— I dreamed to be a ballerina — Seul Kyung Lee, 14 DreamsStudents often become the teachers, and teachers the students. But this was day 1. Fulbright runs an annual English camp, inviting dozens of motivated middle schoolers to participate. They get intensive English practice, and we get to practice teaching in a controlled setting for the first time. Another aspiring Fulbright English teacher taught earlier in the week, ambitiously introducing Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou poetry that fit in with the camp’s theme of Dreams. But the students responded, producing lines not befitting seventh and eighth graders in America, let alone ESL students here in Korea. Dream big! As you can! And fly high! Aspirations are deeply rooted within these students—for some, that’s a profession; for others, it may be becoming rich. There is a tension, however, between their dreams and their understanding of society’s expectations. Introducing the American Dream was the lesson topic I attempted to squeeze into a 45-minute segment. Quotes by MLK, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Michelle Obama introduced ideals of self-determination and opportunity. As one sixth-grader summarized midway through the lesson, “American Dream is be who you want to be.” Now the transition. “So what is the Korean Dream? What do your Korean mothers or fathers want for you?” Faces scrunched in thought, while others sat blankly. They were in three groups of five—some eager to participate, others looking at the clock. Some said money. Others said stable job where you wouldn’t be fired, Still others said it was the same as the American Dream. The gears were clearly turning in Seul Kyung’s head. I squatted down to her eye level, inviting a response. But it wasn’t one I was expecting. “The Korean Dream…is…force?” she offered tentatively. “Oh? What kind of force?” “Ummm…how do I say it? Force to study and go to a good college and get a good job and make money.” Long pause. “Hmm…that doesn’t sound like a very happy dream, does it?” A filler question, masking my actual inability to respond. One of her group members jumped in. “See! I told you that wasn’t a good dream!” But Seul Kyung was sticking to her definition. “Why don’t you all think about it some more?” I offered. In reality, a mental note to myself to ponder it some more as well. Seul Kyung wants to aspire high and dream big – her short poetry reveals her urge to soar. But what if the dream – the one your parents, every parent, all of society – isn’t what you want? To where do you turn? There’s no shortage of questions in a setting bereft of these answers. Do I give Seul Kyung and others my definition of success and my own dreams? Is that arrogant given my position as a foreigner? Is that my job given my position as a Fulbright ambassador? For now, the adage to follow is to show, not tell. But it only took one class to go from simple questions of what am I teaching and who am I teaching to why am I teaching and how should I be teaching. I guess I’ll have the year to find out. ThoughtsTexting your teacher is weird in America, normal in Korea on Kakao. Being Korean-American: Where you don’t say “우니 나라” (“our country”) when talking about Korea, but you also don’t quite feel comfortable saying “my country ’tis of thee” in the U.S. either. “Sizing the market for a disruptor based on an incumbent’s market is like sizing the car industry off how many horses there were in 1910.” Case in point, see this GE ad from Fortune Magazine, August 1930. 67 years later, we’re still trying to save every second we can:
To quote Seul Kyung, time doesn’t wait for you. NewsEntrepreneurs and founders need to be “management jacks-of-all-trades,” according to HBS alumni founders. Link Speaking of founders, stay tuned to the next episode of Game of Uber’s Board. Link & Tweet Two girls go to a OneDirection concert, walk out with an idea, start a pop-culture+social justice shirt company. Link Netflix has more debt than the GDP of Iceland. Link For FunWhy the Lamont book-lady checks your bag every. single. time. Link An engineer’s response to being locked out of Reddit. Link Gary tells a 6-minute joke on Conan. No crudeness, no expletives. Here’s what makes it work. Link |
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