Turns out it WAS discipline after all...I guess

Well I suppose that it was all discipline.

After a Monday full of really disastrous students and actual punishment (from me no less!) it turns out my students have been...

COWED.

Yes, cowed.

Weird, obedient, quiet, eager to learn.

Are they really my students or are they alien mutants?

Anyeong!

Computer, computer, come out wherever you arrrre!

Today was exasperating. I want to show my kids parts from "The Grinch" which is the Jim Carrey version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", however, it turns out i'm computer retarded. I used to think that I was well versed in the twisty manner of computers. I spent much of my adolescence busily deleting important files and accidentally crashing the home computer (that actually happened and twice I had to reboot the entire system...whoops!) When you do things as asinine as that eventually ( I would hope) you learn what to do and what not to do. It's basic math, even a mathtard like myself can figure that equation out.

However, when I got to college I realized that I was far too sophisticated for the dreary, downcast, and aging PC so I upgraded to a Mac and have never looked back; until I moved to Korea. Here all the computers are PC's and i'm forced daily to have a relationship with one. My computer and I have a very straining relationship on both of our behalfs, because once again i'm that snot nosed little punk 15 year old trying to figure out daddy's big toy. It's not that I forgot how to use a PC during my two year separation from PC's, quite the contrary, I remember almost everything that I knew and things are just as easy to operate as before...except that my entire operating system is in Korean.

Awesome.

So i'm learning how to operate a PC in Korean almost purely on memory and it's definitely taking it's toll, especially on those days when I forget where things were. Four times this week i've had a visit from schools computer technician, the other day I accidentally pressed something and my computer threatened to terminate the network all the computers are on...Whoopsies! So he came, fixed it, gave me a strict scolding in Korean, and then left. I'm still unsure of what I managed to do to create such tramatic consequences, but needless to say i'm still "walking quietly" when I use my computer.

Anyway everyday that I come to work I find myself mastering yet another program, for instance i've just re-remembered how to make images move about in PowerPoint. What with my new remote clicker system i'll be able to move about the room as images pop up on my computer! woo hoo teacher me! My students will be reduced to sitting, huddled in their seats in perpetual fear that I may call on them, or discover their stash of hidden comics.

Wish me luck!
Anyeong!

OOOH I just found this draft, apparently it didn't post...this was right before Christmas. Enjoy! ^.^

Inner Dialogue

Sure, somedays I want to rip my hair out, jump on my chair, lift my skirt up, moon them, and then run screaming out of the room.

But I don't.

I sometimes wonder if my Korean co-teachers understand this concept: I just don't do that because it's...morally wrong?

Well I suppose that you then have to address the concept of morally right and wrong. I suppose as an American I will set my standards simply at: don't hit your students. With that being said, where do you draw the line between discipline, punishment, and abuse? I can clearly see that abuse is hitting my kids, but my co-teachers ALL carry wooden sticks and they smack my kids around(?) They thankfully don't do it in front of me...so i'm merely presuming here, although around me they DO make the kids stand up for the remainder of class- discipling or punishment? and they make my kids hold their HEAVY chairs above their heads- discipline or abuse? They also make my kids copy lines and lines and lines of...something, on their knees on the floor- discipline or punishment? Being a foreigner in a foreign place, I don't really feel as though I have a say in the way that they do things, the only thing that I KNOW I can change is what I do, and how I treat my students.

The next question then is, how do I discipline my students?

If they are accustomed to being more forcefully guided along the right path, will they in the end be able to understand and follow the direction i'm giving them? Will they fully understand that my method of sitting down and chatting face to face, translating words like "Disrespect", "Dishonerable", "Innapropriate", and "Bad Attitude" is really me guiding them, helping them realize where they went wrong? Or will they merely think i'm a nutter?

So many interesting questions to ponder as I continue to grow as a teacher.

Anyeong!

Harry Potter

This week is winter camp! We are celebrating the "magic of the new year" and with that, we *obviously* needed to make Harry Potter movies! Here is one of my favorites:

2011

There are certain moments in life when you realize that you are absolutely in the right moment and that the ony reason you are there is because you have brought yourself to this point. New Years has come and passed, bringing with it thoughts of what to do with myself as well as reflections on the things that i've been through in the past year. All in all I can happily say that i've only succeeded in my life and that i've set myself on the path that will bring me the most happiness and ultimately success (whatever your definition of this may be mine is happiness with myself and achievement wherever I may be).
Sitting here alone in the teachers office, reflecting on the day i've had I realized that i've gone from crazy college party girl to responsible adult. That I have people who genuinely look up to me and use me as a measurement, a ruler, for their own lives.

How did this happen?

More importantly, when did this happen?

As we all walk down our own life paths we undoubtedly reach pre-specified milestones, birthdays, holidays, celebrations, and certain bodily functions; but it's been surprising to realize that i've reached another, less spoken of but all the more important milestone, that of functioning adult. I've left behind the agony of adolescence, the tyranny of being a teen, and the confusion and disaster of being an adult child. I've stepped from one life stage into another with minimal pain, but i've still done it. I've still moved on in my life; this is minimally bittersweet as I am pleased with where i've put myself in life, but there's always that reflection period. Undoubtedly I know that i'm going to continue to fall down as I journey along, but to know, to have the full and complete realization that I am a grown woman, capable of standing on my own, of being my own woman, of supporting myself, and making excellent decisions for myself is beyond empowering. The days of needing Daddy to step in and make things right have disappeared into fond memories, and I hope that I never need to bring them back into sharp focus. The love of family, the love I hold in my heart for my family keeps me warm and grounded when I feel as though i'm flying too close to the end of the earth, I can only hope that in this new year as I continue to eek out my own unique existence that should my family ever need me i'll be there to hold out my welcoming arms as they have held out their arms to me as I grew and discovered my surroundings. Nothing compares to the love a parent has for their child and nothing can compare to the love, affection, and ultimate respect that I hold for my parents. Helping me to grow and to get past the growing pains was undoubtedly a significant effort from them and I hope that they realize I fully appreciate everything they've done for me.

To bring it all back together, from where I stand 2011 is shaping up to be an epic year full of travel, love, experience, communication blunders, and family bonds. I don't think that I could ever ask for anything better or more.

Happy 2011 and Merry New Year from Korealand!

Anyeong!