Day 245

Wednesday August 19

I got to sleep in today! I left a few minutes early and went to pay all of my bills. I went in and I didn't see the bill machine.(you swipe your bank book, place your bills in the slot and it scans them, then you get a receipt) Then I walked over to the ATM side. they have a small room that is always open where there are about 5 atms. I think moving the bill machine is a good idea. Now I don't have to pay my bills during business hours. I can just walk up to the 24hr atm place and pay my bills. sweet! It makes so much more sense than only being able to pay during business hours.

My 1st class was good as always. We had a story to read today. At first they were all calling out who they wanted to be. I told them to wait till i wrote it on the board. Some of the students didn't want to read. I let them read it 3 times today. One of the boys picked a girl's part and read it in a girly voice. It was funny. I love this class. They are so eager to participate. We had a great class today.

The students are always asking me all kinds of questions and I have no clue what they are talking about. They ask me "do you understand?" and I say "no!". Today they were asking me about 'pettitoes'(they found the word in their korean-english dictionary on their phone). I didn't know what it was. All I knew was that it came from a pig but they way they explained it wasn't very clear. At one point they were asking me if I ate pigs legs. I looked it up when I got home and they were talking about "Pigs feet" except they didn't actually say 'pigs feet'.

I walked in my 2nd class(level 3) and the students from level 2 were in the class too. They were all taking a placement test together during the first class. Then the students told me we were having a mixed class today. I didn't have a problem with it. I thought it might have been one of those last min things they sprung on me. It wasn't planned. The students wanted to do it. The teacher from level 2 came over to my class to get her students and they begged her to stay in my class. She asked me if it was okay. I said it was fine. She made copies for the students from level 2. Today their lesson was from level 3. I had 8 students. 4 from level 2 and 4 from level 3. They range in age from 9-12. 5 boys and 3 girls. The boys sat on one side of the room and the girls sat on the other side. I had to give my level 3 class a test and that took a while because they are taking a test and trying to talk to their friends. They talked a lot to each other but at least they all read and paid attention. They are also begging for a game(there wasn't time for a game!). We didn't get to cover much today. Only one page. We were just reading passages about 2 characters in the book and what their parents do as a job and I just asked basic questions about the passages. I was rushing at the end and didn't get to explain the essay in detail. I'll check up with them on Friday and Monday in class and make sure they understand.

My students were good in my 3rd class. One of the boys didn't have his book. I asked him where it was and he said it disappeared. The students were really quiet today.In the 2nd part of our lesson we were talking about high, low, close, far, heavy, light. I drew a picture on the board. I used a tall tree to describe high. A box on the ground for low. For heavy I drew a big rock. For light I drew a leaf. One of the students said "Jeff is heavy. Is that right?".(In South Korea they love to tell you if they think you need to lose weight. No one says it to me-except the PT at the gym. Its no big deal to them. They will even ask you how much you weigh.'what's your kilogram?'. I always say 'i don't know'). I said "thats not nice" and continued on with the lesson. Yes the student is a little pudgy but I don't want the other student calling him heavy.

I was finished with all of my classes at 7:05.

I have all my lessons planned for Thursday. I just need to print out one test. I couldn't get it to print out on the Korean teacher's computer. I think her computer is so slow because she has installed so much junk on it. I really wish I had my own computer instead of having to get the other teachers to print everything out for me!

I also organized my desk. I was tired of always looking around for homework copies or copies of tests. I would just pile them in a stack on my desk. Last night I went to E-Mart and got some folders. Now I have homework in one folder, tests in another, things to give to students in another,etc. It will be so much easier to find things. I also put tons of old papers in the paper recycling bin. If I'm not going to use them again there's no use in keeping them. It feels good to be organized.

I'm also coming up with new ideas of how to do things differently for Fall semester. A new semester is a fresh new start and a way to implement new ideas. I'm trying to maximize the learning potential while maintaining classroom management. I still need to come up with discipine consequences. I want to see my students succeed. I want the next teacher to be amazed by their great English skills! I've got to find a way to make learning fun.