Proud of being a teacher again

Last year I was ready to leave Korea. I had spent five years teaching for other academies in Korea, and I was disillusioned to say the least. In my experience most academies are businesses which put money above all else, including the needs of their students as well as their teachers. If it sounds like I’m bitter it is because I am. I had to spend years fighting for myself and my students to get the education that they deserved at these other schools. After being in Korea for so long I just thought that all academies were the same, and I was done with feeling like I could never make a difference.

But then I found Twinkle. The interview alone got me excited about the job. Instead of being interviewed by a Korean business manager, I was interviewed by actual teachers. It seems like a small thing, but it made me hope that this place was different, that maybe they actually listened to the opinions of their teachers and not just their bottom line. So, when I was offered the job I took it and now I’m going on my second year at Twinkle.

I won’t lie and say it has all been sunshine and rainbows this past year, but when has teaching ever been like that? Teaching is hard work, and it needs to be. You are helping to build a foundation for these children that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. However, no job is more rewarding than teaching. You see your class grow and learn throughout the year, and as cheesy as it sounds you really do love them at the end of it all.

Here at Twinkle my ideas have been listened to and embraced. If I needed something for my classes they got it. If I had an idea for a special event they followed through with it. When I have struggled they have helped to make things right. I have never felt like I needed to fight for myself or my students here, and I can’t tell you how happy that has made me this past year.

The owners, Brian and Andrew, are always trying to make improvements to curriculums and classes. We even get sent inspirational emails of amazing things that Twinkle students have written, and you can’t help but feel proud to be a part of the school that helped to teach these incredible students. It is clear that Twinkle is a place that puts their teachers and students first above all else. Twinkle has made me feel proud of being a teacher once again, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

- Miss Anna