So I never thought I would say this, but TFA has really prepared me for life. Being in South Korea and teaching students English through the Camp on Campus has allowed me to sit back, reflect on the past two years and really appreciate the training I was given. At the beginning of TFA I was the rebel who refused to do formal assessments. I was never a true believer of the system, I hated giving tests and for some reason it did not sink in until long after institute that I need to know what students got out of my lessons. I hated tracking, and never fully did it, so by TFA standards I was a slacker. Interestingly enough, having a fresh start at teaching here has given me another chance to use the tools that I was given during those ungodly Saturday trainings. Even more surprising is that the methods that are being presented here are game based and more fun, the makings of a cool teacher in the states, but they seem flat out ineffective and I have still not grasped why we have to act and amuse our students instead of teaching them.
I cannot even explain how uncomfortable it makes me to try and attempt this style of teaching. I don't see these as a means to get results. I am frustrated because it feels like there is no drive, that the fuel that runs all corps members to end educational inequality is not compatible with the "Fun English Conversation Teacher" prototype they are building. I feel too stern and rigid, as if the methods that I have seen work in my classroom are boring and too controlled. Even the fact that I demand respect and have a firm grasp on discipline is seen as a negative and is seen as a reflection of my ice queen persona.
However, seeing the two systems, two vastly different approaches, I think that TFA really has it right. By the end of my second lesson I was back to being the teacher that I want to be. I have control, I teach direct objectives and when they perform well I praise the students. In my opinion, teaching should be clean of noise and chaos and students should be motivated by personal growth rather than candy or stickers. I can be flexible, throw in a game or two, but I refuse to lose control and let anything slip past me because I am not being true to myself. I want to have my students attain 80% mastery on their end of year English exams. TFA, thank you, I guess I needed to see the non-example in order to realize what I great asset you really were for building me as a teacher. I may come to find out after my stint in Korea is over that games would have been the better thing to do all along, just as I didn't believe in assessments two years ago.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
I did TKD today!!!!
Nostalgia. That is the only way to describe the feelings of putting on a crisp TaeKwonDo uniform, tying a belt around your waist and then kiaping with all your might. It was eerie how familiar all of the commands sounded, almost like I didn't take a 6 year hiatus from probably the most amazing sport known to man. The class was large and the pacing very slow, but I was glowing. My body responded automatically, took time to pause, and knew when to strike and I even remembered how to breath. Im on cloud nine. :)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
6 days later....
I am looking out my window and I see a looming mist around rich green mountains and rollercoaster hills. The "marble palace" that I live in is one gigantic building( incredibly eco friendly) and very Palo Soleri in the sense that it is built up and surrounded by some of the most beautiful and enticing nature you have ever seen. There are also many covered verandas around so you can enjoy studying korean as rain pours from above.
Infact, I did just that yesterday night. It is amazing to me that in three days of intensive Korean instruction (four hours a day)my class has gone from a few people knowing the alphabet to reading sentences at a (semi) fluid pace. Thats like 4 years growth in 12 hours, TFA would be so proud. :) During my stay here I have also gotten a sense for Korean culture, nothing that I didn't know already, but more like facts being confirmed before my eyes. Example: male-male or female-female effection is common. Older gentleman can be seen walking hand in hand and girls give each other lots of effection. During one of our drinking outtings (ive only gone twice but people have been hitting the town 40 or so at a time for days straight, we are picking up on this aspect really well) two of our male Korean college student friends were kissing each others heads in a way that would cause most Americans to raise eyebrows.Though it did bring back memories of a certain group of 09 TFA corps memebers who were very bro-mantic with each other, went on movie dates and were not afraid to show some love. (Miss you guys, you would be so loved here) Interestingly enough, Koreans have no gaydar and the gay culture is still only beginning to make so headway when it comes to understanding of the concept.
Respect is the name of the game here, I find myself bowing overnearly every three steps as I walk down the halls, insa is the word for greeting and giving insa will result in me having a six pack. We bow to Professors, our Korean teachers and even the construction workers who pound away at the school at all time of the day (this university seriously has a heartbeat, they are always baning out a steady rhythm and when it stops everyone notices because our bodies arent shaking anymore. ALso- fun fact- construction workers wear really nice collared shirts to work!! so cute.)
I have had the pleasure of experiencing a Korean classroom as a field trip to Changju. First off, they really do hate feet here (so glad someone else shares my intense disgust) and you have to take your shoes off whenever you enter a household or room. There are even lips in our rooms that bring the rest of the room up so we leave the shoes on the bottom ledge as we enter. Anyway, after taking our shoes off the elementary teachers and I went through the school in comfy slippers that I hope to god someone cleaned before I was forced to shove my feet in there. The hallways, floors, and even steps were plastered with english phrases, they focus so much on english language cultivation that they do not waste any room. However, the red riding hood story that pasted on the steps (each time you walk up you read a new line) was a little awkward and thus probably not helpful to their English development.
Also- one more gripe- the korean kids dont raise hands. That is part of the culture, they just shout words out. I plan on instilling a little American teaching practice when it comes to those things. I already know the Korean word for NO so I think I will practice that for the first days before they simmer down and sit in their seats. Truth be told, behavior was much worse that I have seen in many classrooms, mainly because the problems were being completely ignored by the teacher. They were super cute though. Bonus points- one kid wore suspenders and knew everything. I suspect him to be the class captain, being one for my Korean class I get him. I just need to get a pair of suspenders to complete the look.
Ah, I have so much more to say but that mountain is looking too good not to explore it. Korea rocks, I need you all to come and see it for yourself. so :) Anyongkaseyo!
Infact, I did just that yesterday night. It is amazing to me that in three days of intensive Korean instruction (four hours a day)my class has gone from a few people knowing the alphabet to reading sentences at a (semi) fluid pace. Thats like 4 years growth in 12 hours, TFA would be so proud. :) During my stay here I have also gotten a sense for Korean culture, nothing that I didn't know already, but more like facts being confirmed before my eyes. Example: male-male or female-female effection is common. Older gentleman can be seen walking hand in hand and girls give each other lots of effection. During one of our drinking outtings (ive only gone twice but people have been hitting the town 40 or so at a time for days straight, we are picking up on this aspect really well) two of our male Korean college student friends were kissing each others heads in a way that would cause most Americans to raise eyebrows.Though it did bring back memories of a certain group of 09 TFA corps memebers who were very bro-mantic with each other, went on movie dates and were not afraid to show some love. (Miss you guys, you would be so loved here) Interestingly enough, Koreans have no gaydar and the gay culture is still only beginning to make so headway when it comes to understanding of the concept.
Respect is the name of the game here, I find myself bowing overnearly every three steps as I walk down the halls, insa is the word for greeting and giving insa will result in me having a six pack. We bow to Professors, our Korean teachers and even the construction workers who pound away at the school at all time of the day (this university seriously has a heartbeat, they are always baning out a steady rhythm and when it stops everyone notices because our bodies arent shaking anymore. ALso- fun fact- construction workers wear really nice collared shirts to work!! so cute.)
I have had the pleasure of experiencing a Korean classroom as a field trip to Changju. First off, they really do hate feet here (so glad someone else shares my intense disgust) and you have to take your shoes off whenever you enter a household or room. There are even lips in our rooms that bring the rest of the room up so we leave the shoes on the bottom ledge as we enter. Anyway, after taking our shoes off the elementary teachers and I went through the school in comfy slippers that I hope to god someone cleaned before I was forced to shove my feet in there. The hallways, floors, and even steps were plastered with english phrases, they focus so much on english language cultivation that they do not waste any room. However, the red riding hood story that pasted on the steps (each time you walk up you read a new line) was a little awkward and thus probably not helpful to their English development.
Also- one more gripe- the korean kids dont raise hands. That is part of the culture, they just shout words out. I plan on instilling a little American teaching practice when it comes to those things. I already know the Korean word for NO so I think I will practice that for the first days before they simmer down and sit in their seats. Truth be told, behavior was much worse that I have seen in many classrooms, mainly because the problems were being completely ignored by the teacher. They were super cute though. Bonus points- one kid wore suspenders and knew everything. I suspect him to be the class captain, being one for my Korean class I get him. I just need to get a pair of suspenders to complete the look.
Ah, I have so much more to say but that mountain is looking too good not to explore it. Korea rocks, I need you all to come and see it for yourself. so :) Anyongkaseyo!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Shake Machines !!!!!
I have been working out at 6amat the Korean gym for the past two days. (Quite a streak eh?) Today I was brave enough to step onto the SHAKE MACHINE. This thing basically gives off serious vibrations and moves your body from left to right very very quickly as you hold on. It basically isolates the areas on your body that are fatand not muscle and then makes them jiggle like there is no tomorrow.
So please imagine this scene: I am holding on to the bars after setting the timer and the setting on a high level, then, the machines slowly warms up and sharts to move me from side to side with increasing speed. By the end of the first minute my ass is bopping up and down so hard it would make any rap-video-wanna-be-dance grimmace in disgust. But wait, the machine is not done yet, as the intensity increases so does the jiggling on other parts of my body, its like the fat is being extracted from every hiding spot and shown to the world in full bump and grind glory. Mind you, I am the younges person in the gym. By FAR. The only other three people are over 65 and most likely looking at my jiggling and thinking I am morbidly obese. Apparently it is only fitting that the only person in the gym with a little fat to spare is moving and grooving to the speed of a shake machine.
So clearly, the Koreans really know how to make you extremely selfconcious. I will definately be back for the machine tomorrow. Maybe this is how Shakira learned to shake her hips so they don't lie.
So please imagine this scene: I am holding on to the bars after setting the timer and the setting on a high level, then, the machines slowly warms up and sharts to move me from side to side with increasing speed. By the end of the first minute my ass is bopping up and down so hard it would make any rap-video-wanna-be-dance grimmace in disgust. But wait, the machine is not done yet, as the intensity increases so does the jiggling on other parts of my body, its like the fat is being extracted from every hiding spot and shown to the world in full bump and grind glory. Mind you, I am the younges person in the gym. By FAR. The only other three people are over 65 and most likely looking at my jiggling and thinking I am morbidly obese. Apparently it is only fitting that the only person in the gym with a little fat to spare is moving and grooving to the speed of a shake machine.
So clearly, the Koreans really know how to make you extremely selfconcious. I will definately be back for the machine tomorrow. Maybe this is how Shakira learned to shake her hips so they don't lie.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
July 3rd never occured.
So this is the first blog from Korea. This country is strikingly beautiful, on the three hour ride from Seoul we passes numerous cities on the lakefront and the greenery and beautiful bridges around were breathtaking.
It is also Very very humid here, I finally get why people complain about humidity and hair. I took a 10 min hard run on the tredmill today and it felt (and my body glistened as if...) I had just run a marathon.
The food is incredible. Pickled radish looks like noodles, kimchi heats up the body several degrees and the meats are very lean. I really like the dehydrated squid i bought at a truck stop.
The last quick remark I will make before going to shower in my bathroom, (I will have to put pictures up later because it is really a fascinating thing when your entire bathroom is your shower) is that I have to take a female only elevator to the female only part of the dorm. This is inforced by cameras. Everyone is totally complaint of this but sometimes people forget and jump on the wrong one.
Bowing out at a 45 degree angle- Olenka!
It is also Very very humid here, I finally get why people complain about humidity and hair. I took a 10 min hard run on the tredmill today and it felt (and my body glistened as if...) I had just run a marathon.
The food is incredible. Pickled radish looks like noodles, kimchi heats up the body several degrees and the meats are very lean. I really like the dehydrated squid i bought at a truck stop.
The last quick remark I will make before going to shower in my bathroom, (I will have to put pictures up later because it is really a fascinating thing when your entire bathroom is your shower) is that I have to take a female only elevator to the female only part of the dorm. This is inforced by cameras. Everyone is totally complaint of this but sometimes people forget and jump on the wrong one.
Bowing out at a 45 degree angle- Olenka!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Peace Out!
The lights are dim, the rope cords that separate the boxing rink from the crowd rock gently to the Rocky theme music, the spotlight shine on the announcer at the center of the mat.
"In this corner......." he annunciates each syllable and draws the crowd in "at 5 feet four inches tall, weighing in at 125 (thanks mom for feeding my "the last supper" for two straight weeks) hailing from Phoenix, Az is the Ukrainian renegade, with the famous sass attack move and nerves of steel made by the hammer and sickle she is packed and ready to jet off, please welcome to the battle field Olleeeeeeeeeeeeeeenka Leeeeeeeneeeeeetsss!"
I smack my gloved hands together and then pump by fists in the air as I approach the announcer, the crowd obviously goes wild. My uniform is a mixture of colors and flags because I don't actually have one country that I am representing, I am a compilation of the many experiences made in several foreign lands. I don't quite have a home.
"In the other corner....." he starts up again, and the crowd is momentarily hushed by his booming voice "at the geographical coordinates of 37 00 N, 127 30 E, a landmass totaling 96,920 sq km (thats slightly larger than Indiana folks) and boasting a population of 48,636,068 thin people please make some noise for the country that has 81% of it's people living in urban areas, an infant mortality rate of 4.24 deaths/1,000 live births and a literacy rate of 97.9%.....here is Soooooooouth Koooooooooreeeeeeeeeeeaa!"
We do a fist bump and then square off in position...let the battle begin.
facts taken from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html
"In this corner......." he annunciates each syllable and draws the crowd in "at 5 feet four inches tall, weighing in at 125 (thanks mom for feeding my "the last supper" for two straight weeks) hailing from Phoenix, Az is the Ukrainian renegade, with the famous sass attack move and nerves of steel made by the hammer and sickle she is packed and ready to jet off, please welcome to the battle field Olleeeeeeeeeeeeeeenka Leeeeeeeneeeeeetsss!"
I smack my gloved hands together and then pump by fists in the air as I approach the announcer, the crowd obviously goes wild. My uniform is a mixture of colors and flags because I don't actually have one country that I am representing, I am a compilation of the many experiences made in several foreign lands. I don't quite have a home.
"In the other corner....." he starts up again, and the crowd is momentarily hushed by his booming voice "at the geographical coordinates of 37 00 N, 127 30 E, a landmass totaling 96,920 sq km (thats slightly larger than Indiana folks) and boasting a population of 48,636,068 thin people please make some noise for the country that has 81% of it's people living in urban areas, an infant mortality rate of 4.24 deaths/1,000 live births and a literacy rate of 97.9%.....here is Soooooooouth Koooooooooreeeeeeeeeeeaa!"
We do a fist bump and then square off in position...let the battle begin.
facts taken from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)