Special Needs Home Visit/Party! (The Peace House 평강 의집)

A few weeks ago, I decided to take part in a party at the Peace House that the AVA (Andong Volunteers Association) organized. The Peace House is a special needs home on the outskirts of Andong that a man and his family run. A good amount of foreigners here are affiliated with the local Christian church, whom donate money to the Peace House, which is in turn, how the foreign community came to find out about it. Since then, AVA has organized monthly visits. Unfortunately I always had something going on during those weekends, so this was the first time I had actually visited the home.

Side note: Serious kudos to Meredith Stein, president of AVA and a big reason as to why this all came together.

A little bit about the residents:
They range in age from 5 months old to about their 30 or 40's. I spent most of my time with two different residents. One 16 yr-old girl (who developmentally, looked about 8 or 9.) She is incapable of walking on her own and is most comfortable on her back resting on your legs. She is unable to speak well but had the biggest, most beautiful smile. This girl was all about the balloon we were passing around, and kept trying to hit it. I also spent some time with a 9 yr old, who again, physically looked like he was no more than 3 years old. He was just the cutest little boy. He sat between my legs the whole time, playing with my bracelets and a fan I gave him. During one of the games he was screaming and laughing and so full of life. There was another girl who walks on her knees, and is damn good at it I must say! She has such a light in her eyes. So much of the world can learn from her. I never once saw her frown, and she was just gliding across that floor so effortlessly. So full of life that one.

Lee Ji-wan, is an adorable baby boy who was given up by his parents because of his medical conditions. He has a condition called Congenital Anomaly Facial Cleft #7. This means that he has lateral facial cleft and ear deformities. Despite these conditions, his brain is a normally-functioning brain. Therefore, he has a bright future and a normal one at that. This home took him in and is their youngest resident at just five months old. The AVA was informed that he will need 3 surgeries total,  and the first one is roughly the cost of one foreign teacher's monthly salary (2,000,000won- 3,000,000won). The AVA decided to open up a separate bank account solely for Ji-wan. After a few short months of fundraisers and getting the word out, the Korean and foreign community of Andong has raised 2,300,000won ($2,072). As of a few days ago, we received news that Ji-wan will go to Seoul in a few weeks for his final evaluation and surgery. It really is quite amazing when a community of people, despite your culture, background, religion, beliefs, race, sex, etc. can come together for something simply because it's the right thing to do.

As of a few weeks ago, Ji-wan's father has very abruptly come back into his life. Now, I am about to say only what I've heard. Serious topics like this, can get misconstrued very easily. You have to keep in mind translation issues and Korea's "saving face" culture. Apparently from what we gathered, the father found out about what we were doing and how much money we raised, and he now wants the rights to his account, he wants to take Ji-wan to his surgery by himself (He made it clear he does not want anyone to go with him.) After the surgery he intends to take Ji-wan out of the Peace House and take him back home with him. Now, we all have very mixed feeling about this, but in the end it all comes back to the one similar conclusion... he most likely wants the money for himself, and even if he does get his son the surgery, he has no idea what the recovery will entail. Most importantly, we believe he does not have any right to this child after literally dumping him and leaving him for basically dead, just because he was too damn arrogant to love, care for him, and accept him as his own. But let's not fret- The AVA has complete rights over Ji-wan's funds and will not be handing them over that easily. OK. END OF RANT.

Ji-wan and our friend Gospel

   
We had organized a few different games and activities for the party, including face painting and Pass the Parcel, where we sat in a big circle and passed around a huge wrapped gift. Each layer of paper had to be torn away to reveal a smaller gift, and the last layer contained a huge package of tooth brushes for everyone in the house. We had a Fishing for Fish game in a small inflatable pool, in which the residents got socks as prizes. We finished with handing out juice boxes and popcorn, and popped in a movie as we quietly slipped out the door. They get very emotional when we leave them, so we thought it best to be a little sneaky this time..

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Photo cred: Chris Colverd

Overall, it was a great day full of special little moments that I will take with me when I leave this country. I also realized that despite me not having a direct relationship with the Andong Church and its members, I am very grateful to them, especially to Sunny, our main connection. They have included us in this city; they have kept us informed; they have made us feel like we matter and that we are respected here. Sunny is a big reason for connecting the Korean and Foreign community. Without the help from this church, a lot of what we have done here in Andong would not have been possible.

Finally, I was overwhelmed with the amount of residents (about 40) that live in this home and the dedication and selflessness this man shows in order to care for them. The Andong government gives the home 1,000,000won ($1,000) per month. They rely on donations for the rest of their finances, mostly from churches. My co-teacher didn't even know this place existed when I told her about it. $1,000 is less than half of my monthly paycheck. Less than half! Put that into perspective for a second. It's wrong on every level. It really is just unbelievable that they don't get more support. Most of these children and adults residing in this home are disconnected from their families because of their conditions. They either did not know how to care for them or did they did not want to.

A developmental disability does not mean a crappy life. It's sad that it is 2013, and so much of the world is still thinking this way. Where are the resources? Where is the mindset? Where is the education? Where is the selflessness? The open-minded-ness? The educated? The high expectations? Is it up to the minority here to show the compassion and the time, so that it eventually triggers some sort of change? I really do hope so. I hope sooner rather than later- people change. People start to learn.

Hope.

Heartbreaking Day

I woke up this morning to personal heartbreak and I went into school insisting that I have a good day despite it. These kids deserve that. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Teaching is one of those jobs where your personal matters should never enter that classroom. Of course your students should see you emotional at times; it lets them know their teacher is still human. But there is a point where your personal life needs to be left at that door, and that's what I did today. As I looked into the 25 eyes of my first 4th grade class, it was affirmed yet again how naive and innocent children are. Most of them don't know heartbreak, death, abuse, stress, etc. All they have to do is go to school, play with their friends, enjoy their family, and play some games.

We all know that key word "most" is a crucial word in explaining this. Some kids absolutely do know mature emotions. It's unfortunate. In this case I'm going to talk about neglect.

My second 4th grade class includes one special education student. He is behaviorally challenged and has no services at school or at home. He comes to class day after day, prepared with his book and pencil case, but will not open the book and will not take out a pencil. His partner will eventually do this for him if I don't get there first. What kills me is his facial expression. I have never once seen him smile, smirk, or laugh. His eyebrows are in a constant furrow and his lips in a frown. This seems exaggerated but I wouldn't be writing it if it was. It's almost as if I want to dress up in a clown costume, do a stupid dance and make a fool of myself all to get the tiniest ounce of happiness out of this kid. His eyes are so sad and his body language kills me everyday he walks into that classroom.

I realize I'm going to explain this like it's out of a scene of a movie... but that's how I write long stories like this one.. so deal with it.

Today I realized this student wasn't writing anything, so I went over and tried to get him to copy out of his partner's book. When I asked for his pencil, he hid it behind his back and wouldn't budge. I decided to leave it be. Next was a fun English game where they needed to flick an eraser and state the sentence where it landed. I asked his partner if he had an eraser. He said no, so I reached for the boy's eraser which was sitting on his desk. He slammed down his hand and wouldn't let me have it. I gave his partner my eraser and told him to play with the team in front of him. I thought the boy would see how much fun the game was and involve himself. Plan backfired. Instead, he started pushing the chair in front of him with his feet, which happened to have a classmate sitting in it. This classmate was now getting squished between his chair and desk. He asked the boy kindly to stop.
*Since teaching here, I've realized Korean children are very good at problem solving. (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before in another entry.) Unlike children back home, they can discuss their disagreements and issues without a teacher's help. They are quite the independent children*
Knowing this, I watched the situation unfold from from afar, keeping a keen eye. Once I realized it wasn't working and the student was now in pain from getting too far squished, I quietly went over and asked the student if he wanted to move his seat so he wouldn't get hurt, and he did. I thought this would stop the boy, but he then continued on to push the now empty desk into the one in front of that, which of course had a girl sitting in it. She began to cry out because she was now the one trapped in between her chair and desk
*Koreans are very physical. In school, students hit, smack, and punch each other left and right. In this culture, it's not perceived like it is in the West. I've wrote about this multiple times on how I've accepted it because it's usually all in good fun. It is half my classroom however so  I reprimand the act every time I see it, but of course it means nothing if the the next time the Korean teacher is laughing about it and turning it into a joke. (This is something I've just accepted, because I can't be bothered worrying about it anymore.)*
However, this situation was starting to get entirely out of control, so I used my best educated judgement to take action. I may be the Native Teacher but I am still a teacher in that classroom, and this girl was now crying out, clenching her back and yelling at him to stop. I went over, picked up the desk right behind her that was pushing into her and slammed it down. I then took it along with the chair and swung it around to lean it against the wall, so that he now had a huge empty space in front of him with nothing to push. There was 3 minutes left of class, but of course all of the students went silent and looked over to see what had just happened. My CT and I directed their attention back to their work but the sound of this boy's now stomping feet were distracting. Both of us ignored him and when class ended, 2/3 of the students went and hovered around the boy. Of course that just worked him up even more. The stomping got louder and he was now flailing his arms telling them to go away. I looked up at my CT and told her, "They're making it worse by standing there.." She nodded her head and then left the room. I thought she had gone to fetch their homeroom teacher. No... I found out 2 minutes later that she was casually walking back from the bathroom. After she left the room, I quietly tried to control the situation and ask the students to leave the classroom. Most of them did except a select few boys who stayed with the boy and tried to calm him down. He was now really moving and getting violent. This is only my second year of teaching, on top of not speaking these kids' language and coming from a completely different culture...I used every bit of knowledge that I had. Do I run and get his homeroom teacher or do I stay with them so that he doesn't injure himself or anyone else? I decided to quickly run and get the homeroom teacher. As she walked back to the classroom with me, I witnessed the boy being dragged out into the hallway on his chair. Yeah... this is how his classmates decided to go about the situation. Bless their hearts. As we got closer, the boy rose up and started violently hitting the other kids. Complete breakdown time. This is when I saw my CT walking back from the bathroom, expressionless. Not a bother in the world. I made the rest of the students in the hallway leave, and my next class who were all hanging out the doorway watching, to get back inside. The homeroom teacher and the school secretary, who happened to be on our floor, were now there so I gathered that it was my time to leave.

Before class started, I talked quickly to my CT about it. I asked her if he has some kind of services here. She went on to say that "No. His father does not want him in a 'special school.' In Korea, if your child is special and gets services, it means your child is low and that doesn't look good for the parents. I know in America, things are different." I finally got the facial expressions I was looking for.. she felt somewhat sorry for the boy. I don't know if it was quite empathy, but at least it was some sort of sympathy. Despite the fumes coming out of me, I, politely as I could,  said, "It's such a shame because it is SO SIMPLE to educate him and make him happy with the right services." Neglect. His father is neglectful. He, along with these other parents who are keeping their children in classrooms without the proper resources, are neglectful. And it is so wrong. This happens all over the world. I'm no longer just talking about Korea. We teachers, we see it all the time. And it breaks our hearts. She told me we need to ignore him (I could'v'e put a 10k bet on that response.) I told her that I did ignore the situation in the beginning but when the other students clearly started getting hurt, I needed to do something. She said I did everything right, which I'm having a hard time believing she fully meant, but I'll take it. I'm living in the culture of "saving face" and not wanting to be confrontational because that is seen as embarrassing.

I now had a class to teach and had to forget about all of this for the next 40 minutes. 30 minutes of that class consisted of me talking over the screaming from this boy coming from the hallway right outside our classroom. It was a bloody murder type scream. You know those kinds. What was unbearable, was not the screech and the volume themselves, but the fact that I felt completely and utterly helpless. I do not speak this kid's language. I see him twice a week for a total of 80 minutes. The help, the hug, the love, and the SAFETY I wanted to give this boy... I couldn't do it. Telling him it's okay, to calm down, and to give him the reassurance that I truly care about his well-being, his safety, and his education..were all things I just could not do. Instead I had to teach these 25 kids in front of me while listening to my student cry bloody murder 20 feet from me.

Later in the day, was a teacher's activities hour, which consisted of volleyball and a packed table of food and alcohol. This student's homeroom teacher was going on and on about what had happened. Very animated with her body. She put a hand on my shoulder and told me she was sorry and gave me a sympathetic smile. Teacher after teacher came up to me saying, "Sorry." "Oh, were you surprised?" I answered truthfully, "No. I was not surprised." It's as if everyone felt bad that the poor Native Teacher had to witness this in her class. I kept a smile on and tried not to make any sarcastic, rude remarks. I had just had it. I was ready to go home.

I started writing this entry yesterday.. so I'll continue on about what happened today. The homeroom teacher and the student came to my classroom about two hours ago and he apologized directly to me in Korean and in English. Honestly, I tried to look away because I felt tears coming. I must have told him at least 4 times in Korean, "thank you" and, "it's okay." I gave him a huge hug and I could have sworn I saw the tiniest smile form on his face. I hope that this is the breaking point for him in my class. I hope he sees that I am someone in his life who cares about him. From what I've seen, I'm not sure he has too many of them.




I know Korea is behind many countries. The country itself is only 60+ years old. As a friend said, they have a lot of growing to do. They have come so far in such a short amount of time. They went from being one of the poorest countries in the world who received international aid, to a country who can now afford to give it out... in just 60 years. It's quite amazing. But despite their advanced technology and fast-growing economy, they still have a long way to go. Their education system needs new ideas and resources. I hope this is where foreign teachers come in. If we can somehow make an impression on these teachers and administrators to realize that something needs to be done in terms of special education, then I believe we've come one step further to full acceptance of all people in this country.