I made one of my preschoolers cry today. It wasn't my intention, but I'm hoping it has a good effect. For the past few days, this little boy and his buddy were getting up in the middle of class, standing behind me, pointing at my rear end, saying something in Korean, and laughing. The first time, I ignored it. The second time, I told them "No!" The third time, I scolded them. Today when it happened yet again, I scolded them, and they looked right at me and repeated me! They had the intonation and accent perfect, but they completely ignored me and kept getting up, pointing at my rear end, and laughing. Finally, I took the two boys by the hand and sat them down in opposite corners of the room, away from the other kids. At that moment, one of the boys burst into tears--real tears, not just pity tears. We'll see if it makes any difference tomorrow. After class was over, I took the first available opportunity to inspect my backside very carefully in a mirror to see if there was indeed any just cause for their laughter. As far as I could tell, there was nothing that made my rear end any more amusing than that of anyone else.
This is a picture of one of my beginning elementary classes. The kids are really sweet but more than a little wild most of the time. Can you pick out the troublemakers? They're a fun, challenging group!