The Good luck Geunhwa cirlce

Yesterday we had a two hour school mass service. This mass was to prepare and wish our matric girls good luck for the upcoming and very stressful university exams. I had a very similar sort of service  at my school in South Africa before we wrote our final exams. However, what we  didnt have was a good luck circle. In the middle of the church service all 250 grade 3 students formed a very large circle around the perimeter of the school hall. Then all of the teachers got up from their seats and went inside this giant circle. Feeling utterly confused as to what was going on I joined the other teachers inside the large circle and was informed that we were making a good luck circle , ( a very old Geunhwa tradition) and that we should shake hands and wish each grade 3 student good luck for the exam.

As I began walking around the circle and shaking each girls hand to wish them good luck I noticed many of them desperately trying to hold back their tears. Suddenly I had flashbacks of when I was in my final year of school and how I felt just before the final exams . Stressed , overwhelmed and nervous. Anyone who is an english high school teacher in Korea will back me up here. The pressure placed on these students is incomprehensible.

I realised that they were not crying because they were sad , they were crying because of the pressure , the stress and the fear of failing. As I continued to walk around the circle wishing them good luck my tears soon turned into sobbs as I realised just how important it is for these girls to do well in this exam. Failure to achieve a high grade will result in them not getting into the university that they have always dreamed of going to. With this in mind I attempted to make my " good luck" wishes more encouraging and excititng " Good luck , you can do it" " Keep fighting" "You gonna do so well" .Such simple words of encouragement yet it gave them a glimmer of hope that everything is going to be ok.Some of them held onto my hand and wouldnt let go as the tears came streaming down their faces. Being the emotional person that I am I took it one step further and started hugging all of them. The principal who was watching all of this go down didnt look too impressed. However when it comes to matters such as supporting and encouraging your students I say screw the rules.

I know this post may seem boring or pointless however , I wanted to share it with you because I think it is a beautiful tradition at Geunhwa and something that I never experienced at school. More importantly it illsutrates the importance of ecouraging others and believing in them. Eventhough I have never taught the grade 3 's and dont have much of a relationship with them I know that they will take our words of encouragemnet with them when they write the exam. So lets not forget or take for granted just how influential our few words of encouragement can be for others and especially our students.

x

The good luck Geunhwa circle . Teachers going around the circle wishing each student good luck