Dodge Ball

My blog is now blocked from work. Updates may come more slowly, or irregularly. The Korean school calender is somewhat, or completely different than the American. March begins the new school year.

I have three types of students. The shy students who are little more than ghosts. Some have made progress at the cost of time to the rest of the class. Then, there are students who are a delight to be around. They focus on lessons, participate, and help to get the whole class involved. Finally there are those who are wild Indians. I mean no offense to Indians, or to my students. Indians jumping off chairs, running around, violating personal space, committing battery against the teacher.

A typical class starts by posing a question and throwing a 10 inch yellow ball. "What's your name?" Then a student catches and responds. Then a lesson follows. Inevitably, it isn't long before students ask for a game. I use games avidly to reinforce, incentivize, and to pass the time. I implement point systems to get students to take greater interest. I also confer titles, which has raised the level of competition... "Simon Says Champion Felix."

On a few occasions I have entered the class and the students had taken it upon themselves to play 피구, or pigu, with the class ball. Pigu is dodge ball and it is not a game but a sport. There is strategy and the girls compete as hard as the boys. In some cases the girls may be faster and more agile with better strategy. Though, one strong throwing arm can be the difference. I had to ban the game when I noticed the walls were getting dirty.