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Another week has gone by. One-third of the students at our school require special education. But what makes my job even harder is dealing with emotional and personality disorders. Out of the just under 30 students in the entire fourth-grade class, only two are emotionally stable. Ideally, I’d like to understand each child’s unique traits and tailor my approach accordingly, but the same child might be docile one day and defiant and disruptive the next. So, if one child was the

From time to time, I remember how great the people were during my time working in Bangladesh in 2005, and I miss that country. Bangladesh is a hot and humid country. There are terrifying mosquitoes—the main culprits behind dengue fever—and terrifying swarms of ants. One day, I bought a cereal box and put it on the desk. Next morning, when I woke up and looked at the ceiling, I saw a black band stretching from the outer door to the wall by my desk, where a cereal box stood —

One thing I learned in the West was how to say “Yes” and “No” clearly. Vancouver was the first place I set foot in after leaving Korea. I took a language course there at UBC. For the first three months, I had to stay with a host family. Whenever I hesitated, my host couple would get a little annoyed and press me, asking, “YES” or “NO?” I’ve gotten the hang of it now. These days, when I see someone hesitating, I’m the one who gets frustrated and annoyed. The second thing I lea

Even if circumstances—good or bad—are beyond my control, the strength to overcome them lies within me. That strength is the power of positivity. Even in the same situation, others may feel unhappy, but a positive person can feel happy. Happiness is highly subjective. It’s enough if I feel happy. My happiness comes when I discover what is precious to me in my life—it doesn’t come from living better than others. That’s why I always emphasize the importance of finding “myself.”

My time on this earth is only 70 to 80 years. What about the rest of that time? Some believe life ends with death; others believe that after death, one goes to heaven or hell; still others believe in reincarnation based on the karma one has accumulated. When I was in sixth grade, I asked my grandfather where we go when we die. He said he didn’t know, but he passed away the following year. I’m sure he found out the answer the next year, but he didn’t come back to tell me. We c

The seasons here in Northern Virginia are the same as in Korea. The 24 solar terms of Korea also apply here. With the start of “Lichu” on August 7, we’ve entered autumn. During Lichu, while it’s still hot during the day, early-morning temperatures are noticeably cooler. Today is September 7, “Baekro,” marking the true onset of autumn. Here in Northern Virginia, too, the morning and evening temperatures have turned cooler. In August, I only noticed a difference in early-mornin

Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of traveling the world; I wanted to leave Korea and venture out into the wider world. In the alleys of Jangwi-dong, Gangbuk, in the 1970s, the neighborhood would fill with the smells of doenjang, kimchi, and fish every evening. As the children ran around playing and then went inside one by one to eat dinner, only the traces of their play remained on the alley floor. There were also many dogs roaming the neighborhood. I lived in Korea for a

The starting point of epistemology and ontology is the relationship between the object and the subject. First, epistemology concerns how I acquire knowledge by observing an object and how I convey that knowledge to others. In English, this is expressed as “How we know what we know.” Therefore, if our understanding of an object is based on our experience, it is empiricism; if it is based on reason, it is idealism. Furthermore, ontology concerns what the object of my cognition

In Descartes’ Meditations, which has had the greatest influence on my system of thought, the relationship between humans and God is explored. Descartes bases his philosophy on the “Cartesian mind.” The Cartesian mind is a mind free from preconceptions, detached from the senses, pure, independent of experience, connected to God, and a priori—existing prior to experience. Thus, the central theme of Descartes’ Meditations begins with the doubt—Is what I see and feel actually tru

Is poverty in a rich country the same as poverty in a poor country? In fact, renting a room in a wealthy household is better in many ways than renting one in a poor household. For one thing, the living conditions are likely to be better. In Washington, D.C.—the U.S. capital, a city where wealthy and powerful white Americans live—I often found myself comparing the poor and their children in Southeast, the city’s poorest neighborhood, to those in Bangladesh, one of the world’

The flagship U.S. social program aimed at reducing the wealth gap and aiding the poor is, of course, investment in education—a symbol of equal opportunity. The concept is to provide educational opportunities to the poor so they can work their way out of poverty and achieve social mobility through their own efforts. This effort has been driven not only by the government but also by many wealthy individuals who have donated funds to education. Of course, many wealthy individual

There were many orphanages when we were children in Korea (1970s). When I was in first grade, there was a large orphanage right on my way to school, and one of the children there was in my class. I don’t remember my classmates' names from back then, but I do remember that child’s name. His name was So Dae-won... I never even spoke to him, but why can’t I forget his name even after more than 40 years? I don’t know the answer to that myself... But there are no orphanages in t

Schools in the U.S. don’t have a winter break; instead, they have a ten-day holiday break. It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post—the last time was during the Thanksgiving holiday. Thankfully, I’ve finished the semester. I’ve grown very attached to my students over this time. Of the 26 students in the entire fourth-grade class, almost all require therapy. In the U.S., unless they have autism or a severe disability, children with disabilities attend regular schools a

I read in a newspaper recently that dogs belonging to farming families living near the Amazon rainforest sneak out of their homes when their owners go to work, gather in packs with other neighborhood dogs, and head into the forest to kill wild animals (or, more accurately, to play with them). They then return home before their owners arrive and greet them as if nothing had happened. The problem is that these dogs are causing wildlife to disappear, and it’s said that cameras n

Finland reportedly ranked first in the World Happiness Report for two consecutive years, in 2018 and 2019. Denmark, which ranked first in 2013 and 2016, reportedly came in second in 2019. Sweden is also considered a happy country. One reason people in Northern Europe have such high happiness levels is that they prioritize a “good balance of life” rather than chasing money. This seems to align with the concept of a 52-hour workweek for a balanced life, which I’ve also seen dis

The Washington Post reported on the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 stock index (January 1, 2020). Starting in 2010, the index posted a total return of 256% over the past decade, averaging 13.5% annually. This is higher than the average annual total return of 10.3% from 1920 to the present. For example, if you had invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 in early 2010, it would have grown to $36,000 by the end of 2019. Looking at 2019 alone, the total annual return was 31%. Since 52% of A

This year, we’re all confined to our homes due to Covid-9. When the body becomes inactive, the mind becomes active. Watching the severe natural disasters of late—especially the torrential rains in Korea and the wildfires raging across the western United States, both on opposite sides of the Pacific—I feel that we don’t have much time left (they say old age is the best part of life, but I wonder if I’ll even have time left to enjoy my blessings...). The wildfires in Australia

Many people were heartbroken by the story of a pregnant elephant whose mouth was filled with fireworks. The elephant tried to ease the pain by submerging its mouth in water, yet refused rescue and died. By witnessing the mother elephant’s pain, the vast majority of us showed empathy. My heart ached deeply as well. And I wondered why she chose death. Elephants are highly intelligent animals with rich emotional lives. I think her decision was based on the realization that there

It took 123 years for the world’s population to grow from 1 billion (in 1804) to 2 billion (in 1927). It took 33 years to go from 2 billion to 3 billion (1960), and the number of years required for each subsequent 1-billion increase was 14, 13, and—starting in 1987—only 12. It is projected that the population will reach 8 billion by 2023 and 9 billion by 2037 (Source: UN Population Division). Projections for future global population figures vary by organization, but CNN New

Today, I would like to tell readers about a historic Arctic expedition that has been featured several times in “The Washington Post”. According to The Washington Post, “The Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) is the largest Arctic research project in history and one of humanity’s greatest efforts to understand how melting at the pole will affect the rest of the planet.” (September 21, 2019) Led by Germany’s “Alfred Wegener Institu