New Teachers in SAWL - written by 20111 Song Chaewon, 10101 Kim Shin Hee, and 10414 Lee Jiin

New Teachers in SAWL

written by 20111 Song Chaewon, 10101 Kim Shin Hee, and 10414 Lee  Jiin

SAWL met eleven new teachers from other schools in 2018. However, since not every student can have lessons with them, so many want to know about the new teachers. So out of all of them, The Press interviewed three teachers who teach 1^st and 2^nd graders. Students can understand and know more about their teachers who teach them, especially about their hobby, funny anecdotes, lifestyle in school and so on.

Interview with Soyoung Yang, 2nd-grade Korean teacher:

The Press (Press): Please introduce yourself.

Soyoung Yang: Hello? I am Yang So Young who has been teaching Korean for 19 years. I have a lot of responsibilities for my 19^th year, but I still get scared and nervous when I stand in front of students.

Press: Share one of the interesting moments that you had here with other teachers or students.

Yang: I was worried about moving to this school. Just like students having a hard time adjusting when they transfer to a new school, teachers at national and public schools also have trouble adjusting to the new school system. But teacher Hyun-joo Hwang, who is sitting next to me in the office, cared about many things for me, so I could have a good first semester. She is a teacher who has a lot of things that I can learn from and I am still learning a lot from her. Not only in education, but also in leisure and hobbies, it seemed as if Ms. Hwang and I found our soul mates.

Press: What was it like when you first arrived here?

Yang: I remember that I visited SAWL and saw students in the middle of February. I came to move my personal luggage that day. Every student from the elevator on the second basement to the corridor on the fourth floor greeted me with a bright expression. Even though I was new to them. I think they were the second graders because they were in school to lead the Sawlstart program or to select club members. As students greeted me even though I was wearing shabby clothes, I was deeply moved by their politeness. Moreover, not long ago, students from my last school visited SAWL and they said they were all surprised to see the students who were neatly dressed and greeted them kindly.

Press: Please pass on the secret for your Korean language study.

Yang: I recommend that you divide the subject Korean into three major areas, such as speech and composition, literature, and non-literature and build your skills in each field. And I want students to enjoy studying each field for themselves, not because of Suneung. But it’s not about mechanically solving problems and dwelling on right and wrong. For example, I want them to enrich their lives and sensibility by acquiring ideas from speech and composition, applying grammar to writing sentences accurately and appreciating poems and novels and other literary works.

Press: What is the last thing you want to tell Sawlians?

Yang: Thank you for your warm hospitality, teachers, and students in SAWL. I thank you, especially, the 2^nd graders who met and created a precious bond with me last semester and made me know the joy of learning from teaching for the first time. I love you.

Interview with Lawrence Dobbs, a 1^st grade English teacher:

Press: Please introduce yourself.

Lawrence Dobbs: Hi, my name is Lawrence and I’m from England. I’ve been in Korea for about six years.

Press: How was it when you first arrived here?

Dobbs: When I first arrived at this school, my first impression was very good, very welcoming. I had just come from a very similar school, so it was very interesting for me to work at this particular school. After I met everybody, all of the teachers, and my new students, my first impression was very, very good. And it took me only a few weeks to settle into the school, and I thought that the school is well prepared and have an excellent curriculum and care a lot about education. All the students were very kind and polite, and the school has a strong passion for education, so I was very happy when I first came here.

Press: Do you learn Korean outside the school?

Dobbs: Yes. I’ve been living in Korea for 6 years, and I started learning Korean after one year. I went to Sookmyung Women’s University for one semester to study the Korean language, and also I studied Korean online. These days, I don’t have much time to study, so I don’t practice enough Korean. But I still like to study Korean.

Press: You went to England during summer vacation, how was it?

Dobbs: Last summer, I went back to England, my home town, Southampton, and I visited my family and my friends. Also, it was the first time that my girlfriend came with me, so we visited London. We traveled into the South of England. We visited many fun places and ate a lot of foods. And we also spent a lot of time with my friends in different cities in England. The weather was very, very good.

Press: How did your parents react when they saw your girlfriend for the first time?

Dobbs: My parents were very happy to meet my girlfriend for the first time. We’ve been together for 5 years, so a long time. So it was the first time they met each other, and my father was very happy, and also she met my brother and my uncle. So it was a nice experience for them and we had a very nice vacation together.

Press: You like soccer a lot, do you play for a soccer team?

Dobbs: In Korea, I played for a soccer team in Anyang, I’ve played for this team for five years. We are a team of many international players. We have players from America, England, Ireland, Korea, Finland, France, and Germany, so we are a very multinational team. We play every single Saturday in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do, and I am now the captain of the soccer team. We play in a league with seven other different teams, Chinese team, Russian team, British team, and the Irish team. And we won a lot of games, so far this season we are the first place. So we are doing very well.

Press: What is the last thing that you want to tell Sawlians?

Dobbs: I know that high school is a very tough time for students in Korea. There would be some very happy times but also some stressful times. My advice is to keep working hard but also try to enjoy the school as well, try to have fun times because that’s very important. I would just say to do these two things: keep working hard, but enjoy high school. It would be a memorable experience. After all your hard work, it will finish in a good way and you can concentrate on and think about future ambitions.

Interview with Sangwoo Cho, a 1^st grade English teacher:

Press: Please introduce yourself.

Sangwoo Cho: Hello, I’m Sangwoo Cho. I have been teaching English at SAWL, and I am a homeroom teacher of 1st-grade class 8. Well, I was born in Andong. I am married and have a 10-year-old daughter. I’ve taught English for more than 15 years. My dream was actually to be a diplomat, but I am satisfied with my teaching job now. I like playing guitar and learning languages.

Press: Share the amusing anecdotes that you had with teachers.

Cho: I am not good at reading maps in real life. So I am often confused and lost in the middle of going places. For the first few months after having transferred here, I didn’t know where I was going to our school, because it has a complicated structure. It made me walk in the wrong direction even if one of my colleagues walked together beside me. It was shameful but made us laugh a lot.

Press: During class, you often tell interesting stories or jokes. What is the reason?

Cho: It’s because I want students to laugh out their stress and worries at school. Sometimes I prepare before class but occasionally think of some lame jokes and puns on the spot. To my surprise, students often do laugh when I joke, and they even like those kinds of jokes, probably because they are so understanding and generous.

Press: Most first grade students are interested in your hairstyle that ends like a chestnut. Your hairstyle is an image that represents you and even all your nicknames are related to hairstyles. How did you come up with such a unique style?

Cho: Maybe five years ago, I started this style because I was sick of my old hairdo. Some people around me said it looked good on me. So I kept this style and at last, it has become my signature style.

Press: What do you think the disadvantages of our school are?

Cho: Just a few things as far as I am concerned. But I would rather tell you some good things than bad things. First of all, students are eager to learn in class, full of energy and have good manners. And teachers are willing to meet students’ needs and spend most of their time preparing for better teaching and guiding. That’s the very best point of our school.

Press: What is the last thing you want to tell Sawlians?

Cho: What I want to say to them is that sometimes you need a break and don't feel pressured to relax. I know lots of students of SAWL seem to have big burdens on their shoulders because they have to study almost all day long and are supposed to participate in many activities and competitions. That’s why I think they need to take some really good rest on weekends. It's a kind of incentive they can give themselves. It helps to achieve better results in the best condition.

During the interview, The Press could feel that all three teachers were very happy to meet Sawlians and settled well in the school. Also, all three teachers were very worried about students’ academic burnout and gave words of encouragement. Since teachers understand and support Sawlians, students can take heart and step forward to their dreams.