Thursday, April 03, 2008

Crazy Teacher and Mr. Surprise

As I mentioned before, a new school year started at the beginning of March and I modified some of my teaching. One of the things I changed was my name. I know, it's that dorky thing where someone says, "Naw, don't call me Steve anymore. Now I'm Lion." I didn't go so dramatic. I changed from Nathan Teacher to Mr. Price. There were a few reasons for the change. In Korean, the kids typically say the first name of the teacher and then add the title "teacher" at the end. I changed because I didn't want them to think that we run around in the states saying something like John Teacher. Also I noticed that the kids would routinely leave "teacher" out of my title and just call me Nathan. Now I don't really care, but our principal is a stickler for formality and it's best to stay on her good side. Hell hath no fury like a Korean principal.

So the third graders call me Mr. Price which is confusing for some; they think my name is Mr. Surprise. The other foreign teacher, Craig, didn't see any need for the formal name change and just kept his title as Craig Teacher. The forth graders are now calling him Crazy Teacher. Mr. Surprise and Crazy Teacher, we sound like a demented clown show, which, if you catch our teaching on the right days, is somewhat true. Still, there went that hint of professionalism.

The third graders also complimented me on my English the other day. They told one of their homeroom teachers that they were amazed at how good my English was. That's pretty cute. I told them maybe if they practice for 31 years also, they'll be as good as I am.

In a twist, the sixth graders complimented me on my Korean. I spoke one word of Korean and they applauded. It was nice. Still, I think they felt that kind of amusement that they might feel if dog had suddenly hopped up on its hind feet and danced around. It's similar to when I watch Sesame Street over here. When Grover opens his mouth and Korean comes out it's utterly hilarious.

Here's to new school year.

1 comment:

Kat-tron! said...

Surprise! It's crazy teacher :)