Essay 3 by Lizzie

Interview with Eden Teacher

  She is our only Korean/Korean Literature teacher at SMHS, best known for her unique style of teaching and eyeliner (?). She goes by the nickname 'Eden', which means 'no matter, whether' in Korean, and 'gentle, kindhearted' in pure Korean words. She had been at a public school for two years before she came to our school. Despite only being in her second year at SMHS, she is already one of our most popular teachers. "Hello, my name is Joo Suk Hyun, and I teach Korean Literature to 10th, 11th grade students,' she introduced herself.
 
  Eden teacher had dreamed of becoming a teacher for as long as she could remember. "I liked the idea of sharing things that I had, in my own words," she said. "I wanted to make an influence." The key factor to her vision was her 5th grade teacher. "My 5th grade teacher always read over our diaries and commented on them with a red marker," she said. "I thought it was really neat."

  She talked about the times when she felt happy or sad as a teacher. "Teaching always makes me happy," she said. "Sometimes I go to class sick and walk out feeling much better." There are bad times though. "It hurts to think about whether I am standing properly before you guys or not," she added, "But what even hurts me more is when I have no choice but to watch students in pain. Also, there are times when I have to give them bitter medicine."
 
  She had opinions about our country's educational system, a rather tough subject to handle. "There are many attempts seeking change," she said. "I think it is necessary to think more about education, and pointing the right way." However, Korea's educational system cares less and less about the students and the teachers themselves. Eden teacher feels more frustrated when she sees how a lot of students are having a hard time. "Do schools have to be schools? " she challenged. "I believe there has to be a hundred schools if there are a hundred students."
 
  Lastly, we talked about Saem Mul and other public schools. "Public school students follow the national curriculum; they do what others do, go with the flow. But here at our school, we make choices that actually make our path," she said. "We are at a different starting line. Although we are more unstable, our students have a totally different attitude." She also talked about the relationships at our school. "The relationships students make are so real; so genuine. The teachers care so much about each and every one of you- it's almost impossible to be concealed."

  As for how long she will be staying at our school, she has no idea. "I feel more and more intimate with the students every semester," she said. "I just love seeing face-to-face with you guys and just smiling."