Filler

Here's how the Korean school year goes:

School term starts in March, goes for ~21 weeks.  Then 5 week summer vacation.  Second term starts in September, goes for ~17 weeks.  Then winter vacation for 5 weeks.  School starts again for ~4 weeks.  Then you go on "Spring Break" for 2 weeks.  Back in March for the start of a new school year.

I can't seem to grasp the idea of this academic calendar.  Maybe it's designed with the Lunar calendar - another one I understand even less, but the Koreans seem to get it so to each their own, and all that stuff.

As this calendar states, I returned to school the immediate Monday following my vacation (1/30), sat around for the first week (1/30-2/3) doing a lot of repinning on Pinterest and watching 8hrs of my life tick by.  Yay... getting your money's worth out of me Korea!

The first full week of February (2/6-10) was productive.  I'm sure, based on any one of my past post, you are doubting my choice of "productive" but just wait it out... you'll see.

Instead of teaching my full range of classes/grades, I was only teaching with my main co-teacher, Mrs. Jang.  As a result, I saw the 4th and 5th graders twice that week, rather than only once.  Double exposure.  More face time.  Increased interaction (have you noticed I always do 3 - 3 adjectives, 3 examples, 3 stupid little rants bits.  Always 3... weird).  Great!  I was going to get more time with them.  

But what to do with them?  

They had two weeks left of school.  Initiating a proper lesson was out, they'd probably try to stone me with their erasers if I did!   So what to do?!

What to do is talk about ME!

On my vacation I went to Thailand.

On my vacation I feed an elephant.

On my vacation I rode an elephant

^3 again!  This time 3 had a point!

I had found a cartoon balloon-dialog worksheet online that was broken down into the following: 3 big boxes, 3 small boxes, one of each in 3 lines.

Assignment: Draw 3 pictures and write 3 sentences

Brilliant!  That's one lesson!  Next lesson, share your worksheet with the class.  Omg amazing!

A total bullshit filler lesson that incorporated: the past tense, writing skills, reading skills - and if the students were paying attention - listening skills.  Told you not to doubt my use of "productive"!

However, the next week (2/13-17) went right back to being worthless, as I had zero lessons, was not included in the closing ceremony (2/15), had to invite myself to the 6th graders graduation (2/16) and what's worse!!!  I could have flown home on Friday (2/17) had my school given me the correct information and let me know that the teachers' end of term dinner was actually on Thursday (2/16) and not Friday (2/17) as they had previously told me.  Ahhhh....

No real harm, just got to see my family one day less.  I used the day to get a few more gifts, have dinner with some friends before we all parted to different parts of the world and pack up - overall, not too wasteful.

It wasn't the most stimulating 3 weeks of my life, but I was heading home.  After an entire year away, I was going home.