Dangerous Classrooms

I spent the entire adult class just talking with them. That's me, hard at work! In the 2 PM class Dana had a badly skinned knee that I made a big deal out of. I asked her what happened, and several kids jumped up to demonstrate to me what happened! There's indoor/outdoor carpeting in that classroom, so Clint ended up with matching carpet burns on each knee as he showed me how Dana fell!

Teaching sure can be dangerous. I'm not sure quite how it happened because those brain cells were damaged in the incident, but I think I was bending over Cindy's desk to look at her work and Ally came over to look at it, too. Somehow or other Ally's hand or elbow or something hit the bridge of my nose harder than I think I've ever been hit before. My teeth rattled, my nose went numb, my head flew back, and my head started pounding. I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip to stay composed. After a few seconds I opened my eyes and reached up to feel my nose to see if it was still intact and to make sure it wasn't bleeding (the inside of my nose felt weird). It was still intact and it wasn't bleeding. Ally wasn't sure what reaction I'd have. She's in 3rd grade, and it was an accident, but she should have been sitting down! I said, "OUCH! Be careful!" Ally apologized, then started giggling. Uh, it's not funny! The following class was normal, except for the ringing in my ears. (I'm fine now.)

At 5 PM we learned the definition of the word "rude" and the behavior that the American teacher thinks warrants that definition. I walked into class and said, "Hello, how are you?" The response: nothing. The boys continued their conversation, while the girls just looked down at their books. I tried again, and one girl responded. The others began to quiet down. I asked again. Nothing, and the boys continued their conversation. Then they all got quiet, except for Sam. I sent him outside to stand with his arms raised above his head while I explained the behavior I expected from them. "When I say, 'Hello, how are you?' I expect you to respond, 'Hi, I'm fine, thanks, and you?'" After all, that's one of the first things they learned, many years ago! Later I let Sam back into class and gave him an abbreviated version of my speech.

At 6 PM I started by writing "diamond" on the board and asking them to pronounce it for me. After all the time we spent on it last week, I still heard several students pronounce it with the Korean pronunciation. I pretended to strangle Jack, hoping for them to realize how important it is to pronounce things correctly!!

In the 7 PM class we had wrestling class, or so Brandon would have us believe. He continued to put his classmates into headlocks or punch them and constantly talk. I put him outside of class with a chair held above his head for about 20 minutes, but when I let him back into class his behavior remained the same. After class I took him to the teachers' room. He hid from Kara, so I assume that she had threatened him. I explained my problem to her and she grabbed him by the ear and pulled his head down towards her (she was sitting down). Then she grabbed him by both ears and pulled them as she yelled at him. Is that what's called "boxing ears?" She then had him call his mother to say that he'd be late. The next hour she had him writing or studying or something in the video room. He's in the sixth grade, and SO smart, but also totally has ADD or something.

The new teachers--well, they certainly look normal, especially when compared to some of the foreign teachers in Korea. But as far as how they really are, that remains to be seen. Sandra said a couple of things they said last night scared her. (She and Lee picked them up from the airport, took them out for dinner, and drove them to Home Plus to get some groceries.) Tanya seems more independent; Matt had a hard time leaving home. When they were traveling in Italy the pollution really irritated her asthma. Uh, Ulsan is pretty polluted! Last night they stayed at Sandra's old apartment; this morning they said they want to have separate apartments. Sure a one-room is sort of small, but . . . weird. They've been together a year and a half, but apparently the relationship isn't particularly strong? Throughout the day (as they observed her classes) Sandra said they were snapping at each other.

Something that PERHAPS they should have told the school before coming is that Tanya has ADD. That could impact on her ability to be a good teacher! She didn't understand some things, and other things Sandra would explain but then Tanya would ask the exact thing just a few minutes later. I assume that Canada is a lot like the USA in that disability-type things don't matter when getting a job, but in Korea it's a big deal! For example, at Mr. Kim's other school the guy with diabetes who occasionally fell asleep in class because of his blood sugar being off or something to that effect--Michael (Samsan manager) was upset that he wasn't told that before the teacher came.

For now it's off to the wae-shik (work party). It's to say goodbye to Sandra and hello to Matt and Tanya. I was expecting it at some point, but I don't have any clean pants to wear tomorrow! I'd like to get home early enough to wash clothes, then let them dry overnight. Worst case, I'll just use some spray on the pants I have on now.