Jaylen Fudge

C&T 491

1 July 2019

Teaching Philosophy

If there is anything I have taken away from my time at Kyunghwa it is that education

should be productive and rewarding but it should be fun and mental health should be a priority.

These students break their back to succeed in various subjects in order to attend the best colleges,

meanwhile they sleep two hours a night and participate in little to no extracurriculars.

When I was their age I was taking six classes, going to school from eight to three,

working, playing sports or participating in extracurriculars and sleeping six to eight hours nightly

and still manage to attend a university I love. The students are incredibly hardworking and

dedicated which is so refreshing as opposed to the American education, however, with that

comes students who kill themselves over giving everything they have to get the grades that are

acceptable. Watching these students giving their everything to their education has made me

realize how important and lucky we are as Americans to have the public educations and

opportunities we have. After realizing how little the students relax or even sleep I researched

mental health in Korean culture, according to Jin-hee ​ Korean-American mental health

professional in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.​ She said, ​“In Korea, there is no such

thing as mental health. One is seen as ‘weak’ if they have a mental health issue. People with

mental health issues are seen as ‘crazy’ and the issue is something that must be overcome. It is

often seen as a lack of faith in Christ.” I had never considered how frowned upon prioritizing

mental health over homework was. ​As a teacher I want to encourage students to be motivated
and do their best however I want my students to enjoy their lives and take mental health

seriously. I love the idea of the hidden curriculum where students are taught various principales

like being on time, organized, other skills students need to learn besides how to turn in

assignments and get good grades. I think the biggest difference I saw in the students was when

they came into the class the week before finals exhausted and after we made them dance fort our

lesson they left looking more awake and ready for the day. This seemed like a crucial thing for

the students the week before finals, as they were exhausted. I want the kind of teacher who is

sensitive to what is going on in students' lives and helps them not only get the grades they want

to succeed but also have them enjoy the education they are receiving without deteriorating their

mental health.

Work cited
Juergens, C. (n.d.). 'In Korea, there is no mental health': Barriers to treatment. Retrieved July 3,

2019, from

http://www.intheforefront.org/in-korea-there-is-no-mental-health-barriers-to-treatment/