June 17 Wednesday
So I'm being videotaped again today.
My first class was better than last time. We started a new book today. I didn't have much time to prepare since I got the book about 30 minutes before class. I made copies for all the kids. I could have used the actual book, but no one bothered to say 'hey we have books for the kids now'. I taught out of a student book. Why don't I get a teacher's book? Anyway the kids were better behaved. I told them to only speak in English but I still heard some Korean. I gave them plenty of time to talk to each other. They asked questions in pairs. I have an odd number of students so there will always have to be a group of 3. The kids like the guy who is taping the class. he's new at our school. They try to talk to him during class. I assigned them an essay today. 2 of them actually turned it in early.
My 2nd class was okay. One of the kids was sick and wasn't really paying attention. Why would you send a kid to school if he is sick? He didn't look good. You could tell he didn't feel good, but I couldnt just let him sit there and not participate. I'm being videotaped. I had to keep telling him to look at his book and pay attention. I had to keep telling the kids 'speak in English'.The kids wouldn't all read together as a class. Sometimes 1 was reading later 2 were reading but they didnt all wasnt to read at the same time. Then I gave them time to talk to each other and they wouldnt do it right. All they had to say was "how do you spell your name?". They would ask in Korean or not ask the right question or point to their name on the attendance sheet. IM TRYING TO GET YOU TO PRACTICE SPEAKING!!! See what I have to work with? Parents want me to make the kids talk, but when I make them talk they dont want to do the right thing. They wouldn't sing along with the cd. One of the kids changes his name every class. He always wants to be animals. Today he was goat then cow 2. While I was writing homework on the board and trying to explain they really werent paying attention. Some of them said "bye teacher." Class wasn't over. They were being rude by not listening. Okay-if they dont turn it in I'm going to tell the korean teacher. After class the guy that was video taping said that I did a good job teaching. He said I had a 'shiny smile'. What ever that means. haha.
all the kids love the camera guy. They all came by to talk to him after class. During my first class one kid asked if the camera guy could be his speaking partner. i said no.
During break I was sitting here preparing for class and making copies and the Korean teacher told me that I didnt need to copy. They already had the books. Well why didn't they tell me???? I asked about a teacher's guide. She said to use the student book. But I dont have the cds that Im suppose to play in class and I dont know the answers to what goes in the blank because its on the cd. I have no way to play the listening part for the kids. Instead of "i'll get a teacher's guide" they said "I'll ask Sunny". (She's the person in charge of teachers) JUST GIVE ME A STINKIN TEACHERS GUIDE!! man, I'm the teacher I need the correct materials.
This school makes me mad. It gets worse everyday. I actually think this school is worse than my old school. I just can't find a good school!! I definatly don't reccommend this experience, but hey if you are looking for a (bad) adventure then go for it. If anyone ever wants to ask me about the school (someone researching the school) after I'm gone-I'll say "no comment. Its that bad. If I say what I really want to say then they won't ever get a new teacher to replace me when I'm gone.
My third class only had one student so there was no video. We just went over our lesson as usual. We started a new book and we were able to cover the whole prep unit.
My 4th class was perfect. They were well behaved. They did all their work and we had a lot of speaking time. That will be the best video.
I am so glad the videos are done!! They can't say the videos were bad this time. They were actually good.
I need a new laptop soon. I'll still keep my laptop because all my stuff is saved on it. I think I might get a netbook or full size laptop-Im not sure. My laptop is 2 years old. The keys are starting to fall off! my F3 key fell off a while ago. Today the letter "C" fell off. It still works-there just isnt a cover on the key.
I missed the gym tonight. Okay I was at the subway waiting for the train then this man started talking to me. He was a Korean but spoke really good English. We were getting off at the same stop so he continued to talk to me. At first I thought maybe he was just trying to convince me to stay another year and teach in public school. (which he was at first-telling me the benefits of teaching at a public school and how its better than a hagwon)(He is a retired professor and taught English for over 20 years in high school, middle school and he was a professor in a college)(His English was good-I actually understood everything he said). Well after we got off the train he continued to talk and talk and talk and talk. I wanted to go to the gym, but I didn't want to turn away someone who wanted to speak to me. He wants to give me tips on how to teach effectively. He said next time we meet he will bring me copies from a book about how to teach English as a foreign language. I agreed to meet him sometime. He was so excited to talk to me. I was actually surprised to meet someone with good English skills. (you dont meet many of those in Korea). He thanked me for listening to him and for giving him the time to speak to me. We may meet on Sunday. He said if I wanted to go some where in Seoul he could go with me. It would be nice to have my own tour guide and someone who can give me tips on how to better teach. I'l admit that I'm not that great of a teacher. He's taught English for over 20 years (one of his majors was English teaching). He was also giving me tips about walking out at night. He said to be careful and wear a hat so no one can tell you are a foreigner. I've never felt unsafe at night. I've been walking around late and no one has ever tried to bother me. After we finished talking I looked at my watch. It was 11:05pm! (we got off the train around 9:45 pm. He talked to me for over an hour!) I decided not to go to the gym since it closes at midnight.
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