All grown up..

6th graders in Korea are about 13 years old. From the start of the semester to now, I have watched my students grow out of their sweet adorable phase and officially enter the beginnings of being teenagers. I now catch my boys, who once loved me in a platonic fashion, talking to me while staring at two things that are not my eyes. Their compliments, which were once precious and innocent, now come in a flirtatious manner. No longer can I lean over their desks to help them with their work, and  I must now limit all and any body contact to high fives at the VERY MOST.

I didn't see it coming, everybody warned me, but I had this hope that they would stay innocent and adorable forever. I was in denial for a while, my coteacher would tell me how he can see the difference, but me.. no I didn't see it, in my eyes they still were my little ones. But it all changed in one day, with one incident.

I had handed out a worksheet to the class and my students were completing them at their desks. The worksheet I handed out had a few areas that I knew some of the students would need help with, so while giving the instructions I told the class if they needed help with anything they were to come to me at my desk. The students came up and one by one I helped them out. One of my boys came up and I began to explain what he was supposed to do. I went through the same explanation that I used with the other students to help clarify.As I was giving the explanation, I felt like he was looking at me, but not focusing on what I was saying. 

Me: "Do you understand?"

Him: .......

Me: "Do you understand?"

Him: "oh, no teacher."

I  noticed that while he was looking at me, he wasn't looking me in the eye but I couldn't figure out WHAT he was looking at. I checked my face in the computer's reflection thinking maybe I had something on it, nope. I looked back at him and he was still staring elsewhere, so I followed his gaze, which went straight down my straight down my shirt. This isn't the first time I had encountered this problem from men, but this was my student. My innocent, sweet, adorable student, not some adult pig thinking with the wrong head.

I clapped my hands in front of his face and tore him from whatever inappropriate thoughts that were going on in his mind. He immediately turned beet red, mumbled sorry and scurried back to his desk. I was just as embarrassed as he and put on a sweater even though it was 85 degrees (29C) and humid. And that is how I taught my next 5 classes, despite my boiling innards and being drenched with sweat.

This opened my eyes, I now see my boys in a different light. While I still love them and enjoy teaching them, they no longer are adorable or sweet. They now have joined ranks with the other teenage boys (and many grown men) and are predators with a one track mind.

#CHEERSTOTURTLENECKSANDTOPBUTTONS

Being picked up by a 6th grader....

Today in class I heard the greatest pick up line ever. Too bad the person who used it on me is a CHILD (and my student) because it might of worked if he were 10 years older.

Student: "Teacher are you a gay?"
Me: "No"
Student: "Then why do you wear that?" (I wear a rainbow bracelet)
Me: "Because I like it."
Student: "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Me: "No"
Student: "Why?"
Me: "Because I haven't met the right guy."
Student: "But you meet me."

 I love my 6th graders.

#CHEERS2MYSTUDENTSMAKINGMYEVERYDAYS

Meeting my match.

Somebody at my school hates me. I don't know who or what I did to them but they accomplished the sweetest revenge.

Fridays are known to be everybody's favorite day, everybody but me. I have come to loathe Fridays. I look forwards to Friday's arrival about as much as I look forward to having teeth pulled. I'd actually prefer to have my teeth pulled EVERY week than have to come into work on Fridays. Fridays are the closest thing to hell on earth for me. On Fridays I teach 2nd grade.

My first semester of teaching I only dealt with 5th and 6th graders. At the start of the new school year because we now have fewer 5th and 6th grade students I was given 2 back to back 2nd grade classes on Fridays. My first week with them wasn't a complete failure. I managed to teach them all at least one new English word, kept them entertained, alive but most importantly my sanity remained intact. Last week was the polar opposite.

My first class went well. The kids participated, they learned, they had fun but most importantly they behaved.

I was on a teacher's high after the first class. I managed to handle 30 2nd grade students who speak little to no English on my own. It was a feeling of triumph. I felt as if I were invincible and I could conquer ANYTHING. But then came my second class.

The kids filed into the classroom and began to take their seats. The two boys who I had already come to know as trouble makers, immediately began an MMA match over a seat. By the time I was able to navigate myself through all of the munchkins one of the boys had the other in a choke hold and refused to let go. After physically prying them apart I sat them both in the front of the class so I could keep an eye on them.

Because of the EXTREMELY low level of English that these students speak,  all of my lessons have many quick and simple activities that teach the students easy concepts. That particular day I was teaching the students animals names and the sounds that they make.

The first part of the class the students were supposed to look at photos of the different animals, hear the sounds that them make and imitate them. My first 2nd grade classes LOVED this, we barked, we mooed, we snorted and had a great time. My second 2nd grade class started off well, the first few animals all of the students participated in repeating the English name and making the animal sounds. But then came the horse. They horse was the beginning of my crash and burn.

I showed the class a photo of a horse, played the sound that horses make and then did a gallop for the students. The gallop was a bad idea. My gallop resembled the gallop that PSY does in the Gangnam Style dance and the students quickly picked up on this.

"WHOAAAAAA Kala Teacher GANGNAM STYLE!"

Me galloping apparently translated into me allowing one of the trouble makers to get out of his seat and gallop around the classroom.  It was cute, the first time. I was able to get him to return to his seat and I continued my lesson. The next animal was a dog. We chanted dog, we barked like dogs and we were getting ready to move on to the next animal but the other trouble maker decided that he wasn't finished with dog yet. He climbed on top of his chair and barked. and barked. and kept barking. High pitched barks, low pitched barks, long barks and short barks. This student mimicked them all. His classmates found him absolutely hilarious which just egged him to continue barking more and more. It took a while but I finally was able to coax him to take a seat. As soon as I turned my back to take my place back at the head of my classroom to resume my lesson I heard another bark. I turned around and the same student was sitting looking at at me trying to stifle his laughter. I gave him "the look" and continued my way back to the front of my classroom but before I could even take 2 steps, he barked again. This time when I turned around he was standing up and he continued to bark. The other students began to laugh. I told him to stop but instead he got louder. And the rest of the students began to laugh louder. I repeated myself and he got even louder. I was beginning to lose my patience. I finally sternly told  to sit down and he did. But rather sit in his chair, he instead got on all fours on the floor began to wag his "tail" and continue to bark like a dog at me.

This set the class off. It was as if there was a competition, who would be the student that makes Kala Teacher lose it. My previous galloping student got up and began to gallop around the classroom again. The other boys began to pretend that they we different types of animals as well. The usually sweet and innocent girls were either laughing hysterically at the "animals" or fighting to keep the "animals" away from them. It was a zoo and just kept escalating. Kids began to climb on desks, throw chairs, fight, do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that your ARE NOT supposed to do in a classroom.

I began to lose it and start hollering at the students which did NOTHING. I don't know what I expected, they don't even speak English why would they respond? I ended up dragging the two trouble making boys into the teacher's office and begging my Co-Teacher to call their homeroom teacher to get the monsters away from me. I had completely lost it.I couldn't handle it. I had finally met my match.

The homeroom teacher arrived quickly, I pointed her to the back office where the two boys were  sitting and focused on getting the rest of the class in order. A couple of minutes later she exited my office with the boys, told her class to line up and walked up to me with an apologetic look on her face and hugged me.

After her and her students left, I calmly walked to the bathroom, locked myself in the last stall and began to cry. My cry progressed into me balling out my eyes complete with me sobbing. I couldn't stop the tears. I couldn't control myself. For 30 minutes I sat there, wallowed in self pity, drown myself in tears and cursed the day those things were born.  By the time I could finally pull myself together enough to exit the bathroom my face was swollen from crying  and I had missed lunch.

I got back to my office to find that my Co-Teachers were genuinely concerned. One had brought me some pumpkin up from the lunch room and the other hovered around repeatedly asking me if I were okay. I deeply appreciated the gestures but I felt ridiculous. I let 8 year old children make me cry harder than I have ever cried in my life. No death, no ex-boyfriend, no injury, nothing had ever caused me to cry as hard as I had cried.

As I sit here finishing up my Monday I have developed a new appreciation for my 6th graders. Never again will I complain about their occasional smart mouths or laziness. Never again will I feel sorry for myself in having to deal with them going through puberty and developing attitudes. I now shall welcome all of that with open arms because at least they will never bark at me.


#CHEERS2FINDINGADOCTORWHOWILLTIEMYTUBESNOW

Special thanks to Toni, Dee, Sariska and my Sister for all being there for me at my most desperate time of need.

Surviving Winter Camp Week 1.

January 7th

I woke up excited. Today was the first day of my first Winter Camp and I was going to be able to work with the 2nd grade students, who are a group of children I hadn't had the opportunity to work with before. 2nd graders have always been described to me as adorable, fun and easy to work with. I had planned a very active and hands on winter camp for my students so I was expecting this to be an enjoyable week long walk in the park. But instead today marked the beginning of a week long walk through hell.

I had arrived at school early to set up my classroom. Today we were going to introduce ourselves, create little posters about our favorite things and learn some new emotion words. ( I am on a crusade against the response "I'm fine thank you" that EVERY SINGLE student in ALL OF SOUTH KOREA responds with when asked how they are doing). I had Mr. Bean clip to show, 5 different games for the kids to play and a arts and crafts project planned.

I sat in the classroom going over the materials for the day when I heard a rumble. It was a ways away so I ignored it at first thinking that some unfortunate teacher got stuck teaching the animal-like 6th graders over the winter. But the rumbling got louder and louder and louder until finally my classroom door swung open as if it were bashed in by the SWAT team. Tumbling over one another were a group of boys screaming and shouting back and forth in Korean. They all loitered at the back of the class, some wrestling, some hitting, some watching but they had one thing in common, they ALL were shouting. I sat there waiting for them to notice me sitting at the desk thinking that it would make them quiet down. I gave up after the chatter didn't die down and rang my bell. Nothing. Rang it again. Nothing. Once more. Nothing. It was like they were immune to it's sound. My other classes responded to my bell like well bred dogs, if I rang the bell they knew to shut up. Finally I stood up and yelled SIT DOWN!!!!

They didn't stop.

It took me physically placing myself in the center of their mayhem to get them to cut it out. To get them to sit down was another 5 minutes of me having to guide them to the chairs by their shoulders. The rest of the period with them 0 learning was done. I spent the majority of my time in failed attempts in trying to discipline the boys who were throwing  anything they could get their hands on, tormenting each other and the girls, screaming, refusing to do work and anything else they are expected NOT to do in a classroom. By the time the day was over I was beat and at a loss.

January 8th

Day 2 was worse than day one. I had planned on briefly teaching the students the phases "You should" and "You should not" followed by games and an arts and crafts project. None of that happened. 10 minutes in to my 80 minute period with them one of the girls slapped a boy. The boy was sitting behind the girl and was tormenting her, pulling her hair, throwing papers, ext.. I was one more disruption before I was going to move his seat but apparently the girl I didn't believe I was acting quick enough. Midway through a demonstration I was giving the girl turned around and slapped the boy. I was stunned. This was a grown woman "I just found out you were cheating on me" or "you grabbed my behind in the club," slap. She slapped him full palm to the face with follow through, his head snapped back and he let out a cry of pain. For the first time the entire class was silent and then as if they were all on cue, all eyes then turned to me. My first thought was to pretend I didn't see it but the students caught me staring right at the situation. To top it off the boy began to cry. I didn't know what to do, the boy deserved it. If he were my child I would have told him "suck it up, that's what you get." But he wasn't my child and I had to be a "teacher." I looked at the girl and pointed to my office. Her and I both walked so slow we could have been walking backwards. I was trying to figure out what to do, I didn't want to punish her, if it were me (and I were 8 years old) I would have slapped him too. If she were my daughter, I would have bought her ice cream. She was walking as if I was taking her to the guillotine, her eyes were welling up with tears, the girls all grabbing her hands as if it were the last time they were going to see her alive. The boys were laughing and chanting "TROUBLE, TROUBLE, TROUBLE." We finally made it to my office. I closed the door, handed her a tissue and said "Pleaseeeee don't cry." She wiped her eyes and looked up at me, waiting for a punishment.... and then I said, "it's okay."

I know, I won't be winning any teacher of the year awards.

January 9th&10th

By the middle of the week I was exhausted. I couldn't handle another day like the 2 before so I enlisted some help. My favorite 5th grader is the class bully. She is one of the smallest girls in the class but she packs more spunk than any other student. I asked her to come to my winter camp, translate a few threats for me and hang around to help me for a bit. Before we started the activities for the day we went over a few rules and punishments. I am 100 percent sure what she translated to the kids was A LOT more harsh and vulgar than what I originally. The 2nd graders kept gasping and looked terrified. Did I ask her what she said? No. Did I care? No. They finally were in line and when they even toed slightly out of line she would say something to them that would get them back on track. Unfortunately she was only available those two days. But those two days were very much appreciated and went smoothly.

January 11th

I knew I had to come up with a game plan if I were going to survive my last and final day with the devil's spawn alone. Mr. Bean it was. If you have never heard of Mr. Bean and you are a teacher, thank me now. Mr. Bean never fails to captivate students. They find him absolutely hilarious and he is a guaranteed 40 minutes of entertainment for students of all ages. After Mr. Bean all I had was 40 minutes until I was free from this torture. I couldn't lose to 2nd graders, I'm better than that. So I devised the perfect plan. A word search.  I told the kids this was a competition and the student who completed the word search the fastest would get a chocolate.  They all got right to it,  racing to complete the puzzle faster than the next, shielding their puzzles from the person next to them. But this was not just ANY word search. This was a word search that couldn't be solved. In the list of words that the students had to find, there was a word I didn't put in the puzzle. Judge me, I don't care. I HAD WON. The students spent the entire 40 minutes searching forwards, backwards, up and down trying to solve this puzzle. They even started making bargains to help each other and split the chocolate. I just sat back, sipped my coffee and waited. 20 minutes to freedom. 10 minutes to freedom. 5 minutes to freedom. By this time the students were begging for my help. "TEE-CHA PUUUUUH-LEEEEEZE, pleeeeezeee, pleeeeeze." 3 minutes. 2 minutes. 1 minute.  When I finally announced that time was up you would have thought the world was ending. They all begged for more time, unwilling to accept defeat. But that was it. I was finally finished. I had survived hell week.



#CHEERS2BULLYINGCHILDREN