1:40 PM:
Just sent off my Wooseok after letting him pick out every last raisin from the nut mix bowl. Apparently, my kid has a serious thing for raisins. He kept coming by to buzz around the desk and kept reaching into the jar. I had to pull his hand out 4 times before I realized that this kiddo is just inexplicably addicted to raisins.
Words are inadequate to say how much I love Wooseok. This kid. I don't know what it is, but he's my boy. He kills me with his embarrassment over English. There was not a single soul listening, but in order to get him to say "I want these" in English, I had to let him bend behind the desk and whisper. It's like he has to protect himself from even the distant possibility of another person hearing or seeing him attempting English.
He said something not exactly unfriendly to Jeongmin while they were in the crowd around my desk, and I recalled how badly he scared Jeongmin last year. Now, they are the same size and Wooseok has mellowed with age until he no longer has to bully little bunny-rabbits like Jeongmin.
Speaking of Jeongmin, he told me that his biggest birthday present from his family was getting free time to play games. I hope he's joking. Sometimes the kids exaggerate their sad circumstances, but Jeongminnie's so driven, I wouldn't be surprised if free time was his birthday present.
Speaking of birthdays, it was BYEONGHYUN'S BIRTHDAY TODAY. This is huge. My boy, the first kid I met at school last August, and it is his 16th birthday today. But he doesn't get to celebrate because his finals are next week and he has to study.
For 3rd grade class today, I just let them have study time at KBR's suggestion, and I sat in front of Byeonghyun to play a word game with him. He taught me a lot of words and I impressed his buddy Shion no end with my knowledge of Korean.
And then he told me, casually, that it was his birthday! And I thanked the good Lord for letting me remember to take extra "presents" to school yesterday, because during the next class period I was able to give Byeonghyun a fresh pack of UNO cards, some chocolate, and a hand-written note.
Byeonghyun is worried about high school because he wants to go to the school next door, but within that school the kids are separated into geniuses, quite smart kids, and normal kids (absolutely no low-levels). He has to be in our school's Top-20 exam takers in order to make it into the Genius level classes--otherwise, he'll just be in Quite Smart land.
I was astonished that he's not in the top bits of the school, but that's because his math skills are low, he says. He's in the Top 3 English speakers, definitely, but what matters on the exams is good math ability and last year he had dreadful math grades and a teacher he hated for the course.
So my boy is quite stressed. So much hinges on his scores next week. I told him, and later wrote it on his birthday note also, that I would pray for him.
During the midterms, Byeonghyun was in the 30's out of 300 kids, but HH was number 1. And I realize yet again that HH, another kid who is precious to me, is experiencing killer stress levels, trying to stay on top of the pile. Lately, HH has been my sidekick, coming by at all hours of the day for conversation. And I'm glad he does--I try to cram in as much encouragement as possible.
BY doesn't care how he scores. I'm sure his parents do, but BY is an individualist. He is his own free little bird, and those wings will fly whithersoever they will.
Next week is finals for 1st and 3rd graders, but the 2nd graders will be going on a series of field trips. I told NG that maybe this will be a chance for him to get to know his kids better. It's been an ongoing subject of discussion between us--my extensive knowledge of the kids and his (alleged) complete lack of interest in them.
I know he cares about the kids, because he jokes with them and treats them with affection. And yet I think he could do more, in a mentoring sense. So it continues to be an I'm-joking-but-I'm-actually-serious topic that I bring up, asking if he's learned anything new about them this week. He always has.
Hyo hung around after lunch and brushed my hair. Then Deokryong did, then Jeongmin. I was leaning over my phone screen, helping Minjoonie play my Korean language-learning phone app, while the 2nd-graders brushed away. Minjoon's a genius, despite placing in B-level.
One more class until freedom! This weekend, I'm not going to go anywhere or do a single thing that requires energy. I'm gonna chill like it ain't been done before!
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