Songnae Elementary School

School pictures!! I teach at Songnae Elementary School in Bucheon City. It's a smaller elementary, I have about 20 kids in each of my classes. I teach 4th, 5th, and 6th with my co-teacher, Elly. I teach two 3rd grade classes on my own. I also have a daycare after school on Thursdays, in which I teach 1st and 2nd graders,  but with no set curriculum, just songs and games.

I wasn't sure what level of English my students would already know, but after meeting them, I realize it's very low. And that's totally fine; it means we have plenty of room to grow. At the same time though, there are different levels in every class. So while the majority of students have very little knowledge of English, there are some students who go to private English institutions, so they are more advanced. We need to figure out how to address and appropriately challenge the different levels, which is tough.

And from the student's and teacher's feedback, the kids seem to like our class! When we first asked the students, "Who likes English?", a few kids raised their hands. And when we asked "Who doesn't really like English?"... all the rest of the kids raised their hands. Haha! Oh no! We just need to convince them that English is fun and useful! I'm confident they'll come around. I can't wait to see how much they'll learn after a year!

I kept forgetting to take pictures of students, so I had Elly help remind me today with our fourth grade class. we canceled their class last week because of a scheduling issue, so this was their first class. We played games and made name tags. I got to name little Korean kids! It went over better with the 4th graders than it did with the 5th graders, who didn't seem to like any of the names I offered, haha.

the daycare kids. they're so energetic!!

we have two english classrooms. this is where my desk is. we teach in the room next door, where elly's desk is.

our stamp boards: rewards for good behavior.

a rock display showing different types of rocks. its a science thing. i thought it was a graveyard when i first saw it. lol.

the great mother. apparently she had some awesome son, so she's something to live up to.

a few murals painted around the surrounding wall. how cuuute.

I'm very happy with the school I'm at. All the teachers are very friendly and the students seem enthusiastic. Plus, my school is RIGHT next to my apartment building, so the walk in the morning takes 5 minutes! Can't argue with that...

Anna