We're having "Vacation Ceremony" at my public middle school today. It's such a hallowed occasion, steeped in tradition. My favorite part is the ceremonial re-setting of the alarm clock.
No, of course I'm baffled as to what all the fuss is about. After all, school was effectively "over" more than two weeks ago, and we've all just been running out the clock since then. Nevertheless, they put on their uniforms and came one last time to tie up loose ends, take out the trash and maybe get a final chance to torture the seventh graders for their pocket change. Finally at about ten o'clock, they played the Korean National anthem over the PA system, and the principal addressed the student body via closed-circuit television. Few students, if any at all, paid attention. When he was done, they all went home until February.
I wish I had a break until February, but I do not (It's a long story and somewhat of a sore spot.) I will begin teaching "Winter camp" on Tuesday morning. Unlike summer camp last August, I won't have to go away for this one. The camp part is a complete misnomer in fact, and yet another example of how living in Korea is worsening my English instead of improving my students'.
I already wrote a little about what my camp program will entail. I think it will be mildly fun. My only concern is that I have no real idea who has signed up for the camp, and the activities I've chosen may be far above their level, which will suck. Guess we'll find out on Tuesday.
No, of course I'm baffled as to what all the fuss is about. After all, school was effectively "over" more than two weeks ago, and we've all just been running out the clock since then. Nevertheless, they put on their uniforms and came one last time to tie up loose ends, take out the trash and maybe get a final chance to torture the seventh graders for their pocket change. Finally at about ten o'clock, they played the Korean National anthem over the PA system, and the principal addressed the student body via closed-circuit television. Few students, if any at all, paid attention. When he was done, they all went home until February.
I wish I had a break until February, but I do not (It's a long story and somewhat of a sore spot.) I will begin teaching "Winter camp" on Tuesday morning. Unlike summer camp last August, I won't have to go away for this one. The camp part is a complete misnomer in fact, and yet another example of how living in Korea is worsening my English instead of improving my students'.
I already wrote a little about what my camp program will entail. I think it will be mildly fun. My only concern is that I have no real idea who has signed up for the camp, and the activities I've chosen may be far above their level, which will suck. Guess we'll find out on Tuesday.
Labels: Korean middle school.
I got a real chuckle out of your observation that your tme in Korea may not bring improvement to the kids' English, just a degradation to your own. And of course, your description of the final day brought back all the little absurdities that characterized my own time there.
Sometimes I think about my life here in the USA now, and my life there in Korea then, and it's weird to conclude that there hasn't been that big of a an improvement in my quality of life. Some things are better: mostly comfort things like food, television, shopping, not feeling foreign, reconnecting with old friends -- but some things are worse: my health (or perception of it), the uncivil attitudes of Americans (a palpable change in the last five years or just compared to the Koreans who no one would call civilized), my nonexistent romantic life, and just how freakin' hard my job is (though it's also very fulfilling).
I too am on an extended break. The week between Xmas and New Years. And it has recharged my batteries to just sit an home and do lesson plans for the upcoming three months. Exciting vacation, huh? But necessary because I'll need the time it buys me when my two (not one, TWO) masters degree program classes start in late January. I'm also doing some-part time after school programs at my school and some part-time consulting (requiring about 5 of my Saturdays this winter) for my Philadelphia Teaching Fellows Program. In other words, I'll be extremely busy. Work, work, work.
As my batteries recharged this week and I talked with some friends, a common theme arose about how everyone was so "over" the people they had to work with. My colleagues, their colleagues, their life partner's colleagues -- everone was disgusted with the rude, uncivil behavior of so many of their coworkers.
For myself, a couple of incidents actually started a small snowball of depression, that gathered more force as my sour mood then latched onto other disastifactions until I had an avalanche of winter depression. Over what? Some pretty big issues, granted. But nothing immediately pressing -- all of them based on a change in my attitude or at least a lowering of my defenses against the minor skirmishes of life.
And this week I came to realize two things: (1) Everyone has to deal with nasty, unpleasant even possibly evil coworkers, and (2) I had allowed a snowball to SNOWBALL!
I further realized that depression is a bit like a drinking problem. You incorrectly think that just one little glass of dark thinking will be enough. Ah, but then you get under its influence. Your judgment gets clouded. You soon find yourself having glass after glass of miserable thoughts until now your are truly in a funk.
And then the dysfunctional behavior begins and the downward spiral gathers true force. The funk turns into a drunk or you stop exercising or you say some things your regret -- take your pick or heck, why pick, you'll probably do a whole bunch of them!
Thank Goddess for vacations. It gives us time to clear our heads and put things into perspective. Now I've dug out from the avalanche and over there, I can clearly see ... a little snowball.