Today is one of my easier days. I wake up around 6-6:13am depending on how I’m feeling. I catch the bus around 7:30am. My ride to school takes 30-40 minutes depending on how many stops it makes. I get to school about 40 minutes early because I enjoy less crowded buses. It also allows me to finalize the plans for the day or finish anything necessary.
I have 80 minute classes with grades 3 and 4 all in the morning. They are at low levels; therefore class is quite simple and basic. We start with phonics and then we go into the English book our school provides. We follow the material and interactive program it comes with.
At 12:20pm, lunch is served. Today we had some kind of dried fish side, radish kimchi, spaghetti, rice, garlicky sweet baguette, and a soup with potatoes and onions. After eating you can enjoy a little cup to tea like water. Korean school lunches always amaze me. It’s healthy and simple.
At 12:20pm, lunch is served. Today we had some kind of dried fish side, radish kimchi, spaghetti, rice, garlicky sweet baguette, and a soup with potatoes and onions. After eating you can enjoy a little cup to tea like water. Korean school lunches always amaze me. It’s healthy and simple.
Then after lunch I have the whole afternoon free to myself. I usually just plan my future classes. I try to have my Kindergarten and Basic afterschool lessons all planned out for the next days. And I also read a little from my current book "The Fault in our Stars."
4:40pm I leave my school to catch the bus home. Right after school I head to the gym to run and tone for an hour and a half. On Tuesdays and Wednesday I meet with my Korean mother and we practice English and Korean. She's actually not my real mother, but she has befriended me and is quite enthusiastic about being my Korean mother. Therefore in appreciation to her kindness, I am helping her learn English. But today I did not meet with her because she was busy. I just had home made dinner and now I'm finishing up this post. Now to the questions...
1) How does your school experience at the age of your students compare to that of your Korean students?
The number one thing I noticed about Korean Elementary aged students is their independence. All except for the Kindergarteners walk to school alone most of the time. The children at first sight seem quite mature and I frequently had to remind myself they’re just kids. Korean children seem a lot more mature compared to my time in Elementary school. At the end of the semester, the 6th graders even calculated all their grades to see their scores. They have afterschool classes and some even attend extra academic academies. They come back and forth to school on their own for the afterschool programs. In my childhood, I never left school to come back again on a daily basis and I don’t even remember calculating my school grades until high school. Although I’m sure they’re enjoying their childhood, it seems I was more carefree and juvenile. Korean children are definitely quite independent and it’s normal to see a 9 year old riding the bus alone.
2) If you had the opportunity to change 5 things at your school, what would they be and why?
1: 80-minute classes. I don’t know how the school expects children to stay focused for 80-minute classes, but that’s a hardcore power lecture and I would have hated it in Elementary school.
2: A co-teacher who actually likes and wants to teach English. Maybe it's because I'm located in the country, but my last co-teacher and my current co-teachers seem to be given this position because they were the youngest teachers. It's kind of the position no one wants, and people are forced into it. I think it would make it easier for me and the teacher if communication was better and the co-teacher's enthusiasm for English was happier. I know English may not seem fun, but it really can be fun. ♪ We are all in this together. ♪
3: Make the dirt play area into grass. My old co-teacher told me it’s expensive to maintain grass, therefore the children play on dirt. It’s not a big deal; it would just look more attractive and be comfy to play in from a western perspective.
4: A bigger craft selection to choose from. Sure it is common we all know teachers use a lot of their own money for crafts and supplies. It’d be nice if my school had more materials especially for creative projects. It’s quite limited at my school.
5: One thing I wish they did for me was show me everything and what’s available for me to use. For example it was only until the second semester I found the copier and knew I could laminate things in school. I had to snoop around to find things on my own.
Some visuals of my day:
I live on top of a flower shop.
Walking to the bus stop.
Bus stop: Even has a count down for when the bus will arrive.
The requirements of a Korean male.
My bus to school is more like a van... They even have BusTV to keep us entertained.
My school is surrounded by mountains. I know, it's too cool to be real.
The sign to my school.
Heading to my school.
Voila, my school.
If you can read Korean it says: Native teacher.
Peek a boo to my slippers.
In goes my outdoor slip ons.
Ready to go into the school.
Teachers lounge.
Mirror selfie in the teachers lounge...
Which one is for the English room??
Coffee and Tea.
Welcome to my world~~
My private desk office area.
Workin hard on lesson planning...
The free afternoon.
Check the other rad bloggers:
How are you liking "The Fault in our Stars"? I've heard good things.
ReplyDeleteAll of your 5 changes are great! Good points that I completely left off when writing my own. I'm glad my school has 40 minute classes. I taught an 80-minute after school class last school year and that was a lot of time to plan for and to keep the kids engaged. #2 is spot on - One of my co-teachers really did not want to teach English again this year, and she doesn't enjoy talking in English either. But the vice principal and principal made their choice.
Grass -- yes, please! Ah, and #5 - so true! Never even had a school tour. Just found out last week that there's a laminator somewhere in our school, that's all I know about its existence.