Kenny Loui ETA :: 2008-2009 Young-Il High School
M
y one year as an ETA at Young-il High School in Pohang was an enriching experience, to say the least. I had the chance to serve as a mentor to several students, helping them discover their dreams and develop plans to pursue them. I also helped students prepare for essay and speech contests and in so doing, (hopefully!) improved their confidence with English. In my lesson plans, I worked hard to emphasize community service and volunteerism as well. During my final month of teaching, I had students give presentations on “global issue” topics, ranging from school violence to global warming. My objective was to get students to think about the important issues and problems facing their communities, both at the local and international level. One student’s presentation, in particular, I will never forget—not because of the amount of effort she put into researching her topic or practicing her speech, but because of the way she concluded it. At the end of her presentation, Jo Sun-hee, a student from Class 1-6, told her classmates: “It is our responsibility to save our world.” A few other students’ presentations, in which they used their particular global issue to discuss their dreams and aspirations for the future, had messages as insightful and as moving as Sunhee’s, which touched my heart. Lee Kwan-hun (Class 1-2), whose dream is to someday become the Korean Minister of Education, criticized Korea’s education system and its emphasis on “studying as the only way to success,” and noted that although “earning
alumni stories |
73
