...for the sake of the children

The reason I haven't blogged this week isn't because it's been a boring week - it's because I haven't had the time!


This week, I taught my 6th graders the section titled, "I'm stronger than you" Now they're crazy about WWF - with the likes of The Undertaker, John Cena, Great Khali etc... I, on the other hand, despise it. I find it pointless and shudder each time a wrestler (regardless of his size) is thrown to the ground.

...but, for the sake of the kids and to capture their attention...I pretend that I'm a HUGE wrestling fan.

So this is what happened in one of my classes today.... (6th grade).

As I walked into the class, a girl threw something on the floor which landed right at my feet. Obviously I got a hell of a shock, but the girl didn't know I was entering the class... however, my co-teacher reprimanded her...and after 5 minutes of a mini lecture (I don't know what), she was asked to come and apologize to me in front of the rest of the class.

By now, the mood was sombre....totally what I didn't want because 1) it's Friday! and 2) it's the last day of school till next Friday because of Chuseok

I found a pretty cool clip on YouTube.com about Superman vs Lava Monster... usual story where Superman saves the day, hence Superman is STRONGER THAN Lava Monster.

When I noticed this specific class wasn't really responsive, I had to quickly alter my lesson plan and have them do something different. Just like a previous class earlier this week, I had one student act as The Undertaker, and the other as John Cena and they arm wrestled. They still seemed a bit sleepy, so I challenged someone to an arm wrestle. The kids went crazy! They were laughing and pointing and probably thinking I was the most ridiculous teacher they've had.

....but teaching English as a foreign language to children has taught me that when you enter that classroom, you have to totally leave your personality behind in the teacher's room. (unless you are genuinely wacky). But all I can say is this : Thank goodness some of my family and friends don't see me during my lessons! I'm all over the show...jumping from here to there, miming etc...

No matter how tired I am, or if I'm in the mood or not, when I enter my classes, I'm greeted by my students SO warmly that I can't help but feed off their energy, bundle it up in a lesson and throw it back at them.

....here's to the end of a good teaching week :)