A Day In The Life...

I woke up two hours earlier than usual so I could finish two separate lesson plans that will be due today. One was a bit of a surprise. I was only given one day to write it all out. The other is one I forgot about (but shouldn't have), and consequently ended up doing at the last minute. Still, everything (for the most part) is finished. It's just a matter of formatting for the first, most important lesson plan, which will be used for TaLK Day.

Why didn't I work on this important work yesterday? Well, I tried. Sort of. The teachers that I hold "secret" dinners and outings with sprung a secret dinner last night. It was the first one in several months, and despite any negative or uncomfortable feelings I develop during our gatherings, I look forward to these dinners. For me, they are like once-in-a-lifetime encounters. Uncomfortable feelings would include not understanding most of the conversation because it is all in Korean. I overlook these things for the sake of culture, and a chance to maintain friendships I'm sure I won't regret having later. ...We stayed out for a few hours (dinner, game station .. you know, batting cage, whack-a-mole, etc...then a bar where we played darts). I must say that it was my first time trying a (virgin) pina colada, and it tasted so much better than the pina colada-flavored juice I'd accidentally mistaken for pineapple juice and bought earlier in the week. But I digress.

I walked home, turned on my computer, and (first mistake) lay on the bed. Even though you should never sit somewhere super comfortable when getting ready to do important work (if you're already drowsy), I think sitting anywhere else wouldn't have made a difference. Sure enough, I found myself dozing after typing every few sentences. It wasn't even midnight, but I decided to sleep and wake up early. So catches us up to today's story!

I left the house feeling pretty ready for the day. Today, though a busy day for sure, is the last day of the week, and the beginning of a 5-day weekend. Chuseok (kind of like a Korean Thanksgiving) is this weekend, and there's a national holiday on Wednesday, so nearly every school will have a 5-day weekend.

I walked to the convenience store to recharge my bus pass. It takes a minute at most. Afterwards, I continue down the street, and this man (who must work at the Wedding Hall he's always standing in front of) appears suddenly and greets me. I've tried avoiding talking to him, or walking by the wedding hall in general, but it's really difficult. This road is the road I have to take... and besides, I hadn't seen him in several weeks. He stops me and asks me my name (since, by now, he's greeted me at least twice before). I ask him his name (I hope I can remember... but I hope more that he's not dangerous) in return. He tries saying something, else, but I don't really understand if it's Korean or English. I tell him, "Have a good day," and walk away.

Then, I continue to the bus stop, where a halmoni (a grandma-aged lady) handed me two mints after standing with me for a few minutes. I'd done a good job of not noticing if she was staring at me (I've been practicing this, because honestly, I tend to notice everything, and it'll be good for my health if I learn to ignore a few things).  I was just minding my own business, drinking choco milk, so I was genuinely surprised when she got up from the seat and walked over to me.  She didn't say anything, just smiled and handed them to me.I gratefully took the mints. I thanked her politely in Korean. I was feeling all happy when a strange thought entered my mind, like the bad angel on your shoulder, whispering in your ear. Maybe she's thinking this girl'll have bad breath after eating and drinking all that she's going to have bad breath. I'll save her from such a fate! Why'd I think such a crazy thought? Ha, because Koreans have a lovely habit of brushing (sometimes communally) after most (if not all) meals. All the teachers and students head to the bathrooms with their brushes and paste after lunch each day. It'd been twenty minutes since I brushed my teeth, and already I was sipping on chocolate milk. Guilty self-conscience.

I get to school and all the kids and teachers are wearing hanboks. Oh yes, I remember. There was a message about this to all the teachers yesterday. I'm not sure why, exactly, they're wearing them today. Maybe because of Chuseok coming. When I sat down at my desk, I heard a student whisper something to another 1st grader. "Shannon.... hanbok...." was all I heard. .... Ah, yes, child. You've realized that I'm not wearing one? Well, I don't have one. Don't make me feel bad. Get back to your work.

Today was the first time I saw the first graders take a test. They separated their desks and up walls so neither they nor their neighbors could cheat. Still, I saw kids attempting it from time to time. The test looked hard. I saw a lot of kids staring at their papers. I wonder what it was about.

Now, lunch is in 20 minutes, and the kids are listening to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" on repeat. They have to learn this song for some performance (did I already mention?) later on next month. It's so cute hearing them say, "Hush my dah-ling, don' feah my dah-ling, the lion sleeps tonight!"  They're learning well.

'Til next time,
-Shirby

Surprise, Surprise

This morning, I walked up to the school and saw some of the kids dressed in highlighter-yellow jackets. There was a huge, 2-story firetruck behind them. I stopped and stared. A fire safety demonstration?  Why were these kids so lucky as to get to go into the truck, climb up to a top balcony, and rope down the side, landing on thick safety mats?  All I remember from my childhood fire safety demos is visiting the station and watching the guys drive the truck around, stop somewhere far away, and spray high-pressured water in the field nearby. "You can try it," my mentor teacher told me.  I politely declined. Don't ask me why. I don't know if I'm really not interested, or if I'm just upset and the unfairness. Either way, the truck's gone by now. When the 1st graders came back to the classroom, one of them acted out what happened inside the truck. Something about it being really dark inside, and looking around, and finding a direction to walk in. At this point of the charades story, he was dogpiled by two other classmates, and I couldn't hear the rest of it.

Work at school's getting a little bit trickier... for reasons I didn't expect.

Last Thursday was Sports Day at school. I found out late, that I'd be participating in it. I'd be running in a relay race. Oh, really? When? Well, I got most of my information from other students. I'd be partnered with 6th grader?  Ok.... So, in the end, I participated in this race, though I didn't really understand how the race was orchestrated. I didn't understand who won or lost, just took the baton and ran when it was my turn. Don't get me wrong, it was really fun. I'm glad I got to participate. I even got some compliments from some 6th graders after the race. Still, I'd have liked to known what was going on so I could enjoy the race better. I'd tried so many times to get info from the others, but no luck. Let's just mark this down as another one of those "don't ask questions, just do it" moments.

And yet again, I am discovering that the students have to learn and perform English pop songs for some sort of special day in the near future. My mentor teacher told me a bit about it. A few bits of important information here and there. "Actually, you have to do this, but I will help you."  ... I was asked to come up with a list of pop songs for grades 1-2 and 3-6 to learn. Songs with dances were best. I had a day and night to pick the songs, so the next day I came to school with a decent list of songs. Turns out none of them were good. Well, honestly, I thought SOME  of them were good. Not "too fast," or "complicated," like she said they were. She ended up picking a song she knew. The kids don't like it, but I think they won't have a problem learning it. This story is still ongoing. Today, I picked "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for the 1-2 graders. She OK'd the choice, but I'll have to come up with a dance for it. Well...I hope I can come up with something good, and worthy.

Oh, and so I think all of my classes, from now until the performance day, will be used to practice the song and dance routines. Does that mean I have to make a lesson plan for October...?  I'm looking forward to this upcoming Chuseok holiday. Hopefully it will give me some time to think.

One final thing to mention. The evening of Sports Day, I said my goodbyes to the teachers and got ready to head the bus stop. My mentor teacher stopped me and told me I had to stay. She and the other teachers would first have a meeting, and then we'd all go have dinner together. Ok, I thought. I went to the gym-a-torium to play on the piano while they had their meeting. After awhile, I saw my mentor teacher walking out of the other building, heading to her car. Oh, I thought, maybe she's pulling her car around. I'd better get going. In the time it took me to walk down the stairs into the courtyard, she had driven away towards the restaurant with some other teachers. I called her phone. "Oh! Shannon, what happened to you?"  "I'm here at the school. Did you forget about me?"

Before making this phone call, the kindergarten teacher spotted me and told me to wait for her. She'd drive me to the restaurant. I relayed this info to my mentor teacher, and headed to the restaurant with the kindy teachers instead. After dinner, all the teachers were gathered out front (like usual), laughing and chatting and discussing what they'd do after dinner. My mentor teacher was one of the few who didn't drink during dinner, yet she somehow disappeared. I thought she'd walked off with the first group of teachers who were heading to the noraebang, so I headed over with the second group. When I arrived and saw she wasn't there, I realized she'd forgotten me again. The next day at school, she asked me how I'd gotten home. I told her the other teachers had kindly helped me get a taxi. She explained something about being tired and going to pick up her husband before heading home. End of conversation, literally. No apology. Well, I'm not sure how to take that.....

It's lunch time so I have to stop writing. TTYL

'Til next time,
-Shirby

Studying and Korean Ceremony

Here's what happened last night.

After much highly-unnecessary internal conflict, I decided to pay my phone friend a visit.

---Oh, crap. I just found out I have to be the TaLK Day teacher. I'll write about it later. ---

Back to the story. I went to the phone shop with a list of all the Korean lessons I had learned in TTMIK's level two. I was ready to move on to level three, but wanted some sort of test from a Korean friend. I figured this would be the best way to get a quick review and test at the same time. When I walked in, there was a new person working with the usual group of guys. A female. At first I thought she was just one of their friends visiting the shop, but she bowed to me when I came in. My phone friend (one of the guys working at the shop) finished helping a customer and then came to sit with me at the table. I handed him the list and he immediately began quizzing me. At first I was really nervous. I have more practice reading and writing than speaking, and when I speak I tend to think slowly or forget whole phrases (thinking I don't know them when actually, I do). However, the way he asked questions was really helpful, and I was able to answer calmly. I think it helps that he had patience.

Soon another customer came in and the other brothers (he calls them his brothers, whether related or not. In Korea, it'd be natural to call them his brothers, or "hyeong") had disappeared. Only the lady was there, and he called her over and told her to introduce herself and speak to me in Korean. More tests, haha. It started off awkwardly because she wasn't sure what to say to me beyond "Hi, what's your name," etc. Still, after a few minutes we began coming up with things to say to each other, and that's when I found out she was a new worker at the store.

That night, I learned a lot more Korean, too. Nothing I can remember off the top of my head right now, but through the course of chatting with each other in Korean and English (both broken at times), we started talking about all kinds of things. One of her friends came to the shop for a short while and we started talking about IU (a Korean singer),  and what to call the boss and subordinates at work. Things like that. After awhile, the phone shop boss came in we started talking about him (among other things). It was really funny because my phone friend and the boss just watched us talking and switching between Korean and English (in between sentences). Neither of us knew enough Korean or English to stick to one language, so I tried asking questions in English, and she'd reply in Korean. Of course, we often mixed our sentences with words from both languages. They thought it was funny and laughed at us a lot. It was all good fun. Finally, the boss came over and joined the conversation. I showed him what I was studying. I had written the lesson topics in Korean and English, so I think he started studying them rather than just reading the list.

Then, he was asking me if I could teach him English. A deal was made. I'd come to the shop and review/learn Korean, and he would learn English. We'd be sharing/exchanging information and learning from each other. Well, I agreed. I've never taught an adult before (er, someone so much older than me), but thanks to my current job, I know what it's like to teach someone who knows very few words in the target language to begin with. My first graders were the "guinea pigs," the first big test for me. ..And I have to teach so many of them, so at this point nothing should be a big shock. :)  Now, I just need to remember to show up. It'll be a week before we start, and for me it's the equivalent of the first day of school. Remember to go to the right class. Remember to show up on time. Things like that. Actually, I'm really excited. I didn't expect to make so many new friends at a place I've visited so often. Rather, I didn't expect my relationship with the others to become more than just "Hi." and "Bye." conversations. I'm really glad.

After our little study party, we went to a traditional Korean ceremony.

At some point the bilingual conversation had died down, and the boss and my friend were talking to each other in Korean. I didn't know what they were saying, but sometimes I don't listen anyway. I'm still at the point where I have to force my ears to listen to Korean speech and prepare my brain to pick up any known words. So, I was sitting there not listening when the boss turned to me and said something in Korean. I tried to recall what he'd just said, but all I had picked up was 같이. Together.  "같이?" I asked him, for clarification? What was happening "together"?  Then my phone friend explained. One of their other "brothers" was having a ceremony that night. He was opening a new shop, and there was a traditional ceremony (my phone friend called it a superstition) involving a pig's head, money, and bowing, and food offerings. Did I want to go with them to see it?  Honestly, it was a rare opportunity. I'd probably never get to come across it on my own. I let them know I'd only seen it once in a KDrama, and I can't even remember which drama that was. I asked them if it was ok for me to go. They said yes. The closed the shop for the night and we all headed out.

The location was a 15 minute drive out of the city. It was dark outside so I couldn't see much besides shadows of trees and the lights of other cars driving by. It reminded me of driving around the Texas countryside, or North Carolina. We pulled up to to the venue where people were eating and laughing together. The host waved us in as we parked. After a lot of greetings, we walked over to the building's porch . There it was. A pig's head. Money had been stuffed into its ears, and money envelopes were packed between the pig's lips, as if the pig was eating the envelopes. Sorry, I didn't take a picture, but I'll look for one and post it here. Surrounding the pigs head was a watermelon and an Asian pear, their ends sliced off so that the fruits' insides could be seen. There were also many cups sitting on the front end of the table. The boss did the ceremony and the rest of us watched. He received a cup of 막걸리 (rice wine) from the host, which he knelt down with. He circled the cup in the air between himself and the pig's head before putting it on the table (I didn't see if he drank from it).  Then he stood up and knelt back down several times (three times, I think), bowing at each interval. He also put a money envelope into the pig's mouth.  That was pretty much the entire ceremony. Afterwards, we walked over to the food tables for a nice warm meal.

I should mention that it was super cold outside. Once the sun went down, the cool breeze stayed behind and chilled everything. There was moisture in the air that left a thin layer of water over everything outside. Luckily, we had a nice stew to eat (honestly, it tasted kind of like something my mom would make), with rice, samgyeopsal, and many side dishes. There was celebratory dduk as well. I figured out that dduk shows up at almost every ceremony. The last time I saw it, a teacher's newborn baby had just reached 100 days  of life. They celebrate that here in Korea. She gave all the other teachers dduk as a celebratory gift.

After eating and chatting, and playing with these cute puppies that lived on the lot, we all got into the cars and headed back home.

'Til next time
-Shirby

6th Grade Shenanigans

I made a candy box (decorated it with pictures and words) and filled it with candy my mom sent from home. There's only one opening; it's only big enough to slide your hand in. I put pockets on the sides filled with "easy" and "hard" questions (and some action commands). A student must correctly answer a question on their own to get a surprise candy....

Today, one kid pulled out the slip of paper that said "Sing for 30 seconds."  Dismayed, he begged for 3 seconds. Another kid volunteered to do it and, at my command, started singing the Three Bears song (a Korean song).Despite volunteering, it must've been a little embarrassing for him.  He sang it so fast that there were still about 20 seconds left. The other kids started shouting suggestions for what he should sing, so in 30 seconds he sped through about 3 songs.

Two sixth graders chose the "Dance for 30 seconds" slip of paper. They told me, "We'll do a traditional Korean dance," and swayed their arms back and forth while singing in Korean. A third kid brought them some maracas, which they began using halfway through. Sadly, I did not get this on camera. Maybe next time. XD

'Til next time,
-Shirby

Random Happenings of the Week

Yesterday, I guess one of the staff members brought sandwiches to school. When I went to say hello to the principal, she shared some of her sandwich with me. Even though, I suspect she didn't like the sandwich, it still made my day. We hardly get to talk to each other, let alone share things. On an average day, I pop my head in and say hello (안녕하세요) to her first, then the vice principal, before making my way to my mentor teacher's classroom. At most, if she's in her office, she will smile and reply with a yes (네)... or sometimes 네, 안녕하세요  and quickly turn back to her work. This is as far as our daily interactions get, unless there's a special occasion and she's not completely surrounded by the higher-ranked staff. So yes, this moment felt special. She beckoned me in and offered me some of her sandwich (and even some juice... which I stupidly turned down. I don't even know why. ... Maybe I felt like I shouldn't take too much from her at one time, even if she was offering). She sat down with me at the couches beside her desk, and I told her they were delicious (in Korean). She seemed happy about that, and said some things in Korean which I can only guess were details about where she'd gotten the sandwiches from. I nodded as if I understood every word, telling myself I'd ask one of the other teachers about it later. She's a really pretty, nice, respectable lady, my principal. I truly wish I could get to know her more. It seems like one thing that will be a bit impossible while I'm here.

One of my 6th graders asked me about racism the other day. Really, I was supposed to be teaching, but students were coming and going  in such an annoying fashion that all I could do was casually converse with the two students who were sitting down in front of me. One of them came up and asked me if I knew about... I couldn't understand his pronunciation. I asked him if he knew how to spell it. He nodded and wrote it down- rasism.  I tried my best to explain it to him. I don't know how much he understood, or why he even asked me in the first place. What happened in life that such a word was in his head? I'm not sure if he was asking me about racism in general or specific situations. It's sometimes hard to ask students, "Why?" because they might not have enough vocabulary to answer. I told him to ask his teacher about it too if he was confused.

I think I told you about the coffee shop that was built near my home. I'm curious about how their business is going. Actually, I've only visited there once since it's opened. I still favor the coffee shop a bit further away (because it's cheaper, and they have hot chocolate). Still, this week I'd been walking past the store quite often. (Usually, I have to walk the other way down the street). I figured I should visit them once again. After grocery shopping, I dropped my things off at home, grabbed a book and walked over to the shop. It was empty at this time-- 

...I'm sorry, I've momentarily lost train of thought. A first grader just procured an imaginary laser sword, and sliced me up. Give me a moment to put myself back together....

-- Yes, there wasn't anyone in the shop at that time. I walked up to the counter and the lady quickly ran to get her son(?) who could speak English. Now, I tried to speak in Korean with her and her son before, but I guess they insist on him using his English skills. I didn't even get a chance to order before she rushed off to get him. I ordered some chamomile tea and a cookie, and told them I'd drink in the store. As the lady made my tea, the son asked if I liked chocolate. I said yes, then paused. Oh no, what if they put chocolate in my tea? I stopped him and asked him what he meant. He asked again, and I said yes hesitantly. Then he went to the freezer and pulled out a handful of bite-size chocolates, put them into a dish, and placed the dish on my tray. Free chocolates. I paid, thanked them, and went to sit down with my tray. About five mintues later, the lady came over with a plate of sliced toast (strips, like french toast strips, but this was just regular toast) and a small side of whipped cream decorated with chocolate syrup. Wow. Before me lay a dish of chocolates, a plate of toast with a sweet dip, a cookie, and a cup of tea. I thanked her and dug in.

'Til next time,

-Shirby

Special P.S. Thanks, Katie, for keeping up with these. I hope they don't all sound bad, or all good. I'll do my best to write about all my adventures, good or bad or in between! :)

Personal Space, Please

Sometimes I wish there was a cubicle wall. That way, the kids wouldn't bump into me on their way to the teacher's printer. That way, the students wouldn't hide behind my chair and poke me from behind. That way, the students wouldn't use my desk as their writing space, their play space. That way, I could lay my head down on my desk and rest without worrying the kids. They think I'm crying, lol.

My desk and my mentor teacher's desk are very close together. Her printer sits on a small, rolley cabinet in between the two desks. Quite often, she has the students wait in a line by the printer and pick up whatever paper comes out of it. Worksheets, definitely. Yesterday as they waited in line, the kids began fiddling with the things on my desk, rifling through papers and picking stuff up. They like to ask me questions, ask for my attention, ask me to play with them while they wait in line. Then, when the line ceases to become a line, and instead becomes a cluttered mass of first graders, they get pushy. The people in the front of the line push their way through the mass of people to get back to their seats. There is little sense of personal space. Actually, this is true for Koreans in general, not just my younger students. If you need to get somewhere, you push your way through. If it's a serious enough accident that you bumped into someone, only THEN do you apologize.

Well, I like the interaction. I enjoy talking to them, and having them try to explain things to me using mumbles and guestures (and finally, Korean, when they get impatient). However, sometimes, I just want to work in peace, to hide away for a little while. I never thought a cubicle wall would sound so appealing.

'Til next time,
-Shirby

The Weekend

It's super early. Why am I here at school so early...? Ugh....

Actually, I had to come early to turn in my lesson plans for July. There wasn't any way to email them to my MT over the weekend, so I had to come in to turn them in. It's about 2.5 hours earlier than when I would usually get to school.On a normal day, I come to school an hour earlier... so today, I'll be waiting longer than usual for my classes to start. I should've brought my book.

I might get drowsy by the time my class rolls around. I couldn't focus on my work last night so I stayed up past 2 AM finishing the lesson plans. The night before, I had to get up early after walking around town for about an hour (it must've been an hour). This past weekend was amazing, by the way.

One of the other TaLK scholars hosted a paragliding trip in the next town over. Unfortunately, this weekend was the beginning of the rainy season. To signify such an occasion, it rained all day Saturday, the day of our scheduled excursion. However, all was not lost. On Saturday- oh, by the way. A bunch of other scholars came from other provinces for this trip. It was nice to see some people I hadn't seen since orientation.-  so, on Saturday, we went to a clay-shooting range and an aquarium that had recently been built. We (especially those who had travelled really far) prayed for a break from the rain tomorrow. We decided that if the rain stopped the next day, we could all wake up early and go paragliding before everyone had to return home. It worked out.

Before heading to Danyang (the neighboring town with paragliding), everyone met up in Jecheon. We all ate lunch together, travelling by foot through the pouring rain. Two scholars left that day, deciding that they wouldn't have time to get back home if they stayed 'til Sunday. The rest of us boarded a bus after lunch and headed to Danyang. After the aquarium, some of the scholars stayed in a hotel in Danyang, while the remaining (including myself) decided to stay (for "free") in Jecheon. Before I caught the bus back to Jecheon, I ate dinner with the scholars who were staying in Danyang. We had galbi and sam gyeop sal, in case you were curious! :P

This is the part where I was walking around town all night. I caught the bus back to Jecheon, decided to grab some more money from the bank before heading home, and ended up walking to two different banks (back-tracking, even) before I arrived home. The bank closest to my home wouldn't allow me to take out a smaller amount of money, so I had to walk in the opposite direction to a different bank. I should probably write a post about how banks work in Korea. There are different fees, and rules for taking out money, depending on the time of day and day of the week.

Anyways! ...Got home, did some lesson planning, went to bed and woke up early the next morning to catch the first bus back to Danyang. Success! It was cloudy, but there was no rain. Two vans came and picked up the group and we went paragliding! We split up into teams because some people needed to leave soon after they paraglided. The paragliding story itself should be saved for a new post, as this one is getting quite long. Here's a video of my paragliding jump! Enjoy!

'Til next time!
-Shirby

Open Class

Hello!

Today is Open Class Day for me. What does that mean? It's similar Parent-Teacher day in the States, where parents are invited to the school. However, with an Open Class, parents are invited to sit in class while it's being taught. ...... No pressure!

So, not only is this my first time teaching (this year, this experience), but now I must teach a regular class while the parents watch. I don't know if they'll understand what I'm teaching or saying. I'm not sure how many parents will show up. I'm not sure if my students will show up on time to class (they usually don't). I'm not sure how the students will act if their parents are in the class with them. For instance, they might be quiet, but they might be too quiet and not participate. Hmmm...

So I am thinking about these things and trying not to worry. Honestly, I'm not that afraid about it. I just have to do one class. Some of the other teachers have done much more than that this semester. Of course, they all speak fluent Korean and must interact with the parents outside of these scheduled events.

My Facebook post:
Last night, I had a dream that I failed miserably at it. Scared? No. Those kinds of dreams actually show you how to overcome your obstacles, not tell you it's impossible.

That really does sum it up. I've got God on my side, and I'll do my best today to put my trust in Him and work well with the kids. Besides, my mentor teacher said she'd help me out (especially with formalities) today.

'Til next time,
-Shirby

When You Grow Up...

Sometimes, when I look at the first graders, I can't help but imagine what kind of people they might grow up to be.

The smallest girl in the class is a really good student. She works hard and always follows the rules, yet still plays with her friends well.

One of the boys loves making sound effects. In fact, on  the student roster, I wrote "SFX maker" under his name in order to remember him. He enjoys communicating this way. I wonder if he'll go to college and study the arts and become a director.

A few of the girls can be really sneaky. I think, in the kindest way possible, of their futures. Maybe they'll be advocates or work in PR.

I see some scientists, sports enthusiasts, fashion designers,  and successful businessmen/women in this class.

I imagine one future businessman losing his temper at a board meeting and threatening to cut the salaries of his subordinates. (Maybe that kind of thing wouldn't happen here. What happens when a Korean businessman loses his temper)?

As for the kids whose parents think it's best to dye their kid's hair wine red or light brown (some guys have highlights)... and to pierce their ears (the boys, especially), I suppose they're perfectly capable of becoming movie/music stars.

I wish I could see them all grow up. Every one of them. See what they'll become.

'Til next time,
-Shirby

Chariot!

The kids at school are usually called to attention in a military fashion. If you've taken Taekwondo, you might've heard the phrase, "Chariot!"  I'm not sure, but it seems to be the equivalent of, "Attention." Kids should stand (or sit, depending on the circumstances) with hands at their sides and face forward. Usually, every chanting request made by the teacher is followed by a chanting response from the students. With my first graders, I say, "Look at me! Look at me!" The students must respond, "Look at you! Look at you!" There are and movements for this chant.

Some other chants and gestures the kids must do include putting their hands on their head, closing their eyes, or clapping a certain number of times. During assemblies, the military-style chants are used to get everyone's attention. Some days, I feel like teaching my students the English equivalents. I suspect they already know, "Attention!"

'Til next time,
-Shirby

So, What Do I Think?

Am I ready to be a full-time teacher?

Is teaching the right career for me? No. I think I'm more suited to be a tutor than a homeroom teacher. I say this after a successful day of classes with my students, so it should be a fair evaluation on my part. I really have grown to like these kids. Even the naughty ones. ...Because, even the naughty ones are starting to behave. Even the bright ones who grow tired of me some days come back again to talk to me. Everything takes time. I think I'll feel more comfortable as a tutor, because it's easier to help people with whatever they need help with at that moment. It's easier to help students learn what they want to learn, when they want to learn it. As a part-time teacher here, I have to figure out what interests the kids, what they want to learn at that moment, and what other English teachers are teaching them. It's been a fortunate experience to be a helper in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes for the last month or two. I can better understand the levels of those who come to my class by seeing what they're learning outside. Then they seem to tune in better when my lessons are about things they're learning elsewhere. They can answer more questions at least.

Even so, I don't feel like teaching would be a great profession for me. I enjoy teaching people, but it's not something I can do full-time for the rest of my life. Saying that, I will continue to do my best with this job to the very end. I will Teach and Learn in Korea.

'Til next time,
-Shirby