Today was one of those days that you wish you never had to go through as a teacher. However, as a fairly new teacher, I anticipate more of these days to come, and I will always rely on Christ's strength and wisdom to get through.
Around 12:30 am this morning, I received a call saying that a colleague, Mr. Mark Pash had passed away. Mr. Pash had a heart attack on Sunday, and although he seemed to have been recovering well after his surgery, he soon came down with a pneumonia and within hours he was gone. We believe that he is in the presence of Christ now - a much better place for him. Here in Korea though, we mourn his loss with our students.
Today we were asked to read a statement to our students about Mr. Pash's passing. It was somewhat of a surreal experience, and it felt like a cold (yet necessary) way to deliver the message. It seemed as if my students did not even comprehend the depths of what was being read to them. They carried on as usual, working on their DP Science Projects and nothing more was said - until homeroom. When I entered my homeroom class, there sat my students so quiet. They are never quite in homeroom! Yet there they were, and they had begun to grieve. Some had just come from band, where they were hit the hardest with the reality of Mr. Pash's absence - he was a music teacher. Once they got to homeroom and had a bit of 'down time', the weightiness of his loss was felt. Students who I knew as having such attitudes broke down and cried, while others expressed their regret for being "mean" to him. All I could do was hold their hands, hug them, listen to them, and affirm their emotions. I thank God for the strength to get through those few minutes in homeroom. It is difficult to see children whom you love work through their pain.
This is the first time in our school community that someone has passed away, and we as teachers were not sure what to expect in response to the news. In fact, we are still not sure what to expect, especially since we are in an 'asian culture' school. Perhaps tomorrow there will be more grief as the reality sets in, but only time will tell.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. There is a time for everything, and on Monday we will formally grieve the loss of Mr. Pash. Please pray for the GSIS community, our students and Mr. Pash's family. Please pray for comfort in the time of loss, and for those who do not know Christ, that opportunities will come for them to hear about the love and hope that Christ can bring to their lives.
For me, I will remember Mark most for his sense of humour and for his willingness to suffer through vocal lessons with me! Last year, Mark kindly agreed to give me vocal lessons once a week. He had a lovely voice, and he taught me the importance of relaxing and taking an hour away from work to do something for myself. I really did enjoy those times.
Until then Mr. Pash (I Thess 4:13-17).
Around 12:30 am this morning, I received a call saying that a colleague, Mr. Mark Pash had passed away. Mr. Pash had a heart attack on Sunday, and although he seemed to have been recovering well after his surgery, he soon came down with a pneumonia and within hours he was gone. We believe that he is in the presence of Christ now - a much better place for him. Here in Korea though, we mourn his loss with our students.
Today we were asked to read a statement to our students about Mr. Pash's passing. It was somewhat of a surreal experience, and it felt like a cold (yet necessary) way to deliver the message. It seemed as if my students did not even comprehend the depths of what was being read to them. They carried on as usual, working on their DP Science Projects and nothing more was said - until homeroom. When I entered my homeroom class, there sat my students so quiet. They are never quite in homeroom! Yet there they were, and they had begun to grieve. Some had just come from band, where they were hit the hardest with the reality of Mr. Pash's absence - he was a music teacher. Once they got to homeroom and had a bit of 'down time', the weightiness of his loss was felt. Students who I knew as having such attitudes broke down and cried, while others expressed their regret for being "mean" to him. All I could do was hold their hands, hug them, listen to them, and affirm their emotions. I thank God for the strength to get through those few minutes in homeroom. It is difficult to see children whom you love work through their pain.
This is the first time in our school community that someone has passed away, and we as teachers were not sure what to expect in response to the news. In fact, we are still not sure what to expect, especially since we are in an 'asian culture' school. Perhaps tomorrow there will be more grief as the reality sets in, but only time will tell.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. There is a time for everything, and on Monday we will formally grieve the loss of Mr. Pash. Please pray for the GSIS community, our students and Mr. Pash's family. Please pray for comfort in the time of loss, and for those who do not know Christ, that opportunities will come for them to hear about the love and hope that Christ can bring to their lives.
For me, I will remember Mark most for his sense of humour and for his willingness to suffer through vocal lessons with me! Last year, Mark kindly agreed to give me vocal lessons once a week. He had a lovely voice, and he taught me the importance of relaxing and taking an hour away from work to do something for myself. I really did enjoy those times.
Until then Mr. Pash (I Thess 4:13-17).
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