Skip to content

17 Comments

  1. Paula Agins
    March 13, 2017 @ 05:27

    After I read your comments and look at your pictures, I wonder what a teacher from another country would say about our schools and students!

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 15, 2017 @ 21:25

      They’re usually surprised when I tell them my middle school stories!

      Reply

  2. Lori Liguori
    March 13, 2017 @ 06:22

    Love this post, Tim!!! So happy you were able to visit such a wonderful school! I loved the mural…….Can’t wait for you to come back and teach our students!

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 15, 2017 @ 21:28

      That’s mostly why I’m doing this blog, so I won’t forget what I want to teach later.

      Reply

  3. Rosie
    March 13, 2017 @ 06:31

    First of all Tim, your posts always serve as a reminder of thoughts I carry with me about children and life. From your photos I am reminded that smiles speak in every language. These children are no exception. In addition, their work ethic is cultivated throughout their life. What a way to instill pride in themselves, their school, and country! You are so right, our children have fallen behind in developing traits of caring, responsibilities, and participating in things that aren’t “fun”.
    We miss the mark on several areas in schools as we focus so much on testing and scores as a measure of success.
    The quote on the school wall is eye opening and oh so true! What a reminder to a school’s mission. For children.
    This was a nice way to start my day. I enjoy your posts and learning from them.

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 15, 2017 @ 21:29

      Thanks, Rosie. Every school I’ve passed by (even driving down the highway on buses) has murals with quotes like that painted on every wall. It’s a great idea.

      Reply

  4. Vicky Ann Deledda
    March 13, 2017 @ 13:39

    Would have loved this school, and it’s easy to see by the core values and signs of respect shown to you- independently!
    Love the
    Pictures!

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 15, 2017 @ 21:30

      Very easy to take good photos of these kids!

      Reply

  5. Diane
    March 13, 2017 @ 18:33

    Such beautiful chilldren! I wish my 16 year old could experience a culture where you appreciate having a clean school because you help to clean it. Good manners do go a long way in the world. Stay safe.

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 15, 2017 @ 21:33

      I’ve heard of US parents dropping their kids off in an African village for a week or month, just to teach these lessons. There’s a lot to be learned.

      Reply

  6. Deidre Toole
    March 21, 2017 @ 16:57

    What a wonderful way to live life! I admire the respect that the children and adults have for the school and each other. They certainly have much to teach us here in the USA!!!!

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 24, 2017 @ 00:51

      It would be great to magically transport our kids to one of these schools for a week – just to see how things are done.

      Reply

  7. Bruce Yarnall
    March 25, 2017 @ 20:04

    Everyone cleaning the school before it starts is great. We can’t even get students to throw away their water bottles.

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      March 26, 2017 @ 23:17

      And the only people using water bottles here are the tourists.

      Reply

  8. Monica Schnee
    April 20, 2017 @ 17:45

    Reading your post and returning to work after South Korea made the difference between our schools and those in Asia even more startling. We have forgotten to teach and celebrate so many of the basics – hard to teach respect for the place we spend our days in teaching and learning, harder to make kids understand that taking care of our places, our environment, our food and each other are the bases for community building.

    Reply

    • Tim Flanagan
      April 21, 2017 @ 04:40

      Very well said.

      Reply

  9. Dancing in the Street, Again | The Alternate Route
    November 28, 2022 @ 12:02

    […] was nice to see so many familiar faces since I had visited the school the week before.  Students greeted me all morning long and almost everyone wanted their picture […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Tim Flanagan Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *