A Wee Visitor

Julia came in during the last ten minutes of my 5:45 class to tell me that a parent was thinking of enrolling their child at Yoon's, so there would be an "observation" of my next class.  I wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but I figured that a parent and child would be in my next class.  The idea made me nervous, since it's enrollment on which our employment depends.  I didn't know what to expect from my students, since I didn't have classes last Friday.  For all I knew, I could teach my heart out and they could stare at me.

But, I was lucky in two ways.  Firstly, the parent didn't come into my class.  Secondly, the class was great and Jake, the prospective student, fit right in.  We worked on the past tense and wrote a story on the board.  Then they did an excellent job with their interviewing worksheet (using past tense by asking each other "What did you ____? [get for Children's Day, do on Christmas morning, etc.]).  I hope his mother enrolls him.  Julia came in after (and subsequently during another class) to ask how he had done.  I told him he did a wonderful job and that he was a smart little boy.  She seemed surprised and told me that he couldn't read the "letters."  I'm not sure what they tested him on before my class, but he reads and writes very well for his age (he's only 8 or 9).  Maybe they had the wrong approach.

Life can be pretty tough as a teacher at Yoon's.  So, when these little moments of luck happen (like a visiting student being a good presence in a class), I try to hold on to it.

Tonight we are meeting up with some of the other teachers to welcome the two new teachers at Goam.  They are replacing Kate and Pete who finished their contracts last week.  I invited Daniel along, so maybe we'll actually get to know him better.  Fingers crossed!