So we had our first full day at KoC  today, and I got a real taste of what having my own classroom will be like. It’s been a little frustrating trying to  get adjusted and start planning lessons. Nothing is really laid out simply for us and we’ve had to do a lot of digging to figure out where the last teacher left off.  For example, we have been given a packet of information with a monthly lesson plan guideline ( a map of what should be completed each month, compiled by the teacher’s assistants) as well as this week’s lesson plan (completed by the teachers), but when I sat down today and compared the two, I discovered that my kids seem to be at least a month ( probably more) behind.

The head teacher, Naomi, has tried very hard to help out, but she has her own classes to worry about and can only do so much. Apparently, what little direction we have been given is more than most new teachers get. Some arrive “fresh off the boat” (or the plane, as it were) and are thrown in a classroom by themselves. We at least have been allowed to observe several classes and have sat down with Naomi to talk over any questions and concerns we may have.  But again, there is so much information and we get no practice round.

Here is what I do know: from 10:25-2:15 M-F I will be with a group of about 10 kindergartners and from 2:30- 6pm I will be teaching various primary school classes .  The new semester for the primary school kids starts on Monday, so I won’t know exactly which students and classes I have until tomorrow. I did, however get to meet my kindergartners today. They call my kids the K-9 group and I should have   taken heed when I mentioned this to other teachers and their responses ranged from looks of pity to exclamations of “good luck” and “oh my gosh, those kids are devils!”. One teacher even claimed that a k-9 kid bit him in the hallway once. I later found out that the k-9 group is the lowest level class at the school and the kids have almost no English.  To be fair, they are young—five to six in Korean years, which means they are really only four or five–and have had three different teachers in as many months.  I’m hoping what they need is some stability and a strong dose of discipline.

Despite all of this,  I do not mean to give the impression that things are terrible here. Far, far from it. The school really is beautiful, the staff is extremely kind and willing to help, and for the most part, the kids are funny, polite and inquisitive. Even those dreaded k-9 kids have many good moments.  For example, when I introduced myself this morning as “Katelyn Teacher,” they could not pronounce my name, and so have taken to calling me ” Candy Teacher”. I have to say, there is nothing like having a mob of children run up to you with their bright eyes and wide smiles, yelling “Candy Teacher!” like there is no one in the world they want to see more.