When asked about her lifestyle transition to China, Alice Kim— the new addition to this year’s art team— was eager to offer a formative first impression of her new home: during a trip to the French Concession a friendly stranger paid for her taxi fare, turning a casual excursion into an unforgettably pleasant experience.
This perfectly reflects Ms. Kim’s optimistic approach to teaching. Many of her students describe her as encouraging, motivating and often found laughing in the classroom. From working in museums, to curating art, to working the design field Ms. Kim has worked in many different aspects of art. When asked if Ms. Kim has previously had other teaching jobs in addition to the museum and design work she laughs, “ Yes, I have… I think I’m older than a lot of you guys think I am, I’ve taught in the US, and previously in Korea.”
Ms. Kim describes her decision to major in art during her senior year in high school as the moment she realized that she truly wanted to pursue the subject. “I think the reason as to why I decided to major in art was because in all my courses, art was the course that I was okay with doing for hours and hours and hours while some of my other courses were a little harder for me.” Ms. Kim’s passion for art was something she discovered later in her high school career.
Reflecting upon the IB art course she took, she recalls other students “being really stressed out.” While she still was stressed, her “love for art made everything more tolerable.” Ms. Kim was not from an ‘artistic’ family, in fact her brother is doing something completely different: finance.
Ms. Kim’s favorite part about art and more specifically teaching is how “we can all be looking at the same artwork, and everyone will have different ideas.” She also finds being able to interact with students in a way different from other teachers an appealing factor for her job. When asked about why she ultimately chose to return to the educational aspect of art, she compared how in museums, she was rarely able to have conversations about artwork. Comparatively in a classroom setting she really gets to know students and dig into the multiple interpretations offered, “Seeing art from other people’s eyes is just really fun for me.”
Ms. Kim as a new teacher this year appreciates how easy the SAS community has made it during her transition. For museums, to the classroom Ms. Kim’s passion for art is contagious and is a great addition to our community!
Caroline Tsai
This perfectly reflects Ms. Kim’s optimistic approach to teaching. Many of her students describe her as encouraging, motivating and often found laughing in the classroom. From working in museums, to curating art, to working the design field Ms. Kim has worked in many different aspects of art. When asked if Ms. Kim has previously had other teaching jobs in addition to the museum and design work she laughs, “ Yes, I have… I think I’m older than a lot of you guys think I am, I’ve taught in the US, and previously in Korea.”
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| (Courtesy of Ms. Kim) |
Ms. Kim describes her decision to major in art during her senior year in high school as the moment she realized that she truly wanted to pursue the subject. “I think the reason as to why I decided to major in art was because in all my courses, art was the course that I was okay with doing for hours and hours and hours while some of my other courses were a little harder for me.” Ms. Kim’s passion for art was something she discovered later in her high school career.
Reflecting upon the IB art course she took, she recalls other students “being really stressed out.” While she still was stressed, her “love for art made everything more tolerable.” Ms. Kim was not from an ‘artistic’ family, in fact her brother is doing something completely different: finance.
Ms. Kim’s favorite part about art and more specifically teaching is how “we can all be looking at the same artwork, and everyone will have different ideas.” She also finds being able to interact with students in a way different from other teachers an appealing factor for her job. When asked about why she ultimately chose to return to the educational aspect of art, she compared how in museums, she was rarely able to have conversations about artwork. Comparatively in a classroom setting she really gets to know students and dig into the multiple interpretations offered, “Seeing art from other people’s eyes is just really fun for me.”
Ms. Kim as a new teacher this year appreciates how easy the SAS community has made it during her transition. For museums, to the classroom Ms. Kim’s passion for art is contagious and is a great addition to our community!
Caroline Tsai
