I want to be an entomologist*

07 Nov 2008
Posted by Marisa
Marisa's picture

So I have one full week as en English teacher under my belt, well almost, anyway, it's just Friday morning. I have a few classes left to do. But one week done, many more left, and I think all in all, I am an okay teacher. I succeeded in getting a class to play charades yesterday (although I couldn't convince any of the boys to act out ballerina, middle schoolers are the same everywhere I guess). I also tried to become everyone's favorite teacher by playing hangman in one class because I had been assured by both Matthew, Jordan and the internet that all Koreans love to play hangman more than breathing. So I was extremely disappointed when the class just sat there and stared at me. They proceeded to sit and stare at me through the whole class, never showing an ounce of excitment, not for hangman and not for the word find I made for them. Needless to say that class has been demoted to my least favorite and I will not plan fun things for them anymore, since they like fun things about as much as they like being poked with a stick.

My other classes are much more enjoyable. I had some lessons this week about Halloween, a carry over from last week, so I played some clips from Charlie Brown Halloween. And while I always thought it was too sad to be funny, all the students laughed loudly when Charlie Brown received rock after rock while trick or treating. I also showed a "dubious" clip of an old Frankenstein movie. Ms Park was making dubious faces while I showed it, perhaps she thought it too scary for the students. But Halloween is Halloween, after all, and what is the holiday without a good horror movie?

Now I've moved onto explaining natural disasters, which is not nearly as much fun as Halloween, or My Hopes and Dreams. Although I'm looking forward to Internet Shopping in one of the text books.

I've also been enjoying my conversation classes this week, but as I have one still this afternoon, I'll wait a bit before I post on that.

The only real downfall to school is my computer, which is really too old to be functional. I spend about half the day waiting around for it to catch up. (That last sentence took about two minutes to appear). So soon I will likely have a break down and throw the computer out the window. Or else, I will be like Jordan and bring my Eee PC** to school and hack onto the network.

I am, of course, looking forward to the weekend, which is full of promise. It may include Korean Barbecue, a trip to Seoul, huge walking extravaganza, and/or a shocking new hair cut for me. You'll just have to check back and see what happens.

Marisa and her Eee

*One of my students wanted to know the word for a person who studies insects.  I had to look it up.

**The Eee PC is my new laptop, likely to be referred to as the Eee or My Mini. Eee stands for Easy, Excellent and Exciting, what more could you want in a computer. Except perhaps to know that it is Rock Solid -- Heart Touching, which is the company's motto.

Ornithologist, photographer, botanist, astronomer

...These are a few of the words to which Mrs. Kim decided to introduce the class while we were doing that lesson. I love that you have a wannabe-entomologist; the most interesting answer I got from my students was "diplomat." (And remember that they only say that because everyone in Chungbuk wants to be like Ban Ki-moon. Which is not really a bad thing---if you're going to model yourself after a political figure he's definitely one of the most admirable possible choices---but still.)

Your co-teacher was unsure about Frankenstein?! Dude! One of my co-teachers showed "Jumper" in class to reward them for... I'm not sure what, but anyway she didn't mind all the sex and violence. And I think every middle-schooler I've asked has seen "Oldboy," which is a great film but is at Takashi Miike levels of ultraviolence/incest.

I guess that I'm lucky with my school computers; they take forever to boot, but once they're up things move reasonably fast.

And that class who didn't start screaming the second you mentioned "hangman" is clearly not Korean. Marisa, you've found a nest of illegal immigrants or Communist spies! Report them immediately!


So long for hangman

Actually, none of my classes have screamed when I've played hangman.  In fact, I think I'm going to have to give it up.  One class stared at me, one class responed somewhat favorably, and one class was too smart and just guessed the word.  Perhaps I'll try it someday with my first years, but I guess the second years in Gunsan are just too cool for hangman.  
I think you would be shocked by how well behaved the students are most of the time.  Despite their enthusiasm when I was introducing myself, they can actually be quiet while I'm speaking.  


Maybe you should try whole

Maybe you should try whole phrases instead of inidividual words... my length record was "Come away, O human child, to the waters and the wild." They gasped at all the blank spaces and cheered when they finished it successfully. Then I was able to use the phrase to illustrate patterns of stress in English. (Usually I start with "To be or not to be, that is the question," since it's pretty easy.)

At any rate, you have my sympathy... even my ninth-graders are hairbrained for hangman.


Woah!

I missed that last part---I am shocked at your students' quietness. They have got to be drugging them... or at least denying them caffeine.


Hangman

My students also really like hangman. REALLY like hangman. REALLY LIKE HANGMAN! I think Marisa must have an odd bunch... either that, or Marisa is playing a different game with them and calling it hangman. Do you know how to play hangman Marisa?