Today, being Monday, I woke up dreading the day ahead of me. Not because its the first day of the week, but because I face the infamously unbearable Grade 6s on Mondays. I have no doubt explained to many at home how the four Grade 6 classes I teach at Namsam Elementary quickly became the bane of my existence: they do not pay attention, they physically fight in class, and they have a collective, infuriating "I'm (literally) too cool for school" attitude. My coteacher has confided in me that she regularly has nightmares about this group. Because of all this, I commonly dread Mondays as I feel like I can never please them, whatever imaginative lesson plan I might be able to come up with.
Today was different, however. It is American Thanksgiving this week, and so the theme of the lesson "Would you like to come to my house?" is this classic holiday. Hoping to fill up some of the time with a writing activity, I handed out to each student a worksheet with "I am thankful for..." written at the top. The kids had to write three sentences beginning with "I am thankful for..." I admit, I expected most of the students to laugh at this activity and refuse to participate at all. I was shocked, then, when the first class of the day got really into the worksheet. By the end of the fourth class, I was not only over the moon at how each class had gone almost flawlessly, but also touched by the answers that some of my normally bratty students came up with. I thought I would share my favourite answers with everyone at home... it just goes to show you can't always think you have someone (or 120 Korean preteens) completely figured out.
(I have copied these answers exactly as they were written, so you will note the differences in English proficiency between some of the students)
- I'm thankful for the health of my family
- I'm thankful for being alive and life
- I'm thankful for home happy
- I'm thankful for family because some people do not have family
- I'm thankful for my seeing and listening (meaning 'sight' and 'hearing')
- I'm thankful for being born because I is happy
- I'm thankful for parents because give me money and meal and bought computer and cellphone
- I'm thankful for together my family which is 나 잉 방 in Korean
- I'm thankful for my brain
- I'm thankful for Jesus (this one had the cutest anime Jesus drawn beside it)
- I'm thankful for my mommy because she gave birth to me
- I'm thankful for President Lee because our country protection
- I'm thankful for water because it helps us, ex. we can drink it, we can wash our face
- I'm thankful for earth because it makes me life
- I'm thankful for my family, because they love me
- I'm thankful for peace because we have no war
- I'm thankful for *me*
and, last but not least...
- I'm thankful for Kimchi
...maybe I will miss these kids when they head off to middle school, after all =)
xoxo
Em
About Us
- Soju in Suncheon
- Jenna and Emilie are two Canadian girls who, after experiencing four amazing years of university together in Victoria, BC, decided to keep the good times rolling by moving together to South Korea. We are now living in a city called Suncheon in the southern province of Jeollanamdo. Both of us teach English at public elementary schools to the cutest kids in the world, and we live in an apartment complex called 'Shedae' with about a 100 other foreigners. We hope this blog will keep us connected to friends and family at home, allowing everyone to follow the whirlwind adventures we are sure to have while living in the far east! Lots of Love, Emilie and Jenna
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