Entry 24: 1st Grade

"I am happy!", I say exuberantly as my hands shoot to the air and my face contorts to the most excited smile imaginable.
Were they going to respond? Where they going to look at me and just laugh like the other classes had? Was I going to be the clown in this class? The questions flooded my mind almost in similar fashion that went through Ted's mind in the first episode of How I Met Your Mother (great show by the way).
"I AM HAPPY!" They all roared in unison, as their little hands and arms shot to the sky. Laughter broke out in the classroom, as my hands went down to my side, my smile disappearing and surprisingly tears welled up in my eyes, as I said, "I am sad." Hold your applause, but it was an Oscar winning performance, as I was able to conjure up the tears on command.
As soon as the children copied and quietly said "I am sad." My face then turned blank. As I stared Josh straight in the eyes, and slowly walked towards him, as I moved my mouth as if I was cursing under my breath. I lifted my hand and clenched a fist. "I am angry!!!" I think I let out a growl, as the kids all burst into laughter as they started swinging their fists at the air with the meanest faces they could conjure. Before, they were able to express the anger so welled up inside, I shot my hands in the air and screamed "I AM HAPPY!"
They gladly obliged, and laugher and smiles filled the room.
Mix, shake, and repeat.

These are my first graders. They are wonderful. They are not as blank faced as my kindergarteners, and they are not as self conscious as my 2nd graders. Although they speak very little English, and most of the communication between us is in Korean, these students are the most enthused to sing, dance, move around, and play games. They aren't good with worksheets like the other kids are. These kids love to move around. They are a joy, and honestly, they make me want to have children of my own.

Their teacher really is concerned with their education and you can tell that she loves these kids. She always has something to say about if I am going too fast, or if what I am teaching is too difficult. She is always in the class with me, and she is the best at helping me teach. Ironically, these teachers want me to teach less. That might not make sense, but you have to understand, that they have their own ideas on how English is to be taught, and I am always glad to take their advice. She explained how she didn't think that the kids were really grasping English (there had been another foreigner teacher that was at the school before me) and that I should focus on one sentence per class. I am happy, for the entire class. I am constantly being told to go at this pace. "Teach the kids 5 new vocab words per class at maximum". I always try to oblige, in the same way that when they told me to not plan so thoroughly for my classes (which was surprising that they told me to take it easy...), and in the same way, I'm going to start reinforcing these kid's English as well as I can. Their teacher's goal is for them to not have an accent, which is a great goal.

Josh: When he smiles his eyes disappear. Great smile.
Hetti: Really cute and energetic girl. I would guess that she will be the popular girl in the future. She gets mad when she loses games. I think she likes Josh (she always gets so mad at him, but she continues to sit next to him)
Ralph: OMG, this kid is freaking hysterical. Pudgy kid who says "My name is Ral-Puh" and he smiles at me and says "Game?! Game?!"
Bobby (the teacher sadly printed his name Bobbg on his laminated name card): Knows the most English out of all the kids, I think he is the oldest out of the bunch because of his English and size.
Hannah: Always has her hair in pigtails, and she is missing her two front teeth. Smart girl, but is very humble about it, never tries to outshine her friends.
Sara: Not very good at English, but she tries. She has the most fun when we stand up and act out the vocabulary.
Young: Maybe the youngest in the group, I assume from his size, but he's really smart and he is really smiley.
Minna: She doesn't speak English or Korean. She is my favorite just to do the motions with. She has a great time playing the games that involve acting. It is really sad when the kids tell me "말 안해" but at the same time, I think that she is learning English. Hopefully.
Dianna: Also missing her two front teeth. She is really quiet, and sometimes dozes off in class.
Paul: Great at English. He has two older sister at the school. All of them are super cute and very attractive, and I remember that it was really fun talking to the three of them while I was waiting for my bus. He is really funny in class as he says "I don't knooooooowww!" in what he calls his 귀신 voice. It is amazing that he and his sisters all hop in a tiny car and live on some farm. His older sister Julie (who is in my third grade class) is probably my favorite student in the entire school. Sam comes next, and funny thing is Sam and Julie are both in my 3rd grade class.

That is my 1st grade class. They are freaking awesome. So well behaved, and full of energy. They squeal "영어선생님!!!!" when they see me. I smile knowing that our class is going to be full of laughter.