HADASSAH, Bellevue, Washington, USA

Middle School Student 
Korean 
Female 
First Daughter 
Middle Child 


Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? 

A: I have nothing really in common with my teachers.

Almost all of them are female. I am also female.

Some of them are Asian like me.

Some of them have the same hobbies, play the same instruments, and some of them taught or teach my brother so I guess we both know my brother.

I have a male teacher who is my only male teacher. And we do not have anything in common. He teaches my brother. But there is nothing we have in common.

I don’t think I have ever had a teacher that I had a lot in common with. But maybe I just do not know.

My kindergarten teacher was Korean. And my principal too. But they couldn’t speak Korean, like me. They were my only teachers that were Korean.

One of my fourth grade teachers had a small collection of fossils on his desk. I also have some fossils.

One of my teachers has died hair and I also die my hair from time to time.

Some of them wear glasses. But only a few.  I used to wear glasses too. But now I wear contacts.

A lot of them have dark hair and dark eyes. I have really dark hair and eyes so it seems like black. 


Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? 

A: I do not think it matters that students and teachers have anything in common with each other. I have nothing really in common with my teachers but I get along with them just fine.

I think that if a student has a lot of things in common with the teacher, maybe they could be closer. I don’t see anyone in any of my classes get along more with the teacher because they have things in common than if they didn’t. I am pretty sure that teachers treat their students equally.

I had a friend who was born in the same hospital and liked the same baseball team as our teacher. Once in a while they would talk about it but I did not think the teacher was treating her better or liked her more or anything.

Also, I do not think that if you and the teacher have things in common there will be a special bond between the two of you. I just think that they have something in common. A teacher is still a teacher. If you need his or her help, you can just ask. He or she will still be there for you.

Similarities could start a bond between the teacher and the student but I just don’t think it matters. I think that if I actually had teachers with a lot in common, I would think differently. But I never had any teacher with anything big in common, big enough to start a bond. Even if I did have a teacher with lots in common, I would not really care. I have gone to school for years without having a special connection with the teacher and I still think that teachers are a good teachers.

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