Open Classes and Wardrobes
It has been a little too long since I last posted a timely blog so it is time to play catch up. Things as always are faced paced, and blogging has fallen by the wayside in favor of more important non-computer staring things. I have also been battling this wicked cold that I cannot seem to shake, but Korean drugs certainly help you get over things far faster.
At any rate this weekend was a much needed rest from the bar scene that has consumed most weekends of late. Rachel and I needed to do winter clothes shopping, because the weather is slowly getting colder and were both quite limited in the necessary clothes such as winter boots, and additional sweaters, thermals, pants etc. We went to what semi-equates to the Times Square of shopping in Seoul called Myeongdong. I ended up with a few sweaters, cardigans and a pair of Quicksilver Jeans (my favorite brand!!) Boots were a little hard to find, not so much for size but for a reasonable price and functionality. You will be surprised how infrequently those two ideas cross (with regard to clothing) in Korea.
Shopping was fun, and surprisingly low key. Which was exactly what I needed, because I have spent the last week preparing for my open class. An open class consists of five or six people sitting in and observing your class, typically they are done in-house with the principal or the vice-principal and a few teachers. However, mine was to be with people from the IMOE, the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education aka the people who gave me my job. Needless to say that was a little stressful considering I have been teaching at the school for just about 2 months. What's more, the two women from IMOE decided to choose a class that has a less than stellar attitude towards education in general. My 2-2 class is one of my hellish second grade classes where kids like to talk back, fight and disrupt class in as many ways possible. The one thing I had going for me was that I actually really like this class, because as punkish as they are, they are quite bright. These boys just choose to be bright outside of class.
I had to deal with some short notice issues from my school, but short notice is the norm in Korea so I managed to get my lesson plan written, my powerpoint made and my lesson plan re-written to fall in line with the forms that I had to use from IMOE (late notice on that one). I was ready for the class but I was still nervous and my co-teacher was just as nervous, because he has not once coached me before a class, so that was a big deal. After all they were looking at his performance too.
The class was today, just before lunch, but I had spoken to some of the louder kids in the class a few days prior about being behaved because they were going to be watched. Thankfully they listened and the class went off without a hitch. In fact after the class I met with the two women from IMOE and the other observing teachers and they said that I was doing things in class that so far none of the other teachers they had observed were doing. They were very impressed with my organization skills, the detail of my lesson plan, and my desire to relate to the students on as many levels as possible. I was dumbstruck at their praise and they were just as surprised to find that I was only here for 2 months. They even asked me to help out with the regional advanced level winter camps, which I was more than happy to accept. Whether or not it actually happens remains to be seen, but the fact that they even offered was incredible.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Winter Camp, it is roughly 2 weeks during winter break where the Guest English Teachers (GETs) hold 2 hour classes for students who volunteer to practice English, but the classes are meant to be fun, informal and low stress for the students, so from what I am told they are a lot of fun and the teachers get to learn more about some of their students. I highly doubt there will be many motivated students from my school, but I am sure there will be plenty of parents motivated to keep their kids out of the house for a few hours over break, so who knows what could happen.
Overall this open class was a huge weight off of my shoulders for the mere fact that I don't have to worry about someone watching over my every move for a class. But it also affirmed my ability to teach and that I have not been firing blind shots into a dark classroom hoping that my teaching will affect my students. It's always nice to hear that you are doing a good job. Now if only I could beat this cold....
