Cleaning is often delayed because it doesn’t feel “natural.”

Today while cleaning the classroom for the new semester I learned a few things.

First, nothing gets done unless you get up and do it yourself.

There is actually a cleaning crew assigned to the classroom but they miss the corners and it’s really not their job to organize the classroom. The problem is the stuff from old teachers just stays in the classroom over the years. In the past 6 years there have been 3 other teachers doing my job. When I ask the head teacher about all the stuff left behind, I get this answer, “Someone might be able to use it so don’t throw it away.” Now another 5 years passed and the stuff got old, outdated and dusted and molded and needs to be thrown out. There is only one person in the school who will sort through the stuff that old teachers left behind. Nobody will clean the cabinets and dust the shelves. And nothing will get done if I keep putting it off. Things just pile up more and more.

If you're up to something crazy listen to me bang out a blues scale on an upright piano and sing the clean up blues. You may be motivated to clean up your room. It is pretty wild.

► Listen on DSound

► Listen from source (IPFS)

The second thing I learned was that without getting your hands dirty you really can’t get anything clean.

I guess this goes with the laws of physics. If we disturb a pile of dust trying to make it clean then that dust just goes somewhere else. There is not really getting things clean but moving the dust around from one place to another. This is the disappointing thing about any work. It looks like we are getting something done but when it is finished we find the mess we left behind causes more work later. If anyone tries to clean something he or she will find that something else will get dirty. This can be applied with anything in life. The more we concentrate trying to fix something the more we lose track of other things and they get messy too. Life has been a balancing act for me balancing this blog and family and work and having a life. I do have a life outside of Steemit. I'm just glad that all of you can be part of it even my mess.

Finally looking back I am really glad I did clean the room.

Of course I need to keep the room clean to keep my job but more than that I’m happy to make a better place for learning English. I had to sweat a little bit but the kids will be happy when they walk into a clean room. Steem is making it possible for students all over the world to receive education. You can an awesome network going on Steemitschool where students from all over the world gather together to receive basic instructions in navigating through Steemit, writing posts and making comments. Part of it is they just don’t know how so great bloggers like @karensuestudios, @d-pend and @dobartim offer them help and personal instruction on discord 24 hours a day. Join us on the Steemitschool Discord https://discord.gg/hyfYQ9P. My specialty in education is English as a second language. I taught English in Korea for almost twenty years and have a lot to say about the classroom and I have a tone of ELS resources I available to share with teachers here. I will try to post directly from my teacher’s journal to you. Together we can join the adventures of teaching English. Cleaning is first and then after that everything else will fall into place.

Today I just finished teaching one hundred fifth grade students and thirty sixth grade students and boy are my arms tired.

The Korean school year begins in March not in August or September. I have been busy learning new student’s names and making plans to coordinate with Korean teachers. Out of a school with 1500 students I am the only Native Speaking English teacher and have a responsibility to help students feel comfortable with learning English and also a responsibility to help Korean teachers to use English through teaching teachers. Being in a Korean speaking School I have become so immersed in Korean culture that it is hard to respond to students by speaking English only. Still I have to speak to them in English if I expect them to respond in English. A lot of them don’t even know that I can understand what they are saying in Korean. The first day of class is mostly about helping students feel comfortable while getting a sense of what level they are to provide the best environment for them to learn.

Each post from now on will be an exciting document of the journey of this teacher in from America to Korea.

Please join @mineopoly as he mines the heart. Thank you for getting on board. This is a special poem because including the title it is exactly 1111 characters.

Original Poem @mineopoly

Steem Breeze Blowing

If I clean my room,
I know it will be messy again.
Grapes of Wrath choke on years of dust.

Salinger is caught up in the Hoover
Dammed in an effervescent lake
Bubbling years of waste
Rummaged by sweat of grandmother’s tears.

With entropy increasingly evolving to thermostatic equilibrium
Cleaning efforts leave me empty with disappointment.
Shouldn’t nature take its place?

The lake is a vacuum sucking sediment
And sentiment from ages past.
Can I to say this artifact will be of no use to future generations?
Discard
Disconnect
Discover
Distract
How can I focus on cleaning when the muse calls my name?

Into the lake with all of you
Toxic particles infesting my life.
Cast away you spot. Get out!

The Newtonian malefactor lost its sting.
Order is created even if it is temporary.

With a cleanliness the lake calms to a placid state.
The chaos begins to dissipate.
Desks and chairs arranged in rows.
Anticipating pupils who wipe their nose.

A fresh March wind blows from the lake
This time creating steem and blowing through the room.
Steem will make this classroom new that shines with sweat and tears.

Verse of the Day/ Psalm 51:10

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Mineopoly Quote:

Steemit entropy is increasing.

@mineopoly Posts on English and Education

ELS - I get where you're coming from
Creativity in the box
Is Nature the Best Teacher?
Dyslexia and Dyscalculia
Play
ESL I love you
Even Monkeys Fall From Trees
Groovy School
Distraction
Personality
K.I.S.S. Creativity
Proof of Brain
The Sounds of Silence
The Wall- Education
Shy
A Straight Line
Trains
Ryu Gwansun
Korean Independance Movement - Manse
Paint a Fish
Wisdom and Humility
Five Love Languages
Intermittent Media Fasting
COBOL Queen
The Greatest Teacher

@mineopoly Posts on Mining the heart

Avatar Falling Star
I am a Work in Progress
Songs of the Playground
Morning Miracle
Tasty Spam
Gold Dust
A happy Song
Collaboration
A Closer Walk 1
A Closter Walk 2
A Steemit Heart
Hearts joined together
Revival Korea
Feeling Groovy
As White as Snow
Unconditional Love
Strapped to a printing press- Batman
Choice Wine
The Sounds of Silence
I'm a Seoul man
It's not easy being Green
Reach Out and Touch
Who is Mineopoly?

Woodstock source. All other pictures here are public domain of creation of @mineopoly