Poor Carl

I have a student named Carl, and Koreans confuse r's and l's all the time. Every time I say his name all the other kids in the class laugh hysterically because they think I'm calling him Color. Carl always pleads, "Teachel, my name is Color." He's really trying to say Carl. I told him that red, blue, and yellow are colors, and he said, "No. They'll Carls." I love it when my English is corrected by Korean kids. A week ago I asked a class if they knew what a kilometer was. They didn't, so I began to explain. One kid realized what I meant and said, "Teachel, you mean Kee-ro-Mee-tel." I said, "No, it's kilometer." But the rest of the class realized what we were talking about and none of them would accept that it wasn't pronounced "Kee-ro-Mee-tel."

I also have a new least favorite class. I've learned to contain my previous bad class. The new bad class is bad because they're old students they do not talk. The class recently changed to a very difficult book and they've given up. I teach three other classes that switched to the same book at the same time and they all still talk. Today I asked them all why they were at class. Not surprisingly I got silence. The only time they talk is to mock my English. I speak very slowly to them to try and get them to talk, and sometimes they respond with, "Hamina-Hamina-Hamina." So today I told them all that next week they have to give 1-minute speeches. And if they don't talk during that minute they have to stand in front of class for four more minutes. Once I announced the speech I got a classroom full of hostile students. They hate me. From a reflection in the window I saw two students simulate shooting me in the head. But I'll have my revenge on them. Report cards come out next week and I know two boys that are going to have angry parents.