Author: Phillip N. Patrick
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Goodbye, Phillip Teacher
Leaving Korea meant leaving behind a toxic workplace, and children I had come to love.
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The Week of Lasts
This is the week I have anticipated for months. My last Monday at Maple Bear. My last Tuesday. My last Wednesday. My last Thursday. And, finally, my last Friday. I imagined this week mostly as a countdown to freedom—each “last” another door unlocking, another day survived, another step away from a place that has consumed…
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Running Toward the Blank Canvas
September 4 will be my final teaching day in Korea. After six months here, I will leave the country and travel to Switzerland. The Swiss Alps have called to me for as long as I can remember. As a teenager during the Gulf War, I learned that Switzerland had remained neutral during World War II.…
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Piece by Piece
What looks like reinvention from the outside feels, from within my life, like one long act of becoming.
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The Waterfall That Wasn’t
Yesterday, I got out of the city for a hike in the woods. Daejeon is surrounded by mountains, and I found a hike in Gyeryongsan National Park that is easily accessible by public transportation. The research I did beforehand was minimal, but when I saw there was a waterfall, I was already in. The weather…
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People Don’t Know What They Want Until You Give Them What They Don’t Want
At many stages in my life, I have come to the same realization: people don’t know what they want until you give them what they don’t want. Since I started teaching in Korea, I have learned that the Korean administrator and headteacher seem to assume that, despite the lack of clearly defined roles and undocumented…
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Good Moments, Hard Days
What Is Going Well Something clicked last week with my four full-time six-year-olds. Out of nowhere, their English just…leveled up. Their comprehension is better. Their speaking is better. It honestly caught me off guard. I don’t think they realize how proud I am of them. Every day, they surprise me. They’ve also gotten more attached…
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Less Activity, More Drama
This week was quieter on the surface—fewer plans, more time at home—but somehow heavier than the ones packed with activity. Less movement, more tension. It started with an incident in the classroom—a student crossed a professional boundary. I handled it the way I thought I should: calmly, privately, directly with my director. I wanted my…
Phillip N. Patrick 