Teachable Moments

I suppose that, as I am a teacher, my life should be filled with teachable moments, those tender and heartfelt exchanges of wisdom that are so often chronicled in after-school specials. Alas, after almost 15 months of teaching, I have realized that in some classes, especially upper-level reading skills, I should consider myself lucky if everyone stays awake. The program design for these classes leaves little room for conversation in the strict regiment of skill-practice-review-practice-review ad nausem. For example, yesterday's topic for the three-hour class was distinguishing between fact and opinion. An important ability, yet not something that's easy to get fifth and sixth graders excited about.

Yesterday, one class's perpetual quest to take us on a tangent (a practice I don't quite discourage) broached yet again the topic of the Presidential election. At first I had been surprised by the number of Barack Obama supporters among these Korean students. They are young and are likely to be getting their opinions from their parents, a group that I don't always find to be accepting of things considered "different". Initially, I had shied away from discussing my personal views with the students, thinking that they should be free to form their own opinions, however, I have since changed my mind. Korea is largely affected by what goes on in the US, and I now think that in my role as cultural liaison, that they should know how a real American thinks.


Anyway, despite overwhelming Obama support, one student mentioned, "He talks like a white person". Now, as far as diversity in Korea is concerned, I am the diversity. At least in Daejeon white Americans and Canadians make up the majority of the foreign population. There is a smattering of other races mixed in, especially around the universities, but not many that my students would encounter.

Suddenly, I found myself in Teachable Momentville. I would like to think that I handled the situation as responsibly as, say, Danny Tanner, although I would tend to think it was far less graceful. We deconstructed what it means to "talk white" or "talk black" or "talk Korean" and were actually (gasp!) able to relate it back to a fact/opinion discussion.

So anyway, I guess what they say is right about these moments. They do sneak up on you. They can't be planned and they are fleeting. It is also true that the news chatter in the states, the cries of "terrorist" or hints of racism have an effect that is greater than the election itself. They are not only working to the detriment of our own country, but also to that of a much greater reach.