Proudly standing atop the grey drawer is a wooden and gold plague with the words “Korea International School.” A rainbow LGBT+ flag peaks out from the mug filled with an assortment of stationery items. The silver block letters “HUBBS” beam from above the whiteboard slightly to the right. Yep—this is Mr. Jonathan Hubbs’ room.
Growing up in San Jose, California, Mr. Hubbs had a pretty normal childhood. Like many of us, he was involved in various activities during his high school career, which included track, cross country and student council (class president for junior and senior year!).
Going into college, Mr. Hubbs thought he was going to study business or “something related to computers.” However, before he even got to college, he had changed his mind about what he wanted to study five times.
“I was pretty lost,” Mr. Hubbs said. “And then I thought I wanted to study radio broadcasting, so I took a few classes.” Considering his profession today, we can all assume Mr. Hubbs didn’t quite enjoy them.
Two years of general education courses later, Mr. Hubbs still could not decide on what he wanted to study, so he ended up taking a year off. “I did a little working to save up some money,” Mr. Hubbs said, “then I ended up deciding I was going to go to Costa Rica.”
While Mr. Hubbs mainly went to Costa Rica to take a Spanish class, he also wanted to travel. “I travelled to Costa Rica by myself and stayed in a little shack that cost the equivalent of $8 USD a night with a cold, shared shower down the hall.”
Sounds grubby, doesn’t it? “It was right on the beach though,” Mr. Hubbs said. “I could wake up early in the morning, go surfing, then go to Spanish class, hang around the town, and in the evening I would watch the sunset, then go surfing again.” That was Mr. Hubbs’ lifestyle for four weeks.
To Mr. Hubbs, this experience was transformative. “I remember coming back home to the United States after that almost slightly depressed because I just had such a good time and I had just came back to normal life.”
Of course, Mr. Hubbs got out of that depression. “Another thing I got out of the trip to Costa Rica was that I got really inspired to study,” he said. “I eventually decided to major in American Studies because it was so liberal and I could put so many different courses together [in accordance to the major].”
Mr. Hubbs had another unique experience during his college career—he was part of car chase scene in the second Matrix movie!
Having heard that parts of the Matrix movies were being filmed in the Bay area, Mr. Hubbs decided to go out to where they were filming.
“All they needed were people with cars. And I had a car. And it needed to be a neutral color car. And my car was a tan color.” Easy as that, Mr. Hubbs got the job, which was just to drive his car through the set.
“It was the car chase scene that happens in the freeway and there were like motorcycles and samurai swords,” Mr. Hubbs said. “They took us to this island that was called Alameda and it was right next to Oakland across from San Francisco. They had built a huge fake freeway. I thought it was so weird, because there were exits and overpasses but I knew it was fake.”
Can you believe getting paid $150 dollars and getting breakfast, lunch, and dinner just for parking your car and sitting inside it? Well, Mr. Hubbs did and got just that.
“Afterwards, I thought that you would be able to see me or my car in the movie, but it’s such a blur that you just can’t see anything,” Mr. Hubbs said. “If I stopped the movie it’s just literally a blur across the side of the freeway, it’s really funny. I’m just a blur.”
At that point in his life, Mr. Hubbs’ future was also a blur. Similar to his struggle in finding a major, Mr. Hubbs struggled to find a place for himself after graduation. However, his economics professor inspired him to do two things , study economics and join the Peace Corps, which Mr. Hubbs intended to do after college.
Even before graduating, Mr. Hubbs had already began the application process for the Peace Corps. “I was looking to do something radical in order to help me figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he said. “What better way to do that than volunteer for two years in a developing country somewhere in the world?”
However, one tiny decision soon changed all that.
“One day in the summer after my college graduation, I went on a long run,” Mr. Hubbs said. On that run, he bumped into his high school cross country and track and field coach. “I asked him if he wanted help coaching, since it would be a while until I was going to volunteer for the Peace Corps,” Mr. Hubbs said. His former coach told Mr. Hubbs the practice schedule and he soon became an assistant cross country coach.
Mr. Hubbs had also taken on substitute teaching during the day to make money. When cross country season ended and track and field season begun, he became an assistant coach for that as well.
“My former coach told me that he was going to retire and he wanted me to take over the cross country and track teams as head coach,” Mr. Hubbs said. “I couldn’t turn down this offer, and the idea of the Peace Corps was fading from my priorities.”
A bit more than a year later, an economics teacher was going on maternity leave and the school wanted Mr. Hubbs to take over. “The economics teacher never came back, so it became my permanent full time job.”
However, the thought of traveling kept pestering Mr. Hubbs in the back of his mind. “It was what I wanted to do,” Mr. Hubbs said. He went to New Zealand, Egypt, Jordan, Thailand, Germany, and more.
Later, Mr. Hubbs’ love for traveling and a former colleague inspired him to teach in international schools. “I just thought I could be doing this job in another country, which would allow me to experience another culture and also travel to new and interesting places,” Mr. Hubbs said.
Mr. Hubbs first started teaching at international schools in 2013 at Korea International School in South Korea (that explains the plague). “I didn’t know much about South Korea at all when I was applying for jobs, but there was an economics position open, which I applied for and got it.”
Although Mr. Hubbs had no idea what he was getting himself into other than what he was teaching, he loved his time in Korea. “I never had culture shock there,” Mr. Hubbs said. “I immediately loved every aspect of the job and just living in South Korea, except for the cold winters, but it was a really good experience.”
After three years, Mr. Hubbs thought it was a time for change, so he applied to many schools, one of which was SAS. “I actually had a few students that I was teaching in Korea that used to go to SAS,” Mr. Hubbs said, “and I also had a couple of colleagues who used to work at SAS, so I got to talk to them and hear their experience. Every one of them said they loved it.”
As many people already know, Mr. Hubbs will be leaving SAS and going to Jakarta International School (JIS) next year. “I think there’s a lot of people saying that I hate SAS,” Mr. Hubbs said, “But this is one of the best schools I’ve ever been to. The opportunities for students at this school are plentiful and I think for that reason any student who goes to this school is pretty lucky.”
Well, then why is Mr. Hubbs leaving?
“I think this school is a little too fast-paced,“ Mr. Hubbs said. “Some people call it StressAS.”
The pacing of SAS is not the only reason, though. “I’m definitely not a big fan of Shanghai,” Mr. Hubbs said, “but ultimately I don’t feel like I’m getting the international experience that I crave when I go somewhere. It’s very Westernized here. I don’t feel immersed.”
And again, the cold weather. “Growing up in California really spoiled me about the weather,” Mr. Hubbs admitted with a chuckle.
While Mr. Hubbs may not be missing Shanghai, many at SAS will definitely miss having him as a teacher, colleague, or mentor. A lot of it has to do with his dedication and attentiveness toward the students. In fact, Mr. Hubbs says himself that he “teaches students, not economics.”
Based on his experiences and what he’s seen his students goes through, Mr. Hubbs’ biggest advice is simply to slow down. “Slow down and think deeply about your learning and your education experience and I think that would take students really far.”
Mr. Hubb’s other crucial piece of advice comes from his personal experiences of traveling. “Step outside of your comfort zone once in a while,” he said. “This is how you grow and create opportunities to profoundly change your life.”
Good times.
Allison Ma
 |
| Mr. Hubbs at his desk (taken by Allison Ma) |
Growing up in San Jose, California, Mr. Hubbs had a pretty normal childhood. Like many of us, he was involved in various activities during his high school career, which included track, cross country and student council (class president for junior and senior year!).
Going into college, Mr. Hubbs thought he was going to study business or “something related to computers.” However, before he even got to college, he had changed his mind about what he wanted to study five times.
“I was pretty lost,” Mr. Hubbs said. “And then I thought I wanted to study radio broadcasting, so I took a few classes.” Considering his profession today, we can all assume Mr. Hubbs didn’t quite enjoy them.
Two years of general education courses later, Mr. Hubbs still could not decide on what he wanted to study, so he ended up taking a year off. “I did a little working to save up some money,” Mr. Hubbs said, “then I ended up deciding I was going to go to Costa Rica.”
While Mr. Hubbs mainly went to Costa Rica to take a Spanish class, he also wanted to travel. “I travelled to Costa Rica by myself and stayed in a little shack that cost the equivalent of $8 USD a night with a cold, shared shower down the hall.”
Sounds grubby, doesn’t it? “It was right on the beach though,” Mr. Hubbs said. “I could wake up early in the morning, go surfing, then go to Spanish class, hang around the town, and in the evening I would watch the sunset, then go surfing again.” That was Mr. Hubbs’ lifestyle for four weeks.
To Mr. Hubbs, this experience was transformative. “I remember coming back home to the United States after that almost slightly depressed because I just had such a good time and I had just came back to normal life.”
Of course, Mr. Hubbs got out of that depression. “Another thing I got out of the trip to Costa Rica was that I got really inspired to study,” he said. “I eventually decided to major in American Studies because it was so liberal and I could put so many different courses together [in accordance to the major].”
Mr. Hubbs had another unique experience during his college career—he was part of car chase scene in the second Matrix movie!
Having heard that parts of the Matrix movies were being filmed in the Bay area, Mr. Hubbs decided to go out to where they were filming.
“All they needed were people with cars. And I had a car. And it needed to be a neutral color car. And my car was a tan color.” Easy as that, Mr. Hubbs got the job, which was just to drive his car through the set.
“It was the car chase scene that happens in the freeway and there were like motorcycles and samurai swords,” Mr. Hubbs said. “They took us to this island that was called Alameda and it was right next to Oakland across from San Francisco. They had built a huge fake freeway. I thought it was so weird, because there were exits and overpasses but I knew it was fake.”
Can you believe getting paid $150 dollars and getting breakfast, lunch, and dinner just for parking your car and sitting inside it? Well, Mr. Hubbs did and got just that.
“Afterwards, I thought that you would be able to see me or my car in the movie, but it’s such a blur that you just can’t see anything,” Mr. Hubbs said. “If I stopped the movie it’s just literally a blur across the side of the freeway, it’s really funny. I’m just a blur.”
At that point in his life, Mr. Hubbs’ future was also a blur. Similar to his struggle in finding a major, Mr. Hubbs struggled to find a place for himself after graduation. However, his economics professor inspired him to do two things , study economics and join the Peace Corps, which Mr. Hubbs intended to do after college.
Even before graduating, Mr. Hubbs had already began the application process for the Peace Corps. “I was looking to do something radical in order to help me figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he said. “What better way to do that than volunteer for two years in a developing country somewhere in the world?”
However, one tiny decision soon changed all that.
“One day in the summer after my college graduation, I went on a long run,” Mr. Hubbs said. On that run, he bumped into his high school cross country and track and field coach. “I asked him if he wanted help coaching, since it would be a while until I was going to volunteer for the Peace Corps,” Mr. Hubbs said. His former coach told Mr. Hubbs the practice schedule and he soon became an assistant cross country coach.
Mr. Hubbs had also taken on substitute teaching during the day to make money. When cross country season ended and track and field season begun, he became an assistant coach for that as well.
“My former coach told me that he was going to retire and he wanted me to take over the cross country and track teams as head coach,” Mr. Hubbs said. “I couldn’t turn down this offer, and the idea of the Peace Corps was fading from my priorities.”
A bit more than a year later, an economics teacher was going on maternity leave and the school wanted Mr. Hubbs to take over. “The economics teacher never came back, so it became my permanent full time job.”
However, the thought of traveling kept pestering Mr. Hubbs in the back of his mind. “It was what I wanted to do,” Mr. Hubbs said. He went to New Zealand, Egypt, Jordan, Thailand, Germany, and more.
 |
| Mr. Hubbs at Nelson Lakes in New Zealand, photo courtesy of Mr. Jonathan Hubbs |
Later, Mr. Hubbs’ love for traveling and a former colleague inspired him to teach in international schools. “I just thought I could be doing this job in another country, which would allow me to experience another culture and also travel to new and interesting places,” Mr. Hubbs said.
Mr. Hubbs first started teaching at international schools in 2013 at Korea International School in South Korea (that explains the plague). “I didn’t know much about South Korea at all when I was applying for jobs, but there was an economics position open, which I applied for and got it.”
Although Mr. Hubbs had no idea what he was getting himself into other than what he was teaching, he loved his time in Korea. “I never had culture shock there,” Mr. Hubbs said. “I immediately loved every aspect of the job and just living in South Korea, except for the cold winters, but it was a really good experience.”
After three years, Mr. Hubbs thought it was a time for change, so he applied to many schools, one of which was SAS. “I actually had a few students that I was teaching in Korea that used to go to SAS,” Mr. Hubbs said, “and I also had a couple of colleagues who used to work at SAS, so I got to talk to them and hear their experience. Every one of them said they loved it.”
As many people already know, Mr. Hubbs will be leaving SAS and going to Jakarta International School (JIS) next year. “I think there’s a lot of people saying that I hate SAS,” Mr. Hubbs said, “But this is one of the best schools I’ve ever been to. The opportunities for students at this school are plentiful and I think for that reason any student who goes to this school is pretty lucky.”
Well, then why is Mr. Hubbs leaving?
“I think this school is a little too fast-paced,“ Mr. Hubbs said. “Some people call it StressAS.”
The pacing of SAS is not the only reason, though. “I’m definitely not a big fan of Shanghai,” Mr. Hubbs said, “but ultimately I don’t feel like I’m getting the international experience that I crave when I go somewhere. It’s very Westernized here. I don’t feel immersed.”
And again, the cold weather. “Growing up in California really spoiled me about the weather,” Mr. Hubbs admitted with a chuckle.
While Mr. Hubbs may not be missing Shanghai, many at SAS will definitely miss having him as a teacher, colleague, or mentor. A lot of it has to do with his dedication and attentiveness toward the students. In fact, Mr. Hubbs says himself that he “teaches students, not economics.”
Based on his experiences and what he’s seen his students goes through, Mr. Hubbs’ biggest advice is simply to slow down. “Slow down and think deeply about your learning and your education experience and I think that would take students really far.”
Mr. Hubb’s other crucial piece of advice comes from his personal experiences of traveling. “Step outside of your comfort zone once in a while,” he said. “This is how you grow and create opportunities to profoundly change your life.”
Good times.
Allison Ma
