Teacha, teacha!

Teacha, teacha - n, what students shout at me when they want to tell me something.

Today, I'm going to talk about teaching here in Korea, so it is fitting that I am currently sitting in the computer lab at my school. You are probably thinking, "Why are you in a computer lab when you could be at your desk computer in your classroom?" Well, while I do have a desk, I do not have a classroom that I call my own. There is a teacher's lounge with desks where two teachers face each other and work. They aren't gigantic by any means, but they do just fine for the work I need to get completed. I had so many extra teacher supplies from home, so I brought some with me and keep them in my little desk drawer. If you ever had the pleasure of seeing my awesome classroom in the U.S., then you might think I was a little disappointed with not being able to put my unique touch on a classroom. Actually, it is so much simpler this way. I carry the books I need to teach with, my planner, and attendance sheets plus a pencil, pen, and dry erase marker (and of course a diet drink of some sort--because I do not function correctly without a heavy dose of caffeine). There is no straightening up desks, picking up trash or pencils--just erase what you wrote on the board for the next teacher. I've never had my desk be so clean! It's nice! When it comes to the teaching part, it's a little complicated, but I'm sure you can follow. Some classes I see once a week, some I see twice, and other I see three times--it just depends on what I'm teaching. I teach lots of different areas--listening, storytime (reading), and writing. For example, I see two of my 6th grade classes three times a week. Mondays and Fridays, I teach storytime (we are reading The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare). On Wednesdays, I teach writing (which is brutally boring). There are 4th graders that I see only on Fridays, and we do listening time. Storytime really is just reading the story, writing definitions for the vocabulary used in the chapter we read that day, and answering questions about the story. That stuff I have to prepare myself. The rest of my classes have workbooks where I just follow the directions in the book and help the kids through it all.

My favorite class by far is a group of kindergarten/1st graders that I teach phonics to. I posted pictures of a couple of them on facebook--the twins, Jinny and Amy, and another girl, Nicole, are my favorite three little kids. There is a girl named Lucy who I informed has the same name as my dog at home (if you've been reading my blog or know me at all, then you know that I am a little obsessed with my dog), and she just thought it was the coolest thing. I should mention that these are not the students' real names; they get to choose an "English" name. Other student names include: Lisa and John (my parents' names), Louie (my other dog's name), Andy, Jenny, Rachel, Matt, Cindy, Mary, Jack, and of course--Kevin! I think I have 10 Kevins. Oh, and I have another kid named Doodlez. He is neat. Yesterday, I informed him what his name means--doodles are little drawings that people make in the margin of their paper (obviously not limited to just that). He was fascinated by that. A girl named Lisa from that same class (which is my favorite 6th grade class) stares at me a lot--she says she likes my nose and wants plastic surgery--haha.

Overall, I really like teaching here. I don't have to take ANYthing home to grade. In fact, I don't do any grading period. When I check their homework (which is usually writing vocabulary words or completing a worksheet), I just make sure that it's finished. I've been informed that my sole purpose here is for the students to hear a native English speaker. I definitely have a curriculum to follow, and I always give my best, but the pressure and stress to be perfect (mostly self-inflicted) is not nearly what it was at home.

It's nice to take a moment to breathe for once. I can finally be a little selfish.

xx
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Image above: My first picture from a student. Julie-1 (there are two Julie's in the class) drew the character Portia on the wrong side of the sheet.
Thx to Owl City for helping me stay focused while writing this. I heart you lots.