First Day of School

Considering that I've been teaching for roughly a month now and I've scarcely given word to the topic, this post is long overdue. My apologies go out to my curious family and friends; blogging is a bit difficult to do without internet at home (which I'm still lacking), and I'm sorry for my limited communication.

My first day went down in the following fashion:

I was picked up on a Tuesday morning by Tim, my Korean co-teacher of sorts. We drove to the school. It was a very short drive, so we didn't chat much. My school is located about 3 blocks away from my apartment, making my commute to work very convenient. Tim parked the van out behind the school. As we walked toward the entrance, he explained to me that we were about to meet the principal. He also went on to say that I can probably eat in the cafeteria everyday for free. I found out later that there is a bit of animosity between the afternoon teachers and the regular teaching staff. However, since I'm a foreigner I've been given some special privileges (more on this later).

As we rounded the corner and entered the courtyard to the school, we were greeted by hundreds of screaming students, swirling and swarming about in a flurry. It was all so overwhelming. Some were jumping rope, some were playing soccer, while others simply ran about like crazed little kids, smiles plastered across their faces. I soon wore a similar smile. Tim and I were quickly overtaken by students crowding all around us. One jumped up and clung to Tim. As the mob of children overtook and encircled us, I heard countless cry, "Hello! Hello! How are you?! What's your name?! Where are you from?!" The questions were projected at me from so many different directions and raining down on me all at once, I didn't know whom to answer. Eventually, I managed to convey, "Hello! I'm good, thank you. How are you? My name is Patrick. I'm from America."

Tim quickly ushered me inside, away from the kids who all seemed to cry out, "goodbye! Nice to meet you!!" as I walked away. We were about to enter the school when Tim told me to remove my shoes. I did so, picked them up and followed him into the foyer area where there was a big wooden bin with many cabinet doors on its side. Each cabinet of the bin contained a space where teachers can leave their shoes for the day. So I placed my shoes inside one of the bins toward the bottom (the top row is reserved for the vice and head principals) and picked up a pair of black sandals. What a relief! I thought there was going to be a strict dress code. Many know how much I loathe wearing dress clothes, particularly dress shoes. I was delighted to find that not only will I NOT have to wear uncomfortable, unbreathable, and inflexible formal shoes, that I would be required to wear snug, comfy, open toed sandals to work - every day! Bonus.

I followed Tim to the cafeteria, which was relatively empty at the time but soon filled up with oodles of noodle slurping kids. Just outside the doors to the cafeteria, I met my principal - a kind man with a hardened face. Students rushing by paused to bow to him before they entered the cafeteria. His English was pretty minimal, so Tim translated for me while standing in line for food. There was a table with many trays of food designated for teachers; we served ourselves. Other students had to wait in long lines to receive their grub from pink plastic and white rubber clad cafeteria workers. The food was excellent (and has been every day). Perfectly cooked, sticky rice, seaweed soup, zesty kimchi, fish, and some melon slices for dessert. As I sat down, one of the pink plastered cafeteria workers laid a fork down beside me. I thanked her and was about to use it to dig into my rice, but I thought I had better start getting used to chopsticks. I must admit that I fumbled around a bit with my food; I'm not very accustomed to using chopsticks, but I eventually found my rhythm and managed to eat without embarrassment.
I met a few other teachers, notably Unn-Kyoung, who has become a good friend over these past few weeks (She's a dominate ping-pong player I've come to find, and her English is excellent). Everyone welcomed me warmly, and I felt at ease among my new friends and co-workers. The principal, although his appearance was intimidating, was very friendly and, through Tim, informative. I learned that this part of town, Buldangdo, is the wealthiest area in Cheonan. After our meal, Tim and I were invited to the principal's office for some coffee. I was told that I could come to his office anytime I so pleased to enjoy some java.

Soon it became time to teach. Tim escorted me to my room, handed me a stack of books and accompanying CDs, and promptly left me. "Oh, I teach alone?" I remember asking. "Yes. You teach here on the fourth floor, and I teach downstairs on the third floor."
"Oh, ok." Before coming to Korea, I was told that I would have a co-teacher, someone who spoke Korean and would assist me as I taught. If the students had a question they could not explain in English, the Korean teacher would intervene. Likewise, if the students did not understand what I was teaching, the Korean teacher could further explain in the students' native tongue. Feeling a little nervous, I soon began my first class.

I began with a quick introduction of myself, where I was from, what I like to do etc. I was greeted by a dozen second graders with blank faces. "Just how much English do they understand?" I began to wonder. I soon found out that they knew very little when I popped in the CD and had the students open their books. They repeated words like 'chicken,' 'pizza,' 'bread,' and 'milk.' I felt that the students could understand the words and their accompanying pictures, and they pronounced them decently, but they had no grasp of conversational English. I remember one of the phrases in the book was 'point to the clock.'

"Point to the clock," they droned.
"No, no." I said. I lifted my hands in the air before them and wiggled my fingers. "I don't want you to just say 'point to the clock,' I actually want you to take your fingers and point to the clock." I pointed to the clock. They didn't quite get it.
"Come on, try it. Like this. 'Point to the clock.'"
I pointed to the clock. Slowly, they began to catch on.
"OK, now point to the window."
They mimicked me as I pointed to the window while saying, "point to the window."
Finally, we were communicating.

One class soon ended and another began. I quickly found out that some classes were just starting to learn English whereas others are a bit more advanced, using different books. My last class consisted of fourth graders, and they had a much better grasp on English than my other students. This class used an entirely different book which was composed of short stories or informative paragraphs for the students to read and questions afterwards for them to answer. The other classes used books and CDs for learning vocabulary, not necessarily forming sentences.

My first day of teaching came to an end so quickly; it blurred on past me like a bullet train. I had and have six classes, forty minutes each, from 1:10-5:20. I found my students to be very well-behaved and respectful - more than I expected from 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Some students even bowed to me as they entered the classroom.

Since then, I've had a number of behavioral problems. Sometimes my problematic students pretend they don't understand me, even though I know they do. I've had to get mean on more than one occasion. Many back home know me to be pretty passive, and I have to say that it's uncomfortable for me to raise my voice and yell - especially when my anger is directed toward little kids - but it's absolutely necessary at times. I mostly have problems with students who don't care to learn English. Their parents are paying to have them in an afternoon class, so it's the folks who want their children to learn English, not necessarily the kids. These students don't listen, don't participate, don't write, don't speak - no matter how hard I try to get them to cooperate, they just want to sit back and chat (in Korean, of course) with their fellow classmates. They will try to stall for as long as possible.

I'll say, "Take out your notebooks, please."
Some will reply, "Teacher, no notebook."
"Oh, you don't have your notebook?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe you. Show me."
The student will then open his or her backpack, revealing their notebook.
"Don't lie to me. You have your notebook right there. Take it out, and let's begin."
"Teacher, no pencil."
This is pretty much an everyday occurrence.

I was particularly peeved at one student who didn't bother to write anything in English on one assignment. He just scribbled nonsense across the handout. I told him to erase it and try again. I even wrote down some of the sentences in English on the board - all he had to do was copy it down. But he didn't. I really wanted to see him try, so I got an eraser out, took his paper, and erased the scribbling. I said, "Come on, it's not so bad. Just try it out." And he just kept on scribbling nothingness.

Here's a quick list of interesting things I soon found out about teaching in Korea.
1. There are no janitors. Students are required to clean everyday, in shifts. I often see students bustling about with brooms, sweeping up the hallways and stairs.

2. Teachers are required to clean their own rooms. I sweep my room everyday, clean the desks and board twice a week, and empty my own garbage weekly. My company recently bought me a vacuum; I'm stoked.

3. Afternoon teaching is quite different. My class isn't very nice compared to regular classrooms. I have no air conditioning, television, or computer. As things are heating up here, I've had to open up my door and fan it back and forth, stirring up a slight breeze for the students. My principal was kind enough to demand an air conditioning unit and computer from my company, but I haven't heard back yet. I usually enjoy some coffee with the fellow six grade teachers on my floor in the break room after lunch and before teaching (regular teachers, that is. There is only one other afternoon teacher, Nicole, a very kind Korean. She's also from my company. She teaches phonics and reading, whereas I teach vocabulary and pronunciation.) My coffee sipping mates are all very friendly, flirtatious, and generous. They asked me if my room had air conditioning, and when I told them that it didn't, they gave me one of their spare fans (along with a dozen milk cartons, orange juice, rice cake candies, and other warm sentiments). My room is much cooler now. Update - My company has agreed to get me and Nicole air conditioners for our rooms asap.

4. Students are super dedicated to studying, even at a very early age. Many of my students go to regular school, afternoon school (with me), multiple hagwons for furthering their knowledge in English and other fields, and instrument lessons. Imagine that - second and third graders are studying literally all day. No wonder they're so playful in my classroom - they don't get to play much outside of school.

5. Teachers are never called by their last names. Students refer to their teachers as "songsaengnim," or, in my case, "Teacher." I wondered if this is true for all occupations in Korea, but upon asking another teacher about this, I found out that only teachers are called 'teacher.' In the States, the only people we call by their job titles is 'waiter.' In Korea, if you want to get the attention of you waiter, you say "ogeeyo," which literally means 'here,' only with the 'yo' for politeness.

I have a current school related problem. Many of my classes are, and have been, finished with their text and work books. I haven't been given any new material for them. My company has stated that I will not be getting any new books for several more weeks. The reason is because the parents of the students pay for the books, and their money has to last for three whole months before they are required to pay for new books. So, I'm tap dancing my way through class. It's difficult for me to come up with games to play because I have to make very simple rules so that the kids will understand. To help things, I've purchased an English - Korean dictionary to explain more challenging concepts. I must admit that my survival style of teaching is pretty boring. I hope to become a better teacher quickly. I've mostly been having the students write down sentences in their notebooks. Afterwards we practice saying them aloud. I often try to act out the words, so they can have a better visual to help them remember new vocabulary words. Sometimes we play hangman; sometimes we play the connection game - where I write 'tiger,' which ends in 'r' and the students have to come up with a word that begins with 'r.'

Anyhow, any teaching suggestions or recommendations are welcome. Prayer is welcome too. It's challenging to me because the language barrier is vast, and my experiences with the very little ones is quite limited. Giving me further stress is that the 17th of this month is going to be an 'open class' day, where the parents are welcomed to come and visit their students classes - with me teaching. I'm pretty nervous, and I don't know exactly what I'm going to be teaching. Some new text books and work materials would be very nice, but I doubt they are going to come in before open class day.

To end on a more positive note, I'm very glad to be here teaching. I know that as a foreign teacher with a very very limited handle on Hangul, I offer my students something unique. They are forced to communicate with me in English. My students all love to communicate, so they come up to me and say, "Teacher! ummm... chicken spelling."
"Oh, how do you spell chicken?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"C- h- i - c- k-e-n."
"Oh thank you, teacher."