5:30 PM: Good day.
Had no video capability in the English room, so I taught 4 classes just by using the book and board-marker games, but it went well.
I assigned my 3rd-graders to write about an experience with foreign culture. It was hilarious when I asked both classes, "Do you know any foreigners? Have you met a person from another country?" and they said no. Then I would open my eyes a little wider and ask, "Guys. Do you know someone from another country?" Still getting definite "no's" from the boys. They I would point to myself. And suddenly they'd all laugh, because they'd forgotten me.
It's actually really endearing because it illustrates how my older boys have really forgotten that I'm from another country. It warms the heart right down to the core, the fact that despite the language gap I don't register as an outsider at all. Hugs to all of you, 3rd-grade guys.
Minhwe shocked me when he talked about his experience with a foreign culture. He said that he had to live in the Philippines for awhile, as part of a study program for English. It was miserable and he was very sad, but he stuck it out because the program was so expensive, and in the end he did see an improvement in his English.
Oh, my boy. He felt so strongly about the topic that when he came to the front of the class, he refused to read out loud. I immediately knew that something was wrong, so I just read his composition quietly then thanked him for his work. Minhwe. I didn't notice him last year, but this year he comes by my office every day for questions, usually twice if not more. He's my kid, and all this time I didn't know how much stress he had suffered for English.
Played a new card game called "Swap" at the Lunchtime Games today. The boys loved it, and we had a great time. Hyunho wasn't there--Jeongmin told me he'd been kept out of school today as punishment for fighting. It wouldn't surprise me, considering the table-flipping and face-cut-by-glass incident. Hyunho, why do you do this.
Got to watch a Korean English class for the first time today--NG let me observe his class. It was awesome because now I finally know how these things work, but also gloomy because I can't do what he does. I can't deliver a fun lecture in all Korean, then ask the kids to name the words in English. The boys were quiet and not precisely attentive, but at least not nuts. A few sleepers, but nobody dared whip out the manhwa. Anyways, I took two pages of notes and it gave me a lot to think about.
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