Response to the Readings: Letters to a Young Teacher Chapter 1-3

Annie Kim
After reading Letters to a Young Teacher by Jonathan Kozol, many thoughts came to
my mind as a young adult who wants to become a teacher. The book introduces the real teaching
experience of Kozol and through that I could get a glimpse of what it is like to be a teacher.
Before I read this book, I asked myself a question: what kind of teacher do I want to be? Chapter
1 helped me to answer my question. I agree with Kozol that the best teachers are not merely
the technicians of proficiency (p.4, Kozol). I personally think teachers are more of a life
mentor. I want to become a mother-like teacher. My students are not just student, but I want
to treat them as my own sons and daughters. I think forming personal relationship and trust
with students is the most important task for every teachers. Kozol talks about this in Chapter 2
where he formed trust relationship with students who are in the poor environment. Looking at
Kozols experience, I learned that one best way to form a deep relationship is to know my
students. I want to get to know my students like all mothers know their children. To do this, I
can observe every children in my class and learn the best way that works for them, not for me.
After reading Chapter 1, I realized how influential the teachers are and helped me to think about
my own goal as a young teacher.

Chapter 2 mostly talked about specific actions of teachers. I really liked the part
where Kozol said, Entrap them first in fascination. Entrap them in a sense of merriment and
hopeful expectations (p.15, Kozol). Teachers should be able to get childrens attention and
make sure they are having fun learning new concepts. Fascinating children might be a hard
thing, but I think if we know our students well, it would be easy to get them into learning.

Content that Kozol brings up in Chapter 3 was a little surprise for me. In Chapter 3,
Kozol talks about how he visited some childrens home to get to know them more. In Asian
culture, teachers dont usually visit individuals home. If teacher visits students home, then
many people will think of it as bribing. Korea had to go through bribing problems and it became
a sensitive issue. When I was reading Kozol going to his students home and even bringing his
girlfriend was shocking for me. However, I think it can be a good way to get to know students
deeply. So far, I really enjoy reading Letter to a Young Teacher. It is easy to read and I could
learn from others experience.

Response to the Reading 2

Annie Kim
I really enjoy reading Letters to a Young Teacher because I can learn so much from
Kozols real experience. It also feels like he is giving me a personal advice. From todays
reading, I especially liked Chapter 4 and 5. When I was reading previous chapters, I asked
myself one question and it was what type of teacher do I want to be? and my answer to this
was to become a mother-like teacher. In Chapter 4, Kozol also talks about this. He set Louis
Bedrock as an example of older teacher who he learned from. Louis Bedrock was a teacher
who treat her children as grandchildren. Many younger teachers not only go find her for a
comfort and support, but also think of her as their mother or grandmother. When I read this, I
was surprised because this was exactly what I want to be in the future. This helped me to
visualize myself as teacher and set a clear goal of what teacher I want to be. I think it is really
important to think about it now and develop it as I learn more in college. I want to be a
trustworthy teacher to both children and their parents.
Chapter 2 also helped me to think about problems that modern teachers face. One
problem of teachers nowadays is that they dont listen to their children. Many teachers are so
focused on staying on task that they often ignore their childrens voices. However, Kozol
emphasizes how important it is to listen to children. By listening to them, teachers can get a
glimpse of their interest and their personal stories. Kozol says that the good teacher should
know how to use this to motivate children to learn. I agree with Kozol that listening to our
children carefully is really important because this is the one way that we could get to know
them and to share our feelings and stories.
The very first part of book by Ayers caught my attention. It is very true that we all have
somewhat encountered words teaching and teacher. These words will evoke different images
in different peoples mind. For me, when I think of a word teaching, I get excited because this
is what I want to do and what I like. On the other side, when I think of a work teacher, I get a
feeling of well-educated and warm because most of my teachers were all understanding and
caring. However, Ayers mentioned that for some, these words might bring the images of
boredom, dullness and even fearfulness. It was interesting to think about how these two words
evoke different feeling. Also, it was interesting to read Ayers first experience in teaching. At
first, Ayers thought teaching was simply standing in front of the classroom giving instructions
to children. However, Ayers realized that teaching isnt that simple. It included more
complicated jobs like organizing, counseling, showing, guiding disciplining, listening,
persuading, interacting, nursing, and inspiring. I also thought of teaching as an easy job that I
get to be with children all the time and spend time with them, but I learned that it is more than
just playing with children. It is actually influencing and giving difference in so many childrens
lives. When I think of teaching like this, it gets little scary because I am not sure if I can give
good influence on them, but it will be also exciting to see children grow in my classroom.
Response to Kozol and Palmer
Annie Kim
Previously, when I read Letters to a Young Teacher, I mostly thought about what type
of teacher I wanted to be. However from this reading, I could read more about specific skills
that teacher has to obtain. First skill that I learned from reading was how to become a witness.
I never thought of becoming a witness as a crucial role of teacher, but after reading the book, I
learned how important it is. In Chapter 7, Kozol commented that all teachers ought to feel the
right and have the courage to speak out as witness to the injustices they see their children
undergo (Kozol, p.83). As a teacher, we can observe what children goes through and I think
we have the right to correct them if they did something wrong. I personally am afraid of
pointing out and criticizing others fault. However, Kozol tells the young teacher to have
courage to correct their mistakes because if teachers dont teach them what is right, then who
else can do this? Like what Kozol said on page 91, good educators hope to inculcate in
children. The main role as a teacher is to help them learn from their mistake and inculcate the
right values into them.
 Another skill that I learned from the reading was how to interact aesthetic merriment
into academic environment. Because children cant focus for a long time, teachers should know
how to catch their attention and I think one best way to do this is to have fun. Children are
interested in fun stuff and they tend to be more active when they are interested. I want my
classroom to be a safe and fun place for children to hang around.
Palmer mainly talks about the paradox in teaching and learning. I agree with him that
in order to open students mind, we need to open their emotions as well. We are dealing with
human, not a robot, so I think it is really crucial to respect their feelings. I hope I dont hurt my
students feeling in my classroom. Also, Palmer brings up the same problem that teachers face
as Kozol did in his book. The problem is not listening. Kozols reason why teachers nowadays
dont listen to students is because they strongly wants to be on task. Palmers reason why
teachers dont listen is because we separate teaching from learning. I never thought teachers
this will be a problem because every teacher I had all listened to me carefully. I think I should
be aware of this problem and try to listen to students when I become a teacher in the future.
Response to the Reading: Kozol and Kohn
Annie Kim
After reading Kohns passage about grading, I thought about the importance, or the
role of grading. Grade is important to both students and teachers. It evaluates how students and
teachers are doing in class. However, now, I think many people are obsessed with grade that
we often forget the true purpose of it. Especially in Korea, many students are the slaves of
grade. They die for good grade because they think higher grade will bring them a good
reputation. High grades proves that they are smart and it makes them to think of themselves as
the best. Also, teachers favor students who have higher grades. Due to this, teachers ignore
students with lower grade who are in desperate need of help. This created big gap between
those two groups of students. When I see these problems in Korea, I ask myself a question:
why do we grade? Is it necessary? Is there any other ways to check our achievement? I agree
with Kohn that grading motivates students to learn more and focus on class, but I personally
think grading motivates students in a bad way. I am a person who set a high value on grading.
Getting A on every class or tests was a big deal for me. To get a good grade, I concentrated and
studied hard on every subject. However, this was never a good motivation for me to study,
instead it was a pressure and stress that forced me to study. I am pretty sure that this is the case
for all students. As a young teacher, I dont want my students to get stressed out because of
their grades and I dont want to rank or sort them according to grade. In order to do this, I think
it is really important to think carefully about how I can use grading without giving them stress.
From the reading by Kozol, Chapter 12 really stood out to me. Kozol emphasizes how
important it is to help children to think about their own opinions and believes. As a teacher, we
need to be able to present oppositional materials to them so that they can really think about it
by challenging and questioning their own ideas. Students cant just take the idea and agree with
it. I agree with Kozol that it is really crucial for students to think about it before they take it as
their own belief and derive their own conclusions.
 Response to the Reading& Noguera
Annie Kim
In last few chapters of Letters to a Young Teacher, Kozol mainly summarizes his point
and give final advice to the young teachers. In Chapter fourteen, I agree with Kozol that we
need to make our job a vocation rather than just spiritless career. As I was reading this chapter,
I thought about my own vocation. My vocation, or calling, is to become a missionary teacher.
I grew up in China watching parents missionary works. After I graduate from Calvin, my
vocation is to go back to China and teach Chinese English. Like what Kozol said, even though
we face contradictions and difficulties, it is important to remember that this is Gods vocation
for me.
I also loved the part where Kozol described children as his teacher. I think in student-
teacher relationship, teachers are not the only one who teach. Teachers also can learn from
students and can get many things out of them. Kozol says, And these are children who refuse
to let their spirits be destroyed by even the most formidable situations of injustice that surround
them. When it comes to courage, my best teachers have been children (Kozol, p.210).
I was also respect his attitude. He goes to school in search of blessings. I truly think
children are blessings. I find joy in seeing their sweetness and playfulness. When I am around
children, I get strength from them and this is the main reason why I want to be a teacher. I think
Kozol really valued his relationship with children because throughout the book, he emphasized
how important relationship is. He said, The enduring friendships of these children are my
sustenance (Kozol, p.). This quote touched me and could feel how much he valued them.
Reading Letters to a Young Teacher really helped me to think about what education and teacher
is. It was a good book that prepares young teachers.
It was very interesting to read Nogueras story. I never went to urban schools or public
schools. I went to small academy or was homeschooled, so I wasnt aware of the problems
that urban schools went through. It is amazing to read how Noguera tries his best to change
the urban schools with hope. He observed and researched to find the ways to improve and
solve the problem. I agree with him that every human beings have the ability to rise above
even the most difficult obstacles, to become more than just victims of circumstance. I believe
God gave everyone the ability to overcome their problems and develop themselves.
Response to the Reading: Shortt and Hilelema
Annie Kim
I am very excited to read Bible-shaped Teaching because I hope to teach at Christian
school and become a Christian teacher. I hope this book will not only guide me to live a Bible-
shaped life, but also teach me how to lead children to be a Bible-shaped person. I think
Christian teachers are different from just teacher. I think we have specific purpose in teaching.
We are serving God in our classroom by teaching children. I agree with Shortt that being shaped
by the Bible is life-long. God talks and teaches us through Bible and I think Bible is something
that we shouldnt give up in every stage of our lives. By reading Bible, we gain knowledge and
strength. I think in order to be Bible-shaped person, we should know what Bible is and learn
how important it is in our lives. I cannot wait to read more about how we can connect Bible
with teaching.
I think it is true that being shaped by Bible is life-wide. No matter what we do, no
matter where we are, God has wonderful plans for us and that is what our calling is. I really
liked the verse Shortt provided. It says, whatever we do, we are working for the Lord and it is
him that we are serving (Col 3:23-24). As we go out to the teaching field in the future, I think
it is important to remember that we are doing this for God, not for me.
Hielema talks about creating a grace-shaped community that helps children with
mental health struggles. Christian educators have a unique gift and we are stewards of grace. I
have served Chinese orphanage for few years. It is a place where they take care of Chinese
children with mental disorders. I am always amazed how Christian teachers there were
understanding, passionate, caring, and full of patience. I know it is a hard work for them to take
care of children with mental disorders. It needs more energy and patience, but they never
complained or get upset, but they always hugged them with love. Through them, I could see
how they created grace-shaped community.
I also agree with Hielema that our calling as teacher is to come to know each of our
students well enough so that (a) we can imagine what they will be like as finished new creations;
(b) we can see the seeds of this finished work in them now, and (c) we can nurture those seeds
on the way towards that completion. I think these are all purposes of teachers that we want to
prepare them to be a completed and well-educated people before they go out to the world.
Response to the Reading: Shortt 2,3,4
By Annie Kim
Psalm 119 exactly describes the mental images I have of the Bible and the role it
plays in my life. Psalm 119 says, Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. To
me, the Bible is like a guidebook that leads me to the right way and it gives me wisdom.
When I am lost, I read the Bible for help. When I am weak, I read the Bible for strength. I
read this because I believe it is Gods Word and that is a tool to communicate with God. For
this reason, I often push myself to read the Bible every day, but it is always hard and I gave
him all these bad excuses for not reading it. When I was reading Bible-shaped teaching, I
once again realized the importance of the Bible. I agree with Shortt that The Bible is an
environment that we should seek to inhabit, and in which to live and breathe (Shortt, p. 9).
The Bible is as important as breathing because it gives us life and shapes who we are as a
person. .
It was interesting to read about how Shortt describes our lives as stories. Our lives
are full of small parts of stories collected to make a big story. When we meet someone, we
are encountering their stories. This is especially important to teachers whose life is all about
meeting with others. Different child has different stories to tell and as teacher, my role is to
listen to their stories. It is amazing to think how my story can overlaps with childrens stories
in the future. I can be part of their story! I love listening to others adventures and it is always
interesting to see how God works through their stories.
Also, different emphasis on story determines what and how we teach. I was born
Christian and my parents are missionaries working in China. Growing up as a missionary
kid, most of my stories relate to Gods Big Story. Based on my stories, the things that I will
teach is about my experience with God and teach them in the way God taught me. To teach
others Bible, I agree with Shortt that we need to be looking for new ways of hearing and
reading the Bible. I always wanted to learn specific ways of reading and interpreting the
Bible. I hope this book will introduce and teach me more about Bible and how Bible shapes
us.
Response to the Reading: Shortt 5, 6, 7
By Annie Kim
Chapter 5 talks about how metaphor influence our lives. At first, I didnt know why
metaphor was so important and I thought metaphor is not really necessary in human living
and understanding. However, as I read through the chapter, I realized that our lives are full of
metaphors. In the Bible, God also uses metaphor to explain. It was interesting to see how
Shortt described metaphor. He said, The metaphors we use are embedded in our ways of
seeing the world, our worldview (Shortt, p.28). It is true that metaphor reflects on how we
see things. We say time is money because we think and believe that time is valuable.
It was also interesting to read about teachers metaphors for teaching. My own
metaphor of teaching is parent. I really liked the small passage from an article by Samson
Makahdo. Teachers should see children as gifted, honored guests who have something to
share with others (Shortt, p.30) and we as teacher should provide safe space for them to
develop their gifts.
Chapter 6 made me realize that the best example of teacher was Jesus. Jesus can be a
perfect model that we want to become. Jesus teaching rooted in everyday life, it was
appropriate for those he was teaching, it not only provoked thought, but also is memorable.
The most important thing about Jesus teaching is that it is motivated by love. I personally
love plays great role in our lives. Without it, it would be impossible for us to live. Love is
especially important when we are dealing with children. Children has to be loved in order to
grow and develop. Jesus taught disciples and others with love and I really respect that.
Chapter 7 introduced me some specific ways of how we can use Biblical principles
in our teaching. It says that Education should lead to a better knowledge of God and it should
prepare people for service of God. It was interesting to read these because I never thought
about Education like these. I always thought of Education and Bible teaching as different
things, but eventually as Christian teacher, we have to put these two together. I agree with
Shortt that we should educate children according to how God has made them (Shortt, p.47).
I think it is important to remember that each one of children is made and loved by God and I
dont have right to judge them. As a teacher, I have to love each one of them like how God
loved them.
Response to the Reading: Chapter 8,9,10
I enjoyed reading Shortts book. Each chapters are short and easy to reading. However,
I think it would be nice if we can read this book at the beginning of the course. I liked reading
Kozol more than Shortt. Kozols book was more personal, so it helped me to get a glimpse of
what real teaching is like. Also, it would be nice if we can talk about the book more in class,
but generally, I enjoyed reading these two books in class. Both of these books introduce and
get ourselves ready to become a teacher.
I agree with Shortt that teachers are not just simply teaching, but we are more like
opening windows on Gods world and helping our students to focus on the world through
them (Shortt, p.52). I love how he worded it as opening windows to help them see the world
with Gods eyes. Now, I can see that eighteen years of learning was all about forming my own
worldview. Students are developing their worldview in school and we, as teachers, are
responsible to guide them to have right worldviews. We help them to see the world in a
different aspect. Those aspects can be mathematical, physical, historical, artistic, economical,
and theological.
Chapter 8 talks about how we can be a living letters in the classroom. Shortt said, It
is not always easy to show the grace and gentleness of Christ in all classroom situation
(Shortt, p. 61). I totally agree with what Shortt said here. When I was young, I wanted to
become a teacher simply because I love them. However, as I grow and learn more about
teaching, I realized how hard it is to become an influential teacher. Dealing with children
everyday may be a stressful thing and sometimes I might be frustrated with these lovely
children. All teachers go through these hardships, but I personally think what distinguish good
teacher from bad teacher is how they overcome these hardships. In our classroom, we might
be struggle with individual students, racial, social, cultural, and gender prejudice and
injustices. We need to be wise when we are handling these problems and remember to seek
God.
It was interesting to read about Shortts view of teacher. He said what really matters
is the kind of people that we are. I agree with Shortt that we often misunderstand that being a
Christian teacher is simply a matter of being nice, caring, loving, gracious person. However,
being a Christian teacher is to live in Gods story and shaped as Gods image through the
Bible.
 Self-Evaluation
Annie Kim

Give yourself a rating of 1-5 (5 being the best and 1 being the worst) on each of these categories
and give a short explanation of why you gave yourself this rating:

1) Class Attendance -Did you attend all the classes? Were you on time? If you
missed a class, did you send me a message to let me know why you were not able to
come to class?
2) Writing Responses on time -- Did you submit your writing responses on time
(6:00 on Wednesday)?
3) Reading Thoughtfully and Thoroughly -- Did you read the assignments with care?
4) Good Writing
5) Participated Well in Class -- Did you join in the discussions in helpful ways
listening well, offering your own thoughts on the readingsetc.

1. 5. I attended all the classes and mostly on time.

2. 5. I submitted my writing responses on time.
3. 4. I read the assignments with care, but sometimes I was disturbed and couldnt focus
on reading. However, most of the time I read it carefully and thought about it.
4. 4. As second language learner, I dont think I am good at writing, but I tried hard to
organize my thoughts and explain it thoroughly in my response essays.
5. 4. I joined in the discussions in helpful ways. I shared my opinions and reflection
when we were discussing as a small group. I listened to others opinion and tried my
best to response to their thoughts.