JLS Students (The Good)

In an earlier post, I talked about one student named Charles who was the best student I taught at JLS. However, there have been thousands of other kids throughout my seven years here. I would like to take this time to write about a few of the cool kids.

I have taught all grades at JLS, from grade one elementary kids to high school students. About two years ago, the decision was made by JLS to assign middle school and high school classes to Korean teachers only, which meant that we native teachers were placed in the elementary school classes. In one respect, I disliked this decision because I felt that I related better to older kids. Indeed, when I worked for the curriculum committees in 2002, I created lessons for middle school and high school TOEFL classes. Other teachers such as Travis and Patrick also preferred the older students for the most part. On the other hand, I couldn't help but notice that elementary school students were more enthusiastic about English than were the middle school kids (and, as for the high school kids... well, they really couldn't have cared less about studying).

So, most of my memories of students are connected to the younger ones over the years. The following pictures show just a tiny fraction of the number of kids I have met at JLS.

JLS Students

One of the pictures shows a student named Hong Su-na. Her English name was Sue. She was a bright little girl who loved to laugh. She went with her family to England for one year, and she came back a more confident English speaker. Later, she participated in the JLS speech contest, and on April Fool's Day 2004, she wrote a letter to me because I said I was leaving JLS to go back to Canada -- it was my April Fool's prank. Here is her letter (click on letter to view larger file).






















In early summer 2005, Hong Su-na was on her way to her class at JLS when she was struck by a car. My knowledge of the details is sketchy, but as I understand it, she was either walking or riding her bike when the car hit her. Her injuries sent her to the hospital. Tragically, Sue died a short while later, and this happy little girl was no longer with us. When I heard the news, I was utterly shocked. I am thankful that I have these photos and mementos to remember her. The following video clip shows students in Sue's class doing speeches.



My interest in technology led me to do a team project with two of my Korean colleagues. We videotaped four of our classes doing a role-play activity to demonstrate their language skills. The video was included on a CD along with examples of the students' writing, and each student was given a copy of this CD, which I called a digital portfolio. One class in particular had a lot of fun doing this role-play, in which I played the master of ceremonies.


When the students had the opportunity to view their video, their first reaction was embarrassment. However, they soon became fascinated with seeing themselves on the screen speaking English. When students were then asked to write a self-evaluation of their video, almost all said that it was a great experience that they would like to do again. I was thrilled with the students' responses.

There have been lots of really cool kids at JLS. For me, the 'cool' kids are the ones who actually give a damn about being there, who try to learn English and speak it effectively. I would include students like Bella, whom I first met three years ago in the summer intensive classes. Bella would always try to do the best project and would expect to read from the textbook. Like a number of good kids at JLS, though, Bella has been the victim of resentment by other kids who don't share her passion. These days, as Bella prepares to enter grade six, she is suffering from stress. She is not my student now, but her current teacher says she has been pulling out her hair. Yikes!

Two students from the past year who I practically adore (if that feeling is possible for me) are Jonah and Kate. They always do great presentations, and their energy level lifts my spirits. Funny story about Kate: she came to class semi-drunk one day because her grandmother mistakenly gave her wine instead of grape juice. She spent the class nursing an upset stomach and a headache.

Two of my current students, John and Charlotte, are very similar personalities. They both add a lot of spirit to their presentations by using exaggerated intonation and facial gestures. They participate regularly by volunteering to read and answer questions. They are fun to have in class.

I also have a fondness for students who have unique abilities. For instance, one student named Alex was a contortionist. In class, he would sometimes wrap his legs behind his head or twist his arms in a pretzel, seemingly dislocating his shoulders. Another student, Maria, recently demonstrated her flexibility by doing the splits and a ballet-style leg raise above her head, to the applause of her classmates and teacher.

If I had to vote for one kid at JLS as most unusual, I'd have to vote for Deon. The first time I met Deon, I made the same mistake virtually everyone at JLS made when they met him -- they thought he was a she. Deon had long, shoulder-length hair and a rather high voice for grade six. His physical mannerisms (such as the way he held his hands or covered his face when laughing) totally resembled those of a girl. He even seemed to prefer talking to the girls in the class. When I referred to Deon as 'she' in that first class, the other students told me Deon was a boy. I didn't believe them. When Deon himself told me he was a boy, my face went red with embarrassment. I was still unconvinced that Deon was a boy, however, and I asked the Korean teacher to confirm this fact. She did, but only after admitting that she, too, thought Deon was a girl. Anyway, it didn't matter. Deon was pretty cool. He was just effeminate.

So, yeah, there have been some memorable students at JLS. I wish there had been more because many were far from cool. In any event, I choose to remember the above students, and the ones I didn't like will be left to fade from memory.