TV Show-Filming

As I mentioned in the previous post, MBC TV, which is a huge channel in Korea, decided to do an 8 minute piece on our volunteer club.  The piece will air on the 29th between 7:30 and 9:30 ( I will update the time when I know). They spent 8 hours filming at our school. (Update...the actual time is 6:50).

I walked through the gates at 6:45 in the morning I really had no idea how the day would go.  Would the kids have finished the banners and posted everything on the bulletin boards? How would the interviews go?  Would it all be stupid and silly?  Would the other teachers have fun with things?

I saw the lights on in the English classrooms...kids at work already.  Is that a good thing or bad thing?

I went upstairs.  Han Jin was hard at work with a few other students.  She showed me the first banner.  Cute, informative, perfect.  Ditto on the posters. 

2nd banner...not great, but maybe we can use it. Then I read it more closely..."Volunteer Clud".  Oops. Never make banners when you are tired.  We had to re-purpose the banner.

The camera man came around 7 and shot a couple of boys getting ready for school for the introduction, something along the lines, "why is one boy putting on his uniform and the other is not".

Kids were making egg, potato, mayo and ketchup sandwiches and the cameraman filmed the kids making them  

We went upstairs to the English classroom and he filmed the kids finishing the updated banner (thank god we had some paper sitting around to glue to the old banner!) 

We had our morning meeting and then he began taping various activities in the school.  There was one that a student had to vote on something about each teacher.  To be honest, I still do not know exactly what it was about but they made signs and a bulletin board and had fun.

I was really happy so many of my colleagues decided to don the school uniforms.

Mid morning, we started the little shop for selling the cookies, brownies, and sandwiches the kids made along with some cocoa and tea.  I thought there was no way we would sell over 400 cookies and 50 brownies along with about 60 sandwiches in the entire day, but within 15 minutes almost all of it was gone.

One teacher made a "donation box" at the start of the year.  Each time a student cursed in class, they had to make a "donation".  Thank god for those potty mouth fools...we got a $60 donation from them.  The class teacher even put on a uniform for the day.  It was so cute watching the cameraman try to tape her as she giggled like a little school girl.  The camera man was a good sport and the kids yucked it up.

One of the lunch ladies donated $20 to the cause a few weeks ago and we recreated it for the camera.  I was not there, but they went to the lunch room while the kids were eating and called her over and she gave the money.

I thought it was really important that the kids see that their fun was really helping someone.  I arranged a Skype video call with Boi Pop Chan, the paralyzed girl, along with her family. We had it in a special classroom with a 60" monitor (gotta love Korean schools).  

At 1:30 the screen comes up and there is the girl, in a wheelchair, along with her mother, father and a translator.  What a powerful image.

It turned out the father spoke English very well.  The kids asked him a few questions and answers:

• What are your dreams?  I only want to take care of my daughter.
• What is most difficult for you?  We are refugees.  We live in a refugee camp.  We must get permission from the government to leave.  If my daughter has an emergency, we can not go to the hospital easily and she may die.
• If your daughter got better, what would you do?  I am Hmong (pronounced Mon).  We have no land, we have no country, we have no rights.  I want freedom.  Until then, I would just work to help the Hmong people in the refugee camps.

As things wrapped up, The mother gave a beautiful smile, said her first words, "Thank You" the kids waved and said goodbye.  I was getting ready to close the window but decided to let it ride a second.  The mother got up not knowing I still had the video on, put her hand on her daughters' cheek and kissed the other. A remarkably touching moment.

The father spoke fast and with a strong accent, so I made notes and explained everything to the kids after the video call was finished.

I then asked them, "How do you feel?".  One said, "Sad" another "good", another "proud".  I told them my favorite Japanese saying, "lead a good life, so you can enjoy it a second time when you get old". I told them invest your money in things like new phones, or electronics and you will get momentary happiness.  Invest your time in doing good, and you can have long term happiness.

The final part of the day involved getting all the teachers who wore uniforms together with a bunch of students from the volunteer club in front of the school to say goodbye.

In the end, we raised almost $600 for the causes this term. The day was finished and I was thrilled and proud of the students.  I was appreciative of my colleagues.  I was exhausted.

TV Show-the call and craziness

We got a call on Tuesday from MBC, the biggest TV channel in Korea.  They saw the newspaper story about "No Uniform Day" and wanted to film all day on Friday so they could make an 8 minute segment in prime time about our volunteer club. Holy crap.

It could be great for

• the kids...great to get recognition for doing something good.  Doing for others will start to be ingrained into who they are.  It will also be helpful for their university admission.
• school...good publicity is a good thing of course.  The school has new owners and has some positive momentum. I especially want to do something for the Principal Vice-Principal and colleagues all of whom I really like and respect.  They have been great to allow the events in the school
• club...I think the club might have legs.  When I go, some colleagues may want to continue it.
• the viewers...so they think about volunteering. 

On the other hand, Korean TV is sometimes silly and there was a very good chance the focus of the segment could be teachers wearing uniforms...funny but stupid.  It would do nothing for either the reputation of the school and the kids...it may even have a negative effect.  We needed a good plan.

Moonsook is my partner in the volunteer club.  She is like my Korean sister...funny, smart and a bit of a free thinker.  I am really lucky to have her working with me on this. She teaches the seniors and this is the busiest time of the year preparing documents for university admissions which is the priority. She did not have time for our normal communication and we ended up having a conflict over some miscommunication.  Thankfully, she and I are both Korean on some level (get angry and cool down quickly) and we got over it. We worked on a plan and began work. Thankfully, Kyueng Hee, a fabulously nice colleague, gave a helping hand working on some details and some communication and things progressed nicely.

On Thursday, the kids made cookies, decorated a holiday tree and started making banners for the big day.

You never know how people will perform in these situations.Some kids were real disappointments, while others shocked me in their work ethic and character.  One girl, Han Jin, is the biggest surprise.  I knew her a bit, but never thought of her as a leader, but a leader she is...maybe even a potential great leader.  Great work ethic, excellent character, and wonderful follow through.  She has greatness in her.

Since the school doesn't have an oven, I left around 6:00 so I could go home and bake the cookies they made. I had to leave with the banners and bulletin boards unfinished.  A few of the kids stayed behind and continued to work until late.  Would things be ready?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Only a Korean bar would have the courage to ask the question we have all been thinking.

Oral Tests and Anxiety

I gave the kids oral tests recently.  I know the kids feel anxiety, but it is amazing the anxiety I feel. I am rooting for all the kids, but the ones who I know have worked a bit harder, I desperately want to do well.  When they are answering a question I am literally holding my breath.

I have kids who are motivated and are pretty fluent in English.  I can teach them easily and joke with them...they are an absolute joy.  These kids took an oral test and most did great.  I felt like a competent teacher and loved my job.

I have others who are quite nice, but know almost nothing.  After studying English for a decade, they can not ask or answer a simple question. I gave these kids a really easy oral test and even gave them a short list of questions to study a week before the tests. Many could not answer questions you would ask elementary school kids. I felt demoralized. I must be the worst teacher.

I guess these are normal feelings for a teacher.  I wish I knew this when I was a kid, I might have been nicer to mine.

No Uniform Day

Our volunteer group had another fundraiser yesterday...No Uniform Day.  The kids decided it would be fun if they could pay a nominal amount of money, about 50cents, and not have to wear a uniform for a day.  The money we raised will go to help a school in the jungle in Thailand.

The day before, a couple of students told me it would be funny if the teachers wore student uniforms.  I hate dressing up, but I thought the kids would get a kick out of it, so I decided to wear a school uniform...with the shortest tie known to man.  I looked smashing I think.

As it turned out, a local newspaper heard about "No Uniform Day" and decided to write a story about it.  The principal thought it was good that I was wearing a uniform and encouraged other teachers to wear one also. A few were good sports and did it.

The photographer for the newspaper wanted to get some pictures, so we went to the classrooms and the kids were ridiculously excited about their teachers wearing uniforms.

I thought it was fun that the teachers dressed up for a bit, but somehow the students who did all the work to organize things and the purpose got pushed aside a bit in the excitement over the teachers.

Overall I am really happy with the event, and I think everyone else is too.

Edit.
Here is an article written about the event in the Korean newspaper.