I've read a few of Michael Moore's books and have managed to take a position on the Rotund Ranter which few other Joeusers seem to share - that of ambivalence. I don't detest the man but neither do I love him. Sometimes, I find his ideas thought-provoking. I remember once reading his anecdotal observation that it seems that there are more girls than boys being born these days. Perhaps, he speculates, Mother Nature is trying to protect her creation by reducing the proportion of the population who belong to the more destructive gender.
My own experience, again purely anecdotal, backs up Mr. Moore's observation. Of the 24 kindergarten children I teach, only 5 will one day be conscripted into the Korean army. Among the 70 or so older children who have the pleasure of my company each week, the proportion of future soldiers is highter, but still girls outnumber boys. I've no idea whether this is typical of children in general in Korea, or anywhere else for that matter. All I know is that I'm happy so many of the children I teach are female.
I should say that Korean kids of both genders are much more pleasant, outgoing and optimistic than their western counterparts. Most of the boys I teach are charming chaps. However, if I had to make a list of my ten least favourite students, the ones who make my working day more stressful, nine of them would be boys. My hair has started to recede in recent years. I swear there are a couple of boys I teach who are responsible for a millimetre or two of that withdrawal all by themselves.
Of course, some of the girls I teach are not all sweetness and light, but in general they are much easier to work with than boys. Even from a very young age, most girls can get food from their plates to their mouths with near 100% accuracy. Some boys seem to share half their lunch with the front of their T-shirts. Female students are also quicker to grasp the concept that the nose is a no-go area for fingers and that it is possible to speak without shouting.
Girls are more likely to settle a dispute over the crucial question of whose turn it is with the green crayon with a quick game of rock, scissors, paper. Some boys prefer the "fight and huff" method of conflict resolution.
I cope as best I can with the challenges of mixed schooling. As my father likes to say "education doesn't end when you leave school", so I look on this as a learning process. Each day, as I struggle to explain that the word "English" has two syllables, not four, I am constantly learning, not about language, but about kids; how to motivate them, how to discipline them, sometimes just how to cope with them.
It's all good practice should I ever become a father. I don't know if I'll ever find a woman foolish enough to want to produce O G Juniors, but if I do, then all this time spent with little people will stand me in good stead for the challenges of parenting.
Furthermore, being around young boys has helped me tone down the negative aspects of my masculinity. To the future mother of my children I promise: I can get food from the plate to the mouth, I can speak without shouting and I won't punch you if you take the green crayon.
As for the nose-picking, well, I'm working on it.