Everyday, day in and day out, I find myself dealing with a large variety of little monkeys.. ahem.. Korean children with a wide variety of personalities. I've got the keeners, the smarty-pantses, the kids who were probably accidentally dropped as babies, and the kids who seem to make it their mission in life to get me to say their name 100 times in 40 minutes.

Of all of these the most perplexing to deal with on a daily basis is the kid who tries really hard to be good, but because they are never quiet makes it really difficult to teach your class. You're trying to teach phonics, and they're trying to tell you about the really cool movie with dinosaurs in it that they saw over the weekend. On the one hand, its great that a kid is willing to prattle on in his or her second language, and you want to encourage speaking, so you really don't want to punish the kid. On the other hand... you just can teach under a constant barrage of noise, even if its well meaning noise, and somehow, it has just got to stop.

Sometimes my little monkeys are so ingenious that the figure out ways to battle their issues without any of my involvement. A perfect example of this behaviour is this kid, I'll call him Hector. He means so so well, and because of his zest for speaking he really is at the top of the class in terms of verbal ability. Sometimes, however, I need him to stop talking, and focus on his work.

Last week, he was one of the kids with an ingenious idea.

If I had done this, it would probably boarder on child abuse, but seeing as he did it to himself, it was actually pretty cute. His eyes lit right up once he realised that his lips were stuck together and he couldn't talk...

So, with nothing else to say, he got straight to work...

... and I was free to finish teaching our class all Tom, Tom's milk, and even English phonics!

Hi-Kids: 2

In spite of the low level of English speaking ability in SLP's Hi-Kids program, it is actually one of my favourite programs to teach.

By the time most kids hit the latter part of Hi-Kids 2 they have been at SLP for just over a year and are usually in Grade 2. They get frustrated with each other and bicker...

... but are very quick to make up, and if you play your cards right -- I try to, but I don't always succeed -- before you know it, everything is as right as rain.

The Hi-Kids program is one of the oldest, if not the oldest program at SLP and in terms of development and the resources that it offers you, its actually pretty terrible. There is a work book with photocopied pages from a mish-mash of other English programs and is riddled with sentences like:

Read the story in your Student Book again, and answer these questions.

For which there is no such story in their student book. If you don't mind a little extra work however, this kind of program is a gold mine for an ESL teacher. The curriculum is very easily personalized and as such I have really enjoyed making it my own, and I think my kids usually enjoy it too. We still cover all the material in the book, and I'll be honest, there's some days that I feel lazy, and I just give it to them without any embellishments, but usually we really enjoy going off on little tangents here and there.

I think the kids this age are actually my favourite. I always thought that if I was a teacher I would like to work with Grades 4-6, but I've changed my tune. The younger kids are wonderful. They don't have any of the social inhibitions that daunt the older kids and keep them from speaking and practicing their verbal expression. Classroom management can occasionally be a challenge, but if you're able to keep up your energy and stay ahead of the game, kids at this age are a lot like sheep. They get bored easily though, so keep on your toes. And remember, a little love and attention can go a long way.

Friends and Coworkers: Tara and Janique

Ma chère Janique is a fellow Canadian and also a frenchie... which of course drew me to her instantly. She also has the most beautiful curly hair when she lets it loose, which is also a draw. And giggles with me about people who have heads 'like a ping-pong ball' which makes her an invaluable companion. She also has a blog right here on blogspot, which you can get to by clicking on her name above.

Janique is actually the reason why I am where I am today.

Janique, you changed my life.

Aside from her incredible cuteness, the reason actually has more to do -- well, everything to do-- with her blog and the glowing reviews that she gave Gangseo SLP and all our staff members. There's a lot of negative feedback directed at SLP on the internet, to the point of it being casually referred to as the Slave Labour Program by job discussion forums. What new teachers don't always realise is that SLP is actually a franchised school system, so each individual school is going to be different from the last. I happened to luck out finding a good school, and Janique made that possible. I had given very serious consideration to declining my contract and going with another school until I stumbled across her blog one day. Merci Janique!

In the office, our desks are put together in groups of four much like they were in kindergarten or grade one. The desk I sit at looks like this.

Tara Dan
Meghan Me


I guess that this makes Tara my diagonal desk partner?

Like the other girls, Tara claims that being the subject of a photo-shoot is not her cup of tea, but don't believe her! Look at that smirk on her face, she is totally enjoying it!

Tara is a preschool teacher at SLP, and the best phonics teacher around. She is really fun, and we have shared many a laugh together. She is also my personal physician, and enjoys long walks to McDonald's followed by iced coffee or a sundae.





Tara is also a fellow Canadian, from Ontario and sometimes PEI, and that adds to her awesomeness. She understands me when I talk about Tim Horton's and old television shows. Let's face it -- Canadians Rock.







Tara sometimes believes herself to be a lumberjack when sitting at short tables in Canadian bars in Seoul. But that makes me love her all the more!

SLP Paintball Extravaganza

On Saturday all the staff members at Gangseo SLP participated in a day of bonding, fun and adventure. We went around an hour outside of Seoul to play paintball. It was all fun and games until the fun and games were over for the day and we noticed the huge welts that paintball had created on our skin. We passed them off as casualties of war (paintball war that is) and carried on with the rest of our days. SLP treated us to some delicious Korean barbecue, the bus brought us back home and most of us were pretty tired from the days festivities, so we had early nights. On Sunday a few of us went to Costco and then to see a movie: The Taking of Pelham 123 -- which was pretty great by the way -- and then on Monday did our regular thing and went to school. I'll have you know that today is Tuesday, and those things that were welts on Saturday have blossomed into the most fabulous rainbow colour bruises!







This one in particular reminds me of a meteor!




Do you think its an omen?





The other bruises don't really have similarly interesting stories to tell, although they do hurt just as much. They are a virtual cornucopia of colours -- or like a rainbow if you are looking for a more mundane expression. Perhaps I could say that they are like skittles? Once when my sister, C, and I were both quite little, I told her that a bruise on her leg looked like a hot dog with ketchup, mustard and relish... and then proceeded to poke it. Another time I seem to recall telling her that bruises were actually called 'hurt-buttons' followed by .. .*gasp!*... more poking. Seems like I was perhaps not as benevolent a child as I would like to believe I was.

Although I like to believe that I was actually a sweet child, and very good to my little sister, she is a very meticulous person and has been keeping track of the mean things I have done to her over the years. The vast majority of which were between age 7 and age 12 or 13 I believe. Apparently, after that I mellowed out a little. For the record: I don't believe that I was ever intentionally mean to either of my sisters. I will admit however that I did sometimes play jokes that I thought C and I would both find funny, but which in the end left C crying and me in trouble.

The one I am most embarrassed about happened right at the edge of that upper age range, because I know it happened after we moved to Newfoundland from Nova Scotia. We moved when I was 11, although I'd like to say I was younger than that when I had such poor judgement, its just not true. On this particular occasion, as I was getting ready to go to bed at night, I noticed that C -- who was also getting ready for bed -- was not in her room, but in the bathroom brushing her teeth with the door closed. This meant that she could not see me as I stole into her room under the cover of darkness and situated myself hidden beneath her bed. Quiet as a mouse, I waited for the tooth-brushing to finish so I could hatch my devious plot. It really was devious -- here's why. I was very careful to make no noise as C walked into the room and got into her bed. I continued to wait quitely while my parents came in to say goodnight, and walked out closing the door behind them. I stayed quieter still as I listened while my sister's breathing slowed. Just as I knew that she was on the edge of sleep, I reached up and around, without even breathing so I could not be heard and tickled her in the small of the back!

Needless to say, my sister was screaming halfway down the stairs to the kitchen and the safety of my parents before I even really knew what had just happened. Having intended to startle her, but not really scare her, the minute she started to cry, I also burst into tears. I almost cried writing this story, I still feel so bad about it. My sister has never really quite forgiven me for it either. Not that I can say I would feel any different if the situation were reversed.

Days that make teaching worthwhile...

Since I came to Korea and started teaching in November, there have been all sorts of different days. Days when I wondered why I had come here, days when I thought I might never want to leave, days when I was happy, days when I was sad and also days that were really just rather banal. There were days when my children made me want to tear my hair out, and then there are those good old days, that really make teaching worth while. I know I don't talk about those days very much, and they're not very tangible so I can't usually show you pictures, but one happened to me last week where pictures were available, and so here were are.

I actually have a number of really amazing classes. I also have a bunch of students who if I could teach only those students every day, I might never aspire to do anything else. All of the kids are sweet in their own ways of course, but some really stand out from others day in and day out.

One of those kids is a little girl named Iris. I call her Professor Iris after the old kids television show, and although she doesn't have any idea who that is, the name seems to please her quite well. She is such an adorably cute nine year old that I can't believe I don't actually have a picture of her on my computer. But I do have this picture of something she made for me!

Isn't it sweet? She looked so proud of herself when she handed it to me, and I was so touched. She is one of my best students, and it made me so happy to know that she cared enough to take the time and make me such a cute lily pad, with chocolates on the flowers. She must know how much I like chocolate!

I was so impressed and rejuvenated by her thoughtfulness and kindness that I took a whole bunch of pictures of that little lily pad, although I'll only burden you with three of them. I thought that her parents had been doing a pretty fantastic job of raising her up all along, but I hope that one day I also teach my own children to be this thoughtful and kind.

Friends and Coworkers: Amanda and Meghan

Amanda and Meghan are two of the most wonderful people that I have ever had a change to share office space with, and thus are worthy of their own post. They both show up fairly frequently in posts anyway, so I thought I'd give you a little introduction.

Amanda (left) studied anthropology in university and is the tiniest of all the SLP teachers, occasionally shorter than some of the children she teaches. She has a great sense of humour and a huge heart! She is very good at motivating people to do things, most often through respect, but sometimes through fear! She can be very fiery when she wants to be! She also makes what is possible the world most delicious chicken salad. She is an American, from Florida, and we try not to hold that against her.

Meghan (right) is one of the most hilarious people I've ever met, and my desk mate. Her personality is huge and sometimes squishes mine as a result of the desk sharing, but I don't mind because she is a wonderful person to share a desk with. She often brings delicious food to taunt me with when I've forgotten to bring something to eat, although she will occasionally let me have a bite if I'm looking really pathetic and desperate! I don't usually look pathetic, or desperate, but sometimes the delicious food that she makes drives me over the edge. Meghan currently teaches my devil class from last term, and when she tells me about them, I miss them. Every last one.

Meghan and Amanda didn't know that they were the subjects of a photo shoot, until it was much too late, but after that the books went up, and there was a fence between me and their loveliness. It made me sad, so I put my camera away...

But not before I took this quick little video so you could see the lesson planning in action!

On an unrelated note: Who knew my camera could make videos in sepia?

The Farting Woman: In My Curriculum

When I originally posted the story of the farting woman here and here there was some skepticism among my faithful readers as to if I had indeed just made this one up, and posted it for kicks... but alas my friends, it is not true! It really is in the ESL curriculum that I teach to my wonderful children day in and day out, and here is the proof!

She's right cute- ain't she?

Dan --with whom I share a desk-- is just as perplexed as you and I...

... that this really does exist.

The Reach Out program that this story comes from really is pretty interesting most of the time, and especially with more talkative classes can be pretty fun to teach. Some of my student were able to make up some very interesting and colourful versions of this story about 'poison gas lady.' I wonder what my story is going to be this month...

Korean Children <3

Just like real people, some Korean children don't like to have their pictures taken.

Others? They don't mind quite so much...

Now that I've been getting to know my new classes a little better, I am really enjoying interacting with all the different personalities I teach. Most of my classes and children are a lot of fun. Others can be very serious and studious.

Some of the kids can be pretty goofy from time to time... :)

... but I have a lot of fun teaching all of them.

I've been bringing my camera to school for the past few days so I could get some picture of my kids to show all of you out there in blogland. They really are an amazing bunch of awesomeness!

Off to the cherry blossom festival now! More pictures to come!