KOREAN RECIPE FOR ENGLISH CAMP
Ingredients:
8 dignified professors
200 children, ages 10-16
8 teaching assistants (TAs), English level varied
8 general assistants (GAs), English level varied
3 broken copiers
Lots and lots of rice, no vegetables
a dash of “Korean efficiency”
Directions:
1. Make dignified professors sing, dance, and teach camp songs.
2. Teach 200 children English at least two levels above their head.
3. Give direct authority to TAs and GAs, ignoring the fact that most of the said TAs/GAs are in the dignified professor’s classes during the semester.
4. Make sure that only one copier works at any given time. This is essential during prep time.
5. Eat lots and lots of rice, as you will be eating unidentifiable Korean cafeteria food most of the week. Hoard vegetables, as they will not be in your food much.
6. A dash of Korean efficiency is needed to ensure that insanity is lost at the earliest moment.
Mix together and enjoy your break from reality….!
I got a great group of homeroom kids. I see them four times a day, and they are the highest English speakers in the camp. I have two fourth grade boys and nine assorted fifth and sixth grade girls. One of the girls actually lived in Missouri; she is fast becoming the star of the camp due to her proficient English and charismatic personality.
On Monday, we tested all the kids to determine their level. The kids did reasonably well, and the camp director broke Korean tradition by placing them in classes more or less by LEVEL, rather than age/grade. Some of my Bongdam Elementary students made it into the camp, which I believe is determined by lottery.
Tuesday, we met out homeroom classes. The kids get up at 7:30am, wash, eat breakfast, and then come to their morning classes at 9:00am, which are Reading/Writing (2 periods) and Storytelling/Homeroom (2 periods). We eat lunch with the kids, and after a small break go into our afternoon classes. The two afternoon classes, Listening and Speaking, get out at 3:40pm. There is a long break, and we meet the kids for dinner at 5:50pm. After dinner, there are special project which we work on until 8:40pm. We leave at 9:00pm, but the kids have a snack and wash up before going to bed at 10:30pm. It is a tough schedule for them.
Wednesday through Friday our evening project was the Class Chant/Class Song Competition. This event also includes making a camp flag. My team named themselves the OGRES, which, according to them, means “Oh Great! R******’s English! .” The chant was very simple, but the song challenged them. I reluctantly rewrote Ricki Martin’s “Cup of Life” for the group, and my GA taught them a Latin dance to go with it. They did ok in the competition, but they are not exactly the cheerleader type. Neither am I, so we suit each other quite well. I am banking on their strong English and “hamming” skills to win the play competition in two weeks.
My TA has limited English. He is a university student here and is about 20 years old. We get along well, but he constantly forgets to speak English to the students. This really annoys me, but he cannot seem to remember. I feel like I have lost this battle; fortunately, the children remember to speak English when I am in the room. Otherwise, he is very attentive to the children and they like him. My GA is very pretty and cute; she is a PE major and is studying dance. She has a very gentle touch with the children, but is more than able to make them mind her!
The office space is a bit more difficult to deal with. We have only four computers for eight people. Some of them are not connected to a printer, and some of them are not connected to the Internet. As coworkers, we are not used to being with each other 24/7, so there have been some minor conflicts and scuffles.The Korean staff put in 16 hours a day, but they are used to being crowded. To my knowledge, no one has gotten in a snit over there. This is surprising, as they are very tired and overworked. But then, so is half the country...
This is the first time many of the TAs/GAs (read “Camp Counselors”) have been away from their parents, as Korean university students live with their parents until they graduate. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I remember my summer camp experience; the counselors always seemed to hook up with each other at some point in time. One of my counselors (his name was “Kangaroo”) proposed to another (her name was “Twinkles”) at dinnertime in front of the whole camp. He was accepted, and we all cheered. I always wondered whether they did get married.
I’m glad I’m here at English Camp,
There’s nowhere I’d rather be,
But if I weren’t at English Camp,
A teacher I would be!
All right boys and girls, its English Camp time! Everybody ready? ASA!!!!!YEAH!!!!
