Baekseok Graduation 2019

Friday was Graduation Day at my school--sixth graders get a diploma before going off to middle school in about two weeks. Here are two of my fav students on the stage, where they bow and shake hands with the principal, come to the center and bow, then hug their homeroom teacher before exiting:


Their classmates look on, awaiting their turn:


This school only recognizes two groups of exceptional students, whereas Yangmyeong went through about six or so such groups, not sure what as my Korean skills aren't up to the task. But other than that, they get their certificate then bow to the audience.


At Baekseok, parents/family members get to sit with their graduates, and a nice moment is built into the ceremony when the kids and parents get a touching moment together.


Here's a graduation from Yangmyeong for comparison: http://seoulpatch.blogspot.com/2016/02/school-graduation.html

After the ceremony, everyone goes home … at everyplace else I've worked. BUT not at this school, where the teachers have to finish out the day--the principal seems to think that "being a strict principal" makes teachers better, rather than making them feel unappreciated and overworked. To be fair, I could have left, but it would have cost me vacation time (unlike any other school) so I got a free lunch and did a few minor tasks. After that, I watched the movie "Iron Man" on my computer for the first time--it actually was pretty fair.

Mainly, I just looked out at the blanket of snow coating Seoul and remembered that on Sunday I'm going to Cambodia for some R-n-R on the beach.