March began with a wicked trip to Geumondo/Bokdo. This trip was originally awesome due to the great weather and island vibe, but unfortunately deconstructed into a stressful last day. Being absent at work on the first day, and arguably the busiest day of the semester was not a great way to start a month. But luckily, after that first week, work was relatively easy. The introductions and attempts at organization surprisingly meant less immediate marking. Especially in the form of journals, which become this massive pile on my desk that is refilled as soon as it is emptied.
At the end of the month, it was time for the first round of report cards with my new students. This was mostly great, because it meant they hadn't all read my semi generic comments. Sometimes I regret that my parents won't understand the really quite subtle nature of my criticism; the gentle balance between positive and constructive comments. Most of them start with the students name and some kind of compliment, are followed by skills, areas for improvement, and then general statement of the pleasure I gain from teaching them.
“ Johnny is a smart boy. He shows good effort on his homework, and gets along well with his classmates. Johnny can continue to improve by being more attentive to the lesson, and concentrating more on his class work. I am pleased to be teaching Johnny this spring.”
Multiply that by:
20 First grade students
19 Second grade
23 3rd grade
24 4th grade
You try to come up with semi-original comments for each student, but it eventually just becomes a form letter. There are only so many original things you can say about smart, nice, hardworking Korean girls. They're always told to ask more questions in class, which most of the time I find an inconvenience as it disrupts the flow of my great lecture on science adaptation.
This brings us to the great part of March. I get to teach Science!!!! Sure, it's grade 1-3 science, but it's nice and right out of American elementary school textbooks. So far, we've been talking about plants and animals, living and non living things, and their needs and adaptations. I find it a bit rushed though, as the vocabulary explanations slows down the reading pace, and we can barely get through the text book in class, let alone get into actual discussion and application of what they're reading. If I had more time, I might rearrange my lesson to put in some inquiry based work in class, and just assign the boring reading stuff for homework. Though, I don't find the reading boring. It's way easier for me to be actively engaged in the lesson when the topic is something a vaguely know something about.
At this point, that's what my last five years feels like. A large input of exact scientific knowledge has become a broad understanding of basic scientific theory, with most of the details lost to post exam brain drain.
Anyways, to slightly more interesting Korean stuff. I haven't done too much travelling. I bought new hiking boots and Climbed Mt. Jirisan. I really love hiking, but I have inconsistent feelings about the act of climbing straight up and straight down a mountain. It sure gives you a sense of accomplishment when you reach the summit though, eh?
And, to reflect on that 'eh', I am finding that my time here has made me a proud Canadian. Though I might possibly consider seceding into Cascadia if that became an opportunity. Check out this link! My seattle friends are convinced we'd be in the G20:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_%28independence_movement%29
