First Days of Teaching/Attack of the "Hanguk Ajumma!"

I started teaching this past week, and after adjusting to teaching now, let's say, about 300 kids, I am trying to get into this groove of learning to be firm yet fair with my students. This week's activity was real simple and easy: I introduced myself, and made all of them fill out an information page with their name (In English), two favorite "stuff" (like food, subject, or actress/actor), and their goal for English. It was a quick way for me to figure out who has more English writing skills then others, though not a clear indicator. Then, we played a group question game where groups of five and six would ask me questions outside my age, my salary, or adult lingo (one class group asked me if I watch porn, but I told them "NO!" and I told them they should not either!) Overall result of my first classes: I got progressively better over the week, and God is the reason who gave me...WISDOM, just like He gave Soloman, to take charge of the classroom and how to make things happen for my benefit and theirs.

My first few classes were rough because I was just overwhelmed of how to do things, and even though I tried my best, I learned new things from the head teachers on things to do and not do. Such as: don't turn your back when you are writing on the board, or be firm and have a set discipline policy for those who overstep their boundaries, or impose yourself as a teacher and speak loud. Yet it was God who gave me this advice through my teachers throughout the week, and it culminated into a great series of classes on Thursday and Friday, and the kids were really fun and they really enjoyed having me, and same with me to them. You'll be surprised, Korean students know their English grammar and they know how to read it very well, way better than alot of American students who are lazy. There are particularly some smart-alec boys who will test me, but alot of them are sincere and try to talk to me in English.

The funny thing is my identity as an American. They see me as a true American because of the way I speak, because I try to mold my voice after Dallas Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson, because he is small in stature like me, but he has a stern yet powerful voice that commands respect. In fact, I watched an NBA video of an in-depth look of how he became successful in the league, and now, as a head coach, and its inspiring to have a role model who is both short like me but makes sure you do work for him...or else. So my first goal to establish myself as the English teacher was to make myself American, and finding the right voice and tone was key.

From that tangent, the kids are probably wondering which race I am because I'm not white-American. Some kids think I'm Japanese, some kids think I'm Hispanic, but none have guessed Korean, which oddly, is kind of a blessing. One firm rule my head teacher told me was do not speak Korean to the kids, because if they find out if you do, they will only want to speak that in class. Only one kid, whom I'll introduce to you later, knows MY IDENTITY (like I'm some sorta superhero), and that I can speak a little Korean, yet he is trustworthy with my secret because he's the most open-minded of my students and he speaks the English the best of all the students.

Today is March 16, a Friday. Something funny happened today. One frustrating thing I noticed about Korean co-workers is that they usually tend to tell me things LAST MINUTE. So, walking in today with my fave Puma kicks, armed with a shirt and tie, but no jacket, I found out in the morning that we had a Parent-Teacher Ceremony, which is an annual event at the last minute. The teachers introduce themselves to the parents, and the curriculum is set forth to the parents. Basically, a formal PTA meeting.

So, I'm kind of disappointed that I found out another event in the last minute (I won't disclose the others, because they were not that important), but this was inconvenient because if I knew yesterday if they were coming, then I would have worn better shoes and a suit jacket. Nonetheless, the ceremony was one of the most heart-renching so far in my experience at Yeonsu High School. Why? Enter: the "Hanguk Ajumma/Omoni!"

Since the ceremony was held during the day, no men can't attend because of work, and so its all the students' MOTHERS who attend. In Korean, "omoni" means mother, and "ajumma" means "middle-aged woman." Note: never call my mother "ajumma," if you do, you will die by her hands, and I will destroy you myself. Calling a person you don't know well an "ajumma" is saying she is 40 to 50 years old, but I can safely call these women who attended "ajumma," because they fit that mold. As I am writing this blog, there are hundreds of ajumma running through our school like orcs bent on destroying Middle-earth, and they are yacking it up trying to find their sons' homeroom classes for meetings. Scary, but funny.

So, I introduced myself with the "Research Department" of the school, going in front on a stage in front a horde of Korean ajumma and bowing when they introduced me, "Miguk-eso, Mak-u Soni Sonsaengnim." ("From the United States, this is English teacher Mark P. Soni, pimp extraordinaire") I never felt so nervous in my life! LOL. I bowed, smiled, and walked off the stage with the other teachers in my department. You should have seen of the curious looks of these women as I walked off, "who's this cat?" "What a goofy looking foreigner, is he Asian, is Japanese, is he a dork?" If I get to meet these ajumma, Ima showem I is a good English speeker. (You can notice the irony in that last statement right there)

So, as we speak, our school has been invaded by the cornerstone of Korean families: the Korean mother. They rule the homes, they make the financial decision, and they do all the commanding, which is not a bad thing. This group includes my mother. In most Asian societies, women are seen as inferior, but I think that is changing in the East Asian belt because of Westernization. Today, Korean moms are the law in the home, and children must respect that. My mother always emphasized a strong work ethic, spiritual correctness with the Lord (which makes my mom the best Korean mom and made her stand apart from other mothers, including American mothers), health and food, relationships, and of course, education! Education is prime in a Korean boys' and their daughters' life, including mine, and these ajumma/omoni are here to make sure we are doing in the right way, lest we take the highway.

As we speak, these ajumma are speaking Korean as they walk around the school but to me, it sounds like this: "Meow!" A cat that meows at their kittens to become lions. That's how my mom raised me, by "meowing" at me to do my best. In fact, if you ever catch a Korean drama (which I know you will do tonight on a wonderful Friday night in America), one of the most special aspects of these shows is the dynamic relationship between the protagonist-male and his Korean mom. Disobeying your Korean mom is the epitome of disobedience, it was almost voted in by Congress to be a felony to disrespect and disobey your Korean mother, and during K-Dramas, if you ever see a moment where the son yells at her mother or runs off with a woman that she disapproves of, it usually brings gasps from the audience.

With that said, I just met one ajumma, and she was nice and also happened to be an English teacher at a public middle school. BTW, I'm just teasing if I seem like these Ajumma are clones from outer space, its all in fun, and they really do hold down the family fort with efficiency and effectiveness.

Yours,

Markus Sonius