2011-2012Sonia Kim

Sonia Kim

ETA :: 2011-2012

Hanbit School for the Blind

Iteach at a school for the blind. People’s responses upon hearing what I do for a living generally fall in two categories: the first, a laundry list of questions about the blind, or a “Wow, that’s so awesome,” tethered to a strange belief that I must have superhuman patience. For the first, I generally answer what I know, and for the second, I assure them that my students think differently.

In the beginning, my school seemed like a completely foreign world. My first few weeks were an intensive crash course in everything related to the blind. And I made plenty of mistakes. I terrified blind colleagues with my over-enthusiastic “Good mornings.” I mistook blind students for sighted ones. I gestured too much in my classes. As was the custom for new teachers at my school, I ate my lunch blindfolded, dropping curry onto my skirt. “Be grateful it wasn’t fish and soup today,” my coworkers quipped.

As the novelty disappeared and the school year came into full swing, routines became more established. I prepared class handouts in multiple formats: .txt files, which students read using their Braille notetakers, and largeprint materials for low-vision students. I made mp3 recordings of myself reading textbook passages; my students who used them as study aids would laugh at my clumsy Korean translations. I taught grammar to advanced students who couldn’t attend hagwons due to their disability and introduced the alphabet to students who had previously been ignored in traditional schools. To my students’ amusement, I started learning English Braille, clacking away at letters with my stylus and tablet and painfully typing out

words on the computer.

My students range from 5 to 33 years old. They make the funniest jokes, groan about “Sonia ajumma Teacher’s” homework, and tell me about their boyfriends and girlfriends. They play musical instruments after school and soccer during lunch. Their vision is a spectrum: some were born with low vision, some lost their sight when they were young, and for some, their vision changes every day. Many were teachers from a young age, to a public woefully uninformed about disability issues. And yet, despite the multiple eye surgeries, difficult family situations, additional disabilities, and painful memories of prejudice, they are willing to learn. And their resilience floors me.

For every bumpy day, there is a smooth one, and there are memories that could only come from teaching at a school for the blind. On the first day of class, one of my high school boys, who has been totally blind* since birth, asked me to explain the difference between a white person and a black person. I remember pausing, reaching for words to describe something so fundamental and complex—to a boy who ultimately found such matters insignificant. One weekend, I watched a movie with a blind coworker. As I described settings and facial expressions, and he filled in plot gaps and explained Korean slang, the movie slowly slipped through our grasp, to be replaced by a mutual gratitude and empathy. I remember the exquisite joy of my kindergarteners when they learned how to wave hello for the first time.

I teach at a school where students happen to be blind. It is a beautiful world—one where sounds ring clearer and where texture is the basic fabric of perception. I fix grammar mistakes and correct pronunciation. But, more importantly, I tell my kids to look up when they speak, because they live in a world where shame and silence are expected—where the ignorant assume and the well-intentioned can patronize.

“Shoulders straight!” “Head up!” “Now speak!”

* Totally blind refers to an individual with no light perception. This term should not be confused with legally blind, which describes individuals whose vision places them within a government’s classification of visual-impairment. Many legally blind individuals can see shapes and colors and read large-print materials.

above

Hanbit elementary school students play tug-of-war during a sports festival

left

Sonia’s host sister, an 8th grade at Hanbit, perform at the annual school talent show

right

Some 3rd grade girls pose with their handmade turkeys after a Thanksgiving lesson

below

The kindergarten class celebrates Halloween!

above

ETAs take a stroll through Gyeongju during the 2011 Fall ETA Conference.

20 Year s of Teachin g an The Fulbright ETA Program in Korea

d Learnin g

Fulbright Korea ETA 20th Anniversary Commemorative Publication

Korean-American Educational Commission

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