Just Another Day...

With one full week of teaching now under my belt, I’m slowly starting to grasp my daily routine.  There is definitely room for improvement with my teaching style, but I can only hope that will come with time.  At least now I understand when, who I should be teaching.  Half the time I know what I’m supposed to be teaching and I’m working on the how. 

So what is typical teaching day like for me?  Funny you should ask…let me just tell you!

Technically I need to be at school by 9:30am, because that is when students arrive.  I try to get there earlier though to settle in a bit and prep for the day ahead.  Each morning I ride the bus to work, which takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how long I have to wait.  All the buildings still look the same to me, covered in Korean writing, so I remember my stop by 2 lefts, around a corner, and it is the stop before going under the bridge. 

The bus stop is only a couple minute walk to my school.  When I get to the building, I take the elevator up to the sixth floor, remove my shoes, and walk inside.  Some students get dropped off by their moms, but most get picked up by shuttle buses the school runs.  When they arrive, they come to the classroom, remove their cups and notebooks from their backpacks, and then stick their bags and folded coats in their cubby holes.  Since my home room students are the oldest in the school, most know the routine and can do it on their own.   

We start the morning off with a snack, usually porridge or fruit.  When they finish, students take their cups to get a drink of water from the water cooler, go to the bathroom and get ready to start class.  Our first class does not start until 9:50am, so we have time to go over the days of the week and update our calendar. 

Students stay in their home room class throughout the day and different teachers come to them for each subject.  I spend most my time with Red Class, my home room students, and Orange Class.  Orange class is 6 students that are 4 and 5 years old.  Subjects I teach include Sharing Time, Story, Journal Writing, Phonics, Science, Math, English Game and Arts & Crafts.  The classes are 40 minutes long and there is a 5 minute “break” in between.  I never teach the same thing twice, which keeps it interesting I suppose.  I’m working on teaching my students to use the restroom and get water during the breaks, not in the middle of class…it is a difficult concept for some to grasp! 

We don’t eat lunch until 12:45, so as you can imagine, every day I hear, “Teacher I’m hungry!” about 10 times.  There is no cafeteria in the school, so students eat in their classroom.  They each have a lunch box/tray they bring every day, and most come with a spoon, fork and little kid chop sticks.  I get the food from the kitchen, and then fill up all the students’ trays with rice, kimchi, and whatever else we’re having for the day.  Our cook is awesome and we always have tasty food!

In Korean culture, it is considered very rude to not eat all the food on your plate.  Being a picky eater is not really an option.  Because of this, I have to force all the kids to clean their plates.  Most gobble up the food with no complaints, but one boy struggles every day.  He’s always the last to finish and tries to tell me his food is too spicy.  I feel bad for him, but have to enforce the rules.  He’s becoming very familiar with the phrase, “Keep eating!”

When students finish eating, they take their cups and get a drink of water.  This is one of the things that kills me the most here…Koreans consume an insanely limited amount of liquid!  During a meal, they will give you the tiniest glass of water you’ve ever seen.  I try to have a water bottle with me at all times because otherwise, I feel like I’ll shrivel up!

After getting their water, they’ll brush their teeth.  I suppose dental hygiene is important to them.  The final step before they can start playing is to wipe down their face with a baby wipe.  Then they spend the rest of the hour playing in the classroom with legos and blocks.    

There are two more classes after lunch, then it is time to send the kids packing at 2:45.  The end of the day is spent zipping up coats and putting on backpacks.  We have to make sure the kids look presentable to go home so their crazy mommies know we take good care of them during the day! 

Some kids stay for ‘After School’ which is basically an extra English lesson.  It last an hour and on Mondays and Wednesdays I have 5 students and on Tuesdays and Thursdays 2 students. 

At 4:00 I’m done teaching, but still have a few more things to do before heading home.  First I clean my classroom, which consist of wiping down the tables, then vacuuming and mopping the floor.  This was one of the only schools that didn’t have a swine flu outbreak last year due to their cleaning practices.  Impressive huh?!?!  Then I start on my lesson plans for the next day.  Eventually I’d like to get ahead of the game a bit and plan things further than just a day in advance.  According to my contract, I can leave at 5:00, but usually end up staying later to finish up everything. 

When I do get home, I eat dinner, relax and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow!  

Here are some pics from my school:

Bulletin board in my classroom…decorated by the former English teacher

The kiddos’ tables

Front of the classroom

Cubbies and the door to our class

The lobby slash general play area

The gym