2008-2009Kenny Loui

Kenny Loui

ETA :: 2008-2009

Young-Il High School

My 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

lots of money and getting a good job is the goal of most students … success in this world should be [defined as] having kindness and humanity.”

An Young-joo (Class 2-7) wants to become a doctor, and shared with the class her desire to help others regardless of their socioeconomic status: “It makes my heart hurt to see some doctors cure only patients who have money.”

Bae Ji-eun (Class 2-5) wants to be a pharmacist so she can “help many sick people.” She doesn’t want to only “give medicine to people” but also “share [their] sorrows and joys.”

Jo Ye-eun (Class 2-2) said that she would like to work with UNICEF someday so that she can “help poor children and give them visions.” She ended her presentation by saying, “I think helping others is the most important thing in our lives.”

The last day of student presentations put to rest any doubts in my mind that I had made the right decision in choosing to become an ETA. I left Young-il High School at the end of my grant year realizing that I really did make a difference in these students’ lives. That being said, I still wonder whether it was I who had the greatest impact on my students, or they on me.

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Kenny with some of his students at Young-Il High School

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Kenny poses with students during a field trip

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Kenny takes a class photo with one of his boy classes