Thoughts from Seohung
Today I had lunch with the principal and vice principal. When we first met the principal he had wild hair and seemed pretty crazy. After meeting him a few more times he just seems like a very jovial sort of guy. His hair has been combed since. Perhaps it was just Friday casual the first time I saw him. The vice principal has his desk in the same room as me and his main job seems to be to water the plants. This may seem like a menial task, but I am coming to learn that plants are very important to the Koreans. We're hoping to get some ourselves.
Neither the principal or the vice principal speak English, so I wan't entirely sure what we were going to do at lunch. Mostly I just smiled and ate big bites of kimchee to impress the principal who was clearly watching to see what I would do when I ate it. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up, which allowed him to relax. I myself feel quite safe in my job now, knowing that I have passed the test.
It was quite chilly this morning as I walked to the bus. It made me wish I had my gloves on, but it's still warm enough to wear sandals, for me at least. The sun is out right now and the office has giant windows, so it's a pleasant place to sit and "rest," which is what the teachers are always telling me to go do. I was even shown the secret teacher's resting room which has a couch! Although it's locked most of the time, so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to use it.
I had two classes of 8th graders today (second years in Korean) and have decided that I definitely prefer the younger 7th graders who are much more exciting and willing to speak up in class. It's amazing what a year can do. Of course, they were quieter than the first years, but less enthusiastic. I missed most of my second year classes which were yesterday because Jordan and I had the day off to get our alien cards, so I'll have to give the second years are few more opportunities to impress me.
You have a sleeping room!
I have heard rumors of this miraculous Korean innovation... supposedly there's one for men and one for women. So far as I've ever been able to determine neither of my schools is blessed with them, but then there's plenty of rooms into which I haven't been.
Be really careful with the first-years, they will wear you down. I teach only first-year classes at Chungju Middle School, and I've found that it's a welcome relief to go to Tangeum and teach my second- and third-year classes. The thing about the 7th-graders is that they have a lot of energy, but they're utterly incapable of focusing it; all of the activities I use that work great with the 8th- and 9th-graders fall flat with the younger classes because they give up on following the directions after a period of thirty to fourty seconds. The older kids may seem quiet now, but if you find a way to pique their interest (music, movies, celebrities, and hangman always work---what is it with Korean children and hangman, anyway?) they will reward you by producing awesome things like the pictures I posted on my blog.
Then again, if your co-teacher actually likes the children and knows how to manage them, you could be in a sweet spot indeed with your first-year classes...
---Matthew