Self-introductions

[cgao]

Hi everyone! We are looking forward to meeting online and getting to know you over the course! Please use this thread to introduce yourself. 

Please upload a photo of yourself if possible. Go to "my account," then click on the edit tab, and upload a photo at the bottom. Make sure you click save!

 

[Jennifer Jung-Kim]

Hi, Everyone! 

I'm Jennifer Jung-Kim, your facilitator for this 3-week course. I teach Korean history at UCLA as well as some related courses on East Asia. I love doing K-12 eduator workshops because teachers are enthusiastic learners. 

Thank you for signing up for The Two Koreas. Please look at the syllabus and readings carefully. There are some optional readings and pages, so don't worry about the total number of readings avaiable for download. 

In your self-introduction, please tell us your name, where you are located, which grades/subjects you teach, which school you teach at, and your reasons for taking this course. 

"See" you in July!

Best,

Jennifer 

[David Millians]

Hello, everyone! I am David Millians from Atlanta, Georgia USA. I teach all subjects in a self-contained classroom of firth and sixth graders at Paideia School. Our theme every year is East Asia, and the content and often the form of our lessons derive from that. Also, my oldest daughter lives in Seoul now. I am excited to deepen my understanding of Korea!

[Jasmine Weeks]

Hello, I am currently an ENL teacher at a High School in Rochester City, New York where I am finishing my second year there.  I started my first two years in elementary school k-8.  Then, I had the orpprotunity to teach 9th and 10th graders in a refugee school for a year before going over to the high school. My personal background is that I grew up and was educated in Malaysia prior to college age.  Although I do not directly teach social studies at school, a lot of my students do not have the understanding of the East Asia and view all the cultures and countries there as the same.  Other students, however, have been very interested in K-Pop and Anime.  This is my first course with this Institute, recomended by my co-worker who had been in it for years.  I was amazed by her understanding and openness to Asian culture.  Therefore, I believe my growth in getting deeper understanding of East Asia would allow me to be a better liaision and communicator in my environemnt as I am the only Asian teacher in my school.  Especially with the cultural misunderstanding in our society lately, I am hoping to shed more light in the topic of diversity when engaging in conversations involving race and inclusion. 

[Meghann Seril]

Hello, I'm Meghann Seril from Los Angeles, CA. I am a third grade teacher at Broadway Elementary in a Mandarin dual language program in Venice. I previously participated in the seminar on East Asia Origins to 1800s. I am looking forward to learning more about the history of Korea and understanding the current context.

[Julie Wakefield]

Hello, I am Julie Wakefield from Reno, NV. I teach high school World Geography and AP Human Geography. Most of my students are 9th and 10th graders. I am really looking for to learning from the course and other and finding new resources I can use in my classrrom.

[Nancy Marvel]

Hello, I am Nancy Marvel from Newark, Delaware. I teach high school World History, Civics, and Economics. My students are primarily 9th and 10th graders. I am truly looking forward to this course so I can understand more about the Koreas and really develop much better lessons for my students.

[Tom Mueller]

Hello I am Tom Mueller. I am a geography professor at a small university near Pittsburgh, PA.  I teach courses in world geography, demographic analysis and geo-spatial technology (computer mapping, etc.).  I have been teaching since 1999. My favorite course is my World Geography class.  I am taking this seminar to learn more about Korea so that I can add this information to my course. 

[Laura Huffman]

Hello, everyone! I'm Laura Huffman from Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm the Upper School Social Studies Department Chair at Cannon School, an independent (private) school in Concord, NC. I teach Honors Accelerated World History I to freshmen and Advanced Topics: World History II (essentially AP World: Modern) to sophomores. I've just completed my 20th year teaching, my 14th at Cannon. I had the pleasure to traveling to Korea last summer with the World History Digital Education Foundation. The trip deepened my interest in Korean history and culture, so I'm excited to learn even more to incorporate into my teaching.

[Kathy Keffeler]

Greetings Colleagues! I'm Kathy Keffeler from the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. I'm the District World Languages Co-ordinator for my school and I also teach ESL and Spanish. Looking forward to meeting and learning with you all!

[Alyssa Yff]

My name is Alyssa Yff. I am a teacher at Irondale High School in New Brighton, Minnesota. I currently teach AP World History and World History, but I have also taught Government, Economics and Human Geography. I have been teaching in public schools since 2005 in North Carolina where I served as a corps member in Teach for America and attended graduate school. I have been in Minnesota since 2013 and have taught in both urban and suburban settings. I am also a parent to a 5 year old daughter, 7 year old son, and 3 cats. As a family, we love to travel (pre COVID 19), hike, and we all play stringed instruments. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and learning more about Korea through this class!

[Alyssa Yff]

I taught in Charlotte as well! I was at Waddell High School from 2005-2007, then I moved to Raleigh and taught at Athens Drive High School. I love North Carolina and miss it very much!

[Heather Butler]

Hi! My name is Heather Butler. I am a high school Visual Arts teacher at Riverside High School in Williamston, North Carolina. I teach a mix of 9th through 12th graders, and I looking forward to give my students more context about North and South Korea in my classes. I only had one Asian Art History class in college and that only really discussed Indian and Chinese art. On a personal level, I enjoy K-dramas and K-pop music.

[Laura Huffman]

Great to meet you! I've been in NC since 1995, having moved here from NY (via Maine).

[April Wallace]

Hello, my name is April Wallace. I am located in Luverne, Minnesota. I have taught 8th grade Geography and High School Human Geography at Luverne for the last six years. I am looking forward to taking this course to expand my knowledge on this region of the world and to incorporate the information into my classes.

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