My students...

I realized that I had not written in any detail about school or the kids. This one is going to be about my kindergarten students. I teach two different classes in the morning (four 40 minute classes, plus lunch): "Bear" class and "Raptor" class. Each class is given animal names, so deal with it...

I teach Raptor first. I enjoy these kids a lot. They are all 7 years old and they act just like kids at home do.

Victor is the most outgoing and wildest in the class. He is constantly laughing, cracking jokes and making friends. He also happens to be the smartest in the class. He has a well developed vocabulary, great pronunciation and he never gets flustered. I teach him Science as well, so we have become close. One day I drew a mustache on his face and ever since then, "Teacher! Teacher! I want a mustache!" It's funny when he has one, but I try to resist the urge. Ji-eung is next. He is the only kindergartener who uses his Korean name. He is the shadow of Victor. He is not as smart, but tries very hard. I also teach him science, but he tends to loose concentration easily which makes me a little mad. He has horrible teeth, like most Korean children, but he's fun. Jason is the third and final boy in my first class. He is quiet, looks very Korean and doesn't get in my way too much. I will not be able to write much about many of these kids.

Jessica is a large girl who is not very popular. It has nothing to do with her weight, she just has no confidence. She sits by herself, speaks at a volume that I can't ever hear, let alone understand. She is not smart, she cheats and she is constantly claiming that her stomach hurts. I try my best to include her or put her on the cool kids' team, but nothing works. We're actually trying to keep her from going on to the next level, but her mother would never let that happen. Jessie is a happy girl. She is missing her front two teeth. She's nice. Sally is a very little girl who just started English a month ago. She was very shy at first, but now she is opening up and having a ball. She is behind, but not nearly as behind as Jessica who has been studying for one year! Sally has this skin condition and I can't figure out what it is. Needless to say, I do not get too close. Kellie is a pain. Jennie tries to be cute, but she is also a pain. Alice is the cutest little girl in the world. She is not the smartest and she's very uncoordinated, but she is just so funny. Since none of the morning kids know much, they pick up little bits and pieces just like any child does. I can't think of a specific example right now, but I am always laughing when she is around. Then there's Lucy. She is the chubbiest little thing and I love her personality. She tries, she laughs, she makes friends and she, like Alice, is just fun to be around. She can play the piano very well too. I'm not talking Mary Had A Little Lamb either. She can play Mozart...well.

That's my first class. Here's my second:

Eric is the cool guy in the class. He's smart, he's athletic, he's a ladies man, and he's funny. Of course, he has a few behavioral issues. He is too cool, so sometimes he's too cool for school. I put him in his place though. He is a very bad sport. He cries when he loses and rubs it in when he wins. I like him, but I wish he would calm down. Helena is also a chubby little girl who takes school very seriously. One day she asked me if she could stay in the room and study. I asked why and she said it was because she doesn't like to play. What?! A child who doesn't like to play? She has a lot of friends, but I imagine she has a very, very overbearing mother. Judy has the second worse teeth I've ever seen. Danny is fun and loves Spiderman. Jim is a wierd little boy, but he tries. Andy has blonde highlights in his hair. Jeny is very quiet, but an increasingly fun girl to teach. Then we have Louis. This guy is a real asshole. He looks Chinese and has the worst attitude ever. He is mean, destructive, deceptive and hurts his classmates. I am always having to discipline him and I hate doing it, but he goes too far.

Those are my two morning classes. Obviously I like the first one more. The kids are great in both classes, but I have more fun in the first.

I'd like to tell a little about the school now that I've been there for a little while. The managment is very poor, which puts a lot of pressure on Rhett and the rest of us. He is constantly having to assume things that could be easily told to us, but apparently (from what I'm told) this is how Korean businesses are. They lack communication and involve very little tact. With that said, I do think the kids are provided with wonderful educations and I'm impressed with the results I've seen thus far.

The biggest problem I see with a hogwan is that mothers have too much control. They do not control the curriculum or anything, but they can complain. When they complain, Mr. Won worries. He worries that if does not appease these fanatical mothers then they will pull their kids out and Wonderland loses 800 dollars a month. The problem with this is that most parents complain when the teachers tell them that their child is not ready for the next level. Therefore, we are allowing some kids to advance and they will only continue to fall behind. This helps no one. It does not make our job easier because extra attention needs to be given to these kids, while the other kids who deserve to our extra time get left out. It does not help the kid because they won't be able to speak well. And it will eventually reflect poorly on our school.

So why do the mothers complain? They complain because each mother uses her childs skill level as a bragging right. They brag to each other all the time. Of course parents will brag if their child is bright. -that's expected. However, bragging because they raised hell to get their child into advanced classes is absurd. They are living a lie and they all know it.

Besides the mothers, I really enjoy it here. It's hard work, but it's all worth it...