I woke up this morning at 5:30. For the last couple of months the baby seems to sleep when I go to bed, but she usually starts moving at around 5 am making sleep impossible. I always start my morning the same way: breakfast, e-mail, stretching, and then a shower. This morning I decided to see if Joe had written a blog last night. He said he wasn’t going to, but sometimes he changes his mind. As I read through his extremely cynical, borderline angry blog entry, it was evident that this semester hasn’t been the most enjoyable for him. I believe over time he will forget the negative experiences he had solely teaching 6th grade this semester, mostly without a co-teacher, but for now they are still fresh in his mind.
Though Joe is finished teaching, I still have 2 days to go. Unlike Joe, I teach 1st-6th grade. This means a lot more lesson planning, but I only see each class 1 time per week. I realized at the start of this semester that I have now taught every age of student except for kindergarten. Pretty crazy considering I have only been teaching for 6 years! Technically I have been a part of three school years in Korea despite only being here two years (school years starts in March and we came here in August). I have watched my little 3rd graders become 5th graders, and my 4th graders become 6th graders.
Something happens to 6th grade students in Korea. They go from being completely wonderful as 5th graders to almost impossible to like (hence the tone of Joe’s blog…) I finished teaching my 6th grade students this morning. The experience was completely underwhelming. A few students said goodbye, but for the most part there was no acknowledgement that I was leaving the school after teaching them for 2 years.
I also finished teaching my 5th grade students today. I have a special bond with the 5th grade students because I taught them this semester without a co-teacher. Their homeroom teachers usually stayed in the classroom to help me with classroom management and the language barrier, ensuring that their behavior was impeccable. I said goodbye to my first 3 classes of 5th graders last Friday. They were shocked to find out that I was going home, and many students gave me letters or cards to say goodbye. The goodbyes commenced today as I said goodbye to my least favorite and favorite 5th grade classes. I arrived today ready to teach the 5-6 class, without a doubt the worst class I have ever taught, to find that they had all written me goodbye letters or cards. After they presented them to me, their homeroom teacher told me to, “Go take a rest.” I dreaded teaching them every week, so I am glad I have a positive final memory of that class.
However, without a doubt I had one of the most special moments of my teaching career when I taught the 5-5 class today. We started with a quick warm-up reviewing the songs, chants, and vocabulary we learned this semester. My plan after that was to watch excerpts from Mr. Bean. Korean children absolutely LOVE Mr. Bean. They laugh hysterically (to be honest, I do too), so I figured it would be a great way to end the school year. About 10 minutes before the end of class, one of my students approached me and said, “Sorry teacher. We stop the movie now.” I quickly made my way to the computer and stopped the DVD. All of the students were tittering excitedly, so I knew they had something planned. As 1 student navigated the Korean version of youtube, the rest of the class started passing forward letters and cards. One even included a gift from a boy consisting of a used glue stick and 100 won coin (the equivalent of about 10 cents). Once they found the right website, the classroom erupted into 30+ Korean children singing along with a music video in Korean. In addition to serenading me, they had also choreographed a dance consisting of mainly arm movements that the entire class participated in performing. As I looked around the classroom many students busted out signs that said, “We love you,” “Good bye,” and “We’ll miss you!” Those who know me well know that I rarely cry for sentimental reasons, but I fully admit that I had tears in my eyes. As the song came to an end, I was at a loss for words (not necessarily a bad thing when no one can understand much of what you say anyway). I thanked them, told them I would miss them, and then waved goodbye as I left their classroom for the last time. I feel so blessed to have had such a special moment.
As I reflect on the experience of teaching in Korea for the last two years, there is no doubt in my mind that it has been completely transformational. Despite the daily challenges of living in a foreign country, I know that this experience has helped our marriage get off to a solid start, and I am a better (and much more relaxed) person as a result of my experiences. While I am excited for the next chapter of our life to begin, I am so happy that Joe and I got to have this experience together.
Now, for your entertainment, I typed up my favorite quotes from the different letters I received.
- Congratulations! I heard you are having a baby!
- I heard the news, I am so surprise. Teacher, I think you will have a pretty baby. Good bye teacher!
- I’m sorry to hear that you have to go back to your country. After giving birth, please come back to Mi-geum school.
- I love you and your baby cute.
- One student gave me a card that simply said “Goob” (goodbye)
- Congratulations! Because you has baby. Baby will be very cute. I’m so happy you teach we. Teacher! You lay after! You have to come in Korea. Okay?
- Chear up I will miss you
- Teacher baby very good!
- Goodbye. Where are you going?
- I wish teacher and baby will healthy and baby grow kind and handsome or pretty.
- I like you. You like me? You are very beautiful. Me too.
- How are you today? I’m fine thank you and you? Do you like banana? I’m yes I do. Good bye!
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