Well, it's all a bit of a faff here. We've just started the new school year (in March, jolly confusing, they change with the Lunar New Year here). The school's directors have been stressing greatly over the new school timetable and for the last few days we've being doing classes somewhat off the cuff. I just sort of sit in my classroom and assume that some students will turn up soonish. They generally do, and the female director comes along and checks they are all there. She's rather scary for the kids, and when told to shut up they don't hesitate, but she's a sweetie to me.
We've got a schedule up now for this week, though I've been told it will be changing. Luckily they've accommodated my and John's need to go to see Muse in Seoul on Wednesday, so we're getting earlier classes! Hoo-rah!
In the elementary part of school each grade has ability classes. They are classed using two numbers, the first of which is the grade while the second is their ability. The higher the second number the cleverer the class. I teach classes including 1-4, 1-5, 2-4, 4-5, and 5-4, so it would seem I've been trusted with some of the cleverest students. Which is a compliment.
The hardest thing about the new timetable is that some of the classes have changed. Kids have been switched around depending on how well they did all year and in an end of year test. Some classes are the same but some of mine are a mix of up to 3 old classes, so finding out which books they were all on and where they were and then deciding where to begin again can be a little trying.
Everyone else is flapping and faffing though, and the more other people flap the more chilled out I tend to become, so I'm happily cruising through this week.
The exciting thing is that I became the proud owner of a new class of five year olds, and I was given the joyous task of naming them. I knew I'd been wanting to name some kids after people back home so here was a perfect opportunity. I had seven to name, as the helper and I already chose to call the Spiderman obsessed boy Peter (as in Peter Parker, Spiderman's alter-ego, for thos of you not in the know). He is really obseesed though, he even comes to school dressed as Spiderman, with movie-merchandise boots 'n all.
I toyed with using my family's names, but I thought that might be a bit too weird. I'm teaching them using a book called 'Teddy's Train', in which the language is taught through the adentures of a teddy called, surprisingly, Teddy. Trying to get kid with my degree-holding parents and brothers' names to say "Hello Teddy!" and wave just seemed too laughable. Also one of the teachers at school is called Jenny, and there are already quite a lot of Tom students, so it would have got a bit confusing.
In the end I opted for some of my friends names. I went with people from choir with the hope that the grouping will help me remember their names faster. Some couldn't be used, unfortunately. Ellie is already the name of a teacher here and I though Eleanor would be two long. Two syllables tends to work best with young-uns. Also Joanna couldn't be used as that's my name here. Well, when they can remember it, it is. Another few names were steered clear of because I already had kids with those names or something jolly similar (sorry Anna, Rosie, Paula, and Charlie). Anyway, after a quick think I went with easy to say names from the sopranos, altos and tenors. So congratulations Catherine (shortened to Cathy), Susie, Philip, David, Helen, Fiona, and Chris. You all have a small protege being groomed in the Enlgish language by yours truly.
With the help of a teddy called Teddy.
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