First Semester Reflections

I’m here at the 4 month mark.

I have finished my first semester- 3 more to go =)

And I have not cried once about work. yay!

I have learned a lot.

The biggest lesson would probably be that I will be a teacher for the rest of my life.

Good to know- really good to know =)

This semester was hard, but I learned that I am really doing what I love and using my gifts.

I have learned A LOT about grace- oh so much

Nothing feels better than realizing how much some of my students progressed this semester.

Especially my lowest lever students that would not speak at the beginning of the semester- hearing them reading paragraphs 3 months later is amazing!

See a few of my laziest, worst students turn into hard workers that actually do their class work and participate.

I still have a lot to learn though. There were still many students that I had a hard time controlling.

Making class fun is always a struggle when we have hefty books to get through- but I’m determined to find a way for these kid’s sake.

My students go to school from 8-3 everyday- and then turn around and go to academies for the rest of the night. We have 3rd graders that leave here at 8:40. I think 9pm was my bed time in 3rd grade. Koreans don’t mess around when it comes to education.

These kids don’t have time to play and just enjoy being a kid- my goal this semester is to make my class fun and productive.

I’m so excited to teach for the rest of my life- but I know I want to go back to the states and get my masters.

I’m looking very seriously in the Memphis Teaching Residency. It’s a 4 year program where you get you master during the first year and then you commit to teaching 3 years in Memphis City Schools. It’s linked with SOS- the ministry I worked for in the summer of 2008 in Memphis. I would really love to go back to Memphis and be apart of the change happening the city. This will probably have to wait until June 2013 because of my contract, but I look forward to learning more about teaching and moving to this city I love in the future.

Teaching in an academy here has been a great experience so far- but there is a huge challenge in academies- and that would be the parent pleasing.

I work for a business, not a school. We are in the business of keeping parents and students happy. My goal is to teach and see the kids improve, but the school’s goal is to keep enrollment up. This can be really annoying, but I’m learning to work with it and I’m trying not to get too frustrated.

Anyways...

It is really winter here now- I’m not quite sure how I feel about that yet. Check back in a few days for an update about how I’m celebrating the holidays here on the other side of the world =)