Day Out

Today was a very interesting day.  Simon says... oh wait, Simon changed his mind... haha.

Conversation classes.  There are three sets of classes in the middle school, one for each grade.  The sets are composed of levels depending on how well as student understands English.  There are four Freshmen conversation classes.  Four sophomore conversation classes.  And there was three, but then I got the fourth, junior conversation class.

The funny thing was, we spend a good many minutes running between classrooms trying to find out classes.  Or standing in our classrooms while the kids ran back and fourth trying to find their classes.  The conversation classes were a mess at the beginning of each class.  I found it oddly relaxing and enjoyable.  I wasn't held to perfection and obviously no one else was on top either.  I enjoyed sitting back and watching things unfold and become solved.  Then I taught class.

The juniors were the hardest to get organized since they created a fourth class and pulled students from the other three.  This was an attempt to lower the amount of students in one class.  I swear some International students are in these conversation classes.  Anyrate, a group of my students that I had last year found out I was teaching them.  They all but screamed and joyfully raced to the room we were assigned.  I didn't have the heart to tell them I was going to be more strict this year.  I picked up my stick (yes, I carry one with me though it is more for show since I won't hit a student) and followed.

Then scared them spitless when I rapped my podium with the stick.  The stick speaks loudly.  International students I can handle without a hitch.  Conversation students... can't fail the class no matter what the teacher thinks so it is a bit harder to control them.  So... stick's influence a good thing!

At the end of the day, one of the teacher's gave me a lift to Gyeongsan where I caught a subway to downtown Daegu.  Went to the theater.  Watched a movie in English.  So nice.  The theater may not be where a person should spend a lot of time, however being in an English setting that is so familiar in many ways to back home puts me at ease.  It is my mini vacation.