The morning felt so unreal as I began prep with my team and finished up last minute modifications to our activities planned for the day. For so many weeks, my workshops were just some words and pictures on Google Slides for an event in the far-away future. But this morning, it really hit me like “Wow! This is really happening!” That realization was both exhilarating and nerve-racking.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly for both me and Jordan as first time teachers at Yeomyung! I started with lessons on sound and waves before jumping into a string telephone and cardboard guitar activity. Even with a simple activity such as string telephone, the students were immediately engaged and began excitedly spreading out across the room to try out their new telephones.

The cardboard guitars were inspired by a lab from high school (shoutout to Jillian and Irene!), and even though the guitars required quite a few steps, the students followed through and were able to show off their new guitars!

After lunch, Jordan began his session on biology, and the students had such a blast using microscopes to study different pre-prepared slides. To get the students more engaged in our activities, we build in team challenges and games with the ultimate prize at the end — chocolate! It’s amazing to see how competitive the students can get when working for some goal in mind, usually resulting in loud cheers and wide smiles whenever a team receives a point.

We ended our session with a short session on suturing. The students really loved that activity, but the combination of sausage and minty floss resulted in such a funky smell. Through working with my table, I am proud to say that I can now make interrupted and continuous stitches — they’re really uneven but at least they’re stitches!

Team adventures!

• We had this amazing chicken and cheese dinner in Myeongdong. I know it sounds like a weird combination, but wow! It was delicious and I couldn’t get enough!
• Jordan and Sheila tried face masks for the very first time, which led to pretty hilarious results. Hearing Jordan’s commentary as he opened up the pack and stuck it on his face made my day.

I’m loving each and every day here 🙂

Laura

Happy birthday Laura!

It’s a bit 10 pm the night after our first day of teaching. Jordan and Sheila are currently testing a cake by conduction lab in our Airbnb kitchen. Our floor is littered with electronic parts and a lone soldering iron stands guard next to a pile of microscope slides.

I’ve spent the past three winters teaching at Yeomyung school, a high school for North Korean defectors in Seoul.

Each winter, MIT sends hundreds of students to teach around the world through the Global Teaching Labs program. As a sophomore, I initially applied to Korea because it was one of the few programs that allowed students to completely design their own curriculum as a team and was notoriously intense. I liked teaching, novel experiences, and traveling and had never been to Korea before and so seemed like a fit.

By now, I’ve visited almost every location listed under “Where to go in Seoul?” results on Google search, but I don’t feel exactly like the average tourist. I’ve spent many many more hours visiting the top floors of Daiso than the viewing plaza of North Seoul Tower; I’ve been more excited seeing rows of stalls at Digital World and Yongsam Electronics Market than sightseeing Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Each year brings new challenges and new faces. But each year, we have a better idea of curriculum that might work well. The first two years of the program, the team flew through material, uncertain about what type of material might work well. In 2017, we made module style lessons where every two days focused on a different topic. Last year, we made the curriculum heavily project-based, setting up Raspberry Pis and monitors to construct a makerspace-style environment.

This year, we’re trying to bring the best of the last two years. We’re increasing the breadth of the program in terms of subjects covered but keeping the final project aspect to allow students to dive into a subject of their choosing. Today, after introductions and a basic English lesson, we covered optics, working through a laser lab and building our own film cameras.

My mom asked me the other day why I kept coming back to Korea. I’ve seen all the sights. Why don’t I want to try going somewhere new? After seeing my students, some of whom came back for the second or third time, I realized that they keep me returning.

I’ve taught in many different situations. I’ve TA-ed computer science classes and camps at MIT and around the world. I’ve helped run summer science camps for kids. I’ve tutored. But teaching at Yeomyung is a uniquely challenging experience. Several of the students have little to no English capability and some are more comfortable speaking Chinese. Students range in age from 14-30 and their experiences in science are also across the board. This variation is explained by the differences in the students’ backgrounds. Some were born in North Korea under a variation of circumstances. Some spent time or were born to refugees in China. Their varied experiences, ages, languages, and interests make for a challenging classroom environment.

Although it is impossible to perfectly match the interest of every student, it is our job to develop a curriculum that is engaging and thoughtful and flexible and to make sure that our students feel cared for. And I’m hoping that this year is the best one yet.

One of the biggest lessons that Yeomyung has taught me is the importance on seeing and teaching the individual student amongst the class. I’ve had many students over the last three years who I remember well. Bill, the class clown, who shouted “OK, Google” at his Raspberry Pi at the top of his lungs. Rachel, who just entered university for machine learning. Lucy, whose dream it was to teach chemistry at her own college in North Korea after reunification.

But I’d like to end this blog post by talking about one student in particular. In 2017, in my first email update to my friends, I told them about Grace, the youngest student in our class. I wrote, “As one of the youngest students, she was also probably one of the students who had been one of the most impacted by our program. On our third day of teaching and the first day of my module, she started crying from joy, saying, ‘my mother says we are born alone and die alone, but right now I feel so loved I cannot truly be alone.’”

This year marks Grace’s third year back in my classroom. She’s not as young anymore and is now one of the role models for the other students. She’s graduating next year and planning on going into hospitality. She’s now confident, speaks first, translates for others, and definitely doesn’t cry. But she’s still gracious, engaged, and kind.

We’re now both older, soon-to-be-graduating, and definitely more jaded. Upon seeing me today, she gave me a hug and thanked me for coming back. Really, I’m grateful for her. Her enthusiasm and optimism during the weeks we share each year remind me why I teach.

I’m excited for the rest of these two weeks with this wonderful team. It’s now nearing 11:30 so I should probably head to bed.

Thanks for reading!

Em