The Teacher Who Taught Me “Do the Right Thing”

 Childhood Innocence

 

 Boyhood Winter   Boyhood Place of memory

 

Paul Lee

English 101 Reflective Essay #2

(Essay #3 of quarter)

Professor Buddy Roberts

2/8/1994 (Revised 2/21/94, 3/1/94)

          The Teacher Who Taught Me “Do the Right Thing”

Throughout my education from grammar school to graduate school in the university, I had many teachers who influenced me in various ways. Now I would like to tell you about one of them. Yesan was the rustic country in South Korea where I was born and grew up until I finished my middle school. The Chinese Literature and Ethics teacher in my middle school was Mr. Byung Moon Lim, who taught us and deeply planted the “do the right thing” spirit into my mind from my early boyhood.

        Mr. Lim always started our Ethics class by checking his assignments, a daily “do the right thing” chart that we have to write down about what we did a good thing. This class activity was a tradition of his teaching. Before we took his class, we had already heard from our seniors who told us of their experiences, no matter how positive or negative, they said. Some students liked filling out the chart as well as doing the right things. But others did not like it at all.

 

       As Mr. Lim directed at the first class meeting, I filled out the chart very easily the first few days: “Helped my dad for planting trees,” “Took care of my younger sisters while mom is not home,” “For my mom, polished copper spoons with a cloth,” “Fed our dog,” and so on. I can tell you now that one day I felt it gradually became hard to fill out the daily chart, because my life was so simple as an immature country boy. I could not do good things every day differently from the little boy’s narrow experiences, so I tried hard to do the “right things” before I wrote them down. But while I was struggling with doing good things to fill out the columns of the chart for that day, the next, and another month, I realized and found myself that I came to do a good thing every day at least.

        When I finished the junior year at Dai Heung Middle School, I had a notebook filled with many “good things.” I had done the chart anyhow, feeling great achievement through the difficulties in writing them.

        After I moved to Seoul to attend Whi Moon High School in 1964 at the age of 17, I often remembered Mr. Lim’s hard and creative way of lesson through the “do the good thing” chart. I always thought about Mr. Lim’s moral standard and tried to follow his guidance in my early life.

        I notice that his lesson kept me secure in this world of good and bad choices. Whenever I am in trouble mastering my school work, military service, and immigrant life in America, Mr. Lim’s unique teaching methods have been like a barometer to measure whether I have chosen the right places, decisions, and have done the right things throughout my life.

        While writing this essay, I still remember Mr. Lim’s chart and also write the good things what I do in that chart drawn in my mind.   

 

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청산靑山 (impaul)   11.14.2009 18:33 | 삭제 | 답글

대학에서 영문학을 전공 하기전에 제일 기초과목인 English 101 시간에 쓴 '회상하는 에세이' (refletive essay)입니다. 이 과목은 기초이면서 대학 졸업 필수과목이었기 때문에 한 학기동안에 Buddy Roberts 교수님이 내주시는 여러 종류의 에세이 숙제를 썼습니다. 이 교수님의 훠스트 이름이 Buddy 인데 정말 친구같은 젊은 교수셨습니다. 항상 오토바이를 타고 출퇴근하시니까 헬멧을 쓰고 카우보이 부츠를 신고 가죽잠바를 입고 다니시던 모습이 아직도 눈에 선합니다. 참, 이 에세이의 주제는 제가 중학교 때 한문과 도덕 담당 선생님께서 내주시던 '일일일선一日一善' 과제물이었습니다.

청산靑山 (impaul)   11.14.2009 18:39 | 삭제 | 답글

제가 미국에 오기전에 공대에서 전기공학을 가르치는 교직생활을 했었기 때문에 영문과에서도 저를 가르쳐주시던 교수님들과 잘 지냈습니다. 영문과 교수님들 중에서 현대영문학을 멋지게 강의하시던 중국인 선생님, 저의 영시가 좋다고 클래스 학생들앞에서 제가 낭독하도록 해주시고 언제나 A학점만을 주시던 시창작 시인 선생님, 이 Timothy Steele 교수님은 저를 데리고 대학의 인문학잡지(Statement)를 졸업할 때까지 간행하셨습니다. 제가 잘 따라오지 못한다고 drop out 하라고 은근히 압력을 넣던 老교수님, 그리도 어렵던 세익스피어 과목 담당 금발머리 젊은 여교수님. ...

청산靑山 (impaul)   11.14.2009 18:42 | 삭제 | 답글

저는 셰익스피어 1, 2 과목 시간에 예쁜 금발머리 여교수님을 바라보며 왜 예쁜 분이 이리도 어려운 셰익스피어를 전공하셨을까하는 경이와 찬탄의 한숨을 내쉬기도 했던 일들이 추억됩니다. 기쁨도 많았고 스트레스도 많았던 그 학창 시절이 바로 저의 '청춘, 아름다운 시절'이었습니다.