Reflections of an ESL Teacher

I'm not sure how to share this without sounding completely ignorant so for those of you with education backgrounds, bear with me.

A good friend emailed me a few weeks ago asking about the "real" experiences Chris and I have had as elementary teachers so far. She also asked about how I have seen myself progress as a teacher over the months and how I feel about that process. This sparked a lot of much overdue and necessary reflection on my part.

As I thought about myself as a teacher I started to get frustrated with my proclivity to organization. Over the last few months I have really gotten into a groove of how I like my classes to "work" and I've become meticulous about the material covered. Although I don't always have tangible lesson plans, I do have a somewhat unpolished plan in my head and seem to always have time against me. It's hard because in some classes we've been given very strict guidelines and time restrictions, however in other classes everything is very relaxed and open-ended.

My reading classes are on a stringent schedule which, in my opinion, is too intense for the students but I will do as I'm told, even if the poor students have no idea what is going on. My language classes are completely unrestricted - as long as I complete the book by February 2010. It's been very hard for me to find a balance between these two standards and I've naturally leaned toward the more restrictive schedule. I have found myself being in constant battle with the clock which in turn, makes me feel like a horrible teacher who can't accomplish anything. Don't get me wrong, I know that some of my students are fine with the fast-pace style and are actually excelling, but some of them are left in the dust and will be behind their peers.

I've found it extremely difficult to reach all students with varying English abilities in one short class. Haha, welcome to teaching, huh? I just can't imagine having more than ten students at one time; the vast difference in ability would be too hard to handle. I've been trying to reorganize my classes to include more time to discuss/chat/ask questions without losing focus on the reason the kids are here. It has been made clear to us that BIS is not a conversational school; it's very academically structured. I attended academically focused schools and I constantly compare myself to teachers who at the time I didn't necessarily like, but now am thankful for. I think that is the kind of teacher I want to be (as long as the kindergartners like me), yet still I learn something new everyday and am in constant transformation as an educator.

Although many aspects of this job are out of my hands, I have wishes for myself and the students, some are within reason and some are distant dreams that are impractical.

- I wish the classes were longer.
- I wish all students learned English at the same time - giving them a more even ability.
- I wish I had more time to focus on vocabulary and accurate comprehension.
- I wish the students didn't pick up bad habits from other academies and adults.
- I wish I knew a successful way to break those habits.

Despite my negative feelings and frustrations, I love my job. Around our sixth month mark, I had a couple of rough weeks (i.e. I was a grumpy, probably very ineffective, teacher). But since then I've really started to feel the pure happiness/excitement of our first few weeks in Korea (more on that later). I feel incredibly blessed to have a job that makes me want to be better, that tests my strengths and weaknesses, that consistently teaches me about myself and the unique cognition of children.

Thankful Thursday

This week we have found ourselves being very thankful for...

cool evenings
a clean apartment
playing cards
new books
wrinkle free clothing

Some Pics of Aug/Sept

Thankful Thursday

Today we are thankful for...

easily accessible and inexpensive health care
Korean lessons from taxi drivers
Costco goodies

rice juice

universal hand gestures/communication

Hand Fail

My very adorable and very clumsy husband (sorry babe) had a run in with the pavement this past weekend that cost him a right scaphoid fracture and six weeks in a cast. Christopher and I and two of our wonderful coworkers, Lourdes and Gina, went to a lovely wine cruise event on Saturday evening. After tasting, a little consumption, and giving himself a pseudonym, Chris attempted to show some skills and while losing his balance (the consumption may have had something to do with it) tried to break a fall and instead broke his hand. With help from Mr. Kim, Christopher was able to get all taken care of at a nearby clinic. Fortunately, the break is not as bad as it could have been. Some cases lead to surgery and much recovery but six weeks will fly by for us. Unfortunately, this comes at an inopportune time - we've started training for a marathon and Chris is not looking forward to running with a cast on, being a sweat master and all. Although this could be a very bad situation, we are looking at the positive side - we get some more up close and personal bonding ;)

Thankful Thursday

We are thankful for many things today, here are a few...

11 months of wedded bliss
private lessons
To Do lists
morning coffee
the fact that it's already Thursday again

Booty Call and Paranoia

No this post does not have anything worse than PG-13 content, fear not.

My poor wife has been plagued by paranoia as long as I have known her. If she is the least bit worried about her actions, she'll be sure to keep an eye glued over her shoulder.

For example one of my favorite paranoia memories...

Spring 2004 Lauren and I took a trip out to Santa Barbara for spring break to hang out in sunny California with Danika and Brandon. We were only freshmen in college and too young to purchase adult beverages. Through "good" fortune, I obtained an ID card of a six foot tall, blue-eyed male who could pass as me about one out of fifteen times. While the four of us sat in the car outside of a shady enough liquor store, Lauren looked this way and that, white as a ghost. The other three of us discussed what I should attempt to get.

Everytime someone walked by the car Lauren would try to act OVERLY casual by peering out the window, scratching her arm, or awkwardly bobbing her head to the music as she pleaded with us to turn around.

I finally got the courage and headed inside. While inside, Brandon decided to play Lauren a little bit.
"Wait, guys, I think that is an undercover cop over there." - Brandon
"WHAT!! Where?!?!" - Lauren
"Right there, look!" -Brandon

Lauren of course was now nervous as all get out. I was inside, probably about to get arrested. Everybody else would be charged with being an accomplice to the crime (or so the little voice in her head told her). Too panicked Lauren says "Yes, I think you are right. That guy has a badge. Guys, seriously, I just saw his badge!"

Fail, it was no cop. Just your average citizen. We left there with no run-ins with the law, thankfully.

Well, paranoia reared its ugly head again just the other day.

The gym in our building is in the basement along with part of the parking garage and the recycling/dumpster area. Next to recycling people drop off old furniture (where we found our lovely night stands). Whenever we go to the gym, we always head over there to take a look to see what people are throwing out.

Low and behold, this day there was a navy blue, leather couch. I could tell Lauren wanted it as we looked it over and contemplated rescuing it. However, I also saw that little jitter and look in her face that screams "oh my gosh, we are going to get caught". Mind you, we aren't stealing, but the paranoia remains. Finally we were able to get over her fear hurdle and loaded the couch into the elevator. We rode up as Lauren frantically looked at the numbers praying for no stops before floor six. Again, safe.

We made it all the way to our apartment with only one man giving us strange looks. All cleaned and set up, it is not a bad little couch.

11:30PM, the digital sounds of Fur Elise blast out through the doorbell. We look up to see who it is. (Seriously, the whole video camera doorbell thing is so awesome). There we see a Korean man with a serious face and hands on hip. We look at each other and then back to the screen (panic white sets across Lauren's face). Quietly we say surely he'll go away, after all it is almost midnight and we're both in bed. Not 12 seconds later he pushes the doorbell again. 5 seconds later, tries the handle.

In a matter of 30 seconds he rang the doorbell four times and tried the handle three. The impatience he showed was absurd! Lauren finally says "ugh, just go open it, I know they have cameras in the building, I'm sure he is coming to get the couch back! Ugh! What are we going to say!! I'm so embarrassed!!"

I can't do anything but laugh. Finally I get to and open the door. The guy takes a step forward like he is going to come in and looks up and sees this white guy standing there. Bewildered, he does some funny hand motions, first the touchdown type sign, then the giant arm "X", then bowed, and walked away.

Not sure what he was doing, or what he wanted. We can only guess a booty call...thankfully he wasn't coming for the couch...

Fall is here!

The weather is finally cooling down here in Seoul. Christopher and I made it through the practically unbearable humidity of monsoon season and are beginning to enjoy the delightful days of early fall. The summer weather was hard on us; our bodies never quite adjusted to the moist weather. Coming from the dry heat of Colorado and Arizona, humidity was not in our vocabulary and we liked it that way. Although we often found ourselves frustrated with the constant moisture, we made some adjustments and all was well. We are wondering if our disdain for humidity will influence future endeavors, we like to hope not but maybe it will.

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday we are grateful for....

Booked tickets

Updates from friends

치스 돈가스 (Cheesu Donkas)

Sisters

Old movies

Six Months!

It has been six months into our contract and we can hardly believe it. The time has gone incredibly quick and we’ve learned so much already. Korea has brought many experiences and challenges so far – some bad but mostly good. We feel so blessed to have been lead here and have nothing but positive reflections and outlooks for our time in Korea. One year of marriage is also just around the corner and it has been amazing to have spent the majority of it in such a unique setting. With the second half of our contract beginning, we are faced with many options. We have no plans as of yet and are in no rush to make any, although we are continually seeking His guidance. A few paths seem to have been presented and we are praying for clarity. Please remember us in your prayers during this time.