James Smith

By Nelly Mejía Martí

"I observe more than I speak; just because I'm not saying anything doesn't mean

 I have nothing to say” - Michael Green

What a great phrase to start and describe a person like James Smith, whose name might be considered as common and taken out of a phone book as he likes to say, but whose ideas are certainly not, by the contrary, they are nothing but ordinary.

James is currently working as a teacher in South Korea and has been teaching for about 10 years. He remembers having started by facing two options: Serving in the military or going to Korea and work at a Kindergarten. He found himself perplexed by what his options were, yet decided to choose the most belligerent and hostile of the two: being a teacher in a Korean Kindergarten.

Teaching, in general, is difficult, it's challenging and add to that being an introvert your whole life. Having a voice but not being able to share it with the world, and when trying to do so, being shut down and ignored. That's what happened to James during his first days as a student. He had a voice, yet wasn't allowed to set it free, wasn't allowed to give it wings a let it fly.

Nevertheless, he finally got to break the rusty chains that would keep his voice imprisoned and give it the freedom it needed. He did it through teaching. He found himself in the necessity of providing his students a voice and encouraging them to have one. To help those who were like him, to give them back their confidence and recover their love for learning. This was, according to him, a moral responsibility he proudly carried on his shoulders 

His strong desire to make students conquer their fears and break through their limitations kept him going and has made him the teacher he is today.