Jinjoo's Story

If you have not yet met my dog, she (and Yeppi, my family's dog) is the CUTEST dog ever :) Just look for yourself...
I told you! Super cute. Anyway, I thought I'd allot some time here to share Jinjoo's story. I adopted Jinjoo last fall from Forever Home Rescue, an animal rescue agency in Massachusetts. Last fall at Brown, I had an extremely trying semester. A lot of chaotic drama happened around me from which I could not easily remove myself, and I became wrapped up in a slew of negativity and emotional destruction. As I was dealing with my depression at the time, I had an intensely difficult time being alone. Because I was already intending on adopting a dog post-graduation, I selfishly decided to adopt one earlier so as to help me with my loneliness and perhaps regain sanity. My parents agreed to let me get a dog...hesitantly for they were worried that the responsibilities of a dog might drive me crazy. I searched for weeks all over petfinder.com, filling out applications left and right. One application finally came through for me...and it was Jinjoo...who at the time was named Thelma.

The blurb on Jinjoo's (then Thelma's) web page read that she had been abandoned by previous owners along with her four puppies. She was only 1.5 years old and had already been a teen mom! They described her as a black Pomeranian mix who was extremely friendly and just a sweet-heart! Who can say no to such a description? I showed my mother the pictures of Jinjoo posted on petfinder.com. I guess the pictures of her back then were not so flattering, because my mom did not seem too thrilled with this option. Still, she was the only one that came through and I was desperate~ I NEEDED to have a dog in my life.

The way the adoption process worked was that I had to fill out paperwork and undergo an interview/observation. The timing actually worked out perfectly because the day the woman who was interviewing me decided to come check me out was in the middle of the week during which I was dog-sitting for my parents. So the woman was able to see how I interacted with my family's dog, Yeppi. I passed the test with flying colors and now just had to wait a couple of weeks before they could transport Jinjoo/Thelma from Tennessee. See, a lot of these adoption agencies bring animals from the South because down there they euthanize strays by the thousands. Could you imagine killing Jinjoo in a gas chamber because some selfish owners threw her out their back porch?? Anyway, Jinjoo needed to be prepped for this transport so she had to get all of her vaccinations and needed to be registered. After this was completed, Jinjoo was to be put in a crate on a truck filled with other dogs (a puppy truck they call it) and be driven several hours to a veterinarian in Massachusetts. I could then pick Jinjoo up from the vet.

On Saturday, November 1st (Yeppi's 6th Birthday), my parents and Yeppi drove up to Providence to come with me to pick up Jinjoo. We were all extremely excited, but also nervous. My mother later told me that she thought to herself, "what if she's not a cute dog? How will I pretend that she is to Soyoung??" I think I probably worried about the same thing...but I was most concerned about whether or not the new puppy would like me and would behave well for me. Was I really in over my head? What made me so sure that I was ready to raise a dog?

When we got to the vet's in MA, my parents, Yeppi and I all waited outside for about 15 minutes until the massive trailer-looking puppy truck drove into the long driveway of the vet's clinic. The head of the pet adoption agency, Linda, ran up to the door at the side of the truck, which opened downward like an entrance bridge to a castle. The driver of the truck appeared from behind the door with a dog in his hand. This was a small boxer named Wilma, who had a whole lot of spunk. The driver handed the dog to one of the Forever Home Rescue staff members who wore a pair of gloves. She told the eager young girl waiting for her new pet, Wilma, to wait outside. None of us could touch any of the dogs until they received one last shot...or something like that.

Then Linda told the driver to get the black Pomeranian, Thelma, as well...that was our dog. The driver carried out a very hairy, fluffy, and dirty black Pomeranian, whose face was cuter than any I'd ever seen. My mother took pictures of Thelma as she took her first glances at the North East. Linda then carried Thelma to the back of the vet's office and we waited some more. Thelma finally came out, we finished the necessary paperwork, then my family and I took my new puppy to my home in Providence.

I renamed Thelma in the car...she is now Jinjoo and has lived with me for the last 9 months. At first we went through many a trying transition...adjusting to one another was difficult for the both of us. Rather quickly, though, she came to understand that I was her new owner, and I have come to know everything there is to know about Jinjoo. I know what makes her happier than anything else in the world (food), what makes her more frightened than anything else (thunder), how she behaves with other dogs (poorly...she's a feisty one), how much she loves my family and me, and so much more. She is truly truly my one and only baby. When she's sick, I hurt too...when she's sad, I cry too...when she's happy, my heart lights up. She absolutely saved my life last fall, so I owe her everything. I love her with all of me and wish I could live with her for the rest of my life.

So that's Jinjoo's story...for now anyway. I'm sure I'll have lots more to share in the future :)

waiting to teach, classes, and such~

I really need to work on the time spacing between each of my entries. Once a month is pretty pathetic :) especially since I have SO much on my mind these days.

This summer, instead of relaxing, which I now really wish I had done, I decided to start taking courses in my Masters in Teaching program at Manhattanville College. It's a small school in Westchester, NY (near my home) and has a joint program with the school where I will begin assistant teaching in the fall, Greenwich Academy. Classes at Manhattanville have been alright - sort of a hit or miss situation actually. Some classes are extremely thought-provoking and get me really excited to start teaching. Others are, well, shitty. I mean, really really shitty. The sad thing is, that seems to be a trend among many Education programs throughout the country. Apparently teacher preparation is not something most schools take seriously...such a huge tragedy...

My Foundations of Education class has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. After taking this course I can honestly say that I feel "called" to teach. Yes, the more and more I sit in discussions I think to myself: "Our society is so f'ed up!" I often leave class wondering why the idiots in government offices get to make horrible decisions that destroy young people's lives without asking the very people whose lives they impact for their input. I become infuriated with the damaging effects of No Child Left Behind, and even more upset that it doesn't look as though this act will go away any time soon. Sometimes I want to run away from it all because I do not want to have to one day sit in a classroom and teach my students how to pass some dumb standardized test that does not in fact measure whether my students KNOW anything. And even still, I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. Maybe precisely because there are so many problems in the education system.

One thing we talk about in class is the fact that teachers are highly de-professionalized in this society. In countries throughout the world, like France or South Korea, teaching is a highly revered profession that is supported by the government. School is valued with the utmost importance. In France students are in school until 5 pm - a brilliant idea if you ask me. Teachers are paid in these countries to get educated and trained for the very demanding work that lies ahead. Some private schools in the U.S. do the same, and many also hire mostly individuals who received their Ph.D.'s. In the public sector of education, however, teachers acquire most of their training through mediocre programs that do not actually prepare them for the classroom. And then the supplementary programs offered teachers are often irrelevant to their classroom settings or do not give teachers the help they feel they truly need.

Many people do not regard teachers as professionals, maybe because the programs that prepare teachers are so shoddy, or perhaps society's inability to regard teachers as professionals is the reason for the mediocre programs... Either way, I hate it when people talk like anyone can teach a classroom. I once witnessed a lawyer try to tell a teacher how she should run her class. I wanted to turn and ask him: "when was the last time you taught an elementary school class?" One of my professors recently told me that she got into a fight with some business guy who felt that teachers got paid too much. Umm...hello? You wouldn't have gotten to where you are if it weren't for your teachers! And how much do you make again? His justification was that teachers get 2 months off, so it has to be an easy job right? He should try and run a 1st grade classroom in the South Bronx for a day...

I know that I am going to have to deal with these types of criticisms for a while. Even now I often get asked, "You're going to be a teacher after you graduated from Brown University?" Like somehow teaching is a waste of an Ivy League education... I hope I can overcome these ridiculous comments and just continue to do what I know is right for me. And that is to teach and hopefully change some lives. With all the problems going on economically in this country and the persistent neglect of the education crisis that continues to grow, I think schools are in need of more and more dedicated and passionate teachers. I do not know that I will be the best teacher in the world...I hope I will be the best I can be. But I know that I have the right drive and heart needed to teach my students well. I don't want to just be a good teacher. I want to be extraordinary, so that my students can realize how extraordinary they are as well. I know I have a lot of work and growth ahead of me...and I just cannot WAIT to get started :)