Victory!

Okay, yes, its been a long time since I updated. And I'm fully going to blame the computer. For some reason I couldn't log into my account. So instead of posting long-dead entries I wrote ages ago, I have a fun little list of the things I've learned since coming to teach in Korea.

What I’ve learned since coming to Korea:

-don’t do two things at once, especially in the classroom

-visual indication of rising irritating is essential for class management; the kids can’t “read” my “whiteness”; showing them a fist and saying “I’m getting angry” does wonders

-…the further the semester goes, the “Angier” I’ve had to be

-coloring is not a good activity

-stickers and balls are probably the two most useful tools I have

-the classroom is a mini-society; don’t piss the opinion leader off

            ~even if the opinion leader is a bratty princess

            ~or a future juvenile delinquent

            ~or a eccentric genius

            ~or a vapid teenager/obsessed soccer player

-pissing said opinion leader off begs the question, who is in charge? Me or the 10 year old… I win at the end of the day but then NO one is happy

-I feel like a politician in the classroom lobbying support…

- … or a salesman trying to make commission on a product that picks lint out from your toes

-sometimes the class changes its opinion for no apparent reason at all

-kids resist change and like repetition…

-until they turn into pre-teens, when they just resist everything

-schedules change like the monsoon sky ~ deal with it

-you can fill a whole period with teaching nonsense like Eenie meanie miney moe or Peter Piper in the name of phonics

-…surprise classes are the best… (see two bullets up)

-…I can take liberties with my classes and implement my own schedule changes… like sending them home early

-bored students are very, very bad

-bored, energetic students are even worse

-national health care isn’t necessarily better when you’re in BFN (although you can’t beat the $3 office visits and the $3 prescriptions)

-it is perfectly acceptable to wear a nice dress with a cover up… with black socks and blue clogs!

-cooking requires gochu jang (hot pepper sauce)

-dryers and bathtubs should be universal

-some days the better part of valor is throwing in the towel

-they’re just kids

We all have to survive 3 more weeks and then its summer vacation. Fighting!