Last fall, Susan Grace was nominated to run for class president in her 6th grade class at the Korean school. She was surprised by the nomination and even more surprised when she won. A week later she told me that each class president had the option of running for student body president. I asked her what she was going to do. She said, “I think I’ll run”.
I had mixed feelings about her running. I thought she would make a great president, but knowing the language and the culture certainly must be a requirement for running, no? So, in a bossy mother tone I offered my unsolicited opinion, “If you run, your speech had better be in Korean”.
She worked hard on that speech and many friends and neighbors helped her. The day of the speech arrived and I went to the school to cheer her on. The speeches were streamed live from the principal’s office into each of the thirty classrooms where the students watched them on 52 inch flat screen televisions. I found Miriam’s classroom and watched from there. One by one the class presidents gave their speeches. After each speech the class politely clapped. As time went on, children became bored and there was a lot restless background noise. I waited. Finally, Gracie’s turn came and she started her speech, in English. My heart sank. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I watched the screen as she came to the end of her speech and paused. She looked up at the screen, smiled and then looked back at her paper. She took a deep breath and started to speak. This time, she spoke Korean. She seemed to struggle with every word. The rustling papers stopped. The background chatter ceased. The classroom was completely silent. The only sound was her struggling voice. She finished, looked up at the screen and smiled. The silence broke and there was an unexpected burst of cheering that filled the classroom. My eyes filled with tears as I stepped into the hallway. The hallway roared with the cheers of every classroom in the building. I could not believe it. No one could.
When she came home from school that afternoon she smiled her "I’m so excited" smile and said, “I won Mom!” I hugged her and thought, “Yes, Gracie, you did”.
I had mixed feelings about her running. I thought she would make a great president, but knowing the language and the culture certainly must be a requirement for running, no? So, in a bossy mother tone I offered my unsolicited opinion, “If you run, your speech had better be in Korean”.
She worked hard on that speech and many friends and neighbors helped her. The day of the speech arrived and I went to the school to cheer her on. The speeches were streamed live from the principal’s office into each of the thirty classrooms where the students watched them on 52 inch flat screen televisions. I found Miriam’s classroom and watched from there. One by one the class presidents gave their speeches. After each speech the class politely clapped. As time went on, children became bored and there was a lot restless background noise. I waited. Finally, Gracie’s turn came and she started her speech, in English. My heart sank. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I watched the screen as she came to the end of her speech and paused. She looked up at the screen, smiled and then looked back at her paper. She took a deep breath and started to speak. This time, she spoke Korean. She seemed to struggle with every word. The rustling papers stopped. The background chatter ceased. The classroom was completely silent. The only sound was her struggling voice. She finished, looked up at the screen and smiled. The silence broke and there was an unexpected burst of cheering that filled the classroom. My eyes filled with tears as I stepped into the hallway. The hallway roared with the cheers of every classroom in the building. I could not believe it. No one could.
When she came home from school that afternoon she smiled her "I’m so excited" smile and said, “I won Mom!” I hugged her and thought, “Yes, Gracie, you did”.
10 comments:
That's awesome! What a sweet girl and a very touching story!
Way to go Susan Grace!!!
(And way to go mom and dad--what a great learning experience for her).
Very well written, Kim!
Whan an AWESOME experience for both you and your daughter!
wow,, you are a great dad giving your daughter open view to the foreign culture and environment..!!! so touched.
Kim, what a beautiful story. You and Jim are remarkable parents to the most amazing children. Susan Grace, you should be so proud of yourself!
Miss you all!
Wow! Susan is an amazing young girl! What amazing experiences she has had while living in Korea.
Susan Grace has been such an exceptional girl since she was little. We miss all of you so much and are so proud of her.
What an inspiring story! It would make a great movie. We Americans eat stuff like that up. Good job, Gracie. You are such a brave, beautiful girl.
Susan Grace, you're awesome. What a terrific story. We hope to see you June 2012.
What a great girl she is, and now, well she can do Anything!!!
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