Having trouble with the little one

As you may recall I have been teaching the director's daughter for about one week now. She seems to be regressing. The first day she at least stayed in the classroom and spoke Korean to the other children. But now? She cries and leaves the room.

I think the problem is threefold. First, both her mother and father are right down the hall at any given time of day. She is well aware of this fact and uses it to her full advantage. Second, she's about a year younger than all the other kids and definitely too little to be in a school with this kind of structure. Sit at a table? What? Third, and most importantly, she knows absolutely no English, not even the alphabet, so she feels totally and utterly lost in the class where these kids have come a long way in three months. I don't blame her for wanting to get out of that foreign environment. And I'm not sure how to get around this problem. I reviewed soem important concepts this week like the words "happy, sad, angry, and surprised" and "I like/I don't like" but she doesn't stick around to benefit. And these reviews are meant for her!!! No!

So I'm lucky enough to have an audience during some of my classes while her mother or some other Korean staff tries to help her and explain to her what's going on. That's okay because I'm proud of my kids and how much they can do. I want to be a good teacher and I want them to know that I am one. If I am one.

I asked Alice for advice on how to get her more comfortable and she told me she thinks it's up to Stephanie's parents to do it. Apparently this little three year old questioned the logic in studying English when she's Korean. Smart girl. I bet she'll be fine once she accepts her English immersion fate. Poor baby.


Happy Birthday Jordy!