Seriously?

Things are just same 'ole, same 'ole here at 송운조등학교. I'm still teaching upwards of 800 kids a week, loving the little ones and tolerating the older ones. There are, however, days that I can't take it. Some days my six graders push me to the limits of counting down the days 'til I return to the US. And in fact, some days my co-teacher can do the same. He is a really nice man, and granted I don't know what else he has on his plate, if anything, but he sure does procrastinate...a lot! That coupled with mis communication is quite frustrating at times.

As I said before, the national curriculum that I teach has two pages per period, and four periods in a lesson. Last semester, one lesson took several weeks to cover, as I only taught one period each class time. This semester, I thought it'd be a good idea, since I taught each one of the ten six grade classes twice a week, to cover two periods a week, and be done with one lesson over the course of two weeks. No one's behind, and teaching is less confusing because everyone isn't on various periods of various lessons in the book. Min Chan was definitely on board with this idea. In fact, since we didn't have English class on Monday, some classes had combined periods 1&2 on Friday so we wouldn't be behind for the following week. Despite the fact that I was quite certain I explained this idea to Min Chan in detail, and he listen and was excited about the change, he was apparently far from the "on board" I had previously thought. So, I just gave up.

Just before the end of last semester, the kids took a comprehensive exam of the last three lessons taught. After developing a semi-standardized test and grading rubric, I gave each kid a A,B,C, or D, and the kids with no correct answers an F. As you may recall, I had the idea of giving the A&B students awards, so Min Chan and I went shopping for award paper. I designed a template, and then asked Min Chan if he would type each A&B student's name on the template and print the award. Obviously the student's names are Korean, and while I can type them with my nifty Korean/English keyboard, the chances of me spelling their name wrong or just plain mistyping it was high. He agreed and was glad to help. So, after many reminders, he finally completed half of the awards. We were out of fancy paper, so I went to the store and bought some more before summer school. And wouldn't you believe that almost 2 1/2 months later and nearly three weeks into the new semester (when I wanted to present the awards), the blank award papers are still sitting in the classroom untouched from the semester before. So, after a couple of nice reminders, I gave up.

I needed new ideas for damage control for six grade this year. I wrote classroom rules, start everyday with a new letter on the board that they all read in unison, and I taped numbers to the desks so I can call on or call out a student. All of those new changes have helped. But there was one change I was counting on the most. Min Chan and I had talked about him walking around the classroom and checking off the names (or numbers) of students that spoke Korean. The students were aware of this and it worked for a while. But the deal was, the student who spoke the least Korean would get a "Star Student" award the following Monday. Turns out that maybe 10-20 students each class wouldn't speak Korean. Well, I can't give out 100-200 awards each week; that's madness! However, there always seemed to be one student in the class would be make a honest effort to speak in English and give me answers in complete English sentences. So, I decided to make that kid the Star Student. But, once again, as I was teaching, I would have to point out the Star Student because Min Chan couldn't recognize him or her. So he kept giving me excuses about "next week, next week..." I think it's a simple task, but whatever, so I gave up on that one too.

Last semester I encouraged Min Chan to only speak Korean if it was really necessary. I try very hard to explain things in a very simple and slow manner, so that the kids have time to understand. And if someone doesn't understand, I try to explain that particular concept in a new way. I've learned that explaining things to ESL students involves lots of action, facial expressions, hand movements, and drawings. But Min Chan must have forgotten what it was like to learn English as a foreign language at that age, and I certainly never knew. But what I do know is that they have to take what I say and translate it from Korean to English in their minds, which can take some time. Min Chan often sees that time gap as the students misunderstanding and jumps in with the Korean translation. In fact, he's become my little echo. I say "why," he says "웨" (which, if I spelled it right, is "why" in Korean). The kids know "why, whose, what else," etc, so those words should need no explanation. Sometimes I can catch Min Chan before he translates, so I ask the kids "Do you understand?" and the say "Yes" very loudly. So I then ask "So, you don't need Korean translation, right?" and they say "no," which makes me smile, and I'm sure, makes Min Chan frown. I can tell he really wants to translate, even if the kids don't need it, but this class is for the kids, not him. But, I just try to give up and let that go too.

Before I came, the students were saying only the key phrase for each eight-page, four-days/class lesson, and maybe some words. I stepped up and challenged them to listen carefully and answer in complete sentences. Last semester they were simple like "I see a tree," but this semester I'm asking the students to give me complex sentences involving who, what, when, where, and maybe how. So, instead of "I see a boy," they will answer with "The boy and his friends are playing baseball in the park," or "He went camping, but he was sad because it was raining." I believe that memorization and recognition are the first steps to learning a new language, but I also believe that critical thinking is the next one. That is what I'm challenging these students to do. I can see progress, and when they aren't driving me crazy with their disrespectful attitudes, I like what I see.

I'm pretty sad about the lack of English education they get by their Korean teachers. I thought that I was here for the conversation, and they were here for the grammar, but apparently I was wrong. I'm no expert on English grammar that's for sure, and next to math, it was probably my worst subject. I was a science geek. But, I try my best. No one has taught them about the silent "e" and it's purpose in a word, something that I thought they would have learned long by now. Every class is different. Some get through the whole period, and some don't. However, I never rush anyone through, and let each class go at their own pace. The point is conversation, critical thinking, and learning about grammar and American culture.

For most of them, today was the first period of lesson ten. The first period of every lesson begins with a picture. Last semester I asked "What do you see?" and this semester I ask "What is happening/happened?" Today's picture was very simple. Two boys were arm wrestling, one was winning, one was loosing, and two were cheering. So I taught each class what the phrase "think outside of the box" meant, and challenged them to do so when creating their sentences in response to my question. For some classes, talking about the picture took the whole forty minutes, and for others, we even got through to playing the planned game. I'm not certain which method is best; rush them through class just to get it all done, or allow each class to go at their own pace because that is how they will learn the best. I choose the second option, but I'm not a teacher, so who knows.

I talked with Min Chan about this "Class Captain" or "Class Leader" idea. Each classroom has a small bell. You know, the kind you ring at the front desk of hotel to get some service. Well, I decided that this week, we will pick the Star Student of each class to be the Captain for next week. The captain's duties would be to keep the bell at his or her desk and ring it once when he or she hears a student either talking while I'm talking or speaking Korean. The idea is to have a new captain for each class each week. Now, I totally understand that this can get out of control really quick, so it's merely a trail. I hope it works. No one really cares when the teacher asks you to be quiet, but when your peers do, it's another story.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that some days are good, some are bad, I'm pulling random ideas out of my head that have no reason to work, my co-teacher is idea-less and frustrating sometimes, and I can't change the Korean Education System (or I would). Class sizes are too big, the periods are too short, the curriculum is definitely lacking, and special education doesn't exist, leaving promising students to fall by the wayside. But, I just breathe, and move on. I'll admit though, its frustrating seeing change that needs to happen when you can't do anything about it.