My Life as an English Teacher

Imagine walking into to work every day among a sea of brightly clad children talking and screaming excitedly in a language that you cannot understand. Imagine having to take off your shoes, put them in a cupboard, and change into another pair of 'indoor' shoes. Imagine walking into the school building and saying "hello" about 50 times in 5 minutes. Imagine walking into your office and bowing to your boss and co-workers. Imagine hearing your boss scream his head off all the time while never knowing if he's angry or not. Imagine sitting next to someone at your desk with whom you've never exchanged more than a "good morning". Imagine walking into a classroom of 35-40 students all staring at you and scrutinizing your every move. Imagine trying to teach these children a language that half of them already know and half don't care to know. Imagine working with three different co-teachers, all with different rules, teaching philosophies, and personalities. Imagine having to be called "Jackie Teacher". Imagine eating lunch with a table full of people and only half of them can communicate with you. Imagine trying to force yourself to eat food that is strange, spicy, repetitive, and sometimes tasteless every day. Imagine being the last one to know anything, always. This is what my daily life is like at my job. It can be grueling, to say the least, but I am trying to make the best of it and learn from this teaching experience what I can. I long for the day with my own classroom again, students who are well behaved, can understand me, and will laugh at my attempt at jokes...... but until then, it's kai-bai-bo (rock, paper, scissors) and PPTs (Power Point presentations). Sigh*

My sixth grade students are a real treat. They are not all bad, and sometimes they can even be kind of funny. I teach one class during the week that always comments on my clothes, 'strange' jewelry (who, me? never!), and asks me personal questions. The other day a student asked me "Jackie teacher, do you like to drink? You know, alcohol?" Me: "No, not right now." Student: "Then why is your face all red today?" Lovely.

One thing that amazes me about my students is that they are all bi-lingual. Well, ok, not all. Some. And some are even learning other languages as well. Korean public schools have it right I think- the students are all required to take English class. They are also required to learn Chinese characters. I even have one student who is taking Spanish lessons and we practice basic Spanish together when I see him. It is really impressive to me that most of these kids are not even twelve years old and can speak two languages or more. I long to be bilingual.

Whenever someone answers the phone at my school they say "yobosayo" which means "hello" (on the telephone). Every teacher in the school is called "sonsaengnim" (teacher). The students, other teachers, and the principals call every teacher this. When someone is one the phone somehow they always know who it is just by hearing their voice because they never use each others' names. It is kind of slightly amazing to me. I have no idea how they do it.

I have mentioned my teachers' class that I teach two times a week. The other day during class one of the teachers asked me if my face was my "real face or make-up face"? I said "well, it's my make-up face because I have make-up on, but I don't wear a lot to school." They all kind of 'ohhhed' and 'ahhhhed' for a minute. I told one of my co-teachers about this afterwards and she told me that they probably meant "make-up" as in plastic surgery, not face powder. Great. Now they probably all think that my face has been constructed by a doctor.

Namaste