 I was fortunate that my final day of teaching with my MTHS contract was at Yeongsoon Elementary School. Though, as I have discussed before I don't particularly enjoy teaching this age group I do like kids and we spent the day coloring, playing games and enjoying cookies and juice. In order to get the kids excited about their new teacher and to help her feel more welcome I had each student write a few sentences about him or herself. They then colored the cards and we hung them up on a board for everyone to see. Below are a few photos from our day -
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With school out it's time for summer camps! As I explained in the previous post though technically schools are on vacation at the moment students still attend school for summer camps. This week I taught 3 days at Yeongsun Elementary School's summer camp. I was told that I would teach 4 40 minute classes every day, 2 of which would be the "upper level" students (a broad term that includes a native speaker and a few students who still have difficulty writing their names but consisted of the 4th, 5th and 6th graders in addition to two 3rd graders) followed by 2 classes teaching "lower level" students - i.e. 1st, 2nd and most of the 3rd graders. While one level would be in the classroom with me the other would be studying with a different English teacher and the classes would switch after a short break. After a lot going back and forth between doing a theme of lessons on birthdays or the Olympics (with some helpful input and lesson plans from my cousin Chris) I finally decided to do one on the 6 tastes because I already have powerpoints made for those lessons in addition to the cookie recipe I wanted to use worked better with that concept. This turned out to be a smart decision because the other English teacher was doing a lesson on birthdays on the first day. On our first day of class the students learned the tastes - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy and savory. They got to try 10 different foods and determined which of the tastes they exemplified. Below are the students tasting the foods and writing the answers on their worksheet.    On day 2 we learned nine new vocabulary words for describing the texture of food - hot, cold, hard, soft, creamy, chewy, crunchy, light (fluffy) and greasy. In addition to a couple of games I had the students write a few sentences about their favorite foods using the new vocabulary and color a picture to go with it. I thought the students would grumble about such an English-intensive activity during camp but surprisingly most worked diligently on their sentences and even more so on their pictures.    After they completed their sentences we had a sharing portion. Korea's English education system emphasizes reading and writing - to the detriment of verbal skills. My goal at my schools has always been for students to grow more comfortable speaking in English - beginning with reading their own thoughts and eventually progressing to natural dialogues. Since the upper level class is a mixture of English speakers I expected many of the lower level students might feel a bit shy presenting in front of their peers. However, much to my surprise the majority of the students volunteered to read their sentences in front of one another. Many of them also were able to answer the comprehension questions I asked after each presentation.    Our final day of class was a cooking day and the students were incredibly excited about the prospect of making cookies. We first reviewed the recipe and the students had to put it in order (in hindsight this was too difficult for their level but most put their best effort towards it) and then I split the class into two groups which would take turns cooking. We made no bake peanut butter chocolate cookies which were a hit. I was surprised to learn that the school has a 350,000 won budget just for its English summer camp. We were able to purchase all of our cooking and craft materials for camp and use the remaining money to buy English games, crayons, markers and journals for the fall term.    While the other groups cooked students played a matching/memory game with cards I had made with the new vocabulary. After enjoying their cookies I handed out rewards for the students who had earned the most stickers for good behavior and correct answers during our 3 days of camps. They received pencils, an eraser, sitcky notes, tootsie pops and an English notebook. The green team, the students with the most stickers are pictured below on the right.    Though my summer camp classes with the older students went remarkably well I had many difficulties with the lower level classes. Out of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classes I have only taught the 3rd graders and they are by far my most rambunctious class. After working with the students and observing the Korean teachers interacting with them I realize that there is a very different approach towards classroom management in elementary schools in Korea and the United States. In Korea it seems the teachers take on a very motherly role with minimal discipline. Misbehaving students are reminded repeatedly in a sing-songy voice to behave but face absolutely no consequences for their actions. These younger students stood on their chairs, the table, got up repeatedly during class, tried to climb a pole and chattered away every day. It was so bad that after the first day I requested a Korean teacher to join me in the classroom for the rest of camp because I was worried about the students acting out while we cooked and hurting themselves. Initially I this behavior was in part because of the language barrier however the students acted the same way with the Korean teacher in the room so I believe its their typical classroom behavior. I also suspect that at least three of the boys have AD/HD but she assured me they had been tested previously for it and were just rowdy little boys. People with special needs still face difficulties within school and discrimination within the society so parents prefer their children are not "labeled" as such and sadly the end result is that the children do not receive the guidance they need to successful maneuver through the education system. For this reason I am hesitant to accept that the boys are simply just rowdy when they are constantly hyper and fidgety.    Since the younger class was much more difficult to handle a good portion of each class involved redirection back towards the task at hand. The students learned the 6 words for taste and we reviewed the words with pictures, a taste test, games and the cookie making activity. For some reason during this activity the Korean teacher disappeared - leaving me to manage 20 small children who understand minimal English. It was a test of patience to try to supervise one group and keep them relatively quiet while they colored pictures of their favorite food while at the same time making cookies with the other group. This camp has just reconfirmed my assertion that my classroom strengths do not include the patience nor aptitude to work with small children. I was very thankful when the camp came to a close and I can return to the high school where I will desk warm for a week before a week of summer camp classes there.    School is out for the next month, however, unlike their counterparts in the USA Korean students will not be enjoying a season of early evening baseball games, sleepovers, pool parties other summer activities. Instead many Korean students will attend summer camps where they will study (high school) or play educational games (elementary school) for most of their break. It was a bit disheartening when I asked my academic high school students about their summer plans and they all responded with "I will study at school." I felt guilty telling them I was heading to Japan for 9 days. In Korea it appears that extracurricular activities like sports, clubs and part-time jobs are viewed as unwelcome distractions from the time needed to study which will help prepare the students for the ever important college entrance exams. Unlike in the US where those activities help enhance a college application and set apart even academically excellent students here I suspect here they're seen as a waste of time. Even at my technical school which puts less of an emphasis on academics than other high schools has a week of English summer camps which consists of 4 hours of class a day. Summer school started today at Yeongsun Elementary School. Below is a picture of my upper level English class during the taste test portion of the lesson. We have summer camps for 3 days this week during the morning. I teach these 20 upper level students for 2 forty minute sessions and then I teach 20 lower level students for the remaining 2 forty minute sessions. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share at the end of the week. 
Throughout June and July my 5th and 6th graders made pinatas. I promised them if they were good during that time I would bring them some candy back from the USA for their pinatas. A couple of weeks ago we took the pinatas outside and the students enjoyed breaking them open for the candy (unfortunately I didn't take into account that due to the heat the chocolate I brought for them would melt ...). The pictures below are from our project.  On Tuesday all but three of my classes were canceled at the elementary school because the students were preparing for their upcoming Sports Festival on Friday. The students spent two hours in the late morning being organized into groups,competing in races, running relays and hula hooping. On the day of the festival the school will open to the public and parents will attend the festival and watch their children compete in a variety of events.
In my 6th grade afternoon class I had the students journal about Sports Festival and most admitted that they didn't enjoy it because they dislike running. However, one girl acknowledged that even though she doesn't like to run she did like that after the Sports Festival school was dismissed and she could leave early. Below is a video of the students practicing what I think is the school song. I heard it at an assembly earlier in the school year. The school is very small with about 50 students from kindergarten up to 6th grade and I teach all by kindergarten, first and second grades.  Awhile back I received an e-mail from the JET Alumni Association which shared the request of a retired professor who was collecting Christmas cards for the children of Tohoku. Though the name might not seem familiar I am sure everyone remembers the tragic earthquake which struck Japan in the spring of 2011 resulting in the deaths of over 15,000 people, the loss of homes and the subsequent nuclear melt down at Fukushima. Tohoku was the region which was hit the hardest. The professor hoped that by collecting Christmas cards from around the world it might bring some hope and cheer to the children adversely affected by the tragedy. Since I had already planned on teaching a class on Christmas I decided to have the students make cards for the project. After a brief lesson on Christmas and traditional Christmas greetings I provided each student with a blank white card, paper, stickers, scissors and glue and allowed them to make a card of their own design. Inside each card they wrote a holiday message in English. The day's results were nearly 30 brightly colored and imaginative cards from my elementary school students. I mailed them to Japan yesterday and hope that the children will enjoy them. If you're interested in sending a Christmas card to Japan please send them to - 985-0802 NOYAMA 5-9, YOSHIDAHAMA SHICHIGAHAMA-CHO MIYAGI-PREF. JAPAN SHICHIGAHAMA-CHO Saigai-Volunteer Center Mrs. MAYUMI HOSHI (To Boys & Girls) The e-mail did not provide a deadline for the project and I imagine they will happily accept cards after Christmas since it is a relatively minor holiday in Japan which leads up to New Years day which is celebrated much like Christmas in America with family gatherings, large meals and typically a trip to the local shrine to pray for good luck for the following year.  Last week after providing an update about my elementary school's Flat Stanley project I happened to look at the statistics for this blog and was surprised to see that 70 different people visited the blog that day. I was a bit taken aback because I assumed the only people checking the blog were my parents, a few siblings and other relations as well as a handful of friends. So, in my mind I've been writing for a total of maybe 20 people who are already somewhat familiar with my adventures because they had heard about them directly from me or through the family grapevine. After the surprise wore off I realized many of you don't know I teach at three schools nor any of the other details with which I took for granted you already knew. In order to rectify this I will introduce my different schools over the next week or so. Since I've already mentioned my elementary school I thought I'd start there. I teach at a small rural elementary school once a week. It's a few kilometers outside of Jeomchon so each morning a teacher picks me up and every afternoon a different teacher drops me off at my apartment. The elementary school is so small that my average class size is seven. Yes, you read that right - 7. I teach 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades. As I mentioned in my previous post a few of my students are near native English speakers. From what I understand their parents are somehow associated with the recent construction of an English medium private Christian middle and high school across the street. When they reach 6th grade they will transfer to the private school but for now I am responsible for teaching them English. It is one of the most challenging aspects of my job at this school because while half the class struggles with "this is a pencil" these students are far beyond that point and they should be studying English grammar in order to improve their written English. For now, I ask them to write journal entries so they can at least practice writing English at a higher level. At this school I teach 6 classes a day - teaching just one class to the 3rd and 4th grade classes before teaching English twice to 5th and 6th graders. Overall my classes are well-behaved although the 5th grade class is a bit noisy are as any class with 6 rowdy little boys. Though there are many aspects which are similar between US and Korean elementary schools there are also numerous differences. When you first enter the school you come upon cabinets filled with shoes. You are required to remove your shoes and wear indoor shoes. This didn't surprise me all that much, in fact I brought a pair of shoes for exactly this occasion because it's pretty standard in Japan and I assumed there would be a similar cultural norm in Korea. Here, things appear to be a bit lenient regarding the indoor/outdoor shoe policy and teachers (and students) will wander outside around the school yard wearing their indoor shoes before heading back into the building.     |  Tot sobre mi
I'm easily distracted by shiny and colorful objects, excitable about random things, overwhelmed by loud noises and crowds, an overly picky eater and a real grump if I don't get 8 hours of sleep each night - yes, I have a lot in common with the average toddler. Currently, I teach English in Korea while I complete my master's thesis on diasporic Hindu traditions in the U.S. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, exploring my new town and traveling. ArchivesDecember 2013 CategoriesAll |
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