When in doubt, bribe them.

Sometimes a certain class can be a real handful. This one was beginning to put me over the edge until I took charge of things. While I put my foot down, I also gave them incentive to do well. I bribed them with a pizza party, which became the proverbial carrot at the end of the stick. It's amazing how well it works.

First to introduce the girls from left to right: We have Aida, Isabel, Emily, and Ann. The girls were never the problem, which is usually the case. Aida, Isabel, and Emily were in my winter break phonics class, and I'm very pleased to say they're the best readers in the class. The phonics classes went so well that I have taken the same phonetic principles into my regular classes. The phonics students do kind of roll their eyes when I drill vowels (short and long sounds) due to the fact that they spent the first ten minutes of every phonics class doing the same drills. However, there's no denying the results. They've also been a very positive influence on Ann, whose reading has improved markedly. I'm very happy with Ann's progress, and I always enjoy the left side of the classroom.

The right side, on the other hand. Oh boy, oh boy. Or perhaps I should say "Oh boys, oh boys.". Left to right, we have: Alfred, Buzz, Brian, Harry, and Paul. I ended up threatening lives on more than one occasion, but they managed to stay alive and somehow advance. Alfred is actually a rock. He's like my Jay Novacek (glory days Dallas Cowboys reference)--the go-to guy. He is adept at coming through in the clutch. The rest of the gang, however... WOW! Buzz is a classic goofball, which I wouldn't mind if he were goofing off in the English language. I whipped him into shape pretty quickly though. I made it clear to the class that they would only get a pizza party if they received enough points, and I would take off points every time someone (ahem, Buzz) broke the rules or made me angry. This works really well because the kids police each other. They call each other out for speaking Korean and the students know that they are letting the whole class down if they step out of line. The other boys, Brian, Harry, and Paul... well, I'll just say that their attendance is good. Harry does crack me up every class when he spontaneously announces: "My name is Harry!". Brian has a different idiosyncracy. Every time I call on him, which is always a complete surprise which shakes him from his netherworld, he responds with: "I'm here.". Then I will say something along the lines of: "Thanks, Brian. I got that. Now read page 41 before I get angry!".

I have to give these kids credit: They stepped up and really improved when their pizza was on the line. They've actually turned into a really fun class for me. I no longer dread teaching them, which is nice. Also, they've become alot of fun. I taught them a little tune today called "Swinging the Alphabet". Many of you may not know the reference, but the few that do will find this very funny. The song goes like this: "B, a, bay. B, e, Bee. B, i, bickibie. B, o, bo. Bickibie, bo, b, u, bu, bickibie bo bu." After, we move on to C, then D and so on, continuing the same pattern. Let me tell you, if you think it's funny when the Howard brothers and Mr. Fine sing it, you should hear it out of the mouths of 10-12 year old Korean kids. Freakin' hilarious!

So this is how some classes evolve. What was once my most dreaded class is now one of my favorites. And all it took was a couple of pizzas.