Asian Face

With the new month comes new students. We've recently had an influx of students and it seems as though all the teachers' classes are growing. One of my classes had 9 students and has just grown to 14 (the max. class size) I don't mind having a full class. These kids were just starting to really open up and get used to me and my ways. We had a good dynamic happening.

Half way through the class yesterday, my korean support for that class came in and asked to speak with me in the hall. She said that they were going to take 5 of my students and put them with one of the part-time teachers. I understood why they had to do it. Why would they have her teaching a class with only two students, when I have a full class of the same level at the same time down the hall.

I just didn't like that they took the best students from my class. She took the ones that always participated and were so great. I told her that too. I thought that maybe by telling her that I didn't want them to go that she'd at least try to change it so that it was half and half.

So today I go to class and I see a new student sitting there. I was confused. I thought I wasn't going to gain any students, but just lose some. He told me that his name is Alex. My Alex was moved into the other teacher's class. ( Korean's seem to like choosing from the same baby pool of English names...Kevin, Judy, Jenny, Eric, John. same same same) I just didn't understand why they would take kids away right when they were settled, just to replace them with someone who has to get settled anyways. Wouldn't it make sense to just leave him with his original teacher?

No, not in Korea.

I asked my Korean support why this boy was in my class when he started out in another. She told me that his mother didn't want him to be in a class with a teacher with "an Asian face". I'm not kidding. She wanted a white person to teach her son. I knew this before. ( I mean part of the application process to get the job here was to include a picture of myself!) But this is the first time that I've ever been told that it matters in this way.

Now this other teacher is Korean, but she's lived abroad. She speaks English fluently. How the heck does having an Asian face have anything to do with learning?!?!?! wow. I guess she really believes that just because I look different, her son is going to learn more from me. I don't even know what to say. I hope the other teacher doesn't find out.

oh, and when I told the other teacher that they put all my good students into her class, all she said was "haha, good for me then". wow.

Today I discovered that my new Alex doesn't know when to use "a" or "an". I think he's going to be a challenge. Lucky new girl.