Teaching

I work at a private English school called Sogang Language Program (SLP). SLP employs 4 other foreign teachers (2 from Canada and 2 from the U.S.) and 5 Korean teachers. I teach kindergarten in the morning from 11-2, and then teach 4 classes in the afternoon until 7 PM consisting of older children. (Speaking of age, Korean children will tell you their "Korean age" when asked how old they are. This is based off the lunar calendar, which inflates someone's age when compared to their western age.)


Teaching has gone as smoothly as possible considering I have absolutely no teaching background. Kindergarten is definitely the most challenging part of my day. My classroom is named "Friendship," which is ironic considering my class has the most drama out of the 5 kindergarten classes.

I would equate trying to maintain discipline in a classroom full of 10 kindergarteners to conducting an 80-piece orchestra. I have never been a good multitasker and this job has definitely exposed this fact. Once I get one student in line and focused on my flashcards I turn back to the rest of the class only to find two girls braiding each others hair and another girl crouching under the table. Needless to say I have had to use my voice A LOT. I have always been an unusually loud snapper, and this skill has never come in handy more than when I've been at the helm of a kindergarten class.

 (This is a picture I took of my kindergarten class, "Friendship", on a field trip to the local fire station.)

Teaching Kindergarten is pretty structured with a curriculum. A typical day would be: showing them flashcards of that week's vocabulary and asking questions on the topic, showing them phonics cards, supervising a phonics activity in their activity books, then reading them a story (some of the books are one's I grew up on, like The Very Quiet Cricket, which Mom definitely remembers reading to Heather, Ben and I).

I am also responsible for dishing out snack and lunch. These can be an adventure. The children have managed to spill something every single lunch but one, when I spilled a glass of milk while trying to maintain order and pour out 11 cups as fast as I could. No use crying though.

My afternoon classes range from 8-14 year olds, and are much easier to conduct than kindergarten. Afternoon classes are less structured. I have had to improvise a lot to say the least. I am enjoying getting to know the students. They refer to me as "Andy Teacher." Some of my students give me little gifts, such as a piece of gum or chocolate. One student gave me a bouncy ball, and I told him he might have more fun with it than I would, but he insisted I take it.

One day Isaballe, one of my favorite kindergarteners (as hard as I try to be democratic I can't help but have favorites) asked me what color my hair and eyes were and then she asked me my favorite color. 20 minutes later she came running in the teacher's lounge with a card that said "Isabelle form, I love you Andy Teacher." It had hearts and decorations on it. I opened it up; Inside was a picture of me with brown eyes, brown hair, and a blue shirt.

It is definitely a challenge to work with the children at times, but it is also one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.