TEACHING VALUES

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Many Korean public schools have had Peace Corp or foreign missionaries teach in their schools. This school had both I believe. I don¡¯t have any religious conversion to do, but I do believe that a teacher should have a good sense of the ethical. One of the subjects taught in the Korean school is µµ´ö, or Morals and Ethics. I have never designed a lesson based solely on this theme, but it is mostly implicit in some lessons. For example, I use many popular songs that were once Christian hymns for example. When designing video lessons, I am always cognizant of the fact that video can convey a very powerful message, and I look for good characters or role models. Because I am a foreign guest, I behave differently from the Korean teachers. Many Koreans in this town, if they have seen foreigners, they were American soldiers from a nearby military base who come into town on a Saturday to drink in a local bar or do some shopping. These visists are few and far between, so in fact, these students, many of whom never travel outside of this small town, have never seen foreigners before. I am greeted by wide-open looks of astonishment everywhere I go, still, after being here for three years.

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Once near Christmas time, we did sing Christmas songs and I talked about the Christmas story while students drew pictures on the blackboard. I want to teach a class using music from different world religions, but haven¡¯t done so yet. Many teachers are Christian, some are Buddhist, and some have no religion. All in all, these teachers have excellent character and are good role models. I believe I am the same.

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