Differences between America and Korea in political education

During the presidential election campaign, watching TV shows and reading some books and newsletters from my children’s school, I realized differences in political education between America and South Korea.
In Korean, at the beginning of school year, every class elects class president and every school elects school president. Especially for the school president, some candidate can campaign for 2-3 days before the election day and 5th and 6th grade students directly elect their president by themselves using ballot paper and ballot box. Through the event, they learn how to choose their leader. However, during real presidential election period, they are not actively involved in the election. Schools do not educate them much about the candidates because people think voting is just for adults’ job.
In America, during the real presidential campaign, students actively involve themselves in voting. Every student is encouraged to vote for president at their school level as a mock election. The mock election gives each student the opportunity to experience the voting process as well as their rights to choose candidate of their choice. Some schools prepare real voting paper and voting booth and some schools use computer system to vote or use school blogs. Through the activities of registering, checking their names on the registration rolls and voting, students learn how to choose their leader. Before the mock election day, students bring home some newsletters or paper books from book company. They teach students about candidates and election process. Even Kindergarten students bring those stuffs home which are easily explained how to vote and who candidates are. Some schools hold a mock presidential debate. Some students represent candidates and students in the audience ask the candidates questions and hold signs to show who they support. Learning occurs in real life.
People say that learning occurs best by doing. American students experience and learn how to choose their leader before they vote in their real life. Those experiences teach students being interested and wise in choosing their leader. Korean school should adapt this kind of mock election so that students learn that they are one of the precious voter and use their vote wisely and being proud of citizen of South Korea.

An important event or period in my life

The most important event or period in my life is just Now here in America. Why is this period important in my life? I think two things as the reason.

First, this period of time will make me more independent. I’m here without my husband but with my two kids who are 5 and 8. As soon as I arrived in America almost a month ago, my challenging and hard time started. First, I had to set up by myself without a car. I was so accustomed to go around with my car in Korea, it was very inconvenient to move without a car, especially in this huge country. Buying things that I need in new life is one thing but using them is another thing. I mean, I can buy things what I need but I need somebody to help me to use them like assembling parts into a complete whole, replacing bulb, fixing shower and so on. All of them are very small and trivial things but my life became terrible without them. In Korea, my husband did those small things without even asking me as well as carrying heavy things. He exactly knew that what things we needed, when we needed them and how to set up them, too. But the small and trivial things seemed to occupy my whole life in America. I found that I was so dependent on my husband. I felt that I was very useless and weak. However, I had to be less weak than before because of my two children. As a mother, I need to get stronger. Now I manage to live new life without husband even though I still need somebody to help me. Maybe this period of time will make me more independent and less weak and when I go back to Korea, I’ll be able to help my husband as he did.

Second, I hope my English will be improved through this hard time. I always wanted to be a good English speaker as well as a good English teacher. However, during teaching English in Korea, there was a limit to my English ability. In the past, I had lived in America more than 2 years but during that time, my jobs were taking care of my kids and supporting my husband and I couldn’t even dream of studying English. Now, I’m here again and my aim is to improve my English and learn technique or skills in American elementary school. I am here for myself. I want to be selfish this time. With the experience of teaching English here, I want to be a real professional teacher and have more confidence in teaching English. These days I couldn’t sleep much because there have been many assignments and I have to do them after my kids go to bed. However, sometimes I feel happy in the middle of the night doing homework. Why? Even though I cannot travel to New York like other teachers who are alone here and I am busy with helping my kids, but , at night, I feel that this moment is just for me and just for my development and I feel that this moment is very precious. I’ve never studied this hard ever before. At present, it is the hardest time but someday I hope it will be one of my best memory in my life.

Learning By Doing

"The things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them". - Aristotle

People usually think that we have to learn things first before we do them. It is true because it is hard to do things without learnig them. How can I play Chess without learning it? However, we should know that we can learn things easily and effectively by doing them. Through playing Chess with friends, I can understand more and learn strategies and basic mathematic. This quote is saying that we should learn by doing and the knowledge we have learned in thay way is real.

"The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet." - Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield

People think that learning new things take place in the classroom or by reading books. I have learned new knowledge in the same way. However, as a teacher, with the new knowledge, I cannot satisfy my students’ curiosity or desires for knowing some practical things. One of my friends who likes travelling all around the world is very confident teaching her students because she has a lot of real and alive experience and knowledge of the world which I have not learned from the books or my school teachers. In the classroom, I was one of the smart students; however, I am one of failures when it comes to real and practical knowledge. Students acquire new knowledge from their experience in the world. Learning becomes internalized through self-reflective and interaction with the world. That is what acquisition is.

BICS/CALP

Discuss the extent to which the BICS/CALP distinction may influence the cognitive and academic development of 8-year-old Spanish-speaking immigrants to the U.S.

8-year-old Spanish-speaking immigrants to the U.S. who have been placed in a mainstream class or ESL class face some challenges as well as their primary teachers and ESL teachers in both BICS and CALP aspects.The Students who joined the mainstream class will face many difficulties with their friends as well as subjects they will learn. They might feel frustrated with misunderstanding of their friends and feel small in whatever they do. So they have a tendency to hesitate to play with their new friends. Also, during the class, they meet new vocabulary which they have no idea what they mean. It looks impossible to go forward in the progress of learning. But, fortunately they are young and natural learners because they are curious about everything they meet. That can make them easier to learn new things than adolescence. Their primary teacher and ESL teachers will meet challenges to teach them. They have to consider and think over how to teach the subject matter, have them understand their instructions, and participate in classroom activities. There are several possible ways for teachers to help them. For example, before placing them to the mainstream, assess their cultural background, current level in English, prior education, etc. With those records, teachers can understand their new students more. Also, they can make class environment more supportive to the new students through simplifying sentences they use and repeat them to make the students understand better. Also, the teachers can provide more visual teaching aids so that they can grasp the meaning easily. In addition, those teachers can ask the other students to help the new students in playing and learning subjects. New immigrants will learn more from their peers.In conclusion, new immigrant students who are aged 8 can adjust themselves easier and faster in both BICS and CALP aspects on the condition that primary teachers and ESL teachers provide a more supportive learning environment and their peers help. They are young enough to feel curious about everything they meet and they are natural learners.

Haiku

Rain
Outside of window
See soft rain on the green grass
No umbrella, sigh.

Jumping in the rain
Getthing soaked, I don't care
Today, I'm a kid.