That's right, kindergarten through grade twelve and one year of university and I'm now teaching ESL
So yeah, I had my first class and it's a very small school, much to my pleasure (id est, I had one kid to work with, today, and another will be there tomorrow). But so far I like it so much more than doing construction.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Congrats!!!
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Yay, congrats!
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
Thanks! The amusing thing for the day is that someone started a rumour that I speak Korean (all the kids are Korean) and apparently a minor panic ensued as they hadn't been speaking very well of me. But I'm told their opinions about me began to change a bit after I had a chance to teach a little. We're reading James and the Giant Peach...melikes.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
Congratulations!
That rumor situation is pretty funny. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine brings George's dad to find out what the techs in her nail salon are saying about her.
I love James and the Giant Peach Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Ya-ay!! Congratulations!! *dances*
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Awesomeness. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I yhave had a number of situatiosn like that, bringing my wife along to translate.
For some reason no one ever expects a lilly white blonde woman to speak Spanish....
Not to mention 4 other languages. Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
I'm actually itching to learn Korean, now...but, alas, I can't fit a third language into my schedule at school, so it will have to wait.
Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
Nice! Congrats, Reiko. Hope it stays fun!
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Congrats. Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
Alright, so the first day they determined I was ugly, for whatever reason...now apparently they're just confused...apparently they think I'm nice and funny, but I look like I should be mean and serious. Stephanie, my friend who told me about the job opening and another teacher there, was listening to her students trying to describe something about me to her. They knew the Korean word, but couldn't find an English equivalent. Finally they decided upon butter as being the closest. At first she thought they meant because I had blonde hair or something. No...it has to do with my voice or how I speak, apparently. So she started firing off properties of butter to understand what they meant; first one being greasy, because the first day I was apparently ugly. One girl said that was definately it then the others all smacked her and said not at all. After further guessing she thinks they meant smoothe. However, they came up with the most bizzare nickname for the day, apparently. As soon as they left and Stephanie was about to give me a ride home she just cracked up laughing. Like...absolutely dying laughing. Apparently they decided to call me Prince Butter (I think the added "Prince" is an Asian thing, because I've seen it elsewhere...but O_o).
So that's my weird anecdote of the day -- a bunch of young Korean girls calling me Prince Butter behind my back. Oh, and some of them offered to teach me Korean for a dollar an hour...
*shakes head* I really don't get kids and apparently they're also planning to do a taste-testing thing of Korean food and they were planning this amongst each other in Stephanie's class...and no mention of forcing her to try any, just me. They want to try Kim-Chi...apparently it's spicey. Either they hate me or they love me, but I can't tell which.
But, for our fun, we fed them Berty Botts, today, during lunch break. Stephanie was handing them out. The first one was a soap, and quite deliberately. We just about died laughing at the poor girl's expression, along with her cry of horror, "EWW! THIS TASTES LIKE SOAP!" (For the record, they finished the bag, including vomit flavour willingly and knowingly taken and were hoping we'd bring more, despite the vultures' cries of "EW" and "GROSS" et cetera all the way through).
So yeah, that was only day two and I've got a definate three more weeks, and possibly a fourth. This will certainly be interesting.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Kim-Chi is really good. Spicy, yes, but I like it.
Better than soap, anyway.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Congrats!
Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
All hail the Prince of Butter!
That's hilarious. But it could be worse. I mean, you could have been "Prince Gelatin" or "Prince Bryl-Cream" or something instead...
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Isn't kimchee the Korean equivalent of sauerkraut?
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it sounds a bit like it...only spicier.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
It's spicy pickled cabbage, and it's yummy!
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
Yeah, congrats!!
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
People think I own Windows XP in Chinese, because I had a lot of software I was offering. Of course, I only had Server 2003 in Italian but that doesn't matter.
Some people reckon I speak more than ten languages (English, Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Yiddish, Cantonese, Latin and Greek - or even more). So don't worry about speaking Korean. Just learn two wise proverbs.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
My latest experience: Verity (the lady in charge) has set me to teach Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. She has set me to do this book with a nine year old girl and an eleven year old girl. Suffice to say >_< and I'm so not reading this book with them in class. They can read it on their own time for homework or on their own in class.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Congratulations!
(That's actually a good book. But I can't believe it's being taught in school. )
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
(Oh, and Korean food is WONDERFUL. Including kimchee.)
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
What I can't believe is that it's being taught by a guy to two girls right around the age of the girls in the book or younger. Maybe there's a cultural difference that I'm not aware of that doesn't faze Koreans near as much as it fazes me. (Just in case this is not the case, I've informed my students that I'm reading this book under the direction of my superior, should anybody ask). At the very least, it was informative for me and my writing. And that's the only redeeming factor I can see in my having to read it. That and the amusement that others seem to derive from the fact that I read it.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
Oh! And my other fun is that the one girl keeps trying to teach me Korean, so she went so far as to give me a spelling list to learn for homework, tonight. So guess what I'm doing. Learning to read Korean and fifteen words. Ah well, next time somebody writes something on the board, I may be able to give them a scare by reading it aloud. Not that I'll know what I read, but the fact that I read it at all could make for some very amusing facial expressions.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
So I let them give me their spelling test. I got every one of the fifteen correct. And, instead of them being disappointed that I actually took the time to do it and get it right, they thought it was great fun and gave me another list to learn. This time only ten words. Ten harder words. Oh, and a sentance. "This is a pen." In two forms; one for friends and one for adults. Yep, won't be long before I'm in completely over my head, now. That or I'll be fluent. One or the other.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Sounds like you're having fun. Posted by Shawshank (Member # 8453) on :
Congrats on becoming a teacher.
My aunt teaches ESL and I know she loves it- especially after being an Algebra 1 teacher to 8th graders for like... 20 years or so. She's always telling me stories of her students like that.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Ha! I just got this as a forward. usually, i trash them instantly, but this one caught my eye:
"TEACHER INTERVIEW (anonymous)
After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said: "Let me see if I've got this right . . You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. And I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self esteem.You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job.
I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of anti-social behavior, make sure all students pass the mandatory state exams, even those who don't come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments.
Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap. And I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card.
All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps!
You want me to do all of this and yet you expect me...... NOT TO PRAY???"
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Congrats, Rei. Sounds like things are going well. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Elizabeth, to your post I say merely, "She gets a computer?! Lucky!"
Posted by Shawshank (Member # 8453) on :
I love that Elizabeth- it made me laugh.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Rivka, I am sure the single computer was to teach a computer class with. ha ha.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
Okay...so today I gave them their test on Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret. As a part of it I had them write a couple short essays. This is one that I got back. The question is: What do you think Margaret learns in this story about people?
quote: I think Margaret learns how to K. [kiss] for boy from Nancy (I know..It's so disgusting) Nancy was crazy. How can Nancy tell about that for Margaret? I can't understand. I don't lke Nancy. she was disgusting and she was not a girl. I think she was a boy. If she was a boy, he is a bad boy. BAD BOY! BAD BOY! BAD BOY! BaD BoY! and If she was a real girl, she is a BaD GiRl! BaD GiRl! bAd gIrl! BAD GIRL! BAD GIRL! I hate Nancy.
Posted by Jess N (Member # 6744) on :
Get used to this sort of answer. Sometimes students can't separate their feelings from what you're really trying to ask. Also, I've found that if a student doesn't really get what you are asking about, they go with something that they feel strongly about.
I've been teaching Adult Learners (including ESL students) for about three years now. I've seen this before (well not exactly this...but you get the idea).
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
That could be. Whatever the case, wow am I amused. I sort of expected a less than perfect essay because we haven't done them too much, but wow. Just about died laughing just now.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
If you know of any other teachers that are still needing work, there are lots of openings in Kansas:
quote: Wichita still needs teachers
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
School starts in one week in Wichita and the district needs more teachers. Right now, the district still has openings for 39 teachers: 24 are for special education classes, three are for high school science and one is for high school math.
West is one school that needs two math teachers. It probably won't be able to hire them. Instead, it hired two-long term substitutes who have a background in math.
“The curriculum will be delivered. We have long term substitutes with math backgrounds,” says West High principal Lori Doyle. “I assure you, our children will not suffer.”
The district has put aside money so if it finds these teachers during the year, it can afford to hire them.
Our area probably doesn't pay as well as other areas, though.
FG
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Farmgirl, this is going to be the situation everywhere, soon.
The baby boomers are retiring. Next year, at our school, there will be ten(that I know of) veteran teachers retiring.
Massachusetts, at one point this spring, had 60 openings for superintendent.
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All hail the Prince of Butter! ![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
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