I think the biggest challenge for me right now is the daily power struggle. When the kids get rambunctious (I don't think I've ever typed that word before, side note) and start to misbehave, it seems wise to take the time to sit them down and remind them of the rules. But it really isn't an enjoyable task. I have to use what I think is my stern look. And I have to be veerrrrry serious and discuss the consequences of misbehaving. I wonder if my look is as stern as I think it is...perhaps I'll try it in the mirror tonight.
Sometimes I just want to laugh and giggle and not ask Tony A. to put his shoes away for the fifteenth time in one class period.
'Tony A., put your feet back in your shoes.'
'Tony A., either put your insoles back in your shoes or put them in your backpack.'
(At this point he's been holding up the insoles like Mickey Mouse ears...or using them as helicopter blades. Creative kid, I have to give him that.)
'Tony A., do your feet hurt? Do you need to see the nurse?'
'Tony A. No sticker for you today.'
'Put your shoes back on.'
I am genuinely intrigued by Tony A. Do his shoes hurt his feet or is he against wearing shoes? And I think it's funny that he wears little slip-on dress shoes with tassles on them. Maybe I need to buy him some lace-up tennis shoes. But somehow I think he'd end up jumping rope with the laces or making some kind of sling shot or who knows what? Maybe slip-ons are the safest option. I kind of want to take off my own shoes and relax a little when I see him. But, alas, I do my best to keep the class in order. I think it has been good to keep the disciplinarian thing going, even if it doesn't seem fun. I think the kids are learning a lot and I hope I'm right. This Thursday will be my first 'observation class' for my preschoolers. One of my supervisors will sit in on a lesson and give me feedback. I'm looking forward to it because I want to know if I'm doing something...or things...that I shouldn't be or not doing things I should do. So here's hoping I get some good feedback.
Below are two class photos. And I hope you don't mind if I say a few things about each student. They're such characters and I spend hours with them everyday so I can't help but babble on and on about them.
*The man in the first photo is my partner teacher, Sam. Sam teaches M Class in the morning while I teach L Class. After snacktime, he teaches the same lesson to L Class and I teach my same lesson to M Class. Sam is great to work with and very fun. This is his second year of teaching and he's the only male Korean preschool teacher. I'm pretty sure the kids love him. He recently became a proud papa to a little boy and I hope to meet his wife and son at some point.
Sam Teacher with L Class.
Students from L to R: Minhan, Kevin, Blue Sally, Lucy, Danny, Sun, Yellow Sally, Daniel and the infamous Tony A.
Minhan is the student with his tongue sticking out. He looks sweet and he's incredibly sensitive but he can be quite the troublemaker. He feeds off of Tony A. so they sit as far from each other as possible.
Kevin is above Minhan and just about the cutest kid ever. Oh, who am I kidding? They're all adorable! They really are.
Blue Sally came to school on the first day with a note from her mom telling us she's changed her English name from Grace to Sally. We had another Sally in the class so they picked their favorite colors so we can tell them apart. Oddly enough, some mornings we go around in a circle and tell our favorite colors and Blue and Yellow Sally always say purple. Hmm.
Lucy was called Seung En for the first day. Some parents/students choose to be called by their Korean names which makes sense to me. Must be confusing. But I suppose I went by Rosa in my Spanish class back in the day and it helped get me into the spirit of learning another language so maybe using English names isn't a bad idea. And, selfishly, it makes it easier for us English teachers! My older kids in my afternoon class laughed the first five times I tried to pronounce Young-Seo. But now that I've got it, I enjoy calling her by her given name. It seems weird sometimes that I don't know some of these kids' real names. Lucy is new to this school and has been shy at times but she seems more comfortable every day.
Danny is the lil' guy giving the peace sign. He's lovely and always good for a quick answer if none of the students are volunteering. And, again, so cute.
Sun always seems older than a 7 year-old to me. She has this no nonsense look and to me it seems like she's thinking, 'Really? We're going to learn upper-case letters today? Do you realize we're seven?' Every morning, the kids partner up to read back a few sentences of dialogue and she always partners with Eric from my other class. They hold hands while they read. It takes every bit of my will power not to smile and stare. It's just so sweet! They don't think anything of it. No awkward or self-concious thoughts. It's so great and I love seeing it every day. I wonder when the classroom romances begin at this school? I know I had my steady elementary school boyfriend by age 8. Just sayin.
Yellow Sally is probably the smartest in L Class. She usually finishes early and I can't count the number of times I've said 'Raise your hand if you know the answer. Someone other than Yellow Sally.' She's always trying to help the other students finish their work. Very sweet girl.
Daniel cracks me up daily. He's just so tiny and he's never in a rush. I wish I could hear his thoughts. I have to nudge him to bring him back from wherever it is he's been so he can finish writing his A words or finish pasting an apple onto an alligator. But he's always smiling and he's a smart kid once he's in the zone.
And Tony A. Oh, Tony A. First of all, he's Tony A. because last year there were two Tony's in his class. Not the case this year so the A. is unnecessary but he insists that we call him Tony A. Now that I've said his name so much (at least 23043 times), I think I agree that Tony A. fits better than Tony. It just fits. My favorite moments with Tony A. are in the mornings. He's usually first to class because he lives in the same building as the school and he's always a little shy for the first two minutes...and only for the first two minutes. We usually share a smile and how do you do and then before I know it he's running down the hallway probably chucking his shoes at his classmates from last year. I wonder if he thinks people like his socks? I don't know...I'm still so curious.
And now, M Class:
Kelly Teacher with M Class.
L to R: Claudia, Eric, Sunny, Daniel, Thomas, Sharon, Julie, Kelly
Claudia is a smart girl but she's always pulling candy from her pockets or getting up from her chair to put something in her backpack. I can see why Sam Teacher assigned her a seat at the front of the room on the first day. But when she's paying attention, she is a great student.
Eric is Sun's hand-holding friend. He is a smart, smart kid and, understandably, he gets bored easily. I probably shout his name and scold him the most, second only to Tony A in L Class. He likes to snoop in Kelly Teacher's things and wander around the room humming songs. My favorite thing so far about Eric is his above average skill on the air guitar. I'm pretty sure I've let music class run longer on more than one occasion just to enjoy his show for an extra minute. He's also pretty good with the air drums.
Sunny is a sweet, smart boy but for much of the class he's off in dream world. He's another sensitive kid and tends to cry every few class periods. Today he tried to tell me what was wrong but I couldn't understand him. I just asked if he was going to be OK, gave him a hug and brought him back to his seat. I feel horrible when these kids try to tell me something in English and I can't understand them. It happens once in awhile. I wish I could understand at least some Korean so I can at least get the gist. But if it was something they desparately needed me to know, there is a woman by the name of Lim Teacher that is usually not far from our class. She's great with the kids, of course, and can gather the message.
Daniel is probably the smartest kid in M Class. He finishes early and he's the reason I am needing to think up some extra activities or puzzles. He's a good kid but today he said 'No!' after I asked if everyone was going to work hard for the last half hour before break. I shot him the death stare...not sure if it was scary or not but he seemed to regret it. Muah ha haaaaa.
Thomas....oh, I can't help but giggle whenever I think of Thomas. He's got these big, dark eyes and he's so eager to give an answer. And also eager to get out of class. Most of my conversations with Thomas consist of the same answers to his request to go to the bathroom or get some water. 'Thomas, you're a second-year student now. Can you wait until we go as a class in twenty minutes?' 'Do you really need a drink of water right now? Didn't you just drink a cup of water with your snack ten minutes ago?'
Sharon is a smart girl and she strikes me as someone that only does what she wants to do. I'm always secretly relieved when she volunteers an answer. I actually think it's unfair that I think this about her. Maybe she reminds me of some former classmate that didn't listen well or something. She just looks like she knows everything already and can't be bothered. But she does her work and she's a good student. So shame on Kelly Teacher.
Julie reminds me of what I think I might have been like as a 7 year-old student. I was always the goodie-two-shoes or at least that's how I remember it. ;) She is a smart student and always paying attention. She cracks me up on Monday mornings...or at least on the two Monday mornings that I've had her in class. On Monday mornings I like to ask the students what they did over the weekend. I usually have a follow-up question ready. For example, if a student says they played on the weekend, I might ask if they played with their baby sister or if they played with a friend. With Julie, it's like this:
Kelly Teacher: 'Julie, what did you do this weekend?'
Julie: 'This weekend I went to my grandma's house and I became an auntie and we saw a show and on Saturday I slept and on Sunday I ate pizza and then last night I did homework and my cousin played and today I go to ice skating and my favorite color is purple and I like lions.'
Kelly Teacher: 'Thanks, thank-, thank you, Julie. Thomas, what did you do this weekend?'
Kelly is the last girl in the picture. She's so smart and a good kid. You'd think I would remember her name but I confuse her with Sharon. The two girls look so similar and I've made the mistake so many times that I think now they both will answer to either name. Oops. Kelly and Julie are buddies and always hold hands when we line up for our bathroom breaks. It's so sweet. BFFs.
All of these kids really are amazing. So smart and generally well-behaved. I can't imagine what it will feel like to say goodbye after a full year as their teacher. I witnessed some tearful goodbyes at the graduation ceremony two weeks ago and I expect I'll feel the same. But enough thinking about the end of the year...I'm only a month in - eleven more to go!
I hope all is well on the other side of the world or wherever this finds y'all.
Nighty night!
Kelly
Enjoyable read, Kelly Teacher! The kid flashing the peace sign is classic.
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