i have returned from my 2nd vacation of the last 2 months. first was 16 days in thailand. second was chuseok vacation. what is chuseok you ask? it's basically the Korean Thanksgiving. so i was given friday, monday, tuesday and wednesday off for the holiday. dani paid for both of us to go down to busan, which is at the southern tip of Korea. which equals, warmer weather and the beach and that means relaxation. overall, it was a great trip. it was nice to get away after 2 weeks of stress.
and now to the point of this blog. the stress. first let me just say, being an adult is sometimes overwhelming and i really despise making adult decisions. it's frustrating and stressful. and drives me crazy. but it must be done.
so it's the start of the 2nd semester of my teaching here in korea. i came back from vacation to the same 5th and 6th graders, only they are more eager to be done with school now. it's the 2nd semester, the 6th graders have already taken the national exams, which means they don't care at all. overall, my classes are fine. my 5th graders are still great and actually keep me pretty entertained. my after school 1st/2nd graders are still adorable. six out of my seven 6th grade classes are pretty good. but then there is the lone 6th grade class that i loathe seeing twice a week.
this class has been terrible all year long. there are a total of 8 children in that class that are all equally terrible. and they just feed off of each other. and just make teaching that class complete torture. i have had my fair share of brats and devil children over the last 2 years of teaching, but this class takes it to an entirely different level. to the point that i have already kicked a child out of my room because i couldn't handle him anymore. it didn't help that he told me to "go screw yourself". yeesh!
the biggest thing for me is that english isn't their first language. no this isn't something that is news to me as i have been dealing with it for 6 months now, but because english isn't their first language; i struggle with classroom control with this class. this isn't something i have had a big problem with in the past. when i did my student teaching, i had the 6th grade class from hell. chair throwing, students cussing at me, students trying to break other students arms; but i was able to keep them under control. this class is a struggle.
they refuse to listen. they refuse to stop talking. they refuse to participate. there have been many times where i have been forced to chose students and i have to go stand by them and sometimes physically stand them up in order for them to participate. there is no point in yelling at them, because they either a: don't understand or b: don't listen or c: don't care. it's only the start of the 3rd with with them and i am already ready to be done with them. i am at a loss as to what i am supposed to do with these children for the rest of the semester. any advice would be greatly appreciated.
i am bracing myself for tomorrow already. they are the only 6th grade class i teach this week as tomorrow is thursday. they are ahead of all the other classes, so that means i am reviewing with them so they stay in line with all my other classes. thankfully i will have my coteacher with me this time.
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