Lakeland College

Interview with Sul-Rang Woo

Title: An Interview with Sul-Rang Woo: A Korean Student in the USA

Project: Lakeland Oral History Project

Interviewee: Sul-Rang Woo

Interviewer: Jaime Wichman

Interview location and date: Brotz Hall Pod 24 C, Lakeland College, Sheboygan, WI on March 2nd, 2008

Length of interview: 24 minutes, 5 pages

Name Index: Sul-Rang Woo, Jaime Wichman

Abstract: An interview with Sul-Rang (Sarah) Woo, a student at Lakeland College, Wisconsin. Topics include studying in a foreign country and teacher certification. Topics include childhood in Korea, the teaching certification process in Korea, Lakeland U.S. compared to Lakeland Korea, student teaching in Korea, and consideration of the U.S. teacher certification program.

Introduction: Sul-Rang Woo and Jamie met in Jamie's sophomore year at Lakeland College. Both are education majors.

The interview took place on campus using a hand-held digital recorder to capture the interview. The transcript of this interview has been edited for easier reading. All verbal hesitations, stutters and false starts have been deleted. Certain questions and answers unrelated to the focus of this interview have also been edited out.

Sul-Rang Woo is a junior at Lakeland College studying to become a early childhood teacher. She is from South Korea and plans to return after she graduates.

Jaime Wichman is a sophomore at Lakeland College studying to become a high school teacher. She is from Franklin, Wi and is hoping to teach German one day.

An Interview with Sul Rang Woo:

Jaime Wichman: My name is Jaime Wichman. I am at sophomore at Lakeland College and my major is secondary education with a double minor in broad field social studies and a minor in German. I am involved in global student association, the Lakeland college women's soccer team, I am the Brotz hall academic programming assistant, and I am a campus ambassador.

Sul-Rang Woo: My name is Sul-Rang Woo and English name is Sarah. I am a junior in the Lakeland College. My major is early childhood education and I am involved in KSA Korean Student Association and GSA Global Student Association and also joined the Catholic Student Association. And I was growing up in Korea.

Wichman: What was it like growing up in Korea? Do you have any favorite memories?

Woo:Yeah like hanging out with my friends. Actually I was growing up very city so I can have more, I could have more experiences compared with the rural area students. So I really enjoyed my college life in Korea also have a lot of activity such as like a religion or like actor, how do you call that like, drama thing yeah I really enjoyed that so everything experiences I have in Korea is everything is special and also here too. Okay.

Wichman: And you mentioned your mom was a principal?

Woo: Yeah. And also she just she gave a lot of pressure to me to become a teacher because she was. I was kind of helping to her from random ..[had a hard time understanding].. computer work it was nothing for her but for me it was a part of my experience to become a teacher. I also played with the children. It was really good for me to understand how children have to get take cared. It was good.

Wichman: When did you decide you wanted to become a teacher? Was there a specific event in your life that helped you decide that this was the occupation for you?

Woo:As I told you, my mom is a kindergarten [principal] in Korea. I decide to become a teacher when I was a high school student so (phone interrupts) so when I have time to help my parents and my mother, I really enjoyed to help her and I have I also came see how to teacher have to take care of children. Also it was a specific experience so it was really helpful when I was studying in Korea in my major. Also those kinds of experiences make me to become a teacher I think.

Wichman: How did you find out about Lakeland?

Woo: My college in Korea was a sister college of Lakeland College. So when I was a junior in the school I real I found I couldn't go to the chance to had the chance I could have the chance to come here so also...because it is the sister college I we could get a some scholarship from here so and also in Korea. So it was a good chance to me. Yeah.

Wichman: How is Lakeland different then our sister school in Korea?

Woo: Umm, or how is it similar as well? Oh like the curriculum is kinda of similar very similar because we just the professor gives us our directions for how to study for our major and in Korea it is the same and but I think that found some different things is like we don't have kinda dormitory in Korea and also and yeah I but in kinda in rural area college some college have a dormitory so. Okay.

Wichman: How did your family feel about you coming to study at Lakeland?

Woo: They said really is it is a really good chance for me and also for them because I can have more experience that I never expected before and also I can share my culture with my the other friends from other other country and also I could feel what is the deeper with America and with a my county. So and also the other thing is I can study with the other friends from other country was very interesting because I can when I have a chance to talk with them they just share their opinion with their cultural and their government system. Or something so for like example I have a lot friends from other from other ethnic groups like Burmese and Chinese and Japanese. And yeah. So even though I'm in America I can have a experience like from a lot of countries. So that's kinda...

Wichman: What is the process of becoming a teacher in Korea?

Woo: To become a teacher, like a for early childhood education teacher you should be like a very critical so for example we got to have a activity with the very small children so they also cannot understand what teacher is saying or what teacher want to teach them so we kinda want to have a experience with them so for example in our in my count in Korea they suggest to take a piano classes and also like a act classes to create their emotion to know center my emotion to my my kids so probably they the most better to understand only to talk with my blackboard. So yeah they really they really suggest that those steps. Also government also suggests take a basic like basic classes like introduction to education it's same like America and also psychology a little bit introduction to. But elementary and middle school and high school system is different even though they got the certification from the school and also from government. Like a the teacher graded the early childhood school but they also have to take a kind of PPST like a America so the PPST is really as I heard really really specific not like education things so for so for example they just have to take like the political issue exam thing so they also have to take a very practical like test thing like a like playing the piano and also have to take a Korean maybe Korean. It is really important for the teacher because they have to fluently in Korean also like you guys because the language to send to a children is important because even though we can't speak just normally like a person but it's a different way to talk. And how can you understand? to the children? Yeah children yeah so yeah those things is required to elementary school teacher. And also middle school is very specific it is starts at a very specific subject so it kinda more higher then elementary school system to become a teacher. Also and also I want to give an example about the student in Korea. Because if they want to go to high school from middle school they have to take a like a an exam like SAT its not a to go to college but to go to high school they have to take it (so an average student okay) yeah pass so it's kind of average so if they take it very well and is very top of student they can go to a really good college, ugh high school and also some people doesn't want don't want to take the test they can go to like a technical high school so they can prepare their like more practical job things so yeah so those is different and also for high school student they having a really difficult to time because their school is starting at seven o clock so which means they have to be there before seven so for example I went to the school like 6:30 am and I there regular learning hours finished at 5 o clock but ...indoor... finished at 5 o clock by we could not go home because we had to study by ourself until 10 pm after that we are thinking we more learn from a private academy so they just apply we just pay for extra studying for the academy so they can learn what they need to study more. .for example for me I really wasn't good at English so I had to go a private academy to learn more and they improve my English skills and also it takes a lot like four hours so that means I can't come back to my home like 2 am and can sleep a few hours and then wake up and have to be there like 6 am. It's like very circle circle circle so yeah it was very very boring so yeah so when I have a the time you know break time, I just know slept until 2 pm in the Sunday. Those kind of habits make me, you know how how to say it, now I just sleeping until 2 am, 2 pm in Sunday that's why so many Koreans just sleep until like you know 2 am, 2 pm even though they are not really tired but they feel oh my God I need to sleep because couldn't to go to sleep also. So many Korean students have those habits habits and to go to college they also have to take a SAT so so basic test they have to be required is Korean and it is including everything like poem or fiction or everything they have analyzing also but they do not take like a essay thing. We just take the a test multiple choices. Also basic science and basic history things and basic English. Those are four kinds of subjects are requirement for the students. But for extra if somebody want to go to like a Germany they want to study more like Germany or France they have to take them a Germany test or a French test and to send a their score to the college. And yeah so those are different. Yeah.

Wichman: How does taking classes in your Korean college compare to taking colleges here at Lakeland College in the U.S.?

Woo: First of all a we have to in here I have to decide on every single subject here when I have to take this and when I when is the best time to take this but in Korea we can choose a different two ways a for example taken in a technical college we cannot choose any subject the school just gives the direction. In the first year you have to take this and take a this and when you are second when you are a sophomore you have to take this like that but in the college more I mean a bigger college like a 4 year college we have to we can choose whatever we want but the school gives the directions which is a requirement for this subject and this major and also they can choose the best things they think so like a 4 year college is pretty much like in here. So.

Wichman: How does the standards that are required to become a teacher in Korea compare to standards here in the U.S?

Woo: As I told you about a from a from a early childhood education to elementary school to middle school and high school they have a different system but in here in Korea only for elementary and middle school high school teacher have to take a test. But for elementary ugh early childhood education we don't have to take like a specific test after graduation. So if we get if we take our required subjects, the government gives their certification. So, in my case I got two kind of a education certification. So I can teach a very young children like 2 months or 3 months. Yeah I don't want to talk like I'm going to teach them but I can take care of them so it means kinda more teaching the children but I also have the other certification for more like a like more like a more older kids so I can teach them but the the certification to teach the both is a totally different. So if I only the certification for the very young children I could not you know teach the older children. So it the certificate is there. Between two. [my interpretation of what was said. It was very hard to understand the past two sentences]

Wichman: In the United States in order to graduate you need to do a semester of student teaching in a school in the area for the major and age group train for. Is there student teaching in Korea?

Woo: Like a experience yeah yeah in here as I heard you guys have to having like a experience for a semester right but in Korea we just sorta to have the experience between our break ugh between the semesters. That means we have to go to the school during for our break so we can also concentrate our semester on our classes and have to concentrate on our experience during our break but it's for only for elementary ugh elementary ugh not elementary only for early childhood education but for elementary and middle school high school they will go to have experience when there in a semester and also it is only a month. Yeah. So they have to be in a school from like 7 to 10 also they have a same desk like a teacher and also they have to prepare like a what they are going to teach. And but. To before teaching the students they have to show their like curriculum direction to their principal in the school but if they oh yeah that is fine to teach them they can practice with a like a regular teacher in the school. So if they say you need to go and change this and you go and change it is going to be fine so we can we can put them together and finally then can teach their student. So as I heard from my friend who is in a elementary school education major, she say she having a really difficult is having a difficult time to you know being a teacher because as I told you she has to be in school and from 7 o clock to you know to sometime she stayed up all night in her in a house to prepare her everythings so yeah compared with here I felt that it is much...not really easier but it's more is really for the student also for the teacher because teacher can teacher also have their you know their break time and they can refresh their mind but in Korea they don't have enough time to do so always when they are teaching in the school they have so much a stress but they cannot focus on stresses. But here I entered the kindergarten and she and one of the teacher said she can come to school at like 8 o ‘clock am and can go to her house like 5 pm so it is total different. Yeah so I think yeah the environment to become a teacher is much better then in Korea.

Wichman: When preparing to become a teacher, you need to take classes. Are the classes and requirements for classes more difficult in Lakeland U.S. then Lakeland Korea?

Woo: Well I cannot say that which one is more difficult which one is more easier. But for me English is not my first language so to understand my every subject so I have to understand it in English which means I have to learn more and I have to study more so I think compared with a Korea I am a difficult more difficult time in here. But to compare on the curriculum it's pretty much same. Because you know teacher teachers have to take the same subject and same processes. So yeah for me here is more difficult.

Wichman: Is there anything else you'd like to add about Korea, the teacher certification program, anything you've observed about the U.S. teacher program?

Woo: I read a magazine yesterday about the teacher in United States, they cannot fulfill their science teacher and mathematic teacher because everyone, not everyone, mostly you know gentle intelligent student want to be like a accounter or you know a business major but I think for children, I mean for our future, I think teachers existence is more important to them. Because... (silence while thoughts are gathered) Do you think they will make more of an impact on the future? Yes because they can just you know as you say they can make more money right? I mean for an accounter or for other job compared with a teacher, so they even though it used to be all person who used to be a teacher just create a job because of their money. Also I think it is the same problem in Korea. So if somebody wanna to be a teacher like many people said "probably you cannot make a lot money of money" but I think money is not a important thing. And also... for children they also need a know a very qualified qualtified teacher needed right? So if they are just you know just learning from you know people who doesn't have who doesn't have a any qualified or they don't really care who don't really care about the children, they I don't think they cannot give they can give good direction to children. So I mean I think that the societ no the view of a like the about the teaching should be changing in both in Korea and in the United States.

Wichman: Well thank you very much.

Woo: Yeah. I think it will be helpful for you and yeah and I hope you can understand everything I told you. *laughs* Yeah. Sounds good thank you. And I really appreciate it because I can share my opinion and also yeah I have the chance to think about my life in Korea and here. So I'm really glad. Yeah. I'm glad I'm glad Thank you!