Semester 2

Semester two is starting off with a bang. Back to school, rising COVID-19 numbers, online and in-class lessons, and typhoons. Oh my!

South Korea has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and there was worry about a wider spread. When things are under control we typically see about 30-60 new cases in the country each day. However, there was a recent stretch of days when there were about 300-400 new cases each day. It was a five-month high since the worst of it back in the spring. Certain strict measures were put in place around Seoul where much of this outbreak occurred. Even Busan, which was relatively untouched by the corona-virus is now averaging 5-10 new cases per day. As such, this semester started with a mix of online and in-person classes.

A balance needs to be reached between the safety of the students on one hand, and on the other, the apparent need for 3rd graders to attend classes in-person so as to not disadvantage them as they write exams and make preparations for their application to high schools. 

So, for the first two weeks of the semester, I have been giving in-person lessons to my grade 3 classes and online lessons to my grade 2s and grade 1s. I record my presentations for the online lessons and deliver only 5 in-person classes per week to the grade 3s. 

The COVID-19 numbers dropped slightly over the past week, so the plan has been modified again and for the next week all students will alternate attendance at school and on-line lessons. If all goes well, I assume the full student body will attend classes at school after next week.

The corona-virus is not the only natural disaster to torment Korea. This season brought 10 typhoons to the area, and quite recently two did some damage in the southern part of Korea. Typhoon Maysak made landfall in Busan and all along the southern coast of Korea causing one day of classes to be fully converted to the online format and me to lose a night's sleep due to the howling winds. 

Sign blown off the building across the street.

The flag almost ripped off the pole. Day after Typhoon Maysak

For the safety of the grade 3 students, the only kids doing in-person lessons at this time, they were switched to online lessons for the day. No need to have the students travelling through a typhoon to get to school. Teachers, on the other hand, needed to report to work on time to the empty school. I've complained about this before, and have come to accept that this is how things are done here, but I asked my co-teacher about our safety. She gave the most perfect response, "Teachers are not considered human."  Hahaha. Yeah, that's about right. 

But be careful what you wish for. The next storm, Typhoon Haishen, was forecasted to be stronger than Maysak, so even the teachers got to stay home that day. I thought that this would be a really serious storm for the Board of Education to ask teachers to hunker down at home. I was relieved when the typhoon changed course, sparing Busan from the worst of the effects. Haishen took a right turn and southern Japan was hammered by wind and rain. Still, it was quite gusty here in Busan.

Back at school, each teacher was issued new facemasks. I received 20 high-quality masks and now have a good supply for the term. Unfortunately, it seems that the corona-virus will be an everpresent issue this semester as well.

On the positive side, there have been plenty of free treats for teachers at the start of the semester. Rice cakes are a particular favourite. Below is a photo of a pumpkin rice cake with seeds and nuts given by the new vice-principal.

I have a new teaching schedule this semester. Monday and Tuesday, I teach at my boys school. Back-to-back-to-back lessons are especially challenging. Thankfully, I have one less lesson with the boys per week this semester. My main school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday gave me an ideal schedule with at least one break between my lessons.

All in all, it is really nice to be back at school and seeing the students again. "Long time, no see, Teacher", they said. I asked what they did during their summer vacation. "Study" and "play computer games" were their responses.  I hope it wasn't only studying and computer games during summer vacation, but with the corona-virus, it's difficult to do much else. 

I can't believe it's the Fall already. Time flies when you're having fun and dodging calamity.