2015-05-09 TNKR Double Orientation (Tutors and Refugees)

We had two orientation sessions getting ready for our English Matching session on 5/16.

* We made the decision a few months ago to start holding orientation a week in advance of the Matching session. We weren't sure we could get people to come out two weeks in a row. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we've made. Orientation gives us a chance to get to know both the tutors and refugees in advance of the Matching session. Instead of rushing through the orientation to get to the matches, and to do it all within 2 hours, we set aside time the week before to explain the project in detail, to give them time to answer questions. I have also gotten better at handling these sessions, keeping them on schedule and explaining the project so that the volunteers clearly understand it.

* The refugees who joined today, they were fantastic, too. They have all been waiting more than a month to join us. They are really thankful and ready to get started. Seven of them joined today, they all had different reasons for wanting to join us. One good thing is that all of them were referred to us by others who have been in the project. So word of mouth is working. They say that refugees are well aware of us. One refugee says she will choose 6 tutors, another says she will choose 5. We so far have 12 tutors signed up, so we may need to sign up a few more tutors to make sure they all get several tutors.

* Both the volunteers had plenty of questions in their separate orientations. And we got the question we get almost all of the time from the refugees: Why do the volunteer tutors want to help?

* Oh, but I may have been too dominating at times with the volunteers. Unfortunately, some of the recent volunteers have made me have to chase them, give them reminders, not all have been consistently following the rules. That was mistake for not being tougher sooner. So from now, future volunteers will be on probation for the first two weeks after the matching session. Violators will be booted from the project and not allowed to return. If I had unlimited time, I might be more patient, but no more Mr. Nice Guy. I am now updating the FAQ, with the important question: "What do I need to do in order to get kicked out of TNKR?"

*All of the refugees mentioned clear study goals. After today's orientation, I am confident that the next study term will be one of our best.

*We had one tutor return. She could clearly see that we have made changes to the project.

* Mike Ashley came through with yet another donation to TNKR!

* I challenged the volunteers to come up with an idea for a fundraiser to cover the cost of coffee and study rooms. We should be able to save money for both volunteers and refugees on tight budgets.

2020-04-26 "May I choose more teachers?" TNKR Matching session #102

2020-04-26, TNKR Matching session #102 The Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) humbly began in March 2013 with 5 tutors and 5 NK refugees being matched together. We held that first session at a TOZ business center in Gangnam. Seven years later, TNKR has now matched 455 North Korean refugees with 1,027 tutors, coaches, and mentors. Today we held our 102nd Language Matching session at our slightly expanded office near the Sangsu Subway Station. Instead of just being something that Casey and Eunkoo did short-term, TNKR is now an official organization in both South Korea and the USA, we have been featured in media and by other organizations (just yesterday, we were featured by KOTESOL), and we have fans and donors from around the world.

Helping North Koreans 'strike the blow' (Korea Times)

H ave you ever engaged in action not because you were sure it would change the world, but to satisfy your own heart? That, I emailed to an American friend, is why I have joined the effort to help North Koreans who are trying to escape from their homeland. I can’t change the direction of policy in North Korea or China but I can row the boat I am sitting in rather than lamenting that I can’t steer the yachts somewhere else. So I have tried to do what I can: Attending protests in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul (and I plan to do so when I visit America in April); donating money to the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights ( www.nkhumanrights.or.kr ); educating myself, writing articles and emailing friends; and, as a member of the board of trustees, I recently submitted a resolution to the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association (FDMHA) in Washington, D.C., to try to call attention to the plight of North Koreans. Our organization’s missi...

Chang Ha-Joon's foolish consistency (Korea Times, January 1, 2013)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Is the sky blue? Is the ocean water? If you suspect those are trick questions, you are right. The sky isn’t always blue ― it is reddish at sunset, dark at midnight, gray on an overcast day. The ocean isn’t water ― there’s also fish, plant life, submarines, dissolved minerals, surfboards, sunken ships, even people swimming in it sometimes. As Hoover Institution scholar Thomas Sowell wrote in his 1996 book ``The Vision of the Anointed,” people who use “all-or-nothing” reasoning can deny a statement because it is not 100 percent true in every circumstance. Such word games might be fun for college students or debaters, but there are some distinguished people who are respected for making such childish arguments about serious issues. In his book ``23 Things They Don’t Tell you About Capitalism,” Cambridge University economist Chang Ha-Joon argues that 1) “[T]here is really no such thing as a free market” and 2) “The free market doesn’t exis...

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...

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