Tue Dec 2, 2003
Well, today was my dreaded open class, without a doubt the most nerve-racking thing we’ve ever had to do at the school. I must say though, if they’d sprung it on me a few months back I would have crumpled under the pressure but these days I’m a real trooper. This time there was a full compliment of mothers eager to see their well-trained darlings perform for them. There were no major transgressions of our rules, nobody spoke Korean, nobody tried to steal my flashcards or use me as a human punching bag or set anything on fire. So, by my desperate standards they were positively angelic. I was more worried that the mothers would see that I wasn’t exactly a crackerjack teacher. I fully acknowledge that I’m not the world’s greatest kindergarten teacher, but I have learnt a few tricks of the trade. Anyways, the feedback I got was that the mothers were ‘satisfied with my teaching’, so I guess I did ok.
Actually, the Kitten class have gotten a lot better, with a little patience and persistence even the nastiest little junior warmonger can be trained to become a respectable member of kindergarten society. In the beginning I didn’t think I’d be able to teach these kids anything. When they were raw recruits nine months ago, they couldn’t even pronounce their English names. Now we’re starting to communicate with each other and have conversations, and they can express their needs to me in English. Before when they were yelling and crying at me in Korean I felt quite helpless. Yes, it’s really gratifying and I feel a real sense of accomplishment in that respect.
On a side note, the ajummas working in the produce section at my local supermarket have started giving me major discounts on my fruit for some reason. I guess it’s because I’m such a loyal customer, what fantastic service! They’d never do that at Safeway.