Crazy, crazy camp

January 10, 2006:

So, camp is crazy.

It is going to sound horrible, but I was actually relieved to find out that Jessie was having trouble on her first day at the camp that I was at last week. I was so worried that I was just a bad teacher, and that the reason that the kids weren'tresponding was that I was just horrible at engaging them.
Turns out though, they're just dicks. They were just as bad for Jessie, or at least, that is how it sounded.
Jessie had other problems too. She showed up and found nothing working. Nothing was working at all. The printer would not work, the computer would not work, the internet would not work. It is super frustrating when you are asked to plan lessons and told you will have certain resources, and then they are not there.
Another huge obstacle is that Korean students are only motivated by marks. They are forced textbook learning, which they learn rote, and imagination is not encouraged or rewarded. So when we try to play games that involve being creative

Continued January 11, 2006:

they basically have no idea what to do. When I assigned for them to write a song, they copied songs out of their textbooks. wow.

The boys seem to be better for Jessie now,which is good, although they are still ostracizing the girls like crazy. My group is still awesome, and tomorrow is basically just a fun day, where half of it will be spent creating characters and painting them, so no real worries there.

The other weird thing is that I am expected to get permission to work at a school where I have been told to work by my employer. Today I was told that I had to get daily signatures from the vice-principal to be allowed to work at the school. Let's review. I am being told and payed to work at your school. Now, I need permission to do so. I am being told this at the end of my second day, after it is too late to do it today. But I NEED to do it every day. Well, since the only coteacher at the school who speaks english is leaving today, it seems unlikely. I'm not going to chase down the VP with a dictionary and a form begging him for a signature to give me permission to do something that his superiors are paying me to do. I'm sorry, Homey don't play that.

Bottom line: Confucianism can kiss my ass. Take that chain of command.