I thought I'd give you a feel for what a typical day looks like for me here...
6:30 am Monday(4:30 pm Sunday for you Nebraska folks)-Alarm goes off, eat some corn flakes, if you don't want rice for breakfast this is about your only other choice.
8:00 am -Start walking to school, it's a nice 15 minute walk along the river
8:50 am -This is when my first class of the day starts, each class lasts for 45 minutes and has about 30 students. My students are middle-schoolers, in the US we would say 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, here we say Middle School grade 1,2, and 3. My classes are alway pretty crazy- discipline is tough when the students don't really speak English. Sometimes there is a co-teacher in the room that may or may not help with classroom management (it just depends on the day : )
Back in the states I would be Mr. Williams, here I am 제시 (Jesse) 선생님 (sunsangnim) -Jesse teacher. Korean classrooms are definitely different than American, corporal punishment is still often used (especially in the country), students are free to hit eachother as much as they want as long as it doesn't disturb class, and giving the middle finger is more common than waving and simply means they don't agree with someone or don't like them.
My lessons always consist of videos and games to keep it interesting (the only way to hold the students' attention). My goal is to teach them conversational English, no 'this is the subject, etc...) -just teaching them how to speak. Some want to learn, others don't care.
I teach 4 classes on Monday, the rest of the time is spent planing, preparing, etc...
12:20 pm -Lunch time... Usually not a part of the day I look forward too...It usually is just me eating a pile of rice and getting asked if I am feeling well since I barely touched my squid (or kimchi, or octopus, or pig intestine, or dried minnows, or whatever the special of the day is)
4:30 pm -Time to go home! I walk home, meet Teresa (she will have been teaching at Mulya country school all day). We sit on the bed (I can't remember the last time I sat on a couch...) talk about our day and watch a little animal planet (the one English channel on our TV).
6:30 pm -Teresa whips up a delicious American-style supper using an assortment of Korean ingrediants. After supper we go for a walk along the river and eat some dessert (maybe ice cream in the shape of a fish filled with red-bean paste, or some banana milk, or some other treat)
10:00 pm -Bedtime. we usually end the day by watching a TV show (our favorites are Big Bang theory, 24, Modern Family, and Simpsons) on the computer. This is a little tricky since our computer is dying a slow and terrible death and has problems overheating, so we watch about 5 minutes of the show, let the computer cool for a few minutes, and repeat. If it is a weeknight or schoolday there is guarenteed to be someone partying, drinking, and making noise, so after they settle down it's off to bed to start again the next day!
6:30 am Monday(4:30 pm Sunday for you Nebraska folks)-Alarm goes off, eat some corn flakes, if you don't want rice for breakfast this is about your only other choice.
8:00 am -Start walking to school, it's a nice 15 minute walk along the river
8:50 am -This is when my first class of the day starts, each class lasts for 45 minutes and has about 30 students. My students are middle-schoolers, in the US we would say 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, here we say Middle School grade 1,2, and 3. My classes are alway pretty crazy- discipline is tough when the students don't really speak English. Sometimes there is a co-teacher in the room that may or may not help with classroom management (it just depends on the day : )
Back in the states I would be Mr. Williams, here I am 제시 (Jesse) 선생님 (sunsangnim) -Jesse teacher. Korean classrooms are definitely different than American, corporal punishment is still often used (especially in the country), students are free to hit eachother as much as they want as long as it doesn't disturb class, and giving the middle finger is more common than waving and simply means they don't agree with someone or don't like them.
My lessons always consist of videos and games to keep it interesting (the only way to hold the students' attention). My goal is to teach them conversational English, no 'this is the subject, etc...) -just teaching them how to speak. Some want to learn, others don't care.
I teach 4 classes on Monday, the rest of the time is spent planing, preparing, etc...
12:20 pm -Lunch time... Usually not a part of the day I look forward too...It usually is just me eating a pile of rice and getting asked if I am feeling well since I barely touched my squid (or kimchi, or octopus, or pig intestine, or dried minnows, or whatever the special of the day is)
4:30 pm -Time to go home! I walk home, meet Teresa (she will have been teaching at Mulya country school all day). We sit on the bed (I can't remember the last time I sat on a couch...) talk about our day and watch a little animal planet (the one English channel on our TV).
6:30 pm -Teresa whips up a delicious American-style supper using an assortment of Korean ingrediants. After supper we go for a walk along the river and eat some dessert (maybe ice cream in the shape of a fish filled with red-bean paste, or some banana milk, or some other treat)
10:00 pm -Bedtime. we usually end the day by watching a TV show (our favorites are Big Bang theory, 24, Modern Family, and Simpsons) on the computer. This is a little tricky since our computer is dying a slow and terrible death and has problems overheating, so we watch about 5 minutes of the show, let the computer cool for a few minutes, and repeat. If it is a weeknight or schoolday there is guarenteed to be someone partying, drinking, and making noise, so after they settle down it's off to bed to start again the next day!
I can't imagine how hard classroom management is when the kids don't speak the same language. I hope they realize what a blessing it is to have you and Teresa!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a year you guys have had! i bet you are thrilled to be heading home soon! those kids have definitely been blessed to have you guys. thanks for sharing, will keep praying for you both.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! We appreciate all the prayers and you staying updated with us :) We are beyond thrilled to be heading home and see family, and to say classroom management has been difficult at times is an understatement, but we manage! God helps us get through!!
ReplyDeleteEven if it is not apparent right now, you each have touched many lives . . . now water with prayer and believe God to bring the fruit.
ReplyDeletePraying that God's favor goes before you, His wisdom guides you, His peace and love overtake you, and His angels surround you!