to the temple I go

HIYA!

Bad news first. I got fired from the school I work at. Today's my last day.

The good news. I got a job at the temple I go to regularly.

Now some details. I have had a hard time with the kids since the beginning. The littler ones aren't quite as hard for me. It's the older little kids. Around 13 to 16 years old. Some are shy and disinterested, some are rowdy and rambunctious and disinterested. A few are interested and studious. I have three hours a day with the littler ones and two to three hours a day with the older ones. And three days a week I've been teaching adults. So most of the day goes pretty well.

But the class I call the class from hell had one girl who was just never really there. I have thought of ways to discipline such kids. One day I decided to threaten kids with a Wet Willie. Where you stick your pinky in your mouth, get it pretty good and wet, then put it in someone's ear. This is a Wet Willie, no? I tried it with some of the littler ones and they had fun running away from me. The one girl in this class from hell (these kids are little ones too, around 10 years old) just wasn't paying any attention and rarely does. So I went over to her and put my finger in my ear and .... She put her jacket hood over her head and stayed there. A few seconds later I noticed she was crying so I walked away. She put her face in her hands for the next 40 minutes or so until the end of class.

I had thought this might be a fun way to get and to keep their attention during class. Not for this one girl that's for sure.

After my last class of the evening, my boss wanted to talk with me. He said the girl's mom called and was furious. She said that this Wet Willie is a sign of affection in Korea. I didn't know this. My boss didn't know this. So I wonder if she just made this up.

My boss asked if I'd rather go to a different school, one on the mainland, owned by a person he knows, where the working conditions would be less stressful. I told him I'd go if he wanted me to go. He said let's wait.

That Wet Willie incident happened last Wednesday. Friday night he asked if I'd rather take the job on the mainland. That's when I said I'd go if he wanted me to go and he asked me to wait. Monday afternoon, before my first class, he asked me to leave.

So I guess I got fired. I haven't asked if this is the case. Anyway, it doesn't matter much. I'm out of this school. Today, Thursday the 5th is my last day.

More in the next post. I'd rather keep things pretty short. Feels better.
Troy.