Detailed Information on a Bill

Recently, while pretending to teach English speaking skills to middle school students, I have taken to posing questions to the entire class and then seeing how long it takes for someone besides me to break the silence. Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a gold fish and I am not able to actually time the silences. However, once I waited five minutes, because I looked at the clock at the clock shortly after I asked the question and the started writing what was the first draft this particular blog entry. This question had been posed to an individual student, Seok Min, whom I specifically picked because I actually though he come back with something and I had already picked on Jae Hoon too much. Sometimes, while I am waiting the middle school students to answer questions, I totally zone out, I start daydreaming or planning my evening or thinking about Big Bang, or I fantasize about being able to sing the Korean version of Insomnia at noraebang. (It’s never going to happen because Whee Sung can barely do it, the rapping part is too fast, but I can dream.) I suddenly surface and realize that I have been standing in front of a room of teenagers, some of who are staring oddly at me, but most of whom have taken this opportunity to start a text message conversation with friends stuck at a different hagwon. In Seok Min’s defense, the question did have something to with beauty contests being sexist. (I don’t write the books, I just teach the books.)
In the middleish of July, the Korean government made a step forward in the right direction concerning the over education of the children and decreed that no child is allowed to be at school past 10:00 pm. Good for the kids, good for me, bad for every single hagwon, especially the less important ones like piano hagwons. They only time that many children have in their schedule for something like piano lessons is when English, math, and science hagwon has finished. I don’t care what adults get fucked over because of this law, I fully support it. In fact, if the government decided tomorrow (or Monday rather) that all hagwons should be closed and made illegal, I would happily pack my bags and go home. I think this education is sick and the generation of children who have been raised in this environment (to which I willing and knowing contribute in order to make money and have “adventures”) are going to be fucked up. But I digress. This law means that I get out of school a full twenty minutes earlier. Now the last class ends at 9:40, of course I have been at school earlier to make up for it, but I would rather be out at 9:40. However, this twenty-minute shift has completely screwed up the schedule. It has taken a full week to get used to it, figuring out what time classes start and end and when is the best time to use the washroom without having to wait in line. I feel depressed that twenty minutes could affect me so. I think I am getting old.
Back to middle school students and how much I hate them and love them all at the same time. I spend most of my energy (and anger*) on the more responsive and less well behaved elementary students and don't the energy to get angry at them, so when they misbehave I usually laugh. Actually, the middle school students are not better behaved, just quieter and sneakier. They get so annoyed when I wake them from their oh so necessary mid-class naps, shooting me dirty looks and angry sighs (how dare she try to make me learn? the bitch!). They also don’t appreciate when I tell them to put away their MP3 players or cell phones as if I should allow texting in class (and basically I do, if they would try to hide it better, I wouldn’t bother calling them out). After I told John (I use his English because I can’t pronounce his Korean name) five or six times to put his way and then he used it again, I flipped out a little, what could be so important? What are you , 15? No, teacher, 16. OK, sixteen-year-olds do have important things to do. Yes, very important, teacher. I told him that if I saw it again, I would take it way. There were only five minutes left in class. At least he was trying to hide. Kroos (he picked it himself, I think it is his rapper name) wasn’t trying to hide, but at least he only needed to be told three or four times. Yun Young was passed out the entire class. I’m an ineffective teacher.

*We are one week into a new semester. I decided that this semester, until I leave, I am going to be happy teacher not angry teacher. I am trying to patient and fun with even the most heinous of elementary classes. I almost lost it one class, but managed to pull through with only raising my voice a little bit. I am not going to let the little douche bags get me down.