GJCU 생활수기 공모전

[우수상 수상작]
조문영

In my middle 20’s, I taught kindergarten students after I quit my first job.

I had no idea what it was like to teach English to such young children who had just learned Korean. Our training teacher told me that I could enjoy the job just in six months but I still got nervous in front of my students like a beginner.

There was one more difficulty that troubled me much apart from teaching itself; to get along with principals of the kindergarten. I had to confess that they got on my nerves more than my students at times.

When I met them every week I was always at a loss for words. What topic should I bring to talk with them? That was a real question. Of course, just saying hi and good bye could be an option but I wanted to look like a cheerful and outgoing person. So I tried to have more time with the principals. To be frank with you, we just chatted!

Then, there came the moment when I felt comfortable being with them and I didn’t need to think about the topics that we would talk on my way to the kindergartens.

Maybe, the reason I made all these efforts was because I knew how many advantages a social person could get in their social life.

I thought who or what was the most impressing during my teaching in the kindergarten.

With no hesitation, this old lady came into my mind.

She was dressed up like a movie star and welcomed me all the time.

Even after I screwed up English festival which was held in her kindergarten, she never forgot the same old smile to me.

There’s one episode that I would like to share with you.

At the end of the second term, I told her that I would backpack around East Asia in winter. She said, “How wonderful! I’m really envious of your energy and passion.” Then, when I visited her on the last day, she offered me as much money as my fee for the trip. I was so surprised and moved. So, I bought some souvenirs just right for her taste when I came back from the trip. Needless to say, money isn’t why I remember her. I think money can be a way of showing your heart like other things and I would have been happy even if she had given me a small pencil or notebook not a gift of money. Anyone who knows how economically the kindergartens treat their teachers will understand how generous she was.

Everyone agrees that it is very difficult to set a goal and accomplish it. Sometimes, I feel that my life is a serial of failure. But to teach kindergarten students was different; they really concentrated on my class and participated it actively. The people I met there made me feel rewarded and proud of myself. Of course, I had to admit that I didn’t enjoy every single moment of my teaching but at least, I could get paid back for what I tried hard. I stayed as a teacher for a short period time of my life but the sweet memory will linger on forever.