Teaching Just Got A Little Harder

Well besides the fact that a super huge rocket is about to go off very near to me in about four days, I am doing alright. Some one recently brought to my attention this N.K. rocket ordeal. I have known about it, but I have not paid any mind to it. I still do not actually; however, for the first time I am located, geographically, close to a real wacked-out dictator that has the capability to do serious damage to places very close to me. It is kind of wierd. You hear about Iran threatening Israel, but how far away is that from the U.S. Kim Jong Il has seriously threatened the Republic of Korea and has one million troops ready to go at the drop of a hat. I am not really concerned, but this is the closest I have been located a foreign relations issue of this magnitude. Enough about this, on to the blog.

So recently my boss had a sit down talk with me. He brought me into his office and took off his glasses and began to rub the bridge of his nose. At this point I am thinking that I am about to get notice to pack my bags in the next 24 hours! It had that same dramatic feel to it, but it was not what happened (Before I tell you what was said let me just tell you how amazing it is to me how much they cater to these kids.) He says to me, "Many of the children are complaining that you use the book too much. They say you are always giving them problems out of the book and never having conversations with them." I was astonished. I have tried tirelessly to have conversation based courses, but the kids don't talk at all. If they grow tired of my lesson plan they get out their phones and talk in Korean. And as you know by now, discipline here is like the sinking of the Luisitania; no chance! So what did I really lose? That book was the closest thing to class structure that I had; it was the only thing I had that I could rely on to fill 90 minutes with English-based discussion and learning and now it is gone. What was I told to do? I need to have classes in which we only have conversations. If you haven't caught on by now, this means I have to talk for 90 minutes! Do you know how hard this is to do with students in America? Do you know how hard this will be with Korean students that don't know English, and what's more, don't want to? UUggghhhh! But, he is the bossman. I told him I will try harder and make it happen. I don't know how this will go, but I can say that teaching just got a little harder though it already was.

SUCKS ASS: A huge rocket is going to go off very soon.

KICKS ASS: Japan, China, and the U.S.A. are sitting cozy in the Sea of Japan, and they are ready to get knee deep in Pyongyang's rearend if they do something silly. God Bless the Pacific Fleet!