Student Stories

   I am so excited to go to Korea and begin my student teaching! I’m really hoping to learn a lot about the Korean language and to have a unique experience within a school. Because I will be teaching in an elementary school, I am excited to gain more experience and pick up some new skills in working with students who are English language learners! I am also excited to learn about Korean culture and how it is both different from and similar to my own culture.

In preparation for my experience, I have done a bit of specific research in relation to my host school such as what the neighborhood is like and what is taught in the school. I have been in touch with my cooperating teacher to learn a bit about the Korean National Curriculum that is taught in schools. Although I have only been learning about my host school for a short time, I have been learning about Korea and Korean culture for a while. I have been interested in Korean pop music and through that I have discovered different people who have blogged about life and culture in Korea. I also have several friends who grew up in Korea and have shared parts of their culture with me. I have also previously visited Korea as a tourist and I am very excited to visit again as a student teacher.
There are a lot of things that I am excited about for this experience. I’m excited to meet new people who are in the same profession as I am but may have a different perspective that I can learn from. I am also excited to learn more about the Korean language and pick up as much as I can. I’m also excited for all of the delicious Korean food that I will get to eat!
Although I am excited for a lot of things, I’m a bit nervous about getting to know the neighborhood and community that I will be living and working in. I want to be able to get to know this community and do my best to be a part of it. I’m not always the most outgoing person which can make this hard but I hope to do my best to make this experience great. Some ways that I have strategized to do this are to get to know my mentor teacher as well as my supervisor and principal because they are already members of this community and will have a lot of knowledge to share with me about where I will be living and working. I’m also hoping to reach out to people who I already know and have met in Korea. This would help for me to get out and do more things and get to know the country even better.
I’m already really excited for this trip and I am looking forward to the experiences I will have in this program. This will be a new adventure but I am hoping it will be amazing!