I never meant to become an ELA teacher. I graduated with a degree in English and Spanish Languages and Literature more than 20 years ago. As a young adult, I was fascinated by the Korean peninsula, its language, politics and culture. My undergraduate thesis was a post-colonial analysis of Korean American literature. There were very few resources at that time.

Upon graduation, I began to work as a lobbyist for a human rights organization. I was interested in North Korea. While working, I did a masters degree in International Politics with a specialization in East Asia and later left my job to do a PhD in Korean studies in London. I wanted to pursue a more academic career but as I got married and became pregnant, it was no longer possible. I qualified as an ESL teacher to teach adults in Myanmar where our family moved in 2017.

As I was looking for a job, I was asked to go and teach at an international school and this is how I became a teacher.

I absolutely love books but I am also passionate about international politics, human rights and social justice. I started my job at my current school last year. I initially applied to teach social studies but was asked to teach English 9 instead. I accepted the challenge and had a very busy year. This year, I am trying to do things better. As a non-native speaker, I don't feel qualified to teach a class half-filled with native speakers, but my experience as a non-native speaker combined with my love of Korea help me build rapport with the non-native speakers in the class. Before going to university, I had done a gap year in New York state followed by a semester at a community college in Queens. Therefore, I feel like I can also connect with the American students . I believe that my experience of living in New York has taught me valuable lessons that I can draw from as we tackle the American Curriculum.

I love to bring my passion for social studies into my teaching of LA as I believe that the two subjects are closely interconnected.

• Outline a teaching philosophy that encompasses the above in a blog. Highlight how you will use self-reflection and an understanding of the diverse identities, contexts, strengths, and needs of your ELA students to continuously practice inclusive, anti-bias, and antiracist teaching.

My teaching philosophy is one of humility. We, teachers, are entrusted with a big responsibility and before I can teach the students, I have to make sure that I know it myself!

I am constantly trying to reflect on my own teaching by brainstorming ways to be more inclusive and give more opportunities to the struggling students. As teachers, we are regularly trained to adopt a posture of respect, love and acceptance in the classroom; I work hard to make sure all students can find a sense of belonging and safety when they are in my classroom. With the analysis of texts and literature, we have the opportunity to discuss a range of topics and draw students' attention to the fact that some voices may not be heard in the text.

• Conclude by drawing connections between these concepts and your selection of texts, instructional activities, differentiation methods, and language support for your classroom.

  
  

As an English 9 teacher, I was asked to teach "To Kill a Mockingbird". I absolutely adore the story but I can also evaluate Harper Lee's attempt to preach a message of tolerance with a critical eye. Last year, I encouraged the students to identify the strengths of the novel but also to identify ways that Harper Lee could have used different strategies to convey her message better. Although students were given a physical copy of the novel, a lot of them chose to listen to the audiobook while reading along. I always encourage students to listen to the audiobook as they bring the stories to life.

Before we read the novel, I wanted to make sure that students had a strong background knowledge of the Civil Rights era. As we live outside of the United States, even American students have a very limited understanding of issues faced by some people groups in their own country. Therefore, I made sure to include the reading and analysis of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Rev Martin Luther King into my teaching. After the reading and analysis of the letter, students were asked to debate in the form of a Harkness discussion. Students were also asked to write a research paper that would only tackle the era between the Great Depression and the end of the Civil Rights Movement. We also watched the movie "Hidden Figures" together. I also chose to incorporate a poem, Caged Bird, by Maya Angelou and a reading comprehension about her life. The Civil Rights/ TKAM unit is probably my favorite because I get to do both: talk about books but also talk about justice. It is also a unit where I can use multiple means of engagement (movie, poem, persuasive text, novel).