By Shin Chul-ho

I have taught English with five foreign teachers at five elementary schools; two Americans, one Englishman, one Australian, and one Canadian.

They had a different personalities and behavior but I was able to find two distinctive features between them. That is, the native teachers whose parents have a great interest in them and who like sports have a sincere work attitude. Otherwise, they aroused criticism. I will talk about them one by one.

The native speaker from Australia was over 40 years old but not married. He tacked a photo of his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews on the bookshelf and introduced them with pride. When I told him that it would be much better for him to get married and have his own children than living alone, he said with a big smile, ``Doesn't matter. Cause I've got lots of nephews and kids." He was also frequently in contact with his family members. He, brimming with a sense of humor and always enjoying a morning jog, taught English fantastically.

A workout was an everyday event for a young man who came from England perhaps because his major was sports. He acted in a style befitting a British gentleman. He prepared teaching plans hard at school and taught the children really well. When several months passed after he arrived in Korea, his parents paid a visit in order to know how their son's life was in Korea. Last June he sent an email in which he asked me to write a recommendation for admission to a university to get a teacher certification. The email also contained ``His father is inquiring about what information should be included in the recommendation.”

A young woman from America is working at my school. Examining her college transcripts, I saw she had studied very well as a scholarship student. Only a fortnight has passed since her arrival. But she knows how to do her work with confidence. Not only obvious is the attitude that she does not want to burden others but also her body seems to emit health and a positive posture.

She has difficulty teaching English because she cannot speak Korean at all but I am sure that she will overcome it with her brightness. Before she set foot on Korea soil, I exchanged news by email with her about thirty times. I was astonished when she wanted to know whether there are any gyms for rock-climbing near my school. Later, I learnt that she enjoys camping, trekking, swimming,. Her sister came to Korea three months earlier as an English teacher. So their parents came to Korea a week ago and are now here to make sure they are staying safe.

I know two other native speakers of the opposite case. An American man was not able to control his emotions. He was promiscuous, indulged in alcohol, and was a chain smoker. His back was covered in tattoos and the stab wound in his left chest made him go to Seoul to see a doctor once a week. His attempt to seduce a caregiver at the school was uncovered.

According to his words, after marrying his mother, his father married four other women successively. When he was born, his father was already with his second wife. He was one of least likeable foreigners I've ever seen.

A Korean-Canadian native speaker said that she was sick. She said this for three months. One day she did not come to school. I called her but she did not answer. At first she went see a doctor in the neighborhood and later she went to a larger hospital. After two months she went to Seoul National University Hospital, saying that she could communicate in English there.

But after she went there a couple of times, she began to go to the clinic in the neighborhood again. She left school during work hours more than thirty times to see a doctor and took sick leave five times. Strangely enough, after notice from the principal that he would not renew the contract with her, she never went early from work and never took sick leave.

The examples of the native English teachers aforementioned taught me two things. First, we hear that in the West children become adults and leave home completely independent. In contrast, we reflect on our upbringing style that we overprotect our children even after they grow from childhood to adulthood.

Definitely, the fact that being overprotective of children deprives them of the ability to stand up deserves condemnation. But for proper growth of our children, leading them to the right path with love and concern even after adulthood holds good, regardless of whether in the East or West. Second, all citizens should workout hard.

As far as exercise is not for the fitness of gangsters, people who do any kind of exercise are healthy and mostly good citizens.

The writer is a teacher at an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province. He can be reached at heemy123@hanmail.net.