But How is Teaching Going?

Life with the little nuggets is going well. My students always say "hi" when they see me in the halls.

"Hiiiii Kureestin!!!"

"Hallo!!"

"Kureeestine!!"

"Teeeacha! Teeacha!"

"Seungsengnim!"

"Kureeeestin Seungsengnim!"

"Hallo teacha!!"

I'm a celebrity.

They even sometimes bring me candy or stationary, which reminds me that I should reward them with candy and stickers more often.

Kindergarten is my most difficult class because the kids have no attention span. They just want to watch random YouTube videos, stare into space, and/or hold my hand. During the first couple classes, I tried teaching the kids by having them repeat what I said, but then I had kids yelling the answer one minute and staring at the opposite wall the next. One girl sat backwards in his chair. Another boy played with a paperclip. In the middle of my lesson. No bueno. So now I start the class with a Hello Song, the ABC song, and some phonics songs. Thank goodness for YouTube. We stand around the television and sing for 15 minutes. I figure it's more interactive. Some girls think it's an excuse to hold my hand. The rest don't pay attention or seem confused. And after 5-10 minutes, half of the kids look like they've run the marathon and sit down where they were standing. Ay caramba! More recently, I started playing ABC BINGO with them. One day I had them color the the letters for 15 minutes --15 minutes that I didn't have to sing songs or hold hands. The next day, we played BINGO for 15 minutes, and I rewarded the winners with stickers. So easy.

1st grade is great. About 4 of the girls bounce into my class 10 minutes early to say "hi" and hug me and ask what I am doing (in Korean). I'm always doing the same things: Kakao, Facebook, Gmail, trying to figure out which PowerPoint I'm going to present. One of the boys in my class has a perm and a mullet. He is like the Benjamin Button version of this:

JOHN STAMOS

Today is Wednesday. On Wednesdays, school ends 40 minutes earlier, which means that classes start 40 minutes earlier. I often forget this. And so do my students.

Only 7 of my 1st graders showed up today, so we puttered around for most of the class.

2nd grade is good too. I often get them confused with 1st grade. Some of the boys are too cool for school and avoid eye contact when I want them to participate. Other boys repeatedly raise their hands to repeat the vocabulary after they have already had their turn. 

3rd grade is one of my smaller classes. 3 boys and 2 girls at most. 2 of the boys are too cool for school. 1 boy likes to goof off. It sucks for the girls because they actually take my class seriously. This is admittedly the least fun class (for all parties involved).

4th grade is hilarious. Those kids always make me laugh. 4 of the girls practice/perform the dance for miss A's "Goodbye Baby" before class. Meanwhile, the boys run around or try to mess up the girls' routine by stopping the music or getting in the way. The boys would rather listen to "Mr. Simple" by Super Junior. The class as a whole is very loud. Very, very loud. But very cooperative and easy to teach.

4th grade girls practicing ... and then the boys arrive

These videos were actually taken in late September

Not much has changed since then

Madness. Notice how some of the boys are pressed up to the television

That's how much they love "Mr. Simple" by Super Junior

5th grade is perfect. They are bigger versions of my 4th grade class minus the dancing. Last week we played "Heads Up, Seven Up" for the 2nd week in a row --I see them 3x's per week-- and they couldn't get enough of it. When class ended, they begged me to let them play it 2 more times. Someone in the crowd  yelled, "10 more times!" Another hollered, "20 more times!" I jokingly added, "50 more times!" After 2 more rounds, they were begging for another 2. Then one more. In light of the lesson, which taught them phrases such as "Let's go upstairs" and "Let's go across the street," I finally said, "Let's go home!" Then half of the class got on their knees and begged for 1 more round. It was already 10 minutes after class. I had to cut them off. I told them to go home and that we could play again tomorrow. Crazy kids. (I think there are about 17.) Then the next day we stayed 5 minutes after class playing "Heads Up, Seven Up." They begged to play for another 5 minutes, but my translator for the day cut them off and told them to go home. Then she took me downstairs to a teachers' BBQ that I didn't know about. What a pleasant surprise.

6th grade is smaller than 3rd grade. 4 boys. Pretty mellow and easy to manage. Sometimes only one student shows up, so I make the executive decision to show him random YouTube videos. One day I introduced him American pop music videos, but didn't realize that Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga videos needed censorship. My bad.

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MUSIC VIDEO:  "Goodbye Baby" by miss A

MUSIC VIDEO: "Mr. Simple" by Super Junior