Hwasan Students

I never thought I would care for, or be any good at, teaching elementary school students. I specifically asked for middle school, or high school. I thought that my personality was better suited for older kids, if not college age. Plus, my elementary aged nephews seemed at times uncontrollable to me. I have various theories on this after contrasting them to my Korean students. One is that my brother has successfully taught his sons to hone in on their uncles' weaknesses, and then exploit those weaknesses. Two, that Korean culture instills a fear of God (or respect) for teachers. Apparently, there is an old saying that "One should not even step on the shadow of their teacher in Korea."

In all seriousness, there are stark differences in the cultures. High School kids all wear uniforms. The High School students are at school from early in the morning (maybe 6AM, or 7AM) until 10PM. When studying for exams I am told they do not leave school till 1AM. I see the students every night walking together, seemingly more friendly and inclusive than their American counterparts. They also go to school two Saturdays a month. The time the US spends playing organized sports, the Koreans are studying for class or the one exam that determines the rest of their lives.

My elementary students are a bit shy, if not scared of me at first. They hide their work as they write letters, or draw pictures of their family. They hate making mistakes. They erase with vigor and make a sound like "oh no!" when I correct something.

I read before I came that due to the high population density of this country, personal space does not exist like in the United States. I certainly experienced this. There is absolutely no personal space. Kids are on my computer, they are in my desk, they are in my bag, they explore everything. They are very curious about everything. At times they are like little monkeys climbing on the back of my chair, looking over my shoulder, wanting to be apart of whatever I'm doing at my desk during breaks... or before/after class. Sometimes they test boundaries, but with big smiles and looking mostly innocent. Once did I have to bring a boy outside to settle him down. I asked my Korean counterpart to speak with him. Not another problem out of him, I asked what she said to him. She said, "I told him I would call his mom."