Last Week of School

Wow. This is it. The last week of school.

I taught my first class barely eleven months ago, and now I’ve just completed my final lesson plan. I can’t believe it’s almost over.                     

I know I’m not a professional teacher, but I sure as hell gave it my best shot. I never had any previous teaching experience, I never had any teaching education, and I never had any preparations at all. But I do know for a fact that these kids took away something from my short time here in Korea.

I remember the first week of school like it was yesterday. The kids were wide-eyed and curious to see a “wehgook” (foreigner) in their school. They stared, waved, and occasionally said “hi,” but only from a distance. Now, I can walk around the school and have full conversations with them about what they did over the weekend, gossip about other teachers (“Did you know Mr. Kim picks his nose in the teachers room?”), or give the middle school boys some “girl advice” (they adore Jessica, and they want to know how to “get one” like her). Not only did their English fluency levels sky-rocket, but so did their level of confidence.

Koreans know how to study. They study hard, and they study a lot. So even if I didn’t have the formal training to put it all in there, I at least helped them to open up and get it all out.

Will they remember “Ken Teacher?”

…

- Ken