CDS held its first Teacher Appreciation Day event on Friday, May 6. Students were to write nice comments about their teachers on post-its and stick them on the teachers’ doors.
Q: What was your first impression when you saw the post-its on the door?
Mr. Talbot: My first impression was “shock,” because it was a last minute event that was organised and the students didn’t have much time to think about what they wanted to write. I was grinning like an idiot when I read them as I got a warm feeling inside.
Mr. Pak: To be honest, there were a lot less post-its than I thought. I knew why, because this year I was super strict about my class. But it was intentional, because AP exam is not a joke when a lot of students do not really have that real sense of challenge. I remember being “the most fatherly figure” two years in a row in the past yearbook surveys, but I honestly I wanted to be a person who makes students more disciplined.
Q: What was your favorite comment?
Mr. Talbot: I’m not sure if I have a favorite. They were all nice. I think I really liked Yoon’s comment (“Shoooooooot!”). It was unexpected because sometimes signs of appreciation don’t seem that personal and look all similar to one another. But these comments that really speak to you as a person clearly show you that they really thought about you. Plus, I say “shoot” a lot.
Mr. Pak: One comment stood out: “We were over-prepared!” I was very glad to hear that. Some students really felt that they were prepared for the exam, without getting extra help from hagwon or mentor, which I was glad about.
Q: Did the post-its provide you with any idea about how the students normally think about you?
Mr. Talbot: I am responsible for giving students their grades, and when it’s not a very positive grade you have this assumption that the kid doesn’t like you as much as some other kids who get high grades. But this one comment said, “I’m really bad at physics but I love your class!” It was nice because it meant that even though people aren’t doing that well in physics academically, they still enjoy learning stuff.
Mr. Pak: No, not really. I know that our students are very polite and the Korean culture is that you don’t speak too much about others, especially when they are elders and teachers. So I do not feel what is on the posit-its is all true feelings of my students. Still, I was happy to see many students wanting to say something nice to the teachers.
Grace Lee (11)
Q: What was your first impression when you saw the post-its on the door?
Mr. Talbot: My first impression was “shock,” because it was a last minute event that was organised and the students didn’t have much time to think about what they wanted to write. I was grinning like an idiot when I read them as I got a warm feeling inside.
Mr. Pak: To be honest, there were a lot less post-its than I thought. I knew why, because this year I was super strict about my class. But it was intentional, because AP exam is not a joke when a lot of students do not really have that real sense of challenge. I remember being “the most fatherly figure” two years in a row in the past yearbook surveys, but I honestly I wanted to be a person who makes students more disciplined.
Q: What was your favorite comment?
Mr. Talbot: I’m not sure if I have a favorite. They were all nice. I think I really liked Yoon’s comment (“Shoooooooot!”). It was unexpected because sometimes signs of appreciation don’t seem that personal and look all similar to one another. But these comments that really speak to you as a person clearly show you that they really thought about you. Plus, I say “shoot” a lot.
Mr. Pak: One comment stood out: “We were over-prepared!” I was very glad to hear that. Some students really felt that they were prepared for the exam, without getting extra help from hagwon or mentor, which I was glad about.
Q: Did the post-its provide you with any idea about how the students normally think about you?
Mr. Talbot: I am responsible for giving students their grades, and when it’s not a very positive grade you have this assumption that the kid doesn’t like you as much as some other kids who get high grades. But this one comment said, “I’m really bad at physics but I love your class!” It was nice because it meant that even though people aren’t doing that well in physics academically, they still enjoy learning stuff.
Mr. Pak: No, not really. I know that our students are very polite and the Korean culture is that you don’t speak too much about others, especially when they are elders and teachers. So I do not feel what is on the posit-its is all true feelings of my students. Still, I was happy to see many students wanting to say something nice to the teachers.
Grace Lee (11)