Yongso Elementary School

I spent my first few days at my school learning my way around. The students were still on summer vacation and therefore I had some time to get settled. I was really nervous about my first meeting with my principal because we were told that they could be very judgmental. My meeting was a success. The first question my principal asked was what I thought about his school, the second asked about foods that I couldn’t eat, and third inquired if I drink alcohol. Luckily, I am not allergic to anything and I have made a point to eat (at least try) everything that is put in front of my in Korea. I was able to answer all of the principal’s questions with favorable responses. He also wanted to know what my dad for a living and when my family would be coming to visit. I’m not sure my principal during student teaching even knew my name and this principal is taking time to get to know me. This was the start to a great relationship.

My vice principal also does not speak much English but we talk about the weather everyday in Korean and talk about how much we both like to drink coffee. He is really nice about letting me practice my new Korean phrases with him and encourages me to speak to him as much as I can in Korean. Today we stood by the door to the playground and commented on lots of random things in sort of a Korean-English conversation. This was by no means a conversation that I would ever have at home, but it was definitely a moment where we had a mutual understanding that despite our communication barrier we were going to have a conversation. It was a jeong building moment.

I have just completed my first week teaching English at Yongso Elementary School. It was a long week of planning and trying to get to know the individual personalities of each of my classes. I am teaching third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders. They are a great bunch of students and have very high English abilities 

for their age. Many of the students attend private academies to learn English after school. I co-teach with a Korean teacher and we share everything from lesson planning, to decorating the classroom and time working with the students. Our personalities work very well together, but we are still getting to know each other and find a balance between our various teaching styles. The Korean education system is very different than the American one and we are often confused about the strategies that the other teacher is using because we were taught to teach in different ways.

My classroom is very cute and I have decorated it to make myself feel at home. I put a Philadelphia skyline i

n the back of the room, and created a Hershey’s chocolate reward system. The students are in their second semester of school because they change grades in March after winter break. Therefore, I am coming into a preset routine and curriculum for the semester. I am still learning the schedule and I think that by the end of this week I will have a better grasp on the school.

For now, I want to share some pictures of my classroom. I will be sure to share more information about my school as time goes on and I am finally adjusted.