Now erase name.

Today was my first day of classes.
Some went very well, some were harder.
It's true, the students like to try to test you by being total zombies in class.

Luckily, though, they weren't misbehaving too hard.
I tried having students switch off reading sentences from a paragraph in class, but a lot of the other students were talking. And since the students are already pretty shy about their English, they talk pretty quietly when speaking it.
This makes reading out loud exercises impossible.

So there's this student named Copy in my last class.
I love the name, it's awesome, he's probably my favourite.
But he's a bit of a chatterbox.

So I have this system- there are five rules. You break one, you get a warning. After your warning, which is your name written up on the board, you get three strikes. Three strikes means detention, son, and you don't want none of that 'cause your parents'll be mad pissed that they have to stay up until midnight to get your delinquent ass.

Rules:
1. Don't hit.
2. Don't cheat.
3. Don't be disruptive; raise your hand instead.
4. Don't throw things.
5. Don't say bad words.

After observing good behaviour, I start erasing names/marks. Messi and Luigi were being punks, they got their names on the board. But once they started reading quietly when asked, boom. Their names came off. Copy noticed this and started behaving well only to say 'now erase name' after doing so. Whatever motivates the students, honestly... as long as they're behaving and doing their work, I could care less if they like me or if they really care about the subject. I would prefer that they care, but let's face it... they're Middle School students, right on the cusp of complete and total apathy towards everything, everybody and every idea/concept ever. I know, I was there once.

Half of the classes, well, nobody knew what unit the students were on. This made it really hard to plan the lessons and, as a result, I accidentally relinquished control while trying to figure out what to do next. The second you stop talking and leave a lull in the classroom is the second they exploit your lack of confidence/foresight and go nuts. So the next week will be tough- until I know exactly where every class is in the books, I might have to wing it a bit. And winging anything with these students is met with some pretty rough consequences.

Once I get everything down to a science, though, well... I will have found the science. No problem.

Next step for me is getting through classes tomorrow, finding Lotte Mart (with maps!) and buying things I need. Like bowls. And detergent. Maybe a laundry basket. Eff, I should make a list tonight or tomorrow.

Let's see... oh! I did manage to walk to the school from home today, which I'm pretty proud of. It's usually easier for me to navigate long distances by car and short distances on foot, so I usually have trouble getting from point A to point B by walking alone. I have this route down pretty well though, and I can always hail a cab (I KNOW THIS IS FOREIGN TO DENVER BUT IT'S SO AMAZING) and get to where I need to go. If I'm going home, I say "Hambaekmeul," the name of my neighborhood. If I'm going to work, I show them a piece of paper one of my co-workers gave me. Which reminds me... Tom has the romanization of my address on paper- I need to get that from him and post it here so you lot can shower me with cards and money and adoration. Hahaha, I kid... but it'd be nice to have my address anyway, yeah?

Anyway, I better stop blogging and start looking at maps. Lotte Mart calls... maybe I can find my next favourite restaurant, too.

As always, guys... take care. You all mean a great deal to me.
-토맛