Laurie Johns Weblog

Zito helps us learn English

It’s been a crazy couple days, so bear with me. It started Thursday morning when I arrived at the school in Ib Myeon.

8:40 Mr. Jeong hands me a note that reads:

Dear Lorie

I cannot speak early. and I am sorry.
As it was hard to explain fate, I wrote to a sentence.
There is today a study recital to the fifth period.
We shall study four grade to the fifth period.
I talked directly to whether I put Okgwa elementary school on the phone with a teacher.
The section which a Lorie shall take charge of Listen and repeat.
study seven or eight minutes degree
focus on pronunciation revision of students and repetition.
encouragement of learning C. Ltd. parents come.
If Lorie helps it, a successful class can work.
If I call you then you start the study
I ask a favor.

“Mr. Jeong,” I ask trying to wriggle out of what he is asking me to do (if you had been living in Korea for over a month, you would get his note too), “what time is fifth period?”

Mr. Jeong: 1:40
Me: Sorry, Mr. Jeong, I cannot help you, I have to teach 3rd grade in Okgwa at 1:50.

He points to line 5…ah, he has already spoken to Okgwa and re-arranged my schedule for me. I can see that the guy wants my help, but honestly I had never even met any of the students in the 4th grade at Ib Myeon, and frankly I didnt want to stay at that school any longer than necessary because I actually cant stand going there. I dream about all the things I could instead do, including a love affair (believe me that would be an impossibility of the greatest sort) on my walk from the bus stop to school in that tiny little town.

I can see I have no choice. So I agree to help him. To be fair, Mr. Jeong is a brand new teacher. They have placed me, on Thursdays, at this school with him and Mr. Cho. So, for each lesson there are 3 of us in the classroom. The first day I was there, I watched them blunder through the lesson while the students: talked constantly to each other, combed their hair, leaned back in their chairs, stood on their chairs and behaved basically disrespectfully (there is a chasm between generations here, but that is another post). The only thing the students seemed to enjoy was “listen and repeat” so they could shout at the tops of their lungs in ENGRISHEE. I found the entire scene nauseating.  Then they turned to me and said “have you prepared something?” It was my first day at the school, I didnt even know what page they were on in the text, but I stood up there and suffered their abuse with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Following the lesson, Mr. Cho said “You must prepare something.”

Thursday was my third visit to this school.  I had decided that someone needed to take charge and that I shouldnt wait for them to do it. So I had my lesson and began using the same techniques that have been working for me in the other schools. Somewhere around 20 minutes into the lesson, Mr. J and Mr. C, who should be helping maintain order (I mean I dont really need them to help teach English) are whispering to each other about 3 feet from me and pointing to the text. I was concentrating on my lesson, but I was pretty sure they were talking about me. So Mr. C  interrupts me in the middle of a sentence to say “Ok, you teach 20 minutes and now we will teach 20 minutes.” At that point something in me snapped. I grabbed my things and said “fine, I’m leaving…you teach, these students behave like animals anyway.” And I stormed out the door.

Well of course they chased after me and Mr. J was really worried that I wouldnt help him during the 5th period when all the suits would be observing, so I told them I just needed some time to cool off and came back to teach 3rd and 4th periods. After lunch, they expressed their concern. I wasnt following the text and they needed to follow the text. Ok in all fairness to them, I get it, they teach an additional day without me and this makes it harder for them. So I explained to them that I was actually smarter than the text and they would need to back-off and just help me get the kids in line. They would just have to trust me. That I had been hired by the office of education because I had lots of experience. I think I may have also insulted them by saying that any monkey could follow the text and “why didnt they just do it, and what did they need me for.”

After this discussion we waited for 5th period and our “presentation” which was postponed and postponed and postponed again. It was so late by this time that I could have gone to Okgwa and back and never missed seeing my 3rd graders. In the end, I apologized to Mr. Cho and Mr. Jeong and they asked me some questions about religion and church and admitted that my answers made me sound an awful lot like Jen.

Falling asleep wasn’t easy that night. I knew that the bad feelings I already had about the school had greatly influenced my response to Mr. Cho and Mr. Jeong. I wasn’t proud of my behavior. My dad had accused me of ethnocentricity in an email and I knew he was right. I wasnt really giving the teachers much credit or treating them very kindly. Caleb even said “don’t insult them, show them.” So maybe that is the problem, that I would rather complain about it than do the hard work of “holding myself to the highest standard.”  Maybe I need to talk to those teachers more and work out a plan together. Maybe I need to smile more and stop taking myself so seriously. This job isnt as hard as I want to make it sometimes. Even Jen says, “try to take it for what it is, laugh at it, relax, and have some fun.” And though my inclination is to run far from Ib Myeon, Mr. Jeong and Mr. Cho, I’m going to try to use my challenges to maximize my potential and take the high road in order to discover what is to be found there. And maybe the greatest intelligence can be found in the mixed up sentiment of Mr. Jeong: “If Lorie helps, a successful class can work.”

view from my window in the early AM

I discovered something today that restored me: 5 AM early morning weather. I have been meaning to get out in it as I am often 4 hours into my day by then. I have been going to bed around dinner time and waking at 1 or 1:30 AM. I first noticed the misty weather a few days ago, but found myself in the middle of something and unable to go out…but I knew I would as I found it alluring, enticing. I ate some eggs around 2 AM, read some Dave Eggers, and put on my running shoes around 5:30. 3 days ago, I discovered a running track up on a hill whilst looking for the post office, so I headed through the alleys to it. There was no one in the streets, just this beautiful mistiness that hid the town from me. When I began running and working up a sweat, the cool air and dampness mixed with my own and made me something like a part of the place. But the most glorious discovery was the smell of the air and foliage; sometimes pinion, other times floral. I knew that I had found an activity that delighted me and I feel changed in this place by it, and maybe even a spark of the creative. I so needed that.

Peace on Mt. Baldie

I’ve been out of commission computerwise for two weeks. The good news is I discovered my power spot (Bald Hill) and read two books waiting for my power supply cord. The downside is that I haven’t posted anything in a while. The newly added “Backpacking through My Job” will be a compliation of stories from my days working in a Montessori school, but to maintain a degree of confidentiality, I have made the page password protected. Please email me for the password. It’s a new project and it should be a fun.

Ailee was here from St. Paul, as well as Dad and Annie from Ponte Vedra, Fl for Christmas. It was really great to have them here. The days were spent in much the same way as when I’m not working, though I know that Ailee would have liked to hang out in the city a bit more. The weather was too cold for a Floridian and heavenly to someone coming from St. Paul. Christmas Eve was spent at Bix, a wonderfully charming restaurant in San Francisco (thanks Dad and Annie!). I met Ebu (Annie’s daughter) for the first time. Annie actually raised Ebu, for the most part, in Pt. Reyes, so we took a drive there too sometime after Christmas.

Ailee and Grandpa Chuck

This is Bald Hill. The photos are taken in roughly 7 minute increments from my door to the top. On a less hazy day the hills roll out to the bay where San Francisco is visible on the other side.

about 7 minutes to the woods

Uphill climb to the top

first vista (now on fire road)

second vista

looking toward San Francisco

Kinder, gentler, greener and finer times for us all. Can you feel the hope? I can.

Walking home from a yoga class entitled sacred flow, I saw Ellen in the window of the Iron Spring Brewery, so I stopped in just in time to watch the returns. People were electric with the news; it’s great to be a part of something so dramatic and it felt right to have shared it with Ellen, I only wished for Ailee’s company!