In this blog post, I will outline my preparation process for becoming a general social studies teacher and my future career plans, based on my learning experiences and club activities during high school.
Academic Experience
I nurtured my dream of becoming a social studies teacher while taking general social studies classes in high school. In particular, it was my general social studies teacher who made me realize the appeal of the teaching profession. My teacher had memorized all the content and theories covered in the General Social Studies textbook, and from a student’s perspective, their vast knowledge inspired my respect. Moreover, going beyond simply possessing knowledge, they loved discussing various current affairs based on their deep interest in society. Watching my teacher, I resolved to become a teacher equipped with both knowledge and a well-defined perspective.
When I researched the path to becoming a social studies teacher, I found that a Department of General Social Studies Education was offered at the College of Education. In that department, students studied all social studies subjects—including social culture, economics, law, and politics—along with curriculum and instruction. So, I set a clear goal for my college admissions: to enroll in the Department of General Social Studies Education, and I devised a concrete plan to achieve that goal. My plan was, first, to select Social Culture and Law and Politics as elective subjects, as they had lower competition and offered the potential for high grades; for Economics, I planned to learn through class while utilizing educational broadcasts starting in my sophomore year. Thus, I decided to complete the entire curriculum for all three subjects by my sophomore year and focus exclusively on studying for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) starting in my junior year.
Once I had covered the material through self-study, my preparation for school exams was largely complete. Since the school exams typically included about two high-difficulty questions at the CSAT level, I decided to address these through my college entrance exam preparation. By covering the material in advance and starting my college entrance exam preparation early, I was able to earn a Grade 1 in all my Social Studies subjects. Of course, my mock exam scores weren’t very high during my sophomore year because I was focused on keeping up with the school curriculum, but I didn’t let that make me anxious. Starting in my senior year, I focused intensively on analyzing past CSAT exam questions and collecting and understanding advanced study materials. As a result, I was able to significantly improve my mock exam scores.
Extracurricular Activities
Since I enjoyed social studies subjects, I joined the Current Affairs Research Club, which utilized topics from those subjects. In the Current Affairs Research Club, we read books related to current events, exchanged opinions through discussions, and wrote essays based on the material. I aimed to make the most of my club activities to gain as much as possible. In fact, since many College Scholastic Ability Test questions are based on current affairs, and essay preparation is essential for college admissions, the Current Affairs Research Club was helpful in many ways.
Since the club dealt with current affairs, there were times when the content was difficult to understand or keep up with. Therefore, club activities were planned differently for each grade level, taking students’ proficiency levels into account. First, during my freshman year, we engaged in in-depth study of the social studies curriculum—building on the foundations laid in the General Social Studies course. Our main activities involved examining and discussing current affairs related to the basic concepts learned in subjects such as Social Culture, Economics, and Law and Politics. For example, in the Social Culture course, we engaged in activities that reflected on and critiqued the culture of fast food, as exemplified by McDonald’s. During this activity, I discussed with my friends the phenomenon of “cultural lag”—the difficulty of adapting to a society that is changing too rapidly. Personally, while I criticized the trend toward superficial relationships and a lack of professionalism in the workplace, I also came to believe that we need to find ways to utilize these social trends positively.
As we tackled discussion topics related to the Social Studies and Culture course, I naturally began studying economics as well. The pursuit of efficiency is an indispensable topic in South Korean society, and economics focuses heavily on this concept. Therefore, during club activities, we discussed corporate production activities and consumer choices, and we even worked on essay questions addressing perfectly competitive markets and monopoly markets.
In addition, under the theme of “The Two Faces of Globalization,” we debated trade monopolies by major powers and the potential for fair trade. As someone who is personally very interested in fair trade and actively purchases fair-trade products, this served as an opportunity for me to once again realize the importance of consumption that contributes to society and the global community.
When addressing topics in the field of law, I first reflected on commonly discussed issues such as euthanasia, abortion, and child-rearing laws. Since I had previously only thought vaguely about whether to support or oppose these issues, I examined the specific grounds on which arguments were based. I was particularly in favor of euthanasia, believing that the right to be free from suffering caused by illness—reflecting the wishes of the individual and their family—should be prioritized. However, during discussions with friends, I found myself grappling with new perspectives. The opposing side cited cases where doctors or nurses who performed euthanasia were tormented by guilt over having caused a patient’s death. As we debated using such evidence, my long-held views began to shift.
Consideration and Cooperation
Activities in the Current Affairs Research Club played such a significant role that they accounted for more than half of my high school life. In my freshman year, while studying and debating topics related to social studies, I also learned new ways of thinking. As I developed an interest in current affairs, my grades actually improved, and my motivation to study was reignited. Then, in my sophomore year, I began participating in book discussions in earnest and, by collaborating with my club members, laid the foundation for essay writing. Through these book discussions, I was exposed to bestsellers that addressed current issues, and I synthesized my arguments and evidence from the topics we discussed to write essays.
The book we used most frequently in the club was Go Jong-seok’s ‘Stealing the Code’. This book covered about 40 topics, such as “The Future of Socialism,” and each session, we studied 10 of them and engaged in a question-and-answer session with one another. When asking questions, we would choose topics from the ten we had agreed upon and ask each other about parts we wanted to discuss or didn’t fully understand. The discussion proceeded with the person receiving the question answering the questioner in their own words based on their understanding. In this way, we engaged in free-flowing discussions based on our own thoughts, the results of our research, and what we had studied.
Since club meetings typically lasted about three hours, we would study ‘Stealing Code’ for one hour and then read a different book during the next hour. For the other books, we would print out that day’s assigned section and read it immediately. The books we primarily selected and read were well-known works such as Alvin Toffler’s ‘The Future of Youth’ and Jacques Attali’s ‘The Wave of the Future’. These books were not only written by famous authors, but their content was also significant enough to be designated as required reading. Therefore, as we read these books, we conducted critical analyses of the topics, and following these analyses, we engaged in discussions to further develop our ideas. Through this learning experience, I was able to see how other students thought about issues such as race, journalism, and the economy, which helped me clarify my own thoughts.
Plans After College
Ever since my freshman year of high school, I have dreamed of becoming a social studies teacher specializing in General Social Studies. Consequently, I studied the General Social Studies curriculum taught in my freshman year with great enthusiasm, and I built upon that foundation to participate in the Current Affairs Research Club. In particular, what I learned in the Current Affairs Research Club was of great help to me as I prepared for the entrance exams for the Department of General Social Studies Education. This is because the course covered the entire spectrum—from basic terminology and knowledge related to current affairs to reading discussions and content analysis, which are crucial for essay writing.
Therefore, I intend to apply the methods I learned in the Current Affairs Research Club directly to grow as a teacher who fosters students’ capabilities in the classroom. When teaching General Social Studies, above all, I strive not to become a teacher who merely conducts one-way lessons and crams knowledge into students.
I believe that if a teacher focuses solely on textbook progress and lesson content, it prevents the creation of a free and open classroom environment, resulting in a stifling learning experience. However, I was fortunate enough to attend many high-quality classes that took the opposite approach. It was very beneficial to be exposed to various current affairs materials even during regular classes, which fostered an atmosphere where we could reflect on social issues and exchange opinions with classmates. Therefore, as a teacher, I plan to develop my own teaching methods that foster critical and logical thinking based on social issues.
My specific goal is to become an “excellent teacher” with my own unique teaching style. My career plan is simple, but I believe it addresses a crucial and essential aspect of education in South Korea. In fact, although I spent many years studying as a student in the educational system, there weren’t many classes that truly helped me learn or left me satisfied. However, I grew up in a learning environment where it was considered unreasonable for students to evaluate their teachers’ lessons or voice dissatisfaction. Of course, there were also teachers who broke through that atmosphere from time to time, maximizing their capabilities to deliver lessons that truly benefited their students. Therefore, I will follow the example of those teachers and become an educator capable of delivering well-structured lessons to my students.
