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 The
need to learn English is greatly emphasized in Korea. Although there
are many great institutions, there aren’t
many public schools offering a good learning
environment. The lack of great teachers and
programs are the main reasons why kids don’t get
the kind of learning they should. One school in particular is trying to
change this. A group of special
teachers gather every week at Geumhyang
Elementary School in Paju. Who are they? What do they do? Why are
they so special? Let’s find out. I personally attended one of their weekly events to meet the
wonderful group of passionate teachers.
 The
school is located in a remote area in Paju, Gyeonggi-do.
The first impression was sure important
because as I walked up to the classroom, I saw a mixed crowd of foreign and domestic teachers prepping up for a seminar. Since I was scheduled
to conduct a short presentation for the teachers,
I carefully read the crowd
in advance. What interested
me the most was that each teacher was eager to give something back
to the students. Simply put, they wanted to learn the methods and tools to make their classroom
more functional.
Such passion is quite rare in Korea. The reality is that teachers
are always pressured to teach a classroom filled with many students
with different English levels.
The teachers discussed ideas and opinions on how to overcome these types of challenges. The headmaster of Geumhyang Elementary
School was the host and conductor of this special
meeting. She said, “English is a tool for communication. Sadly, the
conditions in Korea don’t
allow this. So we should
all brainstorm ideas to create the most comfortable and absorbing learning environment
for our students.”
 I
was very much impressed by the attitude of the teachers
and the host school. After showing the audience The Kids Times and
how to use the weekly newspaper, everyone in attendance participated
in the group discussion improve the English learning skills of students.
Although the meeting was long, not a single minute was wasted.
For nearly 4 hours, the teachers put their heads together. Now we
need to take into consideration that
this meeting was done after school hours. They will meet again next
week, the week after and throughout the year. I send a big round of applause
for the English Cafe at Geumhyang Elementary School in Paju. |
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