손준호 (Son Junho)

Since the very beginning of the new semester (back in March) I have been having a hard time dealing with Junho, one of the students in my kindergarten homeroom class. He's a very spirited kid who not only loves to be the center of attention, but when he's not, tantrums ensue. In a way, he's a bit like me as a child. However, Junho has a hard time listening to the teacher, he's constantly out of his chair and he tries (and succeeds) to get a rise out of all the other students in our class. Every day is a huge challenge and while I try not to make a big deal out of it and send a note home to his parents on a daily basis, sometimes I break and must send said notes. Normally, Junho's mother (whom I also not so fond of) writes me a message back apologizing for Junho's behavior and blaming it partly on the fact that he's a young boy. He's also an only child and this is clearly evident in Junho's behavior (I do have 2 other only children in my class and you'd never know it). Part of me, the I know all there is to know about children part (please sense the sarcasm in that statement), believes that Junho is highly babied at home and probably gets exactly what he wants when he wants. In my opinion, and the part of me that knows everything there is to know about parenting (again, sarcasm), Junho's parents are just as much as fault with his behavior as Junho is. He's used to getting everything he wants and in a class of eight and with me as a teacher, he doesn't get anything he wants and this is extremely difficult for Junho.

The point of this entry is to say that on Friday, I wrote this to his parents: Junho has been having a really hard time listening in class lately. He is constantly out of his chair, worried about the other students, rushing through his work and not focusing on what he should be doing. I know Junho is a very spirited child, but he would benefit from a bit of focus. Of course, this is not exactly what I would have written given a choice and a lack of professionalism. Today, when I walked into Universe class Junho informed me that he had a present for me. He proceeded to pull out a tin of cookies and a letter. He suggested that I share the cookies with the class (good idea as I easily could have eaten the whole tin) and that I read the note out loud to the class. I did both. Junho's letter was sincere (as sincere as a 5 year old can be) and was decorated with a very nice picture. He apologized for his behavior. Later, I was handed a note from Junho's father that also apologized for Junho's behavior and said that the note and cookies were entirely Junho's idea, that he and his wife had not told Junho to apologize but he did it on his own. This, to me, makes up for all of Junho's past behavior. It takes a socially aware child to realize that they must apologize. For Junho to apologize, he undid his only child-ness, he became selfless and apologetic. Something new for 손준호 and I only hope he will continue to grow.