On The Road: A Day at the Zoo

Upon arriving in Yeosu this year, I found out that I would actually be teaching in two elementary schools. So I teach four days at Sung-san Elementary School which is a 2 minute walk from the apartment and then on thursdays, I take a 5 minute car ride to Gwangi Elementary School.
   It is unbelievable how a 5 minute car journey can take you out of the town and right into the country. Cars and apartment blocks give way to the odd dwelling but you can almost see the pace of life slow to a grinding halt by the time you reach the school gates at gwangi.
  Sung-san isn't a big school and there are around 500 students - last year I taught twice as many students as my school was the second largest elementary school in town. So in Sung-san, I teach the 4th, 5th and 6th Grade, there are three classes in each grade. In a normal class there are somewhere between 32-36 students. The reason I am telling you this is so that you can put into perspective how small Gwangi school is as the 5th grade consists of 8 students and the 6th grade has 10. So when I got to this school, I thought it would be a breeze, but the principal had other ideas!!
I liked the principal from the start, his big smile and warm demeanour put me at ease despite his inability to speak any English whatsoever. Actually I am doing him a disservice as he did greet me "Good Morning" although it was 5.30pm so not sure that really counts. However, he has some excellent ideas and when he asked me if I wanted to teach the kindergarten and 1st grade, I put my fear of young children to one side - knowing that it would be an excellent experience which would stretch far beyond the realms of teaching.
The kindergarten is actually quite big and there are a mixture of 15 boys and girls who sat wide-eyed on their tiny little wooden stools on the first day that I entered the classroom. In hindsight, it may have been my own personal hesitation and wonder that I saw reflected in their eyes but after singing a few songs we were well on the road to a new friendship and understanding. Now several weeks later I can't wait to spend time with them, their brains are so absorbent like little sponges soaking up everything I tell them.  That is with the exception of one small boy who normally decides that around 1.54pm it would be a good idea to take off his shoe and test how good his aim is by launching it towards my head. I don't want to take anything away from him seeing as he is only 6 but hitting me with a plimsoll from less than a metre away seems far too easy even for a boy of his age.

However, next door in the connecting classroom a far more daunting prospect is awaiting me and I am blissfully unaware of what is about to become. Since my meeting and talk with the principal, some wise souls have decided that it would be a good idea to take 18 1st grade boys and have them taught by a foreign teacher with no assistance or even a Korean teacher in the classroom. With the benefit of hindsight, I can now confirm for you that this is in fact, a recipe for disaster.
Upon entering the classroom for the first time, the smell permeating my nostrils can only be likened to that familiar odour which one experiences upon entering the zoo. Perhaps my brain is confused because it seems that I am lost and have ended up in the monkey enclosure, it is pure mayhem. Suddenly my PowerPoint's and worksheets seem far too civilised, so I am forced to shuffle things about and come up with some new ideas. As the lesson is based on parts of the body it is somewhat ironic that one student has put his friend into a headlock and as I pan to the left, two other students are having a boxing match - with the added excitement of fighting on desks - it's like gladiators for midgets. Eventually I instill as much calm as is possible to a room full of energetic 8 year olds and decide that we should start by playing 'Simon says' followed by singing 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. Rather than expand any further, I will let you watch the video and decide for yourself.....