A Day in the Life {May 2015}

Although I have no intention of reviving this blog in the near future, I have set a goal of writing 4 posts before August 15th.  This will be the first.  The main objective is to remind myself what my life was like on May 8th, 2015 and what life was like in general during this season of life.

4:45am - Alarm goes off

4:50am - Exercise. I typically exercise after school, but today is busy so it is at 4:50am or never.  I use a 7 minute workout app on my phone to squats, lunges, planks, push-ups, wall sits, jumping jacks etc.  Even though it is only 7 minutes, it is a good workout.

5am - Shower/Make-up/Hair/Get ready - rejoice that it is Friday and I get to wear jeans!

5:40am - My amazing and dear husband wakes up and starts on coffee and breakfast (he is the best!)

My favorite (and daily) breakfast.  I started eating before I remember to take a picture.

5:55am - Eat breakfast while Ian reads something spiritual - usually the Bible or Charles Spurgeon Morning and Evening.

6:15am - Leave for school.  One habit that I am currently examining in my life is silence.  It is not very often that I find myself in silence.  I have been noticing how long I drive before turning on the radio.  Usually the louder my thoughts, the sooner the radio comes on.  So I have been driving in silence to and from work this semester.  If I remember, I will pray for my students.

6:38am - Arrive at school.  Prepare for the day.  Say good morning to co-workers.  Make copies.  Check my mailbox. etc.

My office space at school.  I don't have a classroom so I push my cart around to different classrooms throughout the day.

7:35am - Period 1 :: College Algebra - This is a class of seniors.  I appreciate that they have figured out the system of high school.  We are reviewing for their final next week.

8:32am - Period 2 :: Algebra I Part I - This is a class of freshman.  I appreciate that they have energy.  Most of the students have low math self-esteem (and self-efficacy).  I attempt to transform them into math warriors that can conquer any math problem.  I am rarely successful.  This class makes me laugh because you never know what someone will say.  They 

9:29am - Period 3 :: Algebra II/Trig - This is a mix of sophomores, juniors, and a couple of seniors.  I appreciate that this class is really well behaved and respectful.  Algebra II/Trig is a really challenging class for the students, but I am impressed daily at the work ethic of some of my students. 

10:27am - Period 4 :: Algebra I Part I - Another class of freshman.  I have a teacher aide in this class - I am so thankful for Mr. Cole.  He does a great job with students and it is so nice to have another adult in the room.

Not the best selfie, but it communicates what I look like on a Friday.

11:19am - LUNCH - I have a student who has been struggling on multiple levels stop by with his guidance counselor.  We try to brainstorm ways to help Joseph be more successful.  The meeting goes much longer than I expect (all of lunch).  While the bell is ringing for 5th, I grab a cup of coffee and a larabar.  

12:04pm - Period 5 :: Algebra II/Trig - Another class of sophomores and juniors.  This class LOVES to waste time which means I tell a lot of stories (and they encourage me to savor my coffee).  I appreciate how they pretend to be interested in my life so they don't have to do math.  However, I always make sure we get through all of the material.  This class also makes me laugh!

  

Whiteboard at the end of 5th - we were reviewing Rational Functions - so.much.fun. (for me at least)

1:01pm - Period 6 :: Plan Period - typically I am off 6th period, but today I am subbing for a teacher who is in interviews.  I have subbed for him before - I have been blessed with the ability to memorize names fairly well - so I impress the class with remembering names from last time.  The class is Tech Theater, so we work on cleaning the shop.  I have learned to be as laid back as possible while subbing.  As long as no one is in emotional or physical danger, I try to let it all fly.

1:58pm - Period 7 :: Algebra I - I get to end my day with 30 energetic freshman.  I have a special ed. teacher in with me for 7th.  I am so thankful for Mrs. K - she has taught me so much about the world of SpEd (special ed.).  I can hold my own in an IEP meeting:)  Throughout my day I have 21 students that have a variety of disabilities that qualify them for Special Ed services.

2:50pm - School day is done - head back to my office to pack up, organize, and head home.   I can not leave until my desk is clean.  Typically I workout at 3:15ish, but we have a meeting so I head out.

3:20pm - Leave school - TGIF!  I will be back to tomorrow to catch up on grading/planning ahead for the next week.

3:48pm - Arrive home and eat a snack while talking to Ian about our days and the meeting.

4 - 6pm - Mission Team Meeting - Ian is the leading the Mission Team at our church right now.  We love encouraging and supporting the missionaries that our church supports spiritually and financially as well as keeping our congregation informed about what is going on with our missionaries.  Most of the time it seems a bit overwhelming, but we have a great team and Ian is doing an amazing job leading.

6:05pm - Change into yoga pants.  Head to Dan and Sara's.

6:30pm - Arrive at Dan and Sara's - we have the best Friday night tradition.  We go to our friend's house, hang out, and catch up.  It is so relaxing and Sara and Dan are so much fun (and they feed us).  We also love to see their son, Sean.  You never know what he is going to say, but whatever he says will be hilarious.

Not the best picture, but the only one I have of all 4 of us.  Good friends are a blessing!

10:45pm - Head home.

11pm- Get home and head to bed.  It never takes me long to fall asleep.

A day in the life... {Summer English Camp}

I love day in the life posts!  LOVE THEM.  I did one last year (part 1 and part 2) and I thought it would be fun to do another one this year before we leave Korea.  Some of my friends (this one and this one) have done them recently and I decided to jump on the bandwagon...I love jumping on bandwagons :)  (I apparently love to use the word, "love" as well).

Without further ado: Thursday, August 2, 2012

5:15 A.M. - wake up
5:30 A.M. - go for a run (Tempo Run Thursday!)

Before I went running...notice the smile

6:25 A.M. - get back from running, do circuit: squats, lounges, push-ups, arm circles, abs, burpees, etc (read: it usually ends up that I am just laying on the floor trying to stop sweating from running)

After I went running...I was focusing on holding the camera and not letting it slip out of my sweaty glistening  hand

6:50 A.M. - eat breakfast, shower, check email and FB, make lunch, wash dishes, have a *dance party (having a dance party while washing dishes, makes the task way more fun), get ready for school, read the Bible, tidy up
8:10 A.M. - leave for school
8:38 A.M. - get to school, find out about the schedule for today and last minute changes etc. (I am doing
 summer camp at a different school this week.  There are 5 other foreigners there besides me.)
9:00 A.M. - camp starts!  Today I am teaching a 45 minute lesson on rhyming (that goes well), 45 minutes 55 minutes spent teaching the kiddos how to make god's eyes, impromptu *dance party, and 90 minutes doing "study-sports" (don't ask me what study-sports are...I did a spelling game with the kids in a different teams)

Some of the kiddos with their craft projects

12:30 P.M. - Lunch!  PB&J, dried plums, and water (yum, yum, yum)
1:30 P.M. - Spend an hour with the kiddos practicing for the talent show tomorrow.  I realize that they do not know the song without the lyrics and try to decide how I am going to fix that.
2:30 P.M. - clean the classroom with the kiddos
2:48 P.M. - FREEDOM! Run errands: add money to my transportation card, stop at HomePlus (the Korean form of Wal-mart) to pick up posterboard, go to Bank #1 to close out one of my accounts before we leave for America, go to Bank #2 and try to figure out how to get money from our Korean accounts to our American accounts after we leave the country

I told them that I would take their picture...so they hung their god's eyes from random body parts 

4:00 P.M. - Get home, talk to Ian, start working on writing out the lyrics to the song for the talent show tomorrow on poster board
5:00 P.M. - meet my co-teacher from last year (Meyong-Joo Teacher) to get a ride to dinner.
5:30 P.M. - Arrive at Ashley's (western style buffet).  Tonight is the last time I get to see most of my co-teachers - so sad!  Thankfully Myeong-Joo Teacher's daughters were with us.  They definitely kept us laughing all evening.

From left to right, Na Kyeong, Ji Young, Ian, me, Myeong Joo, Ji Yeon, and Myeong Joo's kids: Dana and Olivia

7:30 P.M. Take pictures with co-teachers, say good-bye see you later, and head back towards home with Meyoung-Joo Teacher.  So glad she lives near us and is willing to drive us around.  Her kids are sooo cute!
8:00 P.M. - Get home, finish writing out lyrics for tomorrow.
8:34 P.M. - Tape a box together and start packing it, so it will be ready to mail tomorrow, talk to Ian, tidy up
9:00 P.M. - try to find {American-centric} Olympics on TV...I ended up watching Judo for the 853rd time and falling asleep.
11:49 P.M. - hear Ian come to bed, so I get up to brush my teeth, gulp some water, put on my pjs, make sure my alarm is set, kiss the hubs, and go back to sleep.

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*Just in case you were wondering, here are the songs currently on my dance party mix:  Call Me Maybe, Americano, Walkin' On Sunshine, Share it Maybe, The Invasion (Hero), Hot Summer, What Time Is It?...

A day in the life of an EPIK teacher!

I guess I forgot to clarify in my morning routine post, that I am an EPIK teacher.  EPIK (pronounced epic) stands for English Program in Korea. My position in EPIK is Native English Teacher a.k.a NET.  The native part of NET means that  I grew up speaking English, not that I am a native of Korea (somewhat confusing....).  I thought Native English Teachers would be Korean.  Now I am off topic.

Disclaimer: You may read about my day at school and think to yourself, "Self, that sounds like a pretty easy job."  Yes, I know teachers of America, your job is harder than mine; your job is more stressful than mine; your job is at a faster pace than mine.  I know.

8:12 A.M.

Arrive at school.  Change shoes (this is one of things that I have heard about Asian cultures, but did not believe.  Yes, folks.  It is like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.  You change into "inside shoes" when you get to school and change back to "outside shoes" when you leave.)

image courtesy of Google Images.  I also liked Mr. Rogers

8:13 A.M.

Walk to the vice principal's office.  Bow to the folks in the office.  Get the key to my classroom.  Unlock classroom.  Turn on computer.  Return Key.  Fill the electric kettle with water for coffee.

8:16 A.M.

Check email, check blogs (I have quite the list by now), check facebook.  Say Hi to Ally-teacher.  Ally and I are office mates.  She is also one of my co-teachers and probably my closest Korean friend.  Ally potentially likes coffee more than I do (which is not a good thing for me!)

What?  You do not want to read a minute-by-minute schedule of all 480 minutes that I am at school?  Well, okay, if you insist.

8:30 A.M.

School starts.  This is not really significant as all the kiddos are in their respective homerooms listening to announcements and reading library books (how do you listen and read at the same time?  I do not know.)  I use this time to type lesson plans, make sure I have everything set for the day, and try to remember to pray for my students (I am successful at the last one about 25% of the time.)

9:00 A.M.

First class of the day.  The kids stand in line outside the English classroom.  In order to enter the classroom, they must say the key sentence or some vocab words from the previous class.  I really like this time as it is the only one-on-one time I get with my students.  Today I am teaching third grade.  It is role-play day.  We watch the role-play.  Then we listen and repeat the story.  Then I say the sentences from the story and the kids listen and repeat some more.  Then the kiddos practice in pairs.  After practicing, some pairs came to the front of the class and presente the role play. {Korean children role-playing is the cutest thing evah!  They get into acting so much!  It is adorable.}

Class ended with some review work in their books and a game.

9:40 A.M.

Class is technically done, but the kiddos once again line up in the classroom.  They have to say a sentence from class.  Usually I ask the focus question (“How many cats?” was the question for today) and the children look at how many fingers I am holding up and form an answer (I have 3 cats.)  Yes, this is traumatizing to some students.  But, the kids pay attention a lot better if they know they have to say a sentence to me before they can leave.

I do not have pics of my students, but here is my amazing hubs with some of his

9:50 A.M.

Class number two.  Scroll up to 9 A.M. read it again.

10:30 A.M.

Class ends.  Another advantage of testing kids to let them out of class is the chance to work with lower level kids.  I try to weed them out and keep them in class for a few extra minutes.  I make them say the key sentence 10 times.  Not the best teaching practice, but so far it is as effective as anything else I have tried.

10:50 A.M.

Class three starts.  Go up and read 9 A.M. again.

11:30 A.M.

Class ends.  The best part about having ten or twenty minutes between classes is behavior management.  If a student misbehaves during class, they are not allowed to run the halls like a crazy person (which in my opinion is what the rest of the children do during break time).  Students must stay and clean the classroom.  I have tried on countless occasions to have some conflict resolution conversations with students.  Let’s just say that Koreans are really into have people apologizing and not at all fans of  thinking about what you have done or what you will do next time.

11:40 A.M.

Class four starts, my stomach growls.  Read 9 A.M. again

12:20 P.M.

Class ends.

12:22 P.M.

Head to lunch.  On the way to lunch I practice my conversational Korean.  Presently I am learning how to say, “I hope lunch is delicious.”  “Chum-shim-ee  ma-cheese-say-myeon jo-ques-i-yo.”  I am horrible at transliterating Korean.

On this particular day, I had kimchi, rice, tofu/red pepper/bean sprout soup, ham, really thin slices of radish that we wrapped the ham in, and some roots that are thinly sliced and boiled in soy sauce (it is super chewy and void of any flavor to me).

12:44 P.M.

Walk back to the English Office with three or four other subject teachers (i.e. music, special ed, English, P.E.).  Make coffee for everyone.  Drink coffee.  Shoot the breeze in Korean (I zone out completely). 

Some of the great people I work with

1:10 P.M.

If I had a fifth class, it would start now.  But on this particular day I do not have any afternoon classes.  I type lesson plans.  I also have a lovely spreadsheet that I keep for each grade that tells different lessons that I have taught and the activities that I have done for that class.  It comes in really helpful the next year when teaching the same lesson.  So I spent some time updating my spreadsheet.  I am a nerd.

1:50 P.M.

If I have a fifth class, it would end now.  I finish up lesson plans, print them and start working on prepping tomorrow's Teacher's Afterschool English Class PowerPoint.  I am becoming quite handy with powerpoint.

2:16 P.M.

I come across a funny dialog.  I get on facebook to message my amazing husband about the funny dialog.

2:28 P.M.
Still on facebook, completely forgot the reason that I got on.

2:32 P.M. 
Get back to "work".

3:00 P.M.

One of the homeroom teachers wanted to practice her English, so she came down to my office.  We sat and chatted.  She gets really nervous when speaking English, so my goal is to help her build confidence more than anything else.  She is super nice and will be one of the people I think of when I remember Korea.  She is quite chatty though :)

3:45 P.M.

Finish up powerpoint for tomorrow.  Check my to-do list.  Chat with Ally about her day.

4:00 P.M

I love four o'clock.  If I have everything done by four o'clock, I let myself be completely unproductive for the last 30 minutes of work.  It is glorious.  Today I listened to a sermon.  It is nice to chill out for half an hour.  There are days that I work up until 4:30, but most days I try to get my stuff done.

4:28 P.M.

Turn computer off, change shoes, stare at clock.

4:30 P.M.

Say "Neigh-ill Mun-die-o" (See you tomorrow) to Ally and head home.

**Just a reminder that this is one day in my life.  Almost no two days in my life at school look the same.  I have classes cancelled for no reason (that is told to me).  I have classes rescheduled.  And I have killer bees fly in the window and distract the class for a good five minutes.**