Femalions, Part II

So I've been on the new teaching gig for three weeks. For the most part, the transition has not been that bad. Teaching girls in many ways is so much easier. Korean girls tend to be more docile here, hence the discipline is not as a big problem compared to my old school. I usually get through my lessons without a major setback in discipline or cooperation issues. I never had any problems with getting the girls to go along with activities.

However, the challenges do present themselves from time to time. As I know before about our femalion counterparts, women are more emotional creatures. That's a no-brainer, because Our Father made them this way. We as men and women are complementary for one another; a master plan if I ever saw one.

Now at an-all girls school, the discipline is not as a big problem, but dealing out the discipline can be a problem. Teenage girls, since they are growing up to become women, deal with alot of emotional change. So do teenage boys, but not at the femalions' level. Boys are very clear-cut about their emotions and hardly expose them to show their masculinity. I am a boy, so working at the boys' school last year, on a relational level was easier because we know how we relate.

So, when I have to deal with discipline or if a girl in class makes a mistake, they take it harder. They just do. Some girls don't like to be made fun of or teased, nor do they like to be singled out for their mistakes. They are highly sensitive to comments you make about them, either getting their hopes up or bringing much disappointment. I've made some girls sad by simply forgetting their name, or made a girl's day by telling them "good job" for something they did well.

I've come to the point already where I know that there are some areas to back off and not be as engaging. Being a second year teacher, my style is very engaging, hands on, and always trying to challenge each student individually. Yet this does not work all the time with girls because they are not ready to put themselves on the line yet such as boys, in other words, they are shy. Last year, sometimes I would go out of my way to talk to certain boys who had potential and try to engage them in English conversation so they could at least practice, but for the girls the comfortability is not there yet.

With a girls' high school, the pressure to perform and the Korean group mentality takes a different road and has an interesting take when it comes to classroom dynamics. Korean girl students, in my opinion, are more hive-oriented compared to their boy counterparts. I've noticed certain classes already where a few girls control the tempo of the class because of their boisterious personalities. On one end of the spectrum, some girls are very pushy, and to a degree, bullying-types who kind of enforce the others to keep in step with them. The tricky thing is to try to control them so I can get the other girls to participate in activities.

This phenomenon is also similar at a boys school, but at Yeonsu High I noticed its usually one boy student or two who control the overall personality of the class. Usually I had to find that "unique" boy who is either a comedian, an enforcer, or a clever man to get the rest of the class to follow. Successfully, I found those boys and sort of made them my allies to get the others to try.

For the girls' classes, its usually controlling the certain committee of ladies who sometimes try to enforce the will on the group. Yet, if its a good class, that "committee" could actually reinforce my material easier because they lead the exercises. For example, in my 1-3 class, all the girls are happy-go-lucky. There are no bullies or odd-ones-out; they work as a collective unit. There is a certain girl in the class named Da Yon, who is an extremely funny girl and class clown; she kind of puts a positive influence on her group to all try to follow my class. Outside of class, I've seen groups of girl surround her as she is very popular and funny. So the rest of the class kind of follows her style.

So when certain classes pile into the English Zone for my class, the ladies immediately pile to a certain table where they most feel comfortable, because each homeroom consists of about 44-45 girls. I've had a theory that with classes those size, I bet some of those girls still don't know certain members of their own class still. Its intimidating to study a language in that kind of environment.

Another thing I learned so far is the cautious approach I have to take as a teacher, especially as a male. Most of these girls have never been approached by a male because a majority of the students have attended all-female schools, and "real interaction" with the opposite does not occur until college (in Korean society). So at first, I tried to be outgoing, funny, and friendly with the classes, which is cool for some because they are comfortable with me now. Yet some of the freshmen girls are very shy and are not ready with my style of teaching, so I've taken a step back and I want to come to me when they are ready. It takes time.

So these wisdoms again, come through the successes, joys, and mistakes of teaching. They are invaluable. And they are provided by God, the God of all Wisdom. Like Solomon, I need all the wisdom I can get to "govern my new kingdom." In due time, I hope and pray not to be popular with the students, but simply to gain their respect as a teacher and mentor, and even better, their friend.