First Grade Convos

One day, we somehow got into the topic of the end times. So, I whipped out my NIV and started reading straight out of it as the kids said their ‘whoas’ and ‘no ways’. Then, I got all preachy:

Me: All right, who’s got cavities right now?
Kids: (half of them raise their hands) I do!
Me: Well, guess what? In heaven, there are no cavities! Boom!
Kids: (double fist pumping in the air) YEEESSSSS!!!!!
Me: Who’s wearing glasses in here?
PJ: I have glasses.
Me: Can you see well without them?
PJ: No, not really.
Me: Well, guess what? In heaven, our friend won’t need any glasses to see.
Kids: (double fist pumping in the air) YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!

Mad cheesin’

First Grade Convos

After we had a code yellow, one of my students began to cry and we had a conversation:

Student: (crying) Why do there have to be bad people?
Me: It’s sin sweetie.
Student: (still crying) I wish God could take away all the bad people in this world.
Me: (hugging him) It’ll be okay. If anything like that happens here at school. I’ll protect you.
Student: Could you pray for me? That God would keep us safe?
Me: Of course.

Green Island 2012 – 2013

missed my kids today. actually i miss them quite often. some more than others of course. they say that with time it gets easier. i’m sure it does and it has, but i don’t think i’ll never be able to not want to see them ever. a part of me will always think of how they are growing and doing. it’s also interesting the insecurities that was exposed. i didn’t want them to forget me. i guess they were pretty darn special. how do teachers do this year after year? nonetheless. cheers to my kiddos who meant the world to me during the past two years 🙂

Alex

alex

alex. my cute & handsome 김수현 look-alike. lots of adults think he has adhd because he can’t sit still very well or keep his eyes on the teacher all the time. but i realized he’s got a knack for paying attention without looking like he’s paying attention. even though he looks like he’s in his own world, he actually listens to every word i say during class and follows through. i hope his future teachers will realize that too about him.

he has had a hard time at home because his dad’s never home to spend time with him. so i made it a goal to pray specifically for his family throughout the year and a half i’ve been with him. and praise report. for the past 6 months alex has told me that his dad comes home more and spends a lot more time with him. i can see it in his countenance. God’s pretty good.

Jay

jay.jpg

this is jay. a few weeks ago as one of my other boys was leaving to go home, i sighed and said, “i love alex.” after jay heard this he made his way to my lap and asked, “semy teacher, who do you love the most in green island?” at first i was taken aback wondering if i had done anything to make him feel that i didn’t love him so i asked, “why are you asking?” looking down while playing with the tag on the end of his shirt he said, “because you said you love alex the most.” i couldn’t suppress my smile. i said, “jay, you misheard me. i said i love alex. not i love alex the most.” i then followed up with a question, “do you know how much i love you?” “i don’t know …” he replied. “i love you this this this this much,” as i waved my arms in circles around ridiculously and gave him a big hug and a kiss on his cheek. he smiled and giggled as he jumped off my lap to go home. moments like these make me smile 🙂

Jasmine

jasmine.jpg

this is jasmine. i remembered teaching her older brother for one day and was worried that she would be the same, but was completely different. very shy, reserved, and sweet. she’s sensitive to the words and lack of words from others, but she’s grown so strong in the past year. she was also one of the most resistant to physical touch, but now every morning she will waddle her head straight into my belly and wrap her arms around me  most people see her as a 못나니 but to me, she’s absolutely beautiful. it’s her eyes when she smiles

My Sweet Christina

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today. my sweet little christina came into class super excited. she wanted to show me something. it happened to be some model shots of her and her friends doing ballet in a magazine. my excitement bubbled over and this strange feeling of pride came in. i was so proud of her .. yes .. for taking a picture. but more than that she was simply and absolutely beautiful. she outshined all the other girls in my eyes. they didn’t even enter my motherly peripherals. my eyes were fixed on her because i knew her. more than the other beautiful children surrounding her, christina shined because i knew her. i’m sure this is how her mom feels. and i’m sure this is how any parent would feel. our kids stand out to us not because the world says so, but because we know them inside and out. no matter how achieved, attractive, cute, successful, or favored other children may be .. next to your own, they don’t matter much. the one we know will always stand out & be a whole lot brighter.

though i’m not a mom yet, i’m sure this is how i would feel for my own child. like 110% positive 🙂

Blue Island . Colorful

A video present i made for my kids. My favorite thing about working on projects like this is to see the reactions of my students. When I showed it to them on the last day of school, they would smile and laugh and talk about the different memories in the video. At the end of it, they’ll always say, “Semy Teacher, one more time please!”

It’s been such an incredible year with these little ones. I never really understood teachers who would say, “I learned so much from you guys (students) this year.” I thought that was just something teachers said so we don’t feel like we did all the work in learning .. but it’s so true. In one year, I learned how to be a better teacher, a nurse, a counselor, a motivator, a photographer, a friend, a father, and a mother. You know how we all think korean moms are crazy for overseeing every part of their child’s life and wanting the best for them. Well, I think I can kinda understand. Now, I too want only what’s best for them. I want to give them all the best experiences life can bring, introduce them to new & exciting things, take them to places they’ve never gone before, have the best teachers Korean education can offer, and the works.

I’ve never loved children the way I love these 12 little rascals. They’ve captivated me and each of them have made a little nook inside my heart. Because of them, I’ve learned how to love wider, longer, and deeper. Jesus, thank you so much for sending these 12 into my life. My life wouldn’t be the same without them 🙂

Kingdom Lesson

i witnessed something this past week in my class that intrigued me and confirmed a certain kingdom value. so every week i have a personal helper that will help me with various tasks and even lead the class in various activities. almost every monday, i will give a public recognition of their authority as a personal helper in front of the entire class kinda like a public anointing ceremony but much shorter. the other students understand that and will submit to what the personal helper tells them to do. however, this past week, though i made marc the personal helper, i didn’t publicly recognize it as i normally do. there was no public display of the transfer of authority. and i noticed that though marc in general is a strong leader, the other students didn’t really listen to him. i immediately recognized it and made a public announcement that whatever marc asks of you, you are to do. after that transfer of authority was made, the students seemed to magically listen and obey everything marc asked them to do. it’s kind of amazing to see that my students are living out kingdom values already 🙂 man, if my kids only knew how much i learn from them 🙂