Soooo, I’ve started several blog entries and for some reason or another never finished or posted them. How awful of me. Obviously Hell’s Kitchen and NCIS are more important.
A lot has happened but quick recap:
-I have a new co-teacher. She’s fresh out of uni and full of theory but not so much experience yet. That’s changing quickly. I don’t envy her first class. If they don’t chase her off, she might make it :D
-I have a new vice-principal. I really like her. She’s very ambitious and I’ve mentally started referring to her as ‘the Queen’ because she’s always holding court with someone: parents, teachers, staff, me, everyone. She has been giving me impromptu Korean lessons and I’ve been helping her with her English. It’s quite fun and gives a good example for the rest of the staff.
-I have 5 co-teachers instead of 3. One considers herself the main teacher, one considers herself the main teacher but tries to get me to participate as a co-teacher but doesn’t really seem to want me to participate at that capacity, one is great although new, one is overwhelmed, and one is pretty useless.
-I teach grade 1 and 2 combined 4x a week. Oh boy. Still not a fan of Grade 2 although Grade 1 is adorable. I’ve decided to keep their attention by clapping and voice changes. While successful, its high energy.
-I also teacher 3, 4, 5, and 6. I am using sticker charts and peer pressure to keep the kids in-line. 10/12 stickers (aka 5 or 6 weeks) of good behavior earns them an ice cream party. Now any time I need to keep discipline, I put an ‘x’ on the board. One x is a warning. Two X loses the sticker for the day. Three X means they stay after for 5 minutes with their heads down. Super simple, super effective. Only one class is out of control and its because its full of problem [mentally] children.
-I have been “encouraged” to teach role-plays and dramas. Er, first warm-up play went fairly well once the kids caught on that we were “acting.” I have some real hams in my 5, 6 B and they were doing improv. Which I encouraged!
Okay, that’s school stuff.
-I’m running a one-person animal shelter. So far I’m on dog #3. One dog had to go back to the shelter for being absolutely crazy and unpredictable. I said I’d take a small, mild dog and instead I got dog-eating, child-hating Cerberus. Dog #2 seems to have bladder problem and has turned into an bratty teenager. I am not amused. Um, other than that, I’m on cats #2 and 3. My kids brought me cat #1 and it lived locked in my bathroom for a week while Cerberus tried to eat it and my neighbors tried to throw it off the balcony. It has found a few permanent home. Now I have two feral, mangy kittens in the bathroom that are super cute and super quick going to someone else’s care. I’m trading two kittens for one English toy spaniel.
-I bought a wii and 150 games. Nothing like yelling at the super annoying “helper” creatures in the role-plays. I think Chef Ramsey has changed my language usage because I imitate his catch-phrase at them. Mostly I play Tetris. But the music reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 -I finally went to an anime convention. The cosplays were amazing although not very varied. It was Reborn, Black Butler, and a handful of others. The “dealers room” was actually a massive artist alley and very, very impressive. But, again, lots of the same stuff. The official (aka bootlegged from China) stuff was all outside. Still, I had a good time although I was late and tired. I met up with some other foreigners and we hung out and went to Costco. That was a convention of another kind :P Um, WOW.
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