How Would I Know If It's Analog or Digital?

In addition to the baby shower last weekend, 25's step bro announced, via 25's sis, that he and his wife are pregnant.  I won't go in to the fact that it's bizarre that Zoo, 25's sis, was the one to tell us, not the step bro, even though he and 25 have lived together and been family for about 12 years. I also won't go in to what I think of step bro and wife because who knows who reads this thing.

Instead, I wonder why people have kids.  What possesses someone to decide to give over their body to a parasitic creature that will warp said body in ways that means it will never be the same?  To have a kid whom they will have to pay for from now until the end of time.  To have a baby that will cry incessantly and ruin any future good night's sleep or gourmet meal. To willingly decide to be chained to a place, a budget, another person (the other 'creator', not to mention said child) in some way or another for, in most cases, the rest of ones life.

I'm 31.  I've never heard it tick. You know, the biological clock all women are supposed to have and fear once they hit the time in their life when CHILD BEARING MUST TRUMP ALL, because time is running out.  Nnoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! 

Maybe I've spent too many years taking care of and educating kids that other people have screwed up beyond belief. I'm surprised school teachers ever have kids of their own. The saving grace of dealing with other people's kids is that they are other people's kids.  If it's sick, crying, generally being unpleasant, I can hand it back.  I got to go from the loud helter-skelter of work with kids, to a home that is quiet and clean, not the reverse.  I can go out as late as I want any night of the week, I can. spend my salary on things I want, I . . .  I digress. 

Maybe I'm waiting until I'm 'ready', though I suspect most people who've had kids would be the first to say you never really are ready.  I am definitely not financially ready for kids. I can't imagine having to pay for diapers and food and doctor's visits, and . . . and . . .and. . .ad nauseum while I still have debts. That being said, if only the debt free had children, we wouldn't be dealing with over population on the planet

I don't want to give up three day Bumbershoot weekends, and spur the moment camp trips and about a million other things. Many call that selfish or spoiled behavior but isn't it smarter to think and say those things, than to have a kid and resent it for keeping you from having the life you want? I've seen it happen first hand and it isn't pretty.  Everyone connected to that parent-child relationship is miserable.

I wonder what percentage of people who have kids felt an urge or desire to be a parent/to have kids. Some deep-seated need to sire an offspring, to nurture it to adulthood. I haven't had that pang or twinge.  I don't know what it feels like. I can't imagine it either come to think of it. Or do most people become parents accidentally, without a pang or forethought. Does that more about why so many people are lousy parents and so many kids are dysfunctional than anything?

25 and I have talked about this and we're on the same page.  We're leaving the door open a crack.  We may want kids someday but at this point we are both happy we don't have kids and don't want them now. Knowing that I won't disappoint him because I don't want kids, that we don't have an awkward, potentially relationship ending conversation awaiting us in the abyss that is the future relieves a lot of anxiety and fear. We've talked about the societal convention and expectation, about the shortage or resources and overpopulation that breeding has created, about people we know who are parents.  We both agree that at this point, we don't need to copy our DNA forward to lead a fulfilling, happy lives.

I'd be very interested to see comments from people who have kids, who don't, those who want them, and those who don't. Why did you decide to procreate?

I'm horrible

It took me until this week to realize that I hadn't posted a blog in, well, let's just call it ages. It's been so long that everything here on blogger has changed and it took me ten minutes to get this far.  When I was living in Jakarta, I would usually post my blog entries during planning periods at school.  Now those have evaporated.  Instead I'm teaching eight plus hours in a ten hour work day, then trying to hit the gym or bike before going home to feed the pets and collapse to do it again.  Is it any wonder I'm not getting much else done these days?

There are a few of you who'll read this and put it together with the fact that it took me two to five weeks to respond to your emails.  See?! It's not you, it's me.  I haven't blogged, I haven't emailed, if you look at my facebook you'll see that I've done little more that "Like" stuff. Boy how life has changed from five months ago.

A quick update today with the. . . not promise. . .um . . with full intent to try and squeeze in at least a couple blogs per week.
I've been at my job about seven weeks now.  I got credentialed as an Epic trainer two weeks ago.  It's proven to be a double edged sword. They loved me so now I've been loaded up with work.  I think they'd have me teaching every class if they could.  This week involved a couple of ten hour days and it looks to increase from here.  I though I'd have a couple days next week to update my outlines and prepare.  They're already changed my Wednesday from one two-hour class to two four-hour classes.

I really like the teaching and I think I'm great at it.  Teaching is one of the few things that I'm brazenly, unabashedly proud of.  I'm a fantastic teacher.  I could teach Indonesians to build igloos, though why you'd want to I'm unsure.  I also know why saying involve igloos/ice since so little of life ever refers one to an igloo. For the folks back on the ranch in CGK, you'll know that teaching Indonesians anything can be trying. I can see that during the next several months, the most enjoyable part of work will be that spent in the classroom. That was usually the case at JIKS too.

The catch with EPIC and VMC (my hospital) is that it's a bit like flying the airplane while it's still being built.  The powers that be are still making decisions on what should be taught and how, which Epic uses follow their policies.  Then the analysts have to make the build match what we're going to be doing.  Sometimes the trainers get the change first and the build hasn't changed, occasionally it's the other way around.  It makes every day a new adventure (she says through gritted teeth).  Part of what makes me an above average Epic trainer is that long ago I learned that teaching is part tap dancing.  I make some of it up as I go and learn to keep the show moving, even if it's not what it was yesterday,  or an hour ago (yes, I have had things change between when I checked before class and when we'd gotten then in class).

The feedback from the students trainees has been very positive.  I am happy to hear it and use it to keep the course.

Outside of work life is also a roller coaster.  I'm out hiking every weekend.  It's usually a few of the same people and lots of other folks that rotate through.  I bike after work when the weather is nice, or head to the gym if it's not.  Ten hour work days have put a bit of a kabosh on my social life during the week. I've had a few dates which have precipitated me thinking about if I want to include that part of my life here. No decision yet. For now, I'll leave you with a couple GoPro photos from my first successful  trip out with it hiking, two consecutive days, one on Tiger Mountain (Poo Poo Point trailhead) and one on Little Si.

Out of the gates on Tiger Mountain

I'm explaining something very important about something that's THIS big

Our strategy meetings often go like this: Now where did you want to go for lunch after? 

Nearly back to the car.

On the top of Little Si looking across at Big Si

Winding down Little Si.  You can see the fisheye lens more here.

Two lovely British ladies who stopped me to ask a bout the GoPro. It almost looks like I'd posed them.

Lessons learned and observations from teaching

After teaching for over five years now, I've made a few general observations about teaching.  I've also learned a few lessons along the way. These all include experience near Seattle (teaching swim), in Salt Lake City, Utah, Madrid and summer camps in Spain, and Jakarta.  My students have been as young as three and as old as, well, that's impolite to ask but let's estimate mid to late sixties. I've taught private classes and groups as large as 28, utter beginners and pros, general classes and information specific.

• It's hard to be a student. A good teacher is often a student too, and remembers that.  Being a student doesn't mean we get to slough off other responsibilities.  Even kids have other things they have to do.

• I learned that it's harder for  me to let there be silence and wait for a students answer than it is for them to think of the answer.  I have come along way as far as that is concerned.  I've also learned how to know if the student is going to come up with the answer or if they need a prompt.

• No one wants to sit still for too long.  Breaks, class stretching, action activities (even with adults) are a MUST.

• Everyone laughs when a teacher sings in class. It's hard to make yourself be a fun/funny teacher with adults but it keeps them engaged and interested.  Same goes for using drawings, actions and funny voices.

• Good coworkers can make your life easier, but not as much as bad coworkers can make work a hellhole.

• The bells at school are as much for the teachers as the students.

• Kids thrive when given rules.  Being their friend, or the "cool" teacher, always backfires in some respect.  My students know what my expectations are, they know what the punishments and rewards are and those never change. Especially in Jakarta where nannies and parents rarely coordinate about discipline and the kids run amok, routine and regulations are a very necessary, positive part of school life.

• It's not fun to make a kid cry, but sometimes thats the only way to come to an understanding and usually your relationship is better afterward. Ji Hyun had a week of tears with me early in the semester but he knows that I'm not going to be wishy-washy about my requirements.  He's grade 1 and he gets it.  He says hi to me everyday in the halls and even likes to chat between classes. If I hadn't cracked down on him, we would both have pulled our hair out by now. 

• On a related thought, kids don't hold grudges like adults do.  I can discipline a kid in class and when he sees me in the hall and hour later still waves and says hi. Kids bounce in all regards (emotionally, physically, in attention).

• Everyone likes to be praised.  It costs nothing and when given in earnest, it means the world. Additionally, everyone needs help.  We can't be good at it all right away. Just knowing there's someone there to ask might be all they need, but maybe they need you to catch them, lead them, even push them along.

• I love teaching.  I'm a great teacher.  I don't feel overly prideful to say that.  I put time and thought into what I do, I know why I do it and I enjoy it.

• It's fun to see the similarities and differences in teaching different subject and different students.  In most ways, the idea of teaching is the same, but a wise teacher will be sensitive to the subtle differences (like the fact that Indonesian learners and Spanish learners of English will have different pronunciation errors) and adapt to them. 

• It's true that teachers get more holidays than other professions but tell me you can work with ten year olds all day every day and you don't need more time off! This is why most teachers in the States burn out after four or five years.

• I'll take dealing with kids over dealing with parents and administration any day. 

• Lastly, I thrill at my students successes as much as they do.  Anyone who's meant to be a teacher does.

If I get the job I'm trying for in Seattle I'll be transitioning into adult training, which is teaching of a sort. I will miss the kids but have started to think maybe some coaching is in order to make up for that. (No, I don't miss kids enough to have one of my own!)

AAAAARRRRGGGGGHH

I had a couple new blog posts in mind to write up this week.  I didn't get to one yesterday as the day rapidly filled up on me.  Today, those plans are being put aside because I'm so pissed off I have to vomit it out onto my blog or it will surely poison me from within.

WARNING: I usually refrain from using much profanity on this blog (has there been any?) as I don't know who my audience is and it's not ordinarily necessary.  Today it is.  I will be using a few words not appropriate for the tenderhearted.  It makes the point that I am as furious as I am. If you don't want to suffer through it, then wait for tomorrow's post.


Now back to my previously initiated RAGE.

My teaching "partner" is an absolute fuckwit. FUCKWIT!! I have had a bit of a whine about him before but I've been pushed the point of no return. A quick bio.  He's British, 40ish, looks like an evil rat when he smiles which is rarely, he eats like a starving street dog swallowing food nearly whole and dropping bits around, he's married to a limp, drab Indonesian woman.  He's is as fucking lazy as it humanly possible unless it's an activity of his choosing. Conversation with him is always work and he never knows when to stop talking if it's a topic he enjoys. I've wondered if he falls somewhere on the autism spectrum as he is socially inappropriate or oblivious, alternately. He loves looking up crime reports in online newsites, cackles at pictures of rapists and murderers but is generally devoid of an appropriate response for office chatter. To put it in his own language, he's a cunt.

He started working here about a year before I did, and he's several years my senior. This complicated by the fact that I do everything to prepare for grade four and regularly have to ask him to do something. Anything.  For example, last week I asked him to prepare three assessments; reading, speaking and listening. It's nearly year's end for us and we've got some time to get extra assessments in.  Last week he accomplished nothing towards their completion.  I also reminded him twice that he needs to put his scores in the computer so I can start to work on the overall reports. I did them entirely by myself last year after working here only five months. He's either useless on the computer or plays it that ways effectively enough that I know it would take twice as long to do it with his help. This week I asked him again on Monday to update his student scores and make up an assessment.  As of 2:15pm on Tuesday I've made an assessment, he's taken a nap.  My scores were entered after each test or two.  He's got five tests that are missing. It might be nice if I could get started on overall reports early but he's making that impossible.

I've done everything this year and last.  I was the one who put together the SOSE book.  We get to actually assemble our own science material.  It was more work than usual since last years was written by someone else who made the material boring, too difficult and uninteresting.  I went through and remade the entire book so now it's mostly activities.  Not only did it plan the whole year out in advance, it means we, I mean I, am not making copies every day. I have made or copied sixteen of the seventeen tests we've had so far this year. He made one, and only after I pestered him for a week to do it.

He's looked pretty good on the whole as he's ridden my coattails.  He doesn't belong as a primary teacher.  Today he was meant to start some water videos as intro to our new unit.  I've got a couple by Bill Nye the Science Guy.  I walked in to this video:

Watch two minutes and you'll be snoring at your desk. Jump to the 1:55 mark.  That's where I walked in. These kids are ten and elven years old.  They are also non-native English speakers to boot.  Do you think they're going to follow any of it?  They were all talking and not paying attention. In contrast this was my video:

I've used Bill Nye before in class.  I adore Bill and not just because the show was made in Seattle.  He's level correct, there are lots of short segments and pictures to help explain the concept.  The kids all sang along with the theme song. I followed it with a couple more clips and then a song by They Might Be Giants with even simpler language about states of matter (solid, liquid, gas).

To boot, he teaches one class less than I do.  He only has to deal with this attrocious grade 6 class twice a week for English while I've got them three times a week for science.  To give you a basis for how bad this class is, I said two weeks ago I'd rather sit and hit yself in the head with a hammer for 80 minutes than teach them.  That bad.

For some reason, he also hasn't been required to do a CA.  It's a form of extra-cirricular class for grades 5 and 6, usually athletic.  It runs Thursday 12:50-2:20, no little chunk of time there.  AND YET I'm doing all the real work.  I joked to a sympathetic coworker last week that he still manages to nap three days a week, which is true.  On the sofa in the teachers room.  This coworker told me he actually naps every day but the other two are when I'm in class and he's not.

He's going to continue to skate through since, being the nice person that I am who's more worried about the kids education than screwing him over in a fit of revenge, I left all the materials on the school database. There may be one little schadenfreude moment in all this at least.  It provides small, small comfort.  There is another teacher here that has generally been panned by the staff.  He's a know-it-all and a dick. He never shuts up and knows more about your own family than you do.  Well, he thinks he does.  He started here in January.  He wants to move up to grade four.  He and my current teaching "partner" will kill each other, both get fired or both. Maybe everyone will finally realize what a useless waste of space this asshole is.

I dare say

I've mention a couple of peculiarities I've added to my vernacular (a word I like and feel is highly underused) over the years.  I think the process really began when I left the States but as I think of it, I'd trace it back to Lawrence, Kansas.  I attended one year of university and left with a y'all that stuck.  It doesn't come out too often. Strangely, improving my Spanish helped reinforce it. There's a verb form that is for "you all who are not me but who I'm talking to" therefor distinct from a They or a We.  Y'all fits precisely.

As my Spanish vocabulary grew in size and complexity, it began to pervert my English. There are words that are similar but sound slightly different - like information and información. Click on the words for pronunciations. They are very close but the stress is distinct. The patterns of speech and word orders are different in Spanish as well.  And let's not forget that there are more verb tenses for past and present in Spanish. It makes my head start to spin thinking about all the intricacies when now I can usually speak it without much thought.

Now as I've come to Indonesia my language is further corrupted. Indonesian, or bahasa indonesia as it's called here, is the opposite of Spanish.  It contains few grammar rules, most revolving about suffixes and prefixes that change a words meaning or use. When the Republic of Indonesia was founded the government realized the need to have a single uniting language, while not abolishing the local languages.  They made it simple enough that anyone could learn it. Instead of having a past tense, anything that happened before now is accompanied by kemarin, or yesterday.  My first few months here involved lots of incidents where I'd say "but it wasn't yesterday, it was a week ago" or something to that affect. If you want to be specific you say when, such as last month, or two weeks ago, but kemarin is the norm.  The same happens with besok or tomorrow for anything in the future.  Part of my personal result of all this has been that when something had occurred or been done the Indonesians say sudah or already.  Nearly all the bule who live here use that as well.  Did you eat lunch? Already.  Are you finished with the paper? Already.  It's awful English but it's very pervasive.

That gives me a nice segue into the fact that teaching English is more likely to screw up your English than anything.  If you hear bad English all day, everyday. You start to subconsciously pick up your students habits and ticks, like the above mentioned already.  You also get accustomed to speaking in short broken bits of English knowing that your students won't follow a more cohesive speech pattern. You go home? Bring book tomorrow ya? It's an effort to change gears when I'm out with friends and speak like the intelligent adult I am.

The last percentage of blame goes to my expat friends.  These are folks from the US, England, Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales mostly.  Many of them have retained an accent and vocabulary close to what it would be at home, some have not.  They've all affected my speech.  I'd never have said . . . well, wait right there.  I"d never have said I'd never have said before.  That's present perfect and much more common in the UK.  That could be my friends or teaching British English for two years.  Brilliant, can't be asked (with accompanying Liverpudlian accent), meant to (in place of supposed to), and reckon (used as "you think") are the most prevalent additions. I'm trying to compile a list of all my "new" words but we'll see how that goes.  I'll also start a list of pronunciations as two weeks ago we realized I say to-MAH-to in the British vein, no longer to-MAY-to as most Americans would. 

Luckily, I'm still the one translating and interpreting for others!

Winding down

First semester ends in four days. Or after sixteen classes. Or in 34 hours. Or in 2,040 seconds (all assuming we don't get to leave early on the last day). Or not soon enough.

As a kid it never occurred to me that the teachers might be anxious for the break as well.  The teachers are probably more ready than the kids, especially Korean kids.  Most of them will spend most of their break in extra classes - violin, English, Mandarin, swimming, even math. I wouldn't look forward to break either if that was me.  A few will go back to South Korea.  There is a small group going to China, to visit another International Korean school, like an exchange program.  The vast majority will stay here, in their humdrum routine.

The kids have turned their brains off already.  The grade six students are the worst.  They had a big semester end test required for Korea - Achievement tests. Everything since then has been a struggle.  They know it's the end of term, they won't shut up or focus for even two minutes.  I go in to class in a good mood and it's fouled in about two minutes.  Coincidence? I think not.  We are permitted to show videos (educational or otherwise) but I can't, in good conscientious rationalize five sequential classes of videos.  I've shown two to two different classes so far this week and will have a couple next week as well.

It doesn't actually look this bad but sometimes it feels that way!

I've written before about the number of holidays we get and we had another one on Wednesday.  It was nice to break the week up but it meant that Monday and Tuesday we were all awaiting the day off. Today and tomorrow (Friday) we are awaiting the weekend.  It really is a pointless time of year.  The upside?  I'll have four hours free after my classes tomorrow with no correcting and no planning to do.  I'll read up on my holiday sites and blog away!

Friday sign off

It is now 1:37 on Friday and my overall reports are complete.  I did them by myself  (ok, in full disclosure, I did about 99% of the work). Linc taught me well last semester and it only took me two spreadsheets to finish the ridiculous totaling. (for more one those spreadsheets see http://strangelandsstrangelife.blogspot.com/2010/12/stress-of-year-end-at-school.html)  Last semester it was down to the wire, full on crunch time.  The official deadline for these isn't even until Monday!! I am convinced that Ben will have to add to some of his comments.  Mine are excellent and I proofed both of ours.  Big sigh of relief.  The rumor is that we won't have to do separate individual reports, all the information should be culled from the overall reports and automatically transferred.  I'll keep my fingers crossed but I won't hold my breath.


As a celebration, and in the spirit of taking new people to new places, I'll head to EP tonight with Carla and Jo and anyone else we can convince to go.  I deserve some free beer and shall procure it forsooth.

A couple of random notes before I launch into my regular weekend radio silence. I arrived at school on Monday to a full scale museum type set up in the hallways of the grade 1/2/4 hallway.  Most of the photos are something like this:

But there are a few (not one, a FEW) that look like these:

Those are dead bodies and what appear to be victims of a war/bombing. Appropriate for six year olds?? We need to teach kids about the true and ugly side of war, but in grade two? The opening was a big event, lots of dignitaries, a ribbon cutting, a TV camera and I have no idea what the significance is or why it's here, but as you know, that's the norm here.

I've been teaching as elective after school class twice a week called Reading Assistant.  It's a computer based program that reads to the kids then they record themselves reading.  The books/poems/songs get progressively more difficult and they get practice listening and speaking-the two tougher skills to work on in a foreign language. John is the co teacher for this.  There is on group of 22 students on Monday and Thursday; mostly grade three's with a few ones, two and fours thrown in.  The second group is Tuesday and Friday.  This group is only eight students.  They are a handful as they are all grades one and two. Most are low level and have a very short attention span. I have had moments with both classes when I was ready to bind a few select pupils to their chairs with duct tape.  I have also really enjoyed seeing them improve.  Their behavior, their attention, their navigation of the program and their English skills. I didn't know any of the grade ones, two or threes before this program and now I'm routinely greeted in the hall by kids I know from RA and from kids. One of the kids left this on the board yesterday.

Misspelled and in bad handwriting, but lovely.  3-2 refers to the students class.  Teachers are the biggest baddies until we are big pushovers.

Enjoy the weekend in every way possible!

SOSE Day survived

It's 2pm on Friday.  I arrived at work at 7am today and have since "taught" one class.  I use quotations because it was a blow off class, they had earned movie time and we also didn't want them to get ahead of a class that was losing their regular English class today.  Needless to say, it feels ludicrous that I'm here.  I've been puttering about on the computer for about three and a half hours.  I can go home in another one and a half hours and from where I sit, that might as well be 2015.

Courtesy of toonpool.com

The reason for this disjointed week is another JIKS special event, SOSE Day!! Que the trumpets please! Any regular reader of this blog will know that JIKS has no shortage of special days between the Indonesian holidays, the Korean holidays and the special school days.  SOSE (Study of Society and Environment) is a relatively new program here.  It's a social and physical science class taught by the native English speaking teachers to increase the amount of English instruction the kids get. I enjoy it more than the English classes.  They are interactive and interesting.  I feel like the kids are getting more new information. The downside is that because it's a new program we have to continue to sell the parents on it. Hence SOSE Day.  Last year there was one SOSE Day and it went so well, we were told, that they wanted two SOSE days this year.  If we'd know that we might have worked a little harder to flub up.

Courtesy of wireandtwine.com.  A SPECIAL DAY!

SOSE Day is a special lesson created to showcase the students abilities.  Most group do something involving speaking and posters, as we did in grade four.  In grade six we put on mini plays, or dramas, based on Indonesian stories we had studied.  On the set day the parents (in actuality we saw one dad, the other 90 odd grade four parents were moms) can come in and watch this special class. We had a big turn our of about twenty parents per class. It is by no means a regular class or any sort of representation of an actual SOSE lesson.

While in theory I see the value, in reality it's a mess.  The teachers all have to disrupt their curriculum for at least a week.  In grade four we spend five of our total six classes working on the projects.  That's a normal three classes of English and three of SOSE all converted to project time. Not to mention the prep day on Monday and Tuesday.  Everything else had to be put on hold.  How much of unit six English do you think they remember now since we're been away from it for over a week?  Not to mention the SOSE until that we're not quite half way into.

I was proud of my classes for the most part.  I haven't seen the parent feedback sheets yet; they have to be translated from Korean. Classes 4-1 and 4-3 surpassed my expectations.  A lot of public speaking here tends to turn into hushed tones as the kids are afraid of talking in front of their parents.  They can be hit at home for an inadequate showing.  Both 4-1 and 4-3 were louder and clearer than when we'd practiced. Class 4-2 fell off a bit but was still ok.  I'm relieved it's done and some of the moms cracked a smile.  Last year it was like performing for Stepford wives - no response, no reaction.  This was a bit startling as it's usually class 4-3 that can't get their act in gear.
After SOSE Day on Tuesday and Wednesday we got a respite on Thursday.  It was a holiday: Jesus Christ's Ascension.  Not to worry.  June 29th is Mohammed's Ascension so things remain even.  We were all delighted to have the day off, but now here I am, on Friday afternoon, struggling to stay awake and be
productive. 

Courtesy of mmorpg.com.  . . . TO GO HOME!!!

Oh boy!

I had the best of intentions to blog yesterday. . . and then it was sunny.  Yesterday was a holiday, Waisak day.  It's a celebration of the birth of Buddha. It was also a school free day.  Some folks got Monday as well, but I won't complain since some didn't even get Tuesday off.  I could really whine about the fact that in Spain it would have turned into a puente with both Monday and Tuesday off for everyone, but I'll show some self restraint.

I spent part of the morning out in the sun being stared at by all the Indonesians.  Yes, I know it's a Muslim country but if you can wear micro mini skirts in public and at restaurants then I can wear a bikini at my apartments. A "quick run" to Ranch market resulted in a massive bill for a single bag of goodies.  I did, however, find cool ranch doritos, chorizo, salami, blue cheese and chevre.  The dinner of olive oil, pan fried eggplant, portobellos, asparagus with cheese bits and sea salt was divine.  After shopping but before dinner I managed a swim and had a great long chat with Carla.  Not a bad day!  Capped off with a dvd and then an unfortunately horrendous night sleep.  Ugh,  so much for being rested after a day off.

When a holiday day breaks up the week it always feels like there's an extra Monday.  Today felt like Monday.  I'm glad it wasn't. I'm really glad that in reality I only have to survive two more days (plus business class tonight) to get to a weekend.  If the week were any longer, there might be bloodshed.

One of my classes has decided to see if they can drive Ms. Melissa off the sanity cliff by semester break.  They are a difficult class for many reasons but namely that of fourteen kids, only four are girls. With ten boys in the class, I've run out of room to separate the naughty ones.  There are about five boys that talk, sing, yell, get out of their seats, throw things, you name it.  A couple of those boys can be neutralized when there is distance between him and his mates.  Short of installing seat belts on the chairs or moving some of the chairs to the ceiling, I'm outta space.

A second class is evenly split between girls and boys.  This is the highest functioning class. I don't know if its because of the class, if the homeroom teacher got them in line or if that class just randomly got the best kids.  Their scores are the highest, they are the least likely to turn in work late and they listen the best in class.

My third class is in the middle but usually leaning towards the better class.  This group is nine girls and six boys.  They can get rowdy but I can control them for the most part.  There are a couple of really smart kids and they work together pretty well.  Even the lower level kids work hard.

It's just that first class.  They are lazy, perpetually turning things in late, shouting, screaming and goofing off class. Siiiigh.

My two pronged approach of rewards (stickers that can be traded for rewards of game time, erasers, etc) and punishments (lines, homework) has worked as well as I'd hope, EXCEPT with this one stupid class!  Add that to the fact that my school computer is loused up once again, and it's been a long day.  You'd think that with the frequency of trips the computer guys make to our teachers room they'd learn to just fix it the first time.  But no, this is Indonesia.  I figure his incompetence is planned because it keeps him employed.  Unfortunately they won't get someone who actually knows what he's doing. Instead they keep these guys on and permit them to do a piss poor job.Of course I assume he could plan and plot to be incompetent when in actuality he's not and that's a big leap.

All that will make this weekend even better as there is dinner with D on Friday, softball tournament on Saturday and lounging on Sunday on the books!

More JIKS hijinx

There's never a shortage of ridiculousness at JIKS. I have for the most part ceased to be surprised by the goings on here.  Instead I have adopted a policy of shaking my head, sighing and occasionally chuckling.  Here's a list, in no particular order the happenings, or mishaps of the last two weeks.

* Last Thursday was Children's Day.  I suppose it makes sense.  We celebrate Mother's Day, Father's Day and (to a lesser extent) Grandparent's Day in the United States. Korea instead has a Parent's Day and a Children's Day.  The school has a policy of celebrating this day.  This year each grade went to a different location for a picnic. Grade four went to Cibodas, a big park south and west of the school.  Wednesday it was sunny.  In fact it hadn't rained in a week.  What happened Thursday?  It poured relentlessly all day.  Not the fault of JIKS, but we all know there is no surer way to make it rain than to schedule a picnic, or wash your car.  The park had a very small covered area to accommodate lunching.  The ride took approximately two and a half hours each way, which left us an hour to sit and eat.  The (chuckle) bonuses of the day?  The teachers had their own van and didn't have to ride with screaming children, that teacher's van stopped at Starbucks on the way, the rain meant we didn't do anything other than walk around and say hello, the Korean moms fed us (it was all cold Korean food, but hey! a free lunch is a free lunch) and we got a bit of overtime pay, though none of us can figure out why and we didn't ask.

courtesy of simonsdinner.blogspot.com.

* Last Tuesday was English Game Time.  I don't know what idiot though this was a fun idea, but it wasn't me. Rumor has it that it's a mutation of English Carnival was a highly effective fundraiser and enjoyable.  This rumor adds that the Korean teachers were threatened and thought it's resounding popularity made them look bad, hence the change to English Game Time. Each English teacher set up a "booth" in the gym.  The kids were divided into groups of ten to fourteen and rotated around in ten minute increments.  Periods two and three were for grades one and two, then periods five and six were for grades three and four and finally periods seven and eight were for grades five and six.  Still following me?  Period one was set up time, so we effectively taught all day.  No off periods, no planning, nothing.  No overtime for this day either (scratching my head). I explained my game twenty-five times minimum.  The teacher next to me had a microphone and speaker, plus I was in the center in the gym at the eye of the noise hurricane. I had to shout to be heard and lost my voice yet again.  The bonus that wasn't: we got free pizza provided by the school but I was still on my doctor enforced carbohydrate prohibition. I mentally applied the overtime pay to Tuesday to be less spiteful about it.

Courtesy of miamicountysertoma.org.  Kind of like this but more booths and a smaller gym.

* The Friday before English Game Time was "Creativity Festival 2011".  We were thrown off my this one because it wasn't on the calendar and was only announced on Monday. No one could quite make out exactly what the point was.  Regular classes were cancelled.  There was an assembly in the morning where several local Korean community members made speeches and music was played painfully loudly.  Next, each child affixed a post it note with their dreams/hopes to a helium filled balloon and let it go.  I don't know what the children were supposed to get out of it.  A coworker and I laughed at the people who let them go too early, and then cringed at the environmental impact. After the assembly, the kids went and worked on "projects" though I can't tell what, if any, was the uniting theme. They made things ranging from plastic bottle CD racks to pipe cleaner flowers.

Courtesy of last.fm

* This Friday we will, allegedly, be celebrating Teacher's Day, which falls on the following Sunday officially. Two weeks ago we were told we'd all be going to Cibodas for a hike.  I whined a bit since that was were grade four was going for Children's Day, but then with the rain we didn't get to see it.  As of Monday this week, the hike was off but something else was pending.  Today I've heard two versions of contention.  One: the principal is unhappy that several primary teachers have complained about him, though no one had since his arrival in August.  He's cancelled everything.  Version two: There's no money in the coffers for transportation or lunch.   Either way, today's rendition of plans is that there will be an assembly Friday morning and then we can go home.  It's a waste of everyone's time and money to have to come in at all, but at least we get to go home early  (theoretically, I won't believe it until it happens).

A Future of Perhaps

The future is called "perhaps," which is the only possible thing to call the future.  And the only important thing is not to allow that to scare you.  ~Tennessee Williams, Orpheus Descending, 1957

Its March and my brain is already looking to December.  The lifestyle I've chosen to live these past several years lends itself to the unknown.  In Spain there was a reassessment about three times per year.  One before school started in August/September, one at the beginning of the calendar year and the third at the end of the school term/start of summer camp season.  Each time there were discussions of who would be staying, who was leaving, who was still looking for work and who would go where the wind blew.  There were usually quite a few people in each of those groups, but I knew many people that were sufficiently settled in Spain without any intent to leave.  I arrived in Spain and though I fell in love with the city (despite our regular spats and differing opinions), I knew I wouldn't stay.  My plan had been to go to Spain for "a while" and then live somewhere else outside the US.  Hence, my current location in Jakarta.  I miss Spain terribly and now realize I am more suited to a European life and mentality than an Asian one. 

couresty of fifaworldcupfootball2010-basir.blogspot.com

In characteristic fashion, I've started looking ahead to life after Jakarta.  I am not going to leave before the end of the year, and plan to enjoy friends and travel in the meanwhile. I do not speak of any future plans in concrete terms.  I realize something might change that inclines me to stay, but I see that as the one chance in a million. The next decision in the sequence then, is where to go. 


Option A: Join a teaching fellows or similar program.  The New Teachers Project/ Teaching Fellows program is particularly appealing.  There are nineteen states (Washington is currently considering joining) that offer this program.  It's a partnership between a city's school district and a local university.  An accepted applicant finds work in the school district in a high need subjects, i.e. math, science, special education, ESL programs. Most of the districts are tough areas with lots of teacher attrition and big populations in the low socio-economic realm. The focus of the teaching fellows program is to facilitate people who have had life experiences and though they didn't initially study to become teachers, they want to be now.  After a six week induction, new fellows are given a mentor, sent to work a full time schedule and enroll in Master's in Teaching classes.  Pluses: salary, benefits, hands on teaching, mentor, reduced tuition and a Master's degree.  Cons: highly competitive, difficult teaching situations and life in general for two or three years until graduation, requirement to be in one of the nineteen included locations (some of which are Philly, DC, NYC, Oakland, New Orleans, Chicago and Denver).

http://tntp.org/

Option B: Look into the possibility of getting my degree outside The States.  I know a few people studying in Spain with American universities.  Canada and Australia are both tempting as well, though I doubt I could afford the international student rates for tuition. 


Option C: Continue pursuing a career with the Foreign Service/State Department.  I can do this while I'm working towards a Master's.  I will probably try the test once more; I'm currently 1-1. Pass or Fail, there will be some decisions to be made afterward.

courtesy of mexico.vg

Option D: Teach in another foreign country.  Carry on as I have been, teaching English in schools and academies, but not in Asia. 

courtesy of frbatlanta.org

Option E: Go back to The States and find work in the education realm but not as a certified teacher.  Or similarly, find work in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) book writing/camp counseling/administration type stuff, either in or out of The States.  I hear many schools in the US are desperate for EFL teachers, but I haven't looked into it enough to know.


Option F: ????


Thoughts? If you have advice, input, know of jobs or have suggestions please let me know. Any final decision will be delayed until at least July, but I doubt anything concrete will materialize before October.  In the meantime, eating, drinking, general merriness (when not sick with the freaking plague of Jakarta illness) to while away the months.

Time to grow up?

As any teacher regardless of level or subject knows, teaching is not an easy job. When a group of English as Foreign Language teachers gather, we often discuss the fact that at some point we might have to get "real" jobs. It's not that the work is easy, dealing with kids is often stressful as are interactions with other teachers, management and parents. I do take the phrase "real job" quite differently when mentioned by another teacher than when brought up by a non-teacher.

I know we work.  We plan lessons, teach said lesson, correct the paperwork, give feedback and the plan it better for the next time. It's not all fun and games, though I use those a lot in my class.  Anyone who has been in my immediate vicinity to hear me lose my voice, or who's read a couple of the blogs here will understand that especially this school, has been anything but easy. That being said, I still feel like it's not a "real" job because I can do much more while working this job than I could with a "regular" job. 

• While I have to get up at 05:30, I am finished everyday by 1630. I can pick up an extra class in the evening if I so chose.  I can run errands like I will today.  I can go home and go to bed at 8pm since I do get up at a ridiculous hour.
• Unlike teachers at a "regular" school, like primary in the states, I get loads of paid vacation. I feel entitled to it since I got so little vacation in Spain and rarely got paid vacation.
• By living in foreign countries I get to travel to other foreign countries, that is time and finances permitting which they often don't.
• Here's a biggie-I get to teach.  I am not certified in the States but I like teaching. Until I decide about getting my Master's, this is the only way I can do it.

Here is where I come to my dilemma . . . Is it time to "grow up and get a real job?"  It was pointed out to me that I am not contributing to a 401K retirement savings plan, I haven't kicked into Social Security in years (though there's no guarantee it will be there when I'd be due to retire anyway), I don't own property and the expense of flights and setting up a new home every time I move means it's nearly impossible to save.  I still love the moving and all but what happens when I'm 45 and still doing this, alone!

An additional part of the conflict is that my dating life has withered in other countries. Do I need to settle in one place before I meet someone and does that place need to be the US?  Do I want to stop traveling just to meet someone? And if I'm not ready to stop? If I do settle down, when do I want to be?  There are some very cool looking Masters in Teaching with certification around. The Spanish Bilingual elementary education component in cities like Oakland or Denver would be up my alley.

Last year I applied to work for the US government as a Foreign Service officer.  Though I wasn't selected, I did make it to the last step of the process and feel I owe it to myself to try again.  A life in public diplomacy living abroad on someone else's dime would be fantastic, but would it be just as lonely as living/moving the way I have been? Yet I don't want to kick myself later for not attempting it.

Any time we talk about growing up, Peter Pan reflexively comes to my mind.  Is it time to let go of my lost boy fantasy and join the "real world"?

Questioning Teaching

I've had several days teaching this week unlike many others I've had.  I stopped and wondered if I could continue.  Mainly I contemplated continuing at my current school, but also continuing teaching in general.  My fourth graders have pushed me to my max and it took me a couple days to bounce (what's a slow version of a bounce?) back.

We are mid-way through second semester.  As in many schools our semester is a bit lop-sided due to the fact that the year doesn't end on the last day of the semester.  All the grades and evaluations have to be in well before the last day meaning they are done weeks before so that the reports can be written, certificates printed, etc. That means we're really in the last 4 weeks of school.  By the end of the first week of December all of the work with the kids is done and we enjoy coasting to the finale.  Non-contact teaching time is filled with LOTS to do.


Until then, this month is very busy.  We (my teaching partner Ben and I) gave two tests this week which  consequentially had to be scored, recorded and returned, then recollected and stored. I am constantly collecting/correcting/returning diaries as kids work towards completing all ten entries. Next Thursday is Parent SOSE day.  All the science integration classes prepare something for parents to come in and see.  Most classes are doing some kind of presentation since this is supposed showcase not only science knowledge but use of English.  We've got each class of 24 kids broken into 6 groups of 4. Each group has a different chapter we've covered from the book (bones & muscles, soil, water, USA, symbols, diet & digestion). They have to make a visual presentation (poster) and a spoken presentation (they are free to read from a script they prepare).  That means all of our semester plans went on hold so we could get all of this together.  Lord help us, I think we'll be ready with time to spare.


The kids have decided that they are ready to be the inmates running the asylum.  There are several factors outside my control working against me; I started mid-year and wasn't able to start grade four with these kids.  There is always a bit more chaos when things are changed in the middle.  I am the only female teacher in my department. Most of the primary school homeroom teachers (85%) are women, but they are also Korean.  I think being a foreign female (no jokes please) means there are different interactions and expectations.  It is a bow to the elders, give way to the men Asian culture.  Third, the parents are so much tougher on these kids that I could ever be that any threat I throw out can't rival their folks.  Some kids have written in the diaries that they are hit at home if they get a bad score, don't study incessantly or misbehave.  There are moments that my visceral instinct it to smack the smirk off a kids face but I know I could never do that.  I've been told there are a few teachers at the school who use corporal punishment.  I haven't seen it and don't know which teachers these are, but it wouldn't surprise me.  I've blogged before about the physicality of these kids and from what I extrapolate, the Korean culture. Unless I'm ready to whack a student, I'm a shadow of a deterrent.

courtesy of clipartpal.com  This tranquil scene is the goal.

I am the only teacher in my department to couple rewards with punishments.  About a third of any class are highly motivated for rewards.  Students grades 1-4 respond very well to stickers.  These stickers are about 1 cm x  1 cm for the most part.  I have some bigger, special ones for special work.  To some degree I've quieted a class by simple walking through the chaos and silently giving three or four stickers to students who were in their seats, quiet and ready.  This doesn't work with the four to six kids who feel they must be the center of attention.  The attention seekers play the class clown card, the "do something not permitted" card, the 'smart' remark card, the out of your seat to get the football card. These are generally boys and they don't give a lick about the stickers.  

I received an observation feedback form (that's a whole other blog) that mentioned I should institute some class rules.  What teacher in their right mind would run a class of any age, any level without rules?  It also recommended that I use punishments to deter bad behavior.   DUH?!?! I didn't know whether to laugh or fell highly insulted.  I have. I have. I HAVE!  This is my problem, it's not working.  Nothing I've tried has really successfully worked. I returned the observation for with a request for suggestions, I'll mention that the observer is Korean.  She just said to keep trying and hope for better kids next year.  Great, what do I do until then?


I've resorted to giving a ridiculous number of lines for the time being, both the "I will stay in my seat and listen in class" variety and the "copy a chapter from the book" variety.  The next step is standing in a corner, I'm weighing a dunce cap. I don't like to give punishments that take away from their learning time.  If they're writing lines in class they aren't learning.  I was sending lines home as I'd been told kids will reform at the mention of lines at home because their parents will see them writing them (see above punishment). The kids would bring their lines in completed and continue to misbehave.  Ben said he uses lines to immobilize students and I get that now.  If they have ten minutes to write ten lines it means they have to get to work. They can't be out of their seat or disturbing other students. It keeps them from setting the whole class off.  I didn't grow up writing lines, I think it's mostly gone by the wayside in the States.  The threat of lines in Spain was usual enough to curb the behavior.  I think I gave lines maybe a dozen times in a year.

courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

I know some of my friends who teach occasion to read this blog.  Please send suggestions.  I can't isolate the kid much because of the size and arrangement of the class.  I will not resort to violence. Some of the boys have underlying rage issues as it is. Parents have their own ways, but these are not my kids regardless of how many times I call them that.  I am not wont to take them to see the assistant headmaster as we share no common language and this is more work for me than I can suffer though (again, more on the disaster that is the staff at the school later).  I am working on getting a form letter written in Hangul (Korean) that I can send home to parents.  I could organize extra homework but that's as much work for me as for them and I've already got plenty to do.  Ideas?  Suggestions?  Tips, hints, tricks?  I can't keep screaming myself hoarse to no end since they are much louder than me.  I consider myself a motivated, experienced teacher but I'm at rope's end.

courtesy of addiction.narcononrehab.com.  I guess it could be worse.