It’s been over 2 months since I last did a post on teaching, but today as I was browsing through my students notebook I stumbled upon this:
“Full of dreams and full of hopes. I wish to convey my love to you”
I thought it was perfectly imperfect. I see TONS of wrongly written (or out of context) English on buildings/signs/shirts and school folders, but for a distinct reason this one hit home. I read it twice and let it sink in before I set the folder back into the hands of my adorable 4th grader who goes by the English name of “Kevin.”
It hit home, because one of the biggest struggles that I face teaching English in Korea is the communication barrier. Especially when it comes to discipline OR when a child is upset/frustrated. I felt like that quote was EXACTLY what I needed to hear today. It’s my students. It’s what they want to say to me… and I can almost hear them saying those words if only they knew how to speak them to me.
I look back on my previous teachers from when I was a kiddo. I can STILL name every single teacher I had starting with kindergarten. I can also still remember times when they made me feel insecure or times they built me up/ supported me. No matter where you are or what you are doing you are a teacher. Someone is learning from you.
From the 4 weeks I taught of English summer camp this past July/August:
To the students in my after school classes:
The kids at my Friday “country” school:
To even those that I now teach in my online distance learning classes (they live on remote islands):
I can almost hear it…if they could only say it to me:
“I am full of dreams and full of hopes. I wish to convey my love to you.”
…every hug, every positive word, every smile. The most important things that I need to communicate to my students go far beyond what words could even clarify.
Be the difference today for one person.
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