Still Teaching

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged about my students, but they are very much still a part of my life, and noteworthy things have been happening.

For instance, the tiniest girl in my third class recently arrived at my classroom wearing a huge pink cross necklace with “Jesus” boldly printed across it. “Jesus! Teacher, Jesus!” she said proudly, rattling off in Korean some sort of explanation about who Jesus is. (This is the same girl who also baldly explained to the class why she had taken so long in the bathroom on a previous afternoon. She apparently has no shame about anything.)

I smiled and nodded, unable to get a word in edgewise before she was off with her friends down the hall. Another boy in the class, however––another of my loudest and most “energetic” students––gasped in surprise and exclaimed in Korean that he was a Christian, too.

Connection

Later, I managed to show the girl my cross ring, and said, “Look, we match!”

She was excited enough that she announced she was “Jesus happy” during how are you time, rather than “[insert her current celebrity crush] happy.” The other boy then shouted that he was Jesus happy too.

The rest of the class seemed a little confused about what was going on. This apparently was not a cultural phenomenon they understood (unlike the pen-pineapple phenomenon). But I have to say that my heart was warmed seeing them so excited about Jesus.

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Also, this video made me cry. Teachers, be prepared to get emotional..

(It’s not just about a basketball coach, but about five teachers, including a basketball coach.)