Random Mentionables About Teaching in Korea

My co-teacher is really beautiful. One of my first impressions of her was that she's really expressionless, which made her seem really mysterious to me. I'm getting to know her now, so I’ve seen a few different sides of her, but yesterday, I saw my co-teacher in the most excited state I've ever seen her (think Gollum when he found the Ring): One of my 6th grade classes came in, ranting about wanting to change seats. She decided to change their seats for them and while she reassigned new seats, she had them practice writing key words and definitions. During those 30 minutes, the class was SUPER quiet, which is really strange for this class. She turned around and looked at me with the most excited Gollum-like expression and said, “I want to make them write every day.” I was being slow and said, “Huh?” She said, “They’re so quiet.” Oh~~ hahahah My co-teacher is so cute. I still giggle when I think about her facial expression. In a way, this story is very sad. She got so excited just bc the class was quiet…

I love the alpha females in my 6^th grade classes. They keep their male table-mates in check! If their table-mates aren’t doing their work, I see them tapping their worksheets and telling them to hurry up. ^_^ They always participate. If their teams lose a point because of their teammates, they get pissed. They get their table-mates to open their books. Girl power, anyone?

My 5^th graders changed seats today. I’ve noticed that students thrive, depending on where they are sitting and who they are sitting with.

My 5^th grade classes played a Harry Potter game, so we had Harry Potters and Lord Voldemorts. One of my dramatic male students half-jokingly said, “I want to be Hermione” while he cupped his cheeks with his hands. hahaha I love him! He loves dancing too. Jessica walked into my classroom and walked in on him doing a booty dance and slapping his butt. She just…walked out. He’s feminine, but the other kids don’t make fun of him! Doesn’t that rock?! I could see him thriving in theatre. We’ll see what he’s like in a few years. :-)

One of my 6th grade boys is such a gentleman! I love chivalry- even in a 6th grade boy. I've always liked this student because I can see that he has leader-like qualities. He always helps to calm the class down. And when I do a clapping routine to get their attention, he's always the loudest to "answer" back. I learned that he is the class president, and it made sense to me because the role suits him very much. I've secretly really liked this student for a while, but I saw him do something in the lunchroom that is worth publicizing!: In Korea, the classes go to lunch together and sit together. The boys are first in line and then the girls are in the back. He sat down at the table with his class and started to eat. But, one of the shy female students came to their table. There were no seats left on that side, so she stood behind him, not knowing what to do. He noticed her, stood up, told her to sit down at his seat, and walked over to a seat on the other side of the table. Such chivalry! 착하다~