Lindsay Herron ETA :: 2005-2008 Seogwipo High School
W
hen you work at a boys’ high school, the laws of math are not absolute. For example, if you bring 1,600 pieces of candy to school for Halloween, and you tell 430 students they can each choose three pieces, you should have about three hundred candies remaining at the end of the day, right? Wrong! What this really means is that, while some students will select the appropriate amount of candies, others will stuff a handful in their pocket while you’re distracted; some students, sucking on the candy they just received, will move to empty seats across the classroom and pretend they haven’t gotten anything yet; and a handful of students will actually follow you to the next classroom and pretend to be a part of that class. How many pieces will remain at the end of the day? Answer: one, if you’re paying attention and if you downgrade to two pieces per student. But let me back up. Halloween is my favorite holiday and, although it isn’t really celebrated in Korea, my Halloweens at Seogwipo High School in Jeju were nothing short of amazing. My first Halloween there, I received special permission to visit students during sixth period. My co-teacher warned the other teachers in advance of my arrival, and I spent an incredible forty minutes interrupting history, math, science, and Korean classes to distribute candy in my festive get-up: a sparkly spider-web hat and a giant rope spiderweb that draped over me like a poncho. I was met with exclamations of startlement and entire rooms full of grinning faces; a few boys even asked to try on my hat.
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| Fulbright ETA Program 20 years in Korea
