Teaching Juniors

When I was in college my mother always told me.."Martha, why don't you take some classes in Education?" I would always respond.. "If I wanted to be a teacher I would have majored in Education". Maybe 3 years later I was a teacher at a small church school in Augusta, Georgia. I have been teaching on and off ever since. Mother always knows best ;)

Teaching the Juniors here in Korea has been a real eye opener. I do think that I have a special place in my heart for teaching elementary and primary. The kids here are very sweet and very smart.

Here in Korea children are expected to learn, learn, learn. South Korea has one of the highest if not the highest percentage of teen suicides... They are pushed to the max. I understand that the only thing that the parents want to do is secure a good future for their children, but everyday I question if they understand what they are doing to them. My youngest student is around 5 years old. They go to their regular classes in the morning, it might start at 7am or 8am the go they might finish classes by 3pm. They then take a bus to their first afternoon activity. Some children might have up to 2 or three activities in one afternoon. They are pushed to learn learn learn English because it is what is going to get them good jobs.

Some of the children do not go to sleep until 11pm or 12midnight. By 6pm some of the children are dozing off in their seats. When test day comes around the panic, some start crying some forget everything. They have so many club activities sometimes that they don't have time to do their homework.

My coordinator was just telling me that one of his students from his 7pm class starts her day before 5am and finishes it at midnight... you tell me...how many hours that poor child gets of sleep.

During one of my tests I took it upon myself to make a little survey. I asked every child in the class when his/her day started and when it finished. Of the 18 students in the class 2 went to bed before 9:30pm the rest went to sleep at 11pm. One of them said she goes to sleep at midnight. Most of them start their day at 7 or 8am.... It breaks my heart. Then you wonder why when they have some kind of freedom in college the go wild drinking and partying. The average jr high school and high school student spends over 15 hours a day studying...

I asked my coordinator if any student from the SDA language institute had ever committed suicide. He said yes. In one school a teen and his girlfriend killed themselves on the same day... Can you imagine the pain those parents must have gone through! Lord have mercy.

I try to take it easy on them and help them as much as I can during their test time...some of them do everything perfectly. It breaks my heart. Their truly is a big work to do here in Korea... Please keep me and these children in your prayers.