미국사설에 실린 자스민 선생님의 원고 2

Why I Teach

By Jazz J (View Profile)

Who wouldn’t be? He is in a strange land where he doesn’t know anybody, he eats food that is foreign to his taste buds, the weather is hot, and he can hardly understand what people around him are saying. Often, he just bunches up together with other Korean or Japanese students, for fear of not understanding his teachers or of not being understood by them.

Later, as he learns more, it’s like watching a flower bud slowly opening up to the world. It is so gratifying to see him exchanging stories or bantering with his teachers after classes.

We had one Korean student, Brian Kim, who was then in his mid-twenties. I first saw him at the backyard of our school. He was wearing a white shirt and blue running shorts, looking lost and uncomfortable. At first, he kept to himself a lot. While other students talked with their teachers, Brian would just quietly look on. I can still picture him sticking his face in front of the air conditioner between his classes. The temperature then was about thirty-three degrees when it was probably seventeen degrees back in Korea. He couldn’t make complete sentences and talked only in monosyllables, “Yes,” “No,” “Hot.” However, Brian was persistent. He would study most of the time and was never absent from his classes no matter how sick he felt on some occasions. There was one Saturday when I had to go back to school and I saw him studying by himself in one of the classrooms. He was single-minded in his desire to learn English.

After a few months, Brian became more talkative and animated. He was more confident in expressing his thoughts and feelings in English. Eventually, his teachers seldom spoke and simply listened to him. There was no stopping Brian from sharing his opinion on the reunification of North and South Korea or about his dream to work with Hyundai. When new students came, he would show them around the city and act as their translator. I remember that some months later Brian was even kind enough to teach a neophyte teacher how to teach him.

When he went back to Korea, Brian continued to study English by forming a study group. He shared what he had learned in the Philippines. Some months later, we received an email from Brian. He was able to land a job in one of the top companies in South Korea. His innate skills and intelligence, and importantly, his ability to speak in English helped him secure the job. Now, Brian says he is the envy of his friends. His future is bright and he has the capacity to accomplish more in life.

This is my reward. This is why I teach.