Goodbye Seoul Global High School

My Last Lessons

This was my last week teaching at SGHS. It was bittersweet. My last lesson went well. I wrapped up a chapter on Latin America with some facts about life in Latin America today. I made a Jeopardy game for the class to play as a fun way to end my time teaching. I wanted to end on a high note. The students in both classes seemed to enjoy it and they certainly liked the chocolates for the winning team!

Lecturing about Latin America Class 2-6

Playing Jeopardy Class 2-6

Class 2-6

Creating Teams for Jeopardy Class 2-3

Some of my students from one of the classes I taught this semester made me a sweet going away card.

Saying Goodbye to SGHS

Leaving SGHS was much harder than I ever could have imagined a few ago. The students and staff were so kind to us from the day we started working there. The last day at SGHS started with some goodbye cake from Crystal's Homeroom teacher. Then we had a goodbye lunch with our social studies co-teachers. At the end of the day my homeroom class wrote kind messages all over the  board, presented me with gifts, and sang me a song. It was extremely emotional and I was moved beyond words. I made gifts for the students and my homeroom teacher as departure gifts. Their kindness was overwhelming. Looking back I wish I had tried harder, talked more, was friendlier, and got to know the students better. I wish I could have spent more time working with my homeroom students. Finally, we had to say goodbye to all of the Korean teachers at their weekly meeting. We each had to say a goodbye message and were presented with pens from the principal. Leaving SGHS was the saddest I have ever been leaving any job. I won't ever forget the students in my classes, especially my homeroom class. I made so many wonderful friends in three months, this experience has certainly changed my life. 

Crystal and Steve (my American co-teacher)

Yummy Cake for Breakfast!

Going Away Lunch

Going Away Lunch: Seafood Stew

Pen from my Korean Co-Teacher

Passing out my gifts

The Messages on my homeroom board

Choco-Pie "Cake" Means Friendship

My Wonderful Homeroom class and Teacher!

Thanking my students for their sweet gifts!

Beautiful Place mats, Chopsticks, Book with personal messages, and SGHS Pen

Gift of Rice Cakes and Kiwis from our friend the Librarian (love her!)

Leaving our library room for the last time :(

Crystal's Birthday

This week was Crystal’s birthday. We went to lunch at a local pasta place where I had a delicious shrimp asparagus pasta dish and my buddy Crystal had a shrimp sandwich. For dessert we had a Korean specialty--waffle with ice cream. Delicious beyond words!

Korea University Thanksgiving Dinner

Things I'm thankful for in Korea:

Great students

Helpful and patient cooperating teachers

New friends

Getting to live and work with my good friend Crystal

Challenges of Korea

1. Motorbikes--they zoom around and I often fear for my life because they ignore red lights and stop signs--sometimes they even drive on the sidewalks!

2. Not enough vegetarian food

3. Miscommunication

4. Buses and Subways (I can't wait to get back into my car!)

5. Personal space-- Koreans share everything which is wonderful (except when you don't want to share)

Highlights of Korea

1. Amazing students who are generally respectful, nice, and engaged

2. Great cooperating teachers and staff at SGHS

3. Learning about the history of Korea

4. Good school lunches

5. Wonderful museums and Palaces

6. The kindness and friendliness of the Korean people

7. Getting to learn about the Korean culture

8. Getting to travel around Korea

9. Good souvenirs

10. Meeting new Korean friends



Student Work

Here are some examples of my students' work over the past few months while I've been teaching at Seoul Global High School.



A Monkey Economy: Cooperative Learning Group Activity



Jigsaw Activity on the Iranian Revolution
i. Why does the Ayatollah believe that nothing can be achieved in Iran except through Islam?


ii. How do his views reflect Iranian national pride as well as confidence in the superiority of Islam?

iii. What message does he have for those Muslims who are enamored with Western ideas?

iv. How does the Ayatollah find fault in the West and Western values?



South Africa Document Analysis Worksheet



KWL for Introduction to Latin American Revolutions

Think Pair Share India's Green Revolution

Student Paper

World History

Comparison of the past and the present in India

According to recent news, India is expected to be one of the first countries to recover from the recession. Some economists predict India will grow faster than any other large country over the next 25 years because of the information technology revolution in India led by mobile connectivity and its cheap labor sources due to demographic dividends.

However, not until few decades ago, economy in India was almost completely dependent on European powers, especially Britain. During colonial periods, British rule in India brought a major change in the taxation environment from revenue taxes to property taxes, resulting in mass impoverishment and destitution of majority of farmers and led to numerous famines. The economic policies of the British Raj, a direct rule by Britain Crown, effectively bankrupted India's large handicrafts industry and caused a massive drain of India's resources. As a response to harsh rule on economy by the British Raj, the National Congress of India enforced several economic policies creating institutional environment such as guarantee of property rights and establishing infrastructure in the country. However, during independence movement, due to turmoil inside India, independent economic development was implausible.

Now, India is facing new stage of its economic growth. As a member of BRICs, India is expected to become 3rd largest economy by 2012. Since Economic Liberalization of 1991, India has free market economy which is running by itself without any intervention of other foreign powers. Not only does India have strong self-sufficient economy, but also it now opens its economy, drawing various foreign direct investments in many sectors.

During independence movement, India suffered from inner political turmoil and division of the country. However, with its large population and emerging market of technology, India now becomes one of the world’s new power which can never be ignored.

Paper Based this article: The Economic Times: India Inc growth story gets better

Motivation, the Military, and an Admissions Test

Motivating my Students 

Motivation is a difficult topic to discuss regarding the students at Seoul Global High School. Many of the students are driven by their desire for academic success and the promise of good employment. Education is a major priority in Korea. Families devote themselves to making sure their students reach the highest levels of academic achievement. Students attend after school schools to practice their English, improve their math, and learn other languages. One girl told me many students at the school pride themselves on their study techniques and actually enjoy the art of studying. Trying to encourage these students anymore seems unfair and torturous.

I tried to develop intrinsic motivation in a number of different ways. I allowed student choice in the classroom and tried to encourage an environment of cooperation between the students. When I developed my end of unit assessment I decided to let the students choose an article about a country we had learned about and do a compare and contrast essay based on the article. I think this was a good way to allow students to have some autonomy and choice in their assessment while also giving some directions and parameters. When assigning the paper I also took student input into consideration when deciding when the paper should be due. The students told me they were taking the SAT one weekend and asked that the paper be due after the test. I agreed that would be fair and assigned the paper to be due about a week after the SAT to accommodate their study schedule. Many of the activities I developed for the classroom centered on group work. I wanted to develop a sense of a learning community where students felt they could work together towards a common goal. After a few days of doing similar work I spiced up my class by incorporating games. The students really seemed to enjoy them and participated well. This was a good tool to use as a wrap up activity and helped engage the students. When I introduced new worksheets or activities to the class like the word web or the document analysis worksheet I always modeled how to use them to scaffold student learning. I always tried to encourage my students in their studies.

While I realize my classes might not be that important to them as getting into just the right university I told them they would do great on the SAT. I wished them luck and I inquired about their future academic pursuits. I think my interest in them and my openness to their questions in class helped build a good relationship in the classroom. When students asked me a question that I did not know the answer to I was always willing to tell them I was unsure about the answer and let them I know I would look it up for them. On more than one occasion I offered to look up an answer more than once and came back to class the next time to let them know what I found. Intrinsic motivation is a difficult thing to instill in students. I think the majority of the students at Seoul Global High School have a lot of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation driving them in their lives. I hope that my teaching style helped to increase their intrinsic motivation in Social Studies.

Counseling 11/16/10

This week I met with two male students. We discussed a lot of different topic. The boys said next week they are taking a model K-SAT test so they are stressed out about that. They have been studying hard to prepare. The test will be all day next Tuesday for the domestic track students.

I asked them what they wanted to study in university and one wanted to go to Korea University and study psychology so he could become a politician. He would like to be president or a minister in the government. The other student wants to go to Seoul National University or Yonsei University and possibly study sociology. He will probably decide when he gets to school and begins classes.

I asked them about the military and they think it is terrible they have to go but know they should have to go. They said even thought they don’t like the military it is good for them to have to go because it is necessary for the country. They also said it was necessary for themselves to build their patriotism, honor, and make them healthier. They said the military would be an escape from studying. They plan on entering for their service after their first year of university.

I asked them if they want to travel and they would like to visit the U.K. and Spain. Both of the boys study Spanish and said it is a difficult subject.

We talked for about school. They said Seoul Global High School is a special school. But they feel like they have restricted liberties. They said the manager of the students and dorm is very strict and scary. He is a “liberty taker” and can punish the students.

We talked for a few minutes about their dreams. I shared mine was to visit all of the continents. One boy said he would like to talk to many people from around the world, he said he likes to travel but he prefers to meet people from all over the world. I said he is a “people person”. The other boy said he would like to travel around Korea and the world with his family.

Korean SAT

This week the third year high school students took the Korean SAT. This test is a major event in their lives, it will determine where they can go to university. Students can only take the test once a year. Their scores determine which universities they can be accepted into. The tests are scored in a bell curve so some students will have to "fail" for others to "pass". This places an extreme amount of pressure on the students. In order to cheer them up the first and second year students held a pep rally for the third year students to walk through. The whole school came outside to cheer them on and wish them luck on the test. I hope it went well!!

Highlight of the Week: Lunch with April
My buddy April had Crystal and I over for lunch at her house.  She made lots of delicious food!

An American (teacher) in Seoul

This Thursday was Pepero Day! People exchange chocolate covered goodies that represent 11/11. Rumor has it some students started the trend to encourage their friends to be #1. The chocolate covered sticks resemble the number one.

What have you learned about yourself and being an American that you did not know before?
Before coming to Korea I thought I was any average person, but now I see that I may be an average America but the American way of being is not the norm around the world. My independence, stubbornness, straightforwardness, and hopefulness are all traits that I think are amplified by my American upbringing.  By being in Korea I appreciate so much more that I can try, fail, succeed, try again, change my mind, and not be viewed as a failure but rather just another twenty-something trying to figure it all out. I appreciate that in America we can try and fail and we are encouraged to do so. Changing life plans and experimenting with different professions, hobbies, music, and styles are all seen as valuable life experiences that will one day land me in the place that will make me happy and fulfilled. I think the American desire for exploration is embedded deep in my psyche and I hope to never lose my sense of wonderment and curiosity about the world. I wish some of the students I teach in Korea had the same opportunity to try out different things in their lives rather than just following the status quo and doing what their parents want them to do. I am so grateful for the support I have been given by my family and friends in my various pursuits (like teaching in Korea) that they may not really have been happy about.

Share some ideas about how to apply your cultural, international experiences to your teaching in a US classroom.
Teaching in Korea has definitely shown me some of the strengths of the American system and some of the weaknesses. First of all, I greatly appreciate the respect that Korean students give to their teachers. I wish American teachers could work in an environment where they felt that their colleagues and students appreciated what they did every day. Often teachers in America are not well respected by society; it is much different in Korea. I hope that I can try to maintain my self-respect in my position as a teacher in the U.S. regardless of the way others may view me or my job.

I will use this experience in Korea in my classroom as much as I can. I hope that I can tell my students about the students in Korea and what their lives are like. I hope I can teach World History and integrate pictures I have taken of palaces and ancient artifacts and show my students. I hope that I can teach current affairs and discuss the rapid growth of Korea in the last sixty years. I would like the chance to connect students from the U.S. with students in Korea as pen pals or by asking each a weekly set of questions and then comparing the answers. American students are often so involved in their daily dramas they lose sight of the fact that high school will end and in the grand scheme of life is not that important. I think by linking them up with students in Korea they can open their minds to the world and see how similar we all really are.

Classroom Challenge Turned Success
The students fall asleep in class a lot. This is a problem fed by the fact that they sleep 4-5-6 hours a night, not nearly enough for the average teenage. My classes tend to be extremely quiet and really tired. I have been asking them to do a lot of work with primary source documents. This week at the advice of my KU advisor I spiced things up a bit and made a BINGO game to add some fun to the class. The students did all actually wake up and play this game. I don’t think the promise of candy hurt but the game served as a literal wake up call to the sleepy students and a good review tool at the end of class. This also meant that the students were awake for the end of class questions which are often met with blank stares and heads on desks. This time students were awake and answered the questions quickly.

Counseling
This week I met with three hungry boys for counseling. They were in a hurry to get through my questions so they could head to the cafeteria. I ended up getting some very short answers. All of the boys spoke English very well and were eager to answer my questions quickly and get their lunch.

1. What do you want to study in University?

A. Economics, marketing, psychology, management

2. Are you worried about your military service?

A. Kind of worried

B. Worried about missing school (university)

C. “brains become stone”

3. What are the best parts about SGHS?

A. Dorms, friends, teachers

4. What are the worst parts of SGHS?

A. Homework, cracks in the building (structural issues, which I have not noticed)

5. How many hours a day do you study?

A. 3-4

Highlights of the Week

JUMP

JUMP was a martial arts performance about a family that is very comical. There is a grandfather, daughter, son in law, drunk uncle, and daughter and soon to be daughter's husband. The family gets robbed and hilarity ensues with the robbers. The show had some amazing acrobatics. There was very little talking so the action really is the story.

Gyeongjoo

This weekend I went to Gyeongjoo with three of the other student teachers and two of our Korean Pizza Night friends. Gyeongjoo was the capital of the Shilla Dynasty around the year 600. They build many amazing structures and had a lot of golden artifacts. We left early Saturday morning and returned late Sunday evening. It was a long weekend but we saw a lot of cool sights. We took a two day bus tour which managed to squeeze in an amazing number of stops in two days. We saw temples, houses, a museum, pagodas, Buddhas, and lots of beautiful Fall colored trees. I had a great time and I'm very thankful for Korea University for sending us on a weekend trip.

On an unrelated note here is a picture of the SGHS Lunch. 

Conversations, Club Activities, and Counseling

Monday we had a meeting with all of the student teachers from the U.S. with our cooperating teachers and Dr, Lee with the ministry official who coordinates the program. There was much discussion about ways to improve the program in the future, like having better guidelines about hours teaching. The meeting was productive and afterwards we had a traditional Korean meal.



Korean Side Dishes



Korean Fermented Crab

 At Pizza Night this week we had Sushi it was a great change of pace. We talked about the role of education in society. There were a lot of different opinions on the matter. Some of the responses were "to prepare students to be successful in life", "learning to learn to gain new knowledge", "and training to learn for the workplace". We also talked about how to prepare students for assessments. Tests are the backbone of the Korean educational system. If students fail to attain their educational goals they are often left aside by society. There is a brain drain from the Korean countryside into Seoul; everyone wants to move to Seoul. One Korean student at our meeting is also a professor at a university in southern Korea. He said he tries to encourage his students by repeating positive mantras each English class period. He sees firsthand the effects of the "SKY" university pressures and the after affects if students do not get into those universities. He tries to teach his students to regain their self esteem and give them hope for the future. The differences between the U.S. educational system and the Korean system are great. It seems like the best system would meet somewhere in the middle.

Pizza Night Sushi

This Saturday I went to a play with the students. It was a play about a noodle shop and a poor family. The owners of the noodle shop helped this poor family for three years and looked forward to seeing them once a year on New Year’s Eve. The family unfortunately did not return for 14 years and the noodle shop owners waited for them each year. After 14 years the family returned and the children had become very successful and thanked the noodle owners for their kindness.

This week I am including two weeks of my counseling notes. The students are not too excited to meet with me each week but once we start talking they seem to become more engaged.

Counseling 10/26/10

I met with some of the girls from my homeroom class for counseling this week. As usual I asked them their ambitions and a few were unsure but one girl wanted to study Spanish in college and another history. They said they usually get about 5-6 hours of sleep a night and stay up studying for the KSAT and finals. They study for the KSAT for 3 years. When you take the KSAT you choose different tests to take. Three tests are required one each in Math, English, and Korean. Some students also choose to take a KSAT in another foreign language. Students get to choose other KSATs to take also, which will help determine what they can study in college. For example, if you want to become a doctor you need to take science KSATs.  The class that they struggle in at SGHS is English conversation. The students were very surprised to find out I was married and said in Korea many female teachers don’t get married because they are considered rich and smart and rich and smart women don’t get married.

Counseling 11/3/10

This week I asked the students a few questions that I had prepared before the meeting to try and engage them in more conversation about school and their lives at SGHS. The students I met with this week talked about their professional and educational goals. One girl wanted to study economics, another elementary education, another was not sure because she is interested in so many things, and the last girl wants to study in Korea but have the opportunity to study abroad. They said it was important to stay in Korea to build strong relationships.

1.     Do you think standardized tests are useful and fair?

A.     “The tests just show that you work hard and know how to study. They are not fair but they are useful. It makes it easier and more straightforward when applying for university.” I wanted to know if they wanted to be considered on things other than their test scores and they said that it would make things more complicated and stress them out even more.

2.     Are standardized tests a good assessment of students’ skills and learning abilities?

A.     “no they are not a good assessment”

3.     What do you like best about your high school?

A.     “Teachers accept the students well. Sometime students disagree with their teachers but the teachers listen and then tell their opinions. The people here are good friends and are interested in the same things, because they all did well in Middle School.”

4.     What is the worst thing about your high school?

A.     “The schedules are bad. Sometimes students want to study more on the weekends but they are forced to go home where it might be more difficult to study. They study for 6 hours a day after classes. They stay in self-study rooms until 11pm and then are allowed into their rooms where some students continue to study. Then they have to wake up at 6am to exercise. They wish the schedule will change so they have more time to study. They want to be able to study in their dorms sometime and not in the self study rooms.” I asked them if other schools have the same hours and they said yes.

5.     Why did you want to attend SGHS?

A.     “Teachers and parents support, encouragement, and pressure. It was a good opportunity.”

After Club Activities we went to the War Memorial of Korea. It was a very nice museum and had lots of interesting artifacts.