go to work thinking, "Only 8 hours until I go home," but if they only went to work thinking, "Today I'm going to make things better," then perhaps they wouldn't have the frustrations they do. Perhaps they would see results. We need to stop using the system as our excuse when our students fail to meet our expectations. It's not the methods, it's not the co-teachers, it's not the curriculum. It's us. We are the variable. It's our ability to communicate and our ability to relate to them. If there's no effort, of course there will be no results.
And I beg the question: why are you even here? If your only purpose in life is to make money doing the least amount of work, stop teaching and start begging. At least the work/results ratio is your favour.
The Cultural Divide, Part IV
State your name and rank.
To Koreans, rank is really important. Everyone has a place: first, second, sixth, tenth. Find anyone with a talent (especially athletic) like swimming, badminton, or dancing and each of them will tell you what their rank is. "I got sixth at the world ballroom dancing championships."--Mi Hyang (my dance teacher). "My partner and I are ranked number two in our province for badminton."--Mr. Kim (my co-teacher and badminton coach). "I'm number one on my swim team."--Hansu (my swim partner). But rank goes beyond sports. One of the fist 10 questions you are asked is what university did you go to? Each one has it's own special rank. What class are you in? Class 2-3? 2-5? The first number is the year, the second is the class number. Classes 1 and 5 and the best classes--the ones with the highest test scores. What high school do you go to? Each school in the city is ranked by test scores and student compete to be accepted by them. You've never seen competition until you've come to Korea.
Are those real?
Young Korean women are obsessed with plastic surgery. I'm truly surprised by the amount of people seeking plastic surgery in Korea. Ask any girls class and more than 95% of them will tell you they want "double eye lids" (that's western style eyes) or a nose job. My Korean teacher friend, Hyeon Suk (the girl in my photos), told me she wants a double eyelid surgery, a nose job, and a chin tuck. I tried to explain to her what a cosmic waste that is of money seeing how beauty is temporary no matter how much surgery you have, but it was impossible to persuade her. Korean culture has so heavily ingrained it's women with the belief that beauty is key to happiness that so few girls are satisfied with who they are. Confidence is at an all time low in Korea and the plastic surgery business is booming. In fact, there is a whole section in most women's magazine dedicated to just plastic surgery ads and testimonies. I even saw an ad to reduce the size of a woman's vagina after giving birth! (Sorry guys, I didn't want to think about that either but I think it's important to mention if you want to know the full scope of the culture.) It's on commercials, in magazines, on the streets, and now the subject of movies! There was recently a movie made in Korea (a really popular one too) about an overweight girl with an amazing singing voice who always gets overlooked because of her appearance. What does she do? Has surgery. How does it change her life? Oh, she becomes a famous singer and lives happily ever after because she's now talented and beautiful. Now every overweight, slightly less than beautiful girl in Korea wants surgery so she too can become famous and successful.
The Korean Education System
Korean teachers are quiet; Korean students are quiet. Students don't share their opinions in class. Apathy for school is tolerated as long as the student comes to class and takes their tests. After classes (6 pm) students leave for dinner for one hour and then return to school for individual studying until 10 pm. Homeroom teachers have to stay at school one night a week and supervise the halls during study hours. Talking is prohibited. Between classes (during the day), students run wild. Average cups of coffee consumed by the average student: 12 per day. Average number of students I have to wake up in each class: seven. Korean teachers typically ignore sleeping students. If it won't be on the entrance exam, you won't study it in class.
The University Entrance Exam
Thursday was probably the most important day in millions of little lives all across Korea. On Thursday, every third year high school (that's a senior equivalent) student took the University Entrance Exam (like the SAT). This exam is so important that the air force prohibits flights over cities in the morning so that students can focus on their listening and writing exercises. To prepare for the test, every school in my city (and many families as well) purchased a smiling pig's head (apparently a smiling pig is significant). Wednesday, on the roof top of every school in my city, students from the third year along with teachers and school officials set up a table with food and the head, and stuffed the pig's mouth with envelopes of money as a sacrifice to Shamanistic gods with prayer for good test scores. I wasn't invited to attend and in many ways I'm glad. I don't think I would want to witness such occultic rituals. Courtney, however, was invited to her school's and she took these photos and shared with me. She also confessed to being just a little freaked out when they all started bowing and praying to the pig head. I asked my co-teacher about the ritual and she said that these days many parents, teachers, and students don't participate in the ceremony because of religious beliefs while still others do regardless of their faith and in the name of tradition. And yet there is still a small fraction of people in Korea who do regularly practice Shamanism though they probably won't admit it if you asked (Shamanists are kind of discriminated against in Korea). What do you think? Would you have attended if invited? What would you have done?
To Koreans, rank is really important. Everyone has a place: first, second, sixth, tenth. Find anyone with a talent (especially athletic) like swimming, badminton, or dancing and each of them will tell you what their rank is. "I got sixth at the world ballroom dancing championships."--Mi Hyang (my dance teacher). "My partner and I are ranked number two in our province for badminton."--Mr. Kim (my co-teacher and badminton coach). "I'm number one on my swim team."--Hansu (my swim partner). But rank goes beyond sports. One of the fist 10 questions you are asked is what university did you go to? Each one has it's own special rank. What class are you in? Class 2-3? 2-5? The first number is the year, the second is the class number. Classes 1 and 5 and the best classes--the ones with the highest test scores. What high school do you go to? Each school in the city is ranked by test scores and student compete to be accepted by them. You've never seen competition until you've come to Korea.
Are those real?
Young Korean women are obsessed with plastic surgery. I'm truly surprised by the amount of people seeking plastic surgery in Korea. Ask any girls class and more than 95% of them will tell you they want "double eye lids" (that's western style eyes) or a nose job. My Korean teacher friend, Hyeon Suk (the girl in my photos), told me she wants a double eyelid surgery, a nose job, and a chin tuck. I tried to explain to her what a cosmic waste that is of money seeing how beauty is temporary no matter how much surgery you have, but it was impossible to persuade her. Korean culture has so heavily ingrained it's women with the belief that beauty is key to happiness that so few girls are satisfied with who they are. Confidence is at an all time low in Korea and the plastic surgery business is booming. In fact, there is a whole section in most women's magazine dedicated to just plastic surgery ads and testimonies. I even saw an ad to reduce the size of a woman's vagina after giving birth! (Sorry guys, I didn't want to think about that either but I think it's important to mention if you want to know the full scope of the culture.) It's on commercials, in magazines, on the streets, and now the subject of movies! There was recently a movie made in Korea (a really popular one too) about an overweight girl with an amazing singing voice who always gets overlooked because of her appearance. What does she do? Has surgery. How does it change her life? Oh, she becomes a famous singer and lives happily ever after because she's now talented and beautiful. Now every overweight, slightly less than beautiful girl in Korea wants surgery so she too can become famous and successful.
The Korean Education System
Korean teachers are quiet; Korean students are quiet. Students don't share their opinions in class. Apathy for school is tolerated as long as the student comes to class and takes their tests. After classes (6 pm) students leave for dinner for one hour and then return to school for individual studying until 10 pm. Homeroom teachers have to stay at school one night a week and supervise the halls during study hours. Talking is prohibited. Between classes (during the day), students run wild. Average cups of coffee consumed by the average student: 12 per day. Average number of students I have to wake up in each class: seven. Korean teachers typically ignore sleeping students. If it won't be on the entrance exam, you won't study it in class.
The University Entrance Exam
Thursday was probably the most important day in millions of little lives all across Korea. On Thursday, every third year high school (that's a senior equivalent) student took the University Entrance Exam (like the SAT). This exam is so important that the air force prohibits flights over cities in the morning so that students can focus on their listening and writing exercises. To prepare for the test, every school in my city (and many families as well) purchased a smiling pig's head (apparently a smiling pig is significant). Wednesday, on the roof top of every school in my city, students from the third year along with teachers and school officials set up a table with food and the head, and stuffed the pig's mouth with envelopes of money as a sacrifice to Shamanistic gods with prayer for good test scores. I wasn't invited to attend and in many ways I'm glad. I don't think I would want to witness such occultic rituals. Courtney, however, was invited to her school's and she took these photos and shared with me. She also confessed to being just a little freaked out when they all started bowing and praying to the pig head. I asked my co-teacher about the ritual and she said that these days many parents, teachers, and students don't participate in the ceremony because of religious beliefs while still others do regardless of their faith and in the name of tradition. And yet there is still a small fraction of people in Korea who do regularly practice Shamanism though they probably won't admit it if you asked (Shamanists are kind of discriminated against in Korea). What do you think? Would you have attended if invited? What would you have done?
Tag, you're it!
Ruh tagged me. I'm supposed to tell y'all seven random things about myself. I hope you enjoy another side of your favorite friend. :)
1. I'm allergic to deodorant. The allergy randomly developed in high school to all the deodorants I had been using for years. Now I use hypo-allergenic types like those from Almay.
2. I pretty much lost my face when I was four years old. I was attacked by a dog and had over 150 stitches put into my face. The doctors were sure that I would need plastic surgery when I got older but I healed real well and the scars are really quite minimal (only I can find them). You would never know...
3. I have an 11 year old hickey on my arm. When I was in sixth grade, my friends dared me to give myself a hickey on my arm. It never went away. Funniest part: it looks like a smiley face.
4. As a kid, I dreamed of being an architect. I used to sit in my room with graph paper an draw house plans for hours and days on end. I was really into them. This carried on for about six years.
5. I am from Seattle and I don't drink coffee. How can I live with myself? Who knows...
6. I accepted Christ following a message on tithing. I'm probably the only person on earth who was saved at a tithing service. How does that happen? Can you think of a more boring message to sit through?
7. My favorite book is a children's book called Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. What girl doesn't dream of being a princess rescued by a prince? Ladies, it'll make you both laugh and cry. Check it out!
Who's next? Carissa. I don't know who else to tag.
1. I'm allergic to deodorant. The allergy randomly developed in high school to all the deodorants I had been using for years. Now I use hypo-allergenic types like those from Almay.
2. I pretty much lost my face when I was four years old. I was attacked by a dog and had over 150 stitches put into my face. The doctors were sure that I would need plastic surgery when I got older but I healed real well and the scars are really quite minimal (only I can find them). You would never know...
3. I have an 11 year old hickey on my arm. When I was in sixth grade, my friends dared me to give myself a hickey on my arm. It never went away. Funniest part: it looks like a smiley face.
4. As a kid, I dreamed of being an architect. I used to sit in my room with graph paper an draw house plans for hours and days on end. I was really into them. This carried on for about six years.
5. I am from Seattle and I don't drink coffee. How can I live with myself? Who knows...
6. I accepted Christ following a message on tithing. I'm probably the only person on earth who was saved at a tithing service. How does that happen? Can you think of a more boring message to sit through?
7. My favorite book is a children's book called Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. What girl doesn't dream of being a princess rescued by a prince? Ladies, it'll make you both laugh and cry. Check it out!
Who's next? Carissa. I don't know who else to tag.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Just like college...
I need to plan a lesson for next week and I MUST do it tonight, yet here I am, blogging. Oh procrastination... You follow me everywhere huh?
Today I went to Seoul and saw the dentist. That's right, I'm STILL having teeth problems! I had a filling fall out on Friday and I figured today (no school) was a good day to do it. Everyone kept saying I should just see a dentist in Jeomchon, but no way. I want to see a dentist that I can actually communicate with. I don't want to make some teacher come with me to interpret everything, plus, even if I did want a teacher to come with me, they would probably be of little help. I would have to teach them all kinds of dentistry words which would stink.
Anyhow, it went okay. They couldn't finish the missing filling today for some reason, but they did find about 5 other not-so-obvious cavities that my summer dentist didn't find and they filled four of them. I'm going back on Wednesday to finish the one bad tooth and get the last filling started--that might take two visits as well. Interesting though, I did learn that Korean national health care covers root canals, x-rays, extractions, and a couple other things but not cavity treatments. Darn it. There goes another $1,000 to the dental industry. :( I will never miss a tooth brushing again... Nor will I ever spend another year without dental insurance... I've pretty much put about $6,000 into my mouth this year. God, that makes me sick...
Maybe God's trying to tell me something... I've lately found myself in the possession of numerous toothbrushes (6 to be exact) and 5 tubes of toothpaste. Crazy...
Last night I broke my plug in adapter in one cosmic moment of stupidity. I spent $60 on this really nice adapter before I left and last night I threw it all away. I had this brilliant idea (or so I thought) to plug in my American surge bar into the adapter so that I could plug in numerous items at once. Oh, it all would have worked if I had remembered to plug the surge bar into the voltage converter first before plugging it into the adapter... Merrr. On the up side, the surge bar and adapter were the only casualties.
However, some good did come of this event. When I went to Seoul today I located a massive electronics store and was able to find a new power cord with Korean prongs so I no longer need the adapter for my computer!! Horray! But my joy ended when I got home and realized that I had left my American cord at the store and will now have to buy a new one when I return home. Doh!! I did get a new adapter as well and I found a place for Courtney to get her digital camera fixed (it broke about two months ago).
Tomorrow I'm off to Gyoungju for a teachers training conference. NOT looking forward to it... 4 hours on a bus... I get sick on buses... Ick.
I've got a great culture post on the way. Stay tuned!!
Today I went to Seoul and saw the dentist. That's right, I'm STILL having teeth problems! I had a filling fall out on Friday and I figured today (no school) was a good day to do it. Everyone kept saying I should just see a dentist in Jeomchon, but no way. I want to see a dentist that I can actually communicate with. I don't want to make some teacher come with me to interpret everything, plus, even if I did want a teacher to come with me, they would probably be of little help. I would have to teach them all kinds of dentistry words which would stink.
Anyhow, it went okay. They couldn't finish the missing filling today for some reason, but they did find about 5 other not-so-obvious cavities that my summer dentist didn't find and they filled four of them. I'm going back on Wednesday to finish the one bad tooth and get the last filling started--that might take two visits as well. Interesting though, I did learn that Korean national health care covers root canals, x-rays, extractions, and a couple other things but not cavity treatments. Darn it. There goes another $1,000 to the dental industry. :( I will never miss a tooth brushing again... Nor will I ever spend another year without dental insurance... I've pretty much put about $6,000 into my mouth this year. God, that makes me sick...
Maybe God's trying to tell me something... I've lately found myself in the possession of numerous toothbrushes (6 to be exact) and 5 tubes of toothpaste. Crazy...
Last night I broke my plug in adapter in one cosmic moment of stupidity. I spent $60 on this really nice adapter before I left and last night I threw it all away. I had this brilliant idea (or so I thought) to plug in my American surge bar into the adapter so that I could plug in numerous items at once. Oh, it all would have worked if I had remembered to plug the surge bar into the voltage converter first before plugging it into the adapter... Merrr. On the up side, the surge bar and adapter were the only casualties.
However, some good did come of this event. When I went to Seoul today I located a massive electronics store and was able to find a new power cord with Korean prongs so I no longer need the adapter for my computer!! Horray! But my joy ended when I got home and realized that I had left my American cord at the store and will now have to buy a new one when I return home. Doh!! I did get a new adapter as well and I found a place for Courtney to get her digital camera fixed (it broke about two months ago).
Tomorrow I'm off to Gyoungju for a teachers training conference. NOT looking forward to it... 4 hours on a bus... I get sick on buses... Ick.
I've got a great culture post on the way. Stay tuned!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Daegu Days
Sunday morning, Hyeon Suk and I decided to hit the trail and climb a mountain (you know, a morning walk). :) Yeah, I'm a little greasy...
We had an impromptu photo shoot on our way down.
The mountain was amazing! Pretty much all of Korea is covered in deciduous trees so right now every mountain is like a Van Gough painting, swirling with fantastic colors. This photo doesn't do it justice.If you're wondering about the lamp post, this trail was more like a road in a park (though there were many 'real' trails that we wandered along on with other hikers) specifically made for hikers and goes a couple km's up into the mountains. There were park benches, streams, scenic stops, bathrooms, snack bars, and temples all the way up the mountain... It was just a little commercialized... Not quite like the wild hiking I'm used to at home... However, the woods were quiet and the air was crispy so despite the city chaos below, the mountain was actually quite peaceful.
Me and Hyeon Suk on our way up. Like peas in a pod...
Yes, here is Sleepless in Seattle... They have great kiwi juice.
Hyeon Suk's friend... Can't remember her name. :( We ate dinner with her at the Outback Steakhouse. Amazing food...
I'm not sure what we were doing here but it looks like we were having fun!Monday, November 12, 2007
...Time after time.
Mrs. Robinson
Several of my boy students are crushing on me. Every class I enter has a few boys cheering for me, yelling things like, "I love you!" and, "Wow! So beautiful!" The other night while walking on the street, I ran into a few of my boys and one of them suggested I actually date one of the other boys! I reminded them that I am their teacher and I'm WAY too old for them, and if that didn't close the deal, I also told them that even when they graduate the answer would still be no. Of course they laughed it off, however, I was slightly mortified. Occasionally while walking around at school, I find boys peaking around corners and watching me as I go by. I do my best to embarrass them when I catch them by saying hello or stopping to talk to them. A boy in one of my classes (by far the most handsome and popular boy in the whole school) is always trying to seduce me with his "I'm too cool" stare down. Everyday it's a fight to make him actually do his work and stop trying to make eye contact with me. I love teaching the boys but sometimes they really complicate the teacher-student relationship. Of course it doesn't help that I'm the youngest female in an all boys school and I just happen to have those coveted westerner features... I maintain that schools should be co-ed.
My English lesson stalker
Last night, while on the way home from the bus station, I caught a glimpse of a completely comatose Korean as I passed him on the street corner and headed home (sometimes seeing me in town has the same effect as a UFO sighting). Anyhow, I had been walking for about 10 minutes and was almost home when the guy comes running up behind me yelling, "I'm not a bad man! I just want to speak English!" I was totally freaked. I swung my purse to the other side, clutched my bag and prepared to beat the hell of a mugger. However, I had no opportunity to practice my karate skills. He held up his hands and between wheezes spat out, "I want to practice English with you. I'm not a bad man! I promise! A foreigner here is rare. You are special. I was very scared to follow you and almost didn't say anything, but I want to practice English. Would you speak with me? I'm not a bad man, I promise!" Honestly, he looked more scared that I did! So I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions. He told me that his English name is Frankie, he's 31 and he had a friend from New York who moved away last year and hasn't had anyone to practice with since then. He continued to ask me where I live (several times) to which I would only reply, "Around here." (He may have seemed genuine, but he did silently follow me for about 10 blocks...) I wasn't about to give him my phone number either but honestly, I had a rotten last week and was pretty desperate for some friends, so I told him to meet me at Dunkin Doughnuts Wednesday night at 7. I figured a nice and busy public place is safe. Courtney is coming with me. Here's to hoping he's not a stalker!!
Oranges for the teacher
One of the girls in my classes brings me oranges every Wednesday. What a sweet gift, eh? Her generosity really makes me feel like a beloved teacher always receiving apples from my students. However, oranges aren't the only thing I receive--I also get grapes and apples too.
Crazy Cow
Crazy Cow is the nickname of one of the male teacher in my boys school who likes me and I think he's pretty much crazy. I think I mentioned before that he's married but still asked me to be his weekend girlfriend. Well, his propositions have not stopped. He recently said to me, "My wife is 24 years old, like you. But you are better. I should have waited for you." Ack! Gag me! He's also taken to serenading me on occasion (usually something from The Little Mermaid) and yesterday--after telling me I look beautiful everyday--he almost made me fall down the stairs because he was trying to walk so close to me. How do I get across to this guy that there is absolutely no chance for him? The most difficult part is that everyone in the office thinks it's funny not serious. Darn those Koreans and their adulterous ways!! He really is crazy... and a cow...
Everyone loves a foreigner.
I was shopping in Daegu with my friend and she took me to this one clothing store that she had bought several items at before and introduced me to the owner who pretty much loves me now. She kept telling me to come back and see her (she speaks English) and then she even hugged me when I left! That was crazy--Korean's hardly hug their children! I've never had that effect on a Korean before! She was a weird lady but I liked her. She was so high fashion--kind of like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (minus the whole evil part)! :) Courtney and Romeo went to the spa in our city Friday night and apparently met the owner who really wants to practice speaking English with us foreigners... Perhaps we can make an entrance admission/lesson exchange?
Take the lead
I've decided that I'm not going to wait for my Korean teachers to become assertive. For a couple weeks now I've just been telling them exactly what to do and it's making my job so much easier. Co-teaching is incredibly difficult because neither person wants to "step on the other's toes" and when you throw in a cultural and language barrier as well, classes pretty much become unnavigable. One of the biggest problems is that many of us EPIK teachers don't think our co-teachers are helping in class enough, but I think that's mostly because they don't know what to do. They really need someone to tell them. So this week I set aside a special part of my lesson for just the co-teachers to teach and they seem to be doing great! I'm so excited that they are actually participating in class and starting to take some initiative in leading. Treating my co-teachers more like students (as in telling them what to do and when to do it) has greatly improved classroom productivity and I hope that things continue on this path. In addition, watching my students interact with their Korean teachers is giving me some more insight into how I can better communicate with them. However, I have yet to make Mr. Nam do some teaching on his own... but it's his turn next week. I'm not expecting any light bulbs to go off.
Korean stores with English names
While in Daegu this weekend I happened across two noteworthy coffee shops with names that really touched my heart--Sleepless in Seattle and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Who would have thought movie and book titles could be translated into store/shop names? I laughed extensively about Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Several of my boy students are crushing on me. Every class I enter has a few boys cheering for me, yelling things like, "I love you!" and, "Wow! So beautiful!" The other night while walking on the street, I ran into a few of my boys and one of them suggested I actually date one of the other boys! I reminded them that I am their teacher and I'm WAY too old for them, and if that didn't close the deal, I also told them that even when they graduate the answer would still be no. Of course they laughed it off, however, I was slightly mortified. Occasionally while walking around at school, I find boys peaking around corners and watching me as I go by. I do my best to embarrass them when I catch them by saying hello or stopping to talk to them. A boy in one of my classes (by far the most handsome and popular boy in the whole school) is always trying to seduce me with his "I'm too cool" stare down. Everyday it's a fight to make him actually do his work and stop trying to make eye contact with me. I love teaching the boys but sometimes they really complicate the teacher-student relationship. Of course it doesn't help that I'm the youngest female in an all boys school and I just happen to have those coveted westerner features... I maintain that schools should be co-ed.
My English lesson stalker
Last night, while on the way home from the bus station, I caught a glimpse of a completely comatose Korean as I passed him on the street corner and headed home (sometimes seeing me in town has the same effect as a UFO sighting). Anyhow, I had been walking for about 10 minutes and was almost home when the guy comes running up behind me yelling, "I'm not a bad man! I just want to speak English!" I was totally freaked. I swung my purse to the other side, clutched my bag and prepared to beat the hell of a mugger. However, I had no opportunity to practice my karate skills. He held up his hands and between wheezes spat out, "I want to practice English with you. I'm not a bad man! I promise! A foreigner here is rare. You are special. I was very scared to follow you and almost didn't say anything, but I want to practice English. Would you speak with me? I'm not a bad man, I promise!" Honestly, he looked more scared that I did! So I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions. He told me that his English name is Frankie, he's 31 and he had a friend from New York who moved away last year and hasn't had anyone to practice with since then. He continued to ask me where I live (several times) to which I would only reply, "Around here." (He may have seemed genuine, but he did silently follow me for about 10 blocks...) I wasn't about to give him my phone number either but honestly, I had a rotten last week and was pretty desperate for some friends, so I told him to meet me at Dunkin Doughnuts Wednesday night at 7. I figured a nice and busy public place is safe. Courtney is coming with me. Here's to hoping he's not a stalker!!
Oranges for the teacher
One of the girls in my classes brings me oranges every Wednesday. What a sweet gift, eh? Her generosity really makes me feel like a beloved teacher always receiving apples from my students. However, oranges aren't the only thing I receive--I also get grapes and apples too.
Crazy Cow
Crazy Cow is the nickname of one of the male teacher in my boys school who likes me and I think he's pretty much crazy. I think I mentioned before that he's married but still asked me to be his weekend girlfriend. Well, his propositions have not stopped. He recently said to me, "My wife is 24 years old, like you. But you are better. I should have waited for you." Ack! Gag me! He's also taken to serenading me on occasion (usually something from The Little Mermaid) and yesterday--after telling me I look beautiful everyday--he almost made me fall down the stairs because he was trying to walk so close to me. How do I get across to this guy that there is absolutely no chance for him? The most difficult part is that everyone in the office thinks it's funny not serious. Darn those Koreans and their adulterous ways!! He really is crazy... and a cow...
Everyone loves a foreigner.
I was shopping in Daegu with my friend and she took me to this one clothing store that she had bought several items at before and introduced me to the owner who pretty much loves me now. She kept telling me to come back and see her (she speaks English) and then she even hugged me when I left! That was crazy--Korean's hardly hug their children! I've never had that effect on a Korean before! She was a weird lady but I liked her. She was so high fashion--kind of like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (minus the whole evil part)! :) Courtney and Romeo went to the spa in our city Friday night and apparently met the owner who really wants to practice speaking English with us foreigners... Perhaps we can make an entrance admission/lesson exchange?
Take the lead
I've decided that I'm not going to wait for my Korean teachers to become assertive. For a couple weeks now I've just been telling them exactly what to do and it's making my job so much easier. Co-teaching is incredibly difficult because neither person wants to "step on the other's toes" and when you throw in a cultural and language barrier as well, classes pretty much become unnavigable. One of the biggest problems is that many of us EPIK teachers don't think our co-teachers are helping in class enough, but I think that's mostly because they don't know what to do. They really need someone to tell them. So this week I set aside a special part of my lesson for just the co-teachers to teach and they seem to be doing great! I'm so excited that they are actually participating in class and starting to take some initiative in leading. Treating my co-teachers more like students (as in telling them what to do and when to do it) has greatly improved classroom productivity and I hope that things continue on this path. In addition, watching my students interact with their Korean teachers is giving me some more insight into how I can better communicate with them. However, I have yet to make Mr. Nam do some teaching on his own... but it's his turn next week. I'm not expecting any light bulbs to go off.
Korean stores with English names
While in Daegu this weekend I happened across two noteworthy coffee shops with names that really touched my heart--Sleepless in Seattle and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Who would have thought movie and book titles could be translated into store/shop names? I laughed extensively about Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Let's make a deal...
Yesterday I began vacation negotiations.
I had been told by the recruiter that I had 14 days total for vacation and that I had to use 7 of those days in each semester. I was also told that those were days I could take off school and could either combine them with weekends or holidays to make the vacation days stretch longer. Then, the EPIK office told us at training that most schools take off January and February and may give us the months off too (if they feel generous), but to expect that we'll be sitting in the teacher's office for two months doing nothing but web surfing and maybe a few extra classes on the side.
I was pretty surprised when I asked about this stuff yesterday and my co-teacher told me that the teachers teach all January and then have most of February off. However, she was unsure of whether I would be teaching those months or not, so I explained to her that I really need to start planning my vacations now so it's important that she find out for me, especially since I wanted to vacation in December.
Her findings weren't so happy.
After talking with the principal, she told me that I would definitely be working January and possibly all of February too, despite the absence of every other teacher. However, I did have his blessings to take off 7 days in December for a vacation if I wanted. It really wasn't the answer I wanted.
That was round one; today we will have round two.
Round two is less of a battle of power and more of a battle of cunning strategy. See, I had foreseen this problem a couple months ago. I knew they could make me work all of winter vacation and I took the EPIK warning to heart, so back in September I devised a plan to win their favor and acquire a couple bargaining tools of my own.
From the beginning, my school has shown me that they want to follow my contract to a T, like making me teach all 22 classes whereas most schools are giving their foreign teachers between 15-20 (Courtney has 13!). They've also been really careful not to let me work any overtime so that they won't have to pay me double for an extra hour of teaching. However, I don't think they planned on me earning extra credit. I offered to teach two extra 1 1/2 hour classes FOR FREE (one is Girl's Debate Team, the other is English Club), I help tutor teachers a little on the side, and I spoil the teachers in my office (including the VP) by bringing doughnuts and PB&J sandwiches on occasion. I've also gone above and beyond to win student favor by giving out prizes and candy. I've also brought special American teas to my VP in the morning. They don't really know it, but they love me, and they want me to keep doing these things...
So, when my co-teacher returns to the Principal's later office today, she will be reminding him of all the extra classes I teach now for free and all of the extra things I do for the teachers and the students. Surely my hard work now merits some extra vacation time later!! ;) Plus, I have instructed her to point out that if they give me vacation time in February, then I won't need to take 7 days off in December during school. The trade: I exchange 7 days during school for about 23 during vacation and their students don't miss a day of my teaching. Besides, what the heck am I going to do for all of February if they keep me here? The school really has nothing to lose and neither do I.
I'm quite pleased with myself. I surely am the poweress of manipulation. Let's hope they follow my lead and meet my requests!
I had been told by the recruiter that I had 14 days total for vacation and that I had to use 7 of those days in each semester. I was also told that those were days I could take off school and could either combine them with weekends or holidays to make the vacation days stretch longer. Then, the EPIK office told us at training that most schools take off January and February and may give us the months off too (if they feel generous), but to expect that we'll be sitting in the teacher's office for two months doing nothing but web surfing and maybe a few extra classes on the side.
I was pretty surprised when I asked about this stuff yesterday and my co-teacher told me that the teachers teach all January and then have most of February off. However, she was unsure of whether I would be teaching those months or not, so I explained to her that I really need to start planning my vacations now so it's important that she find out for me, especially since I wanted to vacation in December.
Her findings weren't so happy.
After talking with the principal, she told me that I would definitely be working January and possibly all of February too, despite the absence of every other teacher. However, I did have his blessings to take off 7 days in December for a vacation if I wanted. It really wasn't the answer I wanted.
That was round one; today we will have round two.
Round two is less of a battle of power and more of a battle of cunning strategy. See, I had foreseen this problem a couple months ago. I knew they could make me work all of winter vacation and I took the EPIK warning to heart, so back in September I devised a plan to win their favor and acquire a couple bargaining tools of my own.
From the beginning, my school has shown me that they want to follow my contract to a T, like making me teach all 22 classes whereas most schools are giving their foreign teachers between 15-20 (Courtney has 13!). They've also been really careful not to let me work any overtime so that they won't have to pay me double for an extra hour of teaching. However, I don't think they planned on me earning extra credit. I offered to teach two extra 1 1/2 hour classes FOR FREE (one is Girl's Debate Team, the other is English Club), I help tutor teachers a little on the side, and I spoil the teachers in my office (including the VP) by bringing doughnuts and PB&J sandwiches on occasion. I've also gone above and beyond to win student favor by giving out prizes and candy. I've also brought special American teas to my VP in the morning. They don't really know it, but they love me, and they want me to keep doing these things...
So, when my co-teacher returns to the Principal's later office today, she will be reminding him of all the extra classes I teach now for free and all of the extra things I do for the teachers and the students. Surely my hard work now merits some extra vacation time later!! ;) Plus, I have instructed her to point out that if they give me vacation time in February, then I won't need to take 7 days off in December during school. The trade: I exchange 7 days during school for about 23 during vacation and their students don't miss a day of my teaching. Besides, what the heck am I going to do for all of February if they keep me here? The school really has nothing to lose and neither do I.
I'm quite pleased with myself. I surely am the poweress of manipulation. Let's hope they follow my lead and meet my requests!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Updates, Schmupdates...
Don't sleep in my class!
Most Korean teachers do nothing when they find students sleeping in their classes because Korean students stay up all night studying and get hardly any sleep as it is. However, my students only see me once a week, and if they sleep through my lesson, then they won't see me again for a while. Thus, it's really important that the kids stay awake. Lately I've developed some great new tactics for keeping kids awake. Sometimes I make them stand in the back of the class, sometimes I'll slam my hand down on their desk right by their face, and still at other times I threaten them and promise to throw water on them if I find them sleeping in class (I haven't actually done this last one yet but I do carry around a bottle of water just to scare them). I know that probably makes me sound like some sort of tyrant, but really, I'm not. Most of the time I just give them a push and make them stand up, but it can get really boring and hard to teach when half of your class is drifting off. I have, however, found that threatening them with water is a pretty effective preventative measure.
The Blair Witch Project
On Halloween last week I went up into the woods by Courtney's school with Song Ju (my dance teacher's daughter) and we prepared ourselves for one good scarring! While we were hiding behind trees and bushes, Courtney went to get her student's out of class and brought them up to where we were, sat them down in a circle, and began telling a scary story. I was hiding in the trees making noises and listening to the girls scream. Song Ju was hiding by a tree covered by a dark green sheet. When I gave signal, she ran out from the tree, flashlight shining on her face, and sent girls running into the woods, screaming at the top of their lungs. But it wasn't over. When they finally returned and started laughing about the incident, I started making noises again from my hiding spot. It wasn't long before I came tumbling out of the bushes, growling like some sort of monster. I ran into the crowd and jumped on some of the girls which sent even more girls into the woods! It was so much fun! Once they returned we really sat down for a ghost story and I told them the one about the hook on the car door (the same one I had told all of my classes). They were so surprised and yet so happy to be celebrating a real Halloween tradition. I had the best time too. It was almost like being at home except that I can't say I've ever had so much fun on Halloween before!
Get your clothes on!
Every Friday I have a class at the boys school that immediately follows a PE class. Those boys are usually quite exciting but nothing gets me more jumpy than when I walk in to the room and find half of them naked or zipping up their pants! Yes, that's right--they change in their classroom! I've been victim a couple times of some unsightly scenes but I'm learning fast to give the boys about 10 minutes before I come to class so that they can properly dress themselves! When I asked my female co-teacher about this, she just laughed and said, "Oh, those boys don't mind. They don't think of female teachers as women, they only think we are teachers and so it's no big deal to change in front of us." Yeah, no big deal... right... I just feel like a pedophile every time I walk in to that class...
Smoking in the Boys Room
So many of my students at Munchang sneak around school and smoke. On several occasions, when I asked were a student was, I've been told that they were in the bathroom smoking. I must say that I believe them. Whenever I pass the boy's room I have to hold my breath. It's so bad... In addition to plugging your nose when passing the bathroom, it's also wise to shield your eyes--the double doors are often wide open, providing a clear view to the pee troth. I'm desperately trying to break this bad habit of looking in to rooms with doors open... I don't want to see any more of my students peeing... And since I have to walk by a big bathroom everyday on my way to class, I think the sooner I break that habit, the better.
Doughnut Day
Lately I've been working on trying to win brownie points with my school. Today I brought doughnuts for my boys debate class and for all of the teachers in the big teachers office. It was a hit. Apparently they were all impressed. My strategy: butter them up and then ask for my vacation days. :) I'm hoping they will give me extra time off during the winter vacation.
My newest little friend!
Min yo, a baby boy at the orphanage, is my new little friend. He's about one year old but oh so cute! On Saturday I went there to volunteer and found myself holding this little guy for about two hours! What a sweet baby! I miss my nephew so much! If any of you want to adopt a sweet little kid from Korea, I know of one. I would take him home myself but I don't think it's a good idea to raise a kid on my own. :) Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in a kid from Korea.
Singles Group
So yeah... God's timing is pretty much perfect... After posting Saturday about my unfortunate quest for love, I was introduced on Sunday to a group of single girls from church who meet every Sunday for Bible study. Granted, the study is in Korean, but they all speak some English and they're all my age (they're all college students in my city.) One of them, the leader, speaks English very well and is a leader for Campus Crusade. I'm so excited to finally be meeting new people and making some new friends! Woo hoo! Maybe now I'll have someone to commiserate with!
Most Korean teachers do nothing when they find students sleeping in their classes because Korean students stay up all night studying and get hardly any sleep as it is. However, my students only see me once a week, and if they sleep through my lesson, then they won't see me again for a while. Thus, it's really important that the kids stay awake. Lately I've developed some great new tactics for keeping kids awake. Sometimes I make them stand in the back of the class, sometimes I'll slam my hand down on their desk right by their face, and still at other times I threaten them and promise to throw water on them if I find them sleeping in class (I haven't actually done this last one yet but I do carry around a bottle of water just to scare them). I know that probably makes me sound like some sort of tyrant, but really, I'm not. Most of the time I just give them a push and make them stand up, but it can get really boring and hard to teach when half of your class is drifting off. I have, however, found that threatening them with water is a pretty effective preventative measure.
The Blair Witch Project
On Halloween last week I went up into the woods by Courtney's school with Song Ju (my dance teacher's daughter) and we prepared ourselves for one good scarring! While we were hiding behind trees and bushes, Courtney went to get her student's out of class and brought them up to where we were, sat them down in a circle, and began telling a scary story. I was hiding in the trees making noises and listening to the girls scream. Song Ju was hiding by a tree covered by a dark green sheet. When I gave signal, she ran out from the tree, flashlight shining on her face, and sent girls running into the woods, screaming at the top of their lungs. But it wasn't over. When they finally returned and started laughing about the incident, I started making noises again from my hiding spot. It wasn't long before I came tumbling out of the bushes, growling like some sort of monster. I ran into the crowd and jumped on some of the girls which sent even more girls into the woods! It was so much fun! Once they returned we really sat down for a ghost story and I told them the one about the hook on the car door (the same one I had told all of my classes). They were so surprised and yet so happy to be celebrating a real Halloween tradition. I had the best time too. It was almost like being at home except that I can't say I've ever had so much fun on Halloween before!
Get your clothes on!
Every Friday I have a class at the boys school that immediately follows a PE class. Those boys are usually quite exciting but nothing gets me more jumpy than when I walk in to the room and find half of them naked or zipping up their pants! Yes, that's right--they change in their classroom! I've been victim a couple times of some unsightly scenes but I'm learning fast to give the boys about 10 minutes before I come to class so that they can properly dress themselves! When I asked my female co-teacher about this, she just laughed and said, "Oh, those boys don't mind. They don't think of female teachers as women, they only think we are teachers and so it's no big deal to change in front of us." Yeah, no big deal... right... I just feel like a pedophile every time I walk in to that class...
Smoking in the Boys Room
So many of my students at Munchang sneak around school and smoke. On several occasions, when I asked were a student was, I've been told that they were in the bathroom smoking. I must say that I believe them. Whenever I pass the boy's room I have to hold my breath. It's so bad... In addition to plugging your nose when passing the bathroom, it's also wise to shield your eyes--the double doors are often wide open, providing a clear view to the pee troth. I'm desperately trying to break this bad habit of looking in to rooms with doors open... I don't want to see any more of my students peeing... And since I have to walk by a big bathroom everyday on my way to class, I think the sooner I break that habit, the better.
Doughnut Day
Lately I've been working on trying to win brownie points with my school. Today I brought doughnuts for my boys debate class and for all of the teachers in the big teachers office. It was a hit. Apparently they were all impressed. My strategy: butter them up and then ask for my vacation days. :) I'm hoping they will give me extra time off during the winter vacation.
My newest little friend!
Min yo, a baby boy at the orphanage, is my new little friend. He's about one year old but oh so cute! On Saturday I went there to volunteer and found myself holding this little guy for about two hours! What a sweet baby! I miss my nephew so much! If any of you want to adopt a sweet little kid from Korea, I know of one. I would take him home myself but I don't think it's a good idea to raise a kid on my own. :) Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in a kid from Korea.
Singles Group
So yeah... God's timing is pretty much perfect... After posting Saturday about my unfortunate quest for love, I was introduced on Sunday to a group of single girls from church who meet every Sunday for Bible study. Granted, the study is in Korean, but they all speak some English and they're all my age (they're all college students in my city.) One of them, the leader, speaks English very well and is a leader for Campus Crusade. I'm so excited to finally be meeting new people and making some new friends! Woo hoo! Maybe now I'll have someone to commiserate with!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Fools Rush In
My weekend didn't go exactly as planned. I've finally realized the dog that Hansu really is after waking up to realize I'd been played. I was pretty shocked, but upon further thought I've realized that I knew this was coming all along. How could I expect more from Korean men? I already knew they were lying, cheating, dirty players... Why should I expect different from him?
But that's not the issue. I'm already over him. The bigger problem is this giant hole in my heart that I tried to fill with him. I've always known it was there; I just kind of left it at school when I moved out of my apartment and into the real world. After a lot of prayer and reflection last night, God reminded me of an article I wrote for The Talon a couple years ago on one lonely Valentine's Day. (I figured it was time to dig it back up and go over it again.)
Yep, it still makes sense.
I made a mistake. I let myself get carried away in a moment (or month?) of loneliness and became emotionally promiscuous. But the joy of knowing Christ is knowing that He forgives me completely for my "mental leave of absence" and is going to grow me from this experience. I didn't realize how many lies, temptations, and false securities the enemy had slipped in to my life but I won't be fooled again. Yes, I want a boyfriend so bad that it sucks everyday, but I needed this experience to remind me that just any-boyfriend won't do. Back at home I certainly had my chances with a couple really great guys. Why did I turn them down? Because I knew it wasn't love and it wouldn't last. I can't let down my guard and I can't ease my standards in the face of an increasingly lonely life. To do so would be a far greater tragedy as I might miss out on a truly wonderful man who actually will last forever.
Anyhow, I felt like I needed to share this article with some of my fellow sisters (or brothers, I guess) who might need a similar reminder. Continue to keep me in your prayers. I am certainly being challenged everyday here--no fellowship, no church, no trusted friends, no accountability. If I'm supposed to learn how to walk out my faith then God dropped me onto a treadmill.
The following post ("A cure for the terminally single") is the article I published in the 2006 February edition of The Talon Journal.
But that's not the issue. I'm already over him. The bigger problem is this giant hole in my heart that I tried to fill with him. I've always known it was there; I just kind of left it at school when I moved out of my apartment and into the real world. After a lot of prayer and reflection last night, God reminded me of an article I wrote for The Talon a couple years ago on one lonely Valentine's Day. (I figured it was time to dig it back up and go over it again.)
Yep, it still makes sense.
I made a mistake. I let myself get carried away in a moment (or month?) of loneliness and became emotionally promiscuous. But the joy of knowing Christ is knowing that He forgives me completely for my "mental leave of absence" and is going to grow me from this experience. I didn't realize how many lies, temptations, and false securities the enemy had slipped in to my life but I won't be fooled again. Yes, I want a boyfriend so bad that it sucks everyday, but I needed this experience to remind me that just any-boyfriend won't do. Back at home I certainly had my chances with a couple really great guys. Why did I turn them down? Because I knew it wasn't love and it wouldn't last. I can't let down my guard and I can't ease my standards in the face of an increasingly lonely life. To do so would be a far greater tragedy as I might miss out on a truly wonderful man who actually will last forever.
Anyhow, I felt like I needed to share this article with some of my fellow sisters (or brothers, I guess) who might need a similar reminder. Continue to keep me in your prayers. I am certainly being challenged everyday here--no fellowship, no church, no trusted friends, no accountability. If I'm supposed to learn how to walk out my faith then God dropped me onto a treadmill.
The following post ("A cure for the terminally single") is the article I published in the 2006 February edition of The Talon Journal.
A cure for the terminally single
The last time I received a Valentine from the opposite sex was in fifth grade. Yes, I know, sad. More than that, the last time I had a boyfriend was in ninth grade. Yes, I know, even sadder. But the last time I fell in love was this morning when I curled up in bed and fellowshipped with my Father.
Sometimes I ponder how in the world someone can live a celibate life, but then I look at all of my Northwest peers and see them engage in this weird “ring by spring” mating-ritual, and I begin feeling like I’m getting pretty close to being a life-long celibate myself. The American Heritage Dictionary defines celibate as “one who abstains from sexual intercourse” or “one who is unmarried,” but this year I am taking celibacy to a new level—it’s no longer just copulation and contracts—for me, it is a lifestyle of abstinence from emotional promiscuity.
Last year I noticed something about my gender: we feed off each other’s emotional highs. When one girl comes in the room and tells a group of girls that she thinks some guy likes her, the rest of her posse joins in to affirm her infatuation. For instance: I remember the first month of my college experience. I was about to attend church with some guy I met in the Aerie. I went to my friend’s room to tell her that he was pretty cool and the next thing I know she is making bets on our engagement and forcing me to put a post-it note above my desk with the date of our destiny. I was reluctant at first to indulge in this dream, but it was the encouragement of my friends that made me one of the love-sick freshmen I now joke about.
The year passed by and so did my prophetic engagement. I began to realize that my friends couldn’t always be trusted with my heart, so I took it off display and hid it for a while. During that time I saw countless others fall victim to this emotional feeding-frenzy.
When I turned from my fantastical friends and finally sought my Father with all of my heart, I found the love that I was looking for the entire time. I realized that I had emotionally wedded myself to these mirages of love, cheating on God with my wandering heart and mind. You could say that I engaged myself in some form of idolatry.
I found guidance in Jeremiah 17: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. . . He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. . . The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to renew a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.’”
Today there are many women on this campus trusting in men to fulfill their empty hearts and I want to encourage them that God’s love is no substitute—it’s the real thing. God’s love is not merely satisfying—it is overwhelming. He shows us who we are created to be, equips our hearts for the enemy’s attacks, and brings joy to our momentary singleness. But more than all of this, He prepares us for a lifetime of commitment and worship through marriage.
When Paul commands husbands in Ephesians to “love your wives, just as Christ loves the church,” he is not only talking about the sacrificial love of Christ. I believe he is talking about all of God’s attributes: “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Next, Paul commands wives to “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Paul is not only instructing us to serve our spouses, but I believe he is also commanding us to fashion our love after the love Jesus teaches. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Am I saying that we should love our husbands as much or even more than God? Absolutely not, but I am saying that we should have a pure love of submission and service, and this love must be modeled after our love for God.
To know what type of love a healthy marriage should operate on, I believe that we should first experience it within our relationship with God. We must first experience the love of 1 Corinthians 13 before we can expect some man to give it to us, and we must first submit ourselves fully to Christ before any other submission is made.
If we first experience love with God— not just the love of salvation but the love of a father, a mate, and a friend—then we won’t fall victim to this feeding-frenzy of emotion; we won’t be the prey of our lovesick peers. On the contrary, we will be prepared for God’s holy union, for the human love we long for, and for that glorious moment when we can cast celibacy aside.
So I encourage my spinster sisters not to worry if Roomies didn’t go your way, if your Valentine card was once again ‘lost in the mail,’ or if you’re just tired of being lonely, for I have found a cure for the terminally-single: the love of a Father.
Sometimes I ponder how in the world someone can live a celibate life, but then I look at all of my Northwest peers and see them engage in this weird “ring by spring” mating-ritual, and I begin feeling like I’m getting pretty close to being a life-long celibate myself. The American Heritage Dictionary defines celibate as “one who abstains from sexual intercourse” or “one who is unmarried,” but this year I am taking celibacy to a new level—it’s no longer just copulation and contracts—for me, it is a lifestyle of abstinence from emotional promiscuity.
Last year I noticed something about my gender: we feed off each other’s emotional highs. When one girl comes in the room and tells a group of girls that she thinks some guy likes her, the rest of her posse joins in to affirm her infatuation. For instance: I remember the first month of my college experience. I was about to attend church with some guy I met in the Aerie. I went to my friend’s room to tell her that he was pretty cool and the next thing I know she is making bets on our engagement and forcing me to put a post-it note above my desk with the date of our destiny. I was reluctant at first to indulge in this dream, but it was the encouragement of my friends that made me one of the love-sick freshmen I now joke about.
The year passed by and so did my prophetic engagement. I began to realize that my friends couldn’t always be trusted with my heart, so I took it off display and hid it for a while. During that time I saw countless others fall victim to this emotional feeding-frenzy.
When I turned from my fantastical friends and finally sought my Father with all of my heart, I found the love that I was looking for the entire time. I realized that I had emotionally wedded myself to these mirages of love, cheating on God with my wandering heart and mind. You could say that I engaged myself in some form of idolatry.
I found guidance in Jeremiah 17: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. . . He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. . . The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to renew a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.’”
Today there are many women on this campus trusting in men to fulfill their empty hearts and I want to encourage them that God’s love is no substitute—it’s the real thing. God’s love is not merely satisfying—it is overwhelming. He shows us who we are created to be, equips our hearts for the enemy’s attacks, and brings joy to our momentary singleness. But more than all of this, He prepares us for a lifetime of commitment and worship through marriage.
When Paul commands husbands in Ephesians to “love your wives, just as Christ loves the church,” he is not only talking about the sacrificial love of Christ. I believe he is talking about all of God’s attributes: “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Next, Paul commands wives to “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Paul is not only instructing us to serve our spouses, but I believe he is also commanding us to fashion our love after the love Jesus teaches. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Am I saying that we should love our husbands as much or even more than God? Absolutely not, but I am saying that we should have a pure love of submission and service, and this love must be modeled after our love for God.
To know what type of love a healthy marriage should operate on, I believe that we should first experience it within our relationship with God. We must first experience the love of 1 Corinthians 13 before we can expect some man to give it to us, and we must first submit ourselves fully to Christ before any other submission is made.
If we first experience love with God— not just the love of salvation but the love of a father, a mate, and a friend—then we won’t fall victim to this feeding-frenzy of emotion; we won’t be the prey of our lovesick peers. On the contrary, we will be prepared for God’s holy union, for the human love we long for, and for that glorious moment when we can cast celibacy aside.
So I encourage my spinster sisters not to worry if Roomies didn’t go your way, if your Valentine card was once again ‘lost in the mail,’ or if you’re just tired of being lonely, for I have found a cure for the terminally-single: the love of a Father.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Effective Teaching
Sometimes coming home after work is the best part of my day and sometimes it's the worst. I've had some pretty rotten days in the last month and sometimes nothing is more comforting than my bed; at other times, nothing has made me more lonely than walking in the door to an empty apartment. Today, however, is one of those days when coming home is both at the same time.
Co-teaching is so difficult sometimes. These past two weeks have been really messed up because of surprise testing days which completely threw off my lesson plans: half of my classes had the Halloween lesson, the other half didn't. To pass time in those classes that had the Halloween lesson last week (instead of making a whole new plan), I prepared a question for each student which they had to answer with 5 sentences within 25 minutes. It was completely within their capabilities. I had no doubt that they could complete the assignment. However, I was wrong.
One of my co-teachers, Mr. Nam, has the most unorganized and dysfunctional classes under the sun. Those girls are awful. I've kicked two of his students out of my class and this week I had to make about 20 girls from his classes do wall sits because they weren't listening. However, nothing has been as bad as my last class with him today. Those girls did nothing but talk the whole period despite my efforts and constant reminders to get back on task. I pulled out all of my tools and methods for organization--I even made a strategy prior to class to combat Mr. Nam's disorganization--but everything failed. I made specific instructions for my class to follow--easy but specific--and not even Mr. Nam followed them. He just sat in the back and let the students run all over instead of helping me. When it came time to read their work, no one had anything to read--save about 6 girls, they had all wasted the 25 minutes I gave them. After putting girls on the wall, I tried to salvage the period with a quick interactive example on the board but had absolutely no participation at all. I eventually had to cap my marker and make the girls spend the last 5 minutes in complete silence to communicate my displeasure. I was furious and Mr. Nam knew it (he jetted out in front of all the students as soon as the bell rang). I had to track him down in the teacher's office.
Now, I know that I can't just confront him the same way I would someone back in the States, but damn it! I am not going to let my co-teacher disrespect me, ignore me, or discredit me in front of my classes!! NO WAY!! When he pulls crap like that he shows my students that they don't have to listen to me either. Yes, I need him to help explain things from time to time, but I would much rather he just not show up and suffer my students comprehension problems than come to class and make things harder for me!
When I found him in the office, I told him he needs to help me get this class organized. I was probably a little more curt than I intended to be (or maybe it was intentional...) and I fear that I may have embarrassed him in front of the other teachers (women just don't scold men in public), but I made it clear (I hope) that his classes are THE WORST of my 24 classes. It was really hard not to get carried away and start speaking fast as I tore into him. He kept saying, "I help my students," to which I responded, "Yes, but you do it in a disorganized way and that allows the rest of the students to lose focus." I don't think he wanted to hear that (I probably wouldn't either) but I tried very hard to let him get his say too. I kept asking, "Is there anything I am doing wrong that you want me to change? What can I do to make our classes better or to help you be involved more?" He had no answer. He just repeated himself: "I help my students." Straight lipped and looking a little confused, he headed back to his desk. My parting words, "Please think about this tonight and over the weekend. We need to change things in your classes if we want to be effective teachers. Let me know on Tuesday what you think we should do."
It's really hard to be in this teaching position when your co-teachers, despite their education or skills, are often about as competent as the 10th graders they teach. The worst part is that Mr. Nam is not only my co-teacher but also the Chief Director of Administration (sort of my supervisor). I'm afraid I may have lost quite a bit of face in this whole mess. But what do I do? I am too driven, too determined, too much of a take-charge person to let some idiot prevent me from meeting my full potential. I really hope that he thinks critically about our class and starts working with me to make our teaching effective.
On the upside, just before I left work the music teacher found me with a message from the school principal. (The principal doesn't speak English so he had to send another teacher after me.) The message: "You are a good teacher and your classes are really helping. The students like you and we are glad you are here." I almost cried. After the hell I went through today, those words made me feel like maybe I'm not failing here; maybe I am doing a good job despite Mr. Nam.
That's why I hate being home tonight. I'd rather be here than at work but I have so many things running through my head and no one to share them with. I have no one to complain to and no one to just sit with and let me cry. Sticking an extrovert in a studio apartment with no one to talk to is like putting a bird in a shoe box: hell.
Co-teaching is so difficult sometimes. These past two weeks have been really messed up because of surprise testing days which completely threw off my lesson plans: half of my classes had the Halloween lesson, the other half didn't. To pass time in those classes that had the Halloween lesson last week (instead of making a whole new plan), I prepared a question for each student which they had to answer with 5 sentences within 25 minutes. It was completely within their capabilities. I had no doubt that they could complete the assignment. However, I was wrong.
One of my co-teachers, Mr. Nam, has the most unorganized and dysfunctional classes under the sun. Those girls are awful. I've kicked two of his students out of my class and this week I had to make about 20 girls from his classes do wall sits because they weren't listening. However, nothing has been as bad as my last class with him today. Those girls did nothing but talk the whole period despite my efforts and constant reminders to get back on task. I pulled out all of my tools and methods for organization--I even made a strategy prior to class to combat Mr. Nam's disorganization--but everything failed. I made specific instructions for my class to follow--easy but specific--and not even Mr. Nam followed them. He just sat in the back and let the students run all over instead of helping me. When it came time to read their work, no one had anything to read--save about 6 girls, they had all wasted the 25 minutes I gave them. After putting girls on the wall, I tried to salvage the period with a quick interactive example on the board but had absolutely no participation at all. I eventually had to cap my marker and make the girls spend the last 5 minutes in complete silence to communicate my displeasure. I was furious and Mr. Nam knew it (he jetted out in front of all the students as soon as the bell rang). I had to track him down in the teacher's office.
Now, I know that I can't just confront him the same way I would someone back in the States, but damn it! I am not going to let my co-teacher disrespect me, ignore me, or discredit me in front of my classes!! NO WAY!! When he pulls crap like that he shows my students that they don't have to listen to me either. Yes, I need him to help explain things from time to time, but I would much rather he just not show up and suffer my students comprehension problems than come to class and make things harder for me!
When I found him in the office, I told him he needs to help me get this class organized. I was probably a little more curt than I intended to be (or maybe it was intentional...) and I fear that I may have embarrassed him in front of the other teachers (women just don't scold men in public), but I made it clear (I hope) that his classes are THE WORST of my 24 classes. It was really hard not to get carried away and start speaking fast as I tore into him. He kept saying, "I help my students," to which I responded, "Yes, but you do it in a disorganized way and that allows the rest of the students to lose focus." I don't think he wanted to hear that (I probably wouldn't either) but I tried very hard to let him get his say too. I kept asking, "Is there anything I am doing wrong that you want me to change? What can I do to make our classes better or to help you be involved more?" He had no answer. He just repeated himself: "I help my students." Straight lipped and looking a little confused, he headed back to his desk. My parting words, "Please think about this tonight and over the weekend. We need to change things in your classes if we want to be effective teachers. Let me know on Tuesday what you think we should do."
It's really hard to be in this teaching position when your co-teachers, despite their education or skills, are often about as competent as the 10th graders they teach. The worst part is that Mr. Nam is not only my co-teacher but also the Chief Director of Administration (sort of my supervisor). I'm afraid I may have lost quite a bit of face in this whole mess. But what do I do? I am too driven, too determined, too much of a take-charge person to let some idiot prevent me from meeting my full potential. I really hope that he thinks critically about our class and starts working with me to make our teaching effective.
On the upside, just before I left work the music teacher found me with a message from the school principal. (The principal doesn't speak English so he had to send another teacher after me.) The message: "You are a good teacher and your classes are really helping. The students like you and we are glad you are here." I almost cried. After the hell I went through today, those words made me feel like maybe I'm not failing here; maybe I am doing a good job despite Mr. Nam.
That's why I hate being home tonight. I'd rather be here than at work but I have so many things running through my head and no one to share them with. I have no one to complain to and no one to just sit with and let me cry. Sticking an extrovert in a studio apartment with no one to talk to is like putting a bird in a shoe box: hell.
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