Never Stop Learning:

Eun-bin’s paradox.

Every whilst in awhile, a glimmer escapes those reoccurring ironic shades of life. -Upon reflection; that is.

Ponder that in our 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and beyond we are still very capable of realizing very basic facts about ourselves. And furthermore, that if we have the courage to let go a little, to not so insistently insist on who we are, who and what are can change; can evolve into something entirely else.

A subject of honor; Eun-bin.

Singmang-ri’s biggest baddest student, a 5th grader, Eun-bin. In America, Eun-bin would be thought of within the term; ‘bully.’ But here, things are a little different (actually, students quite happily give up most of their tasty treats, and Eun-bin himself lacks the more sinister traits of your classical bully, in favor of a sort of tendency to be protective over Sinmangri’s students against outsiders-the real bullying typically happens very collectively.) It’s a sort of basic contrast between collectivist and individualistic cultures.

And yet; I’ve been here a year plus now; I’ve gotten to know Eun-bin quite well. In truth, he is easily among the sweetest, the most caring; a quellingly sensitive student.

And here is where I’m struck! Will Eun-bin ever realize the simplest truths about himself? Do bullies ever? Do we? Aren’t bullies usually the more sensitive one’s we know; deep down pretending to be rough and tough? To learn anything from Eun-bin, I’ve to look to myself. Respectively, to teach Eun-bin anything, I’ve to look to myself.
And some weeks, I do.

It’s the scariest part of teaching the youngest ones.

What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches. ~Karl Menninger

Don't try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed. ~Marva Collins

To teach is to learn twice. ~Joseph Joubert

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Cotton Dana