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Thursday, April 26, 2012
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Voices in Education: Eupil Muhn
Silver Spring middle school teacher named ‘Rising Star Teacher of the Year’
by Peggy McEwan, Staff Writer
Eupil Muhn is an English teacher at A. Mario Loiederman
Middle School, Silver Spring. He was named the Greenblatt
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Education Fund 2012 Rising Star Teacher of the Year. He
was interviewed at Loiederman on April 12.
Tell me about your background. It seems you must have
grown up with your glass half-full, living in Bethesda, going to
good schools.
I grew up in an immigrant household with parents who
worked diligently to provide for me and my sister. My parents
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struggled with the language. They came over in the 1980s
and were mostly educated in Korea.
Does the [immigrant] sensitivity you learned transfer to the
immigrant students in this school?
It is imperative that we understand, be flexible, and embrace
our students’ backgrounds. Our sensitivity guides us to
become better educators.
How many students do you work with each day?
I don’t think I can put a number on it. There are the students
Photo from Pamela Altman, Media Assistant, Loiederman
Middle School Eupil Muhn is an English teacher at A.
Mario Loiederman Middle School, Silver Spring. He was
named the Greenblatt Education Fund 2012 Rising Star
Teacher of the Year.
enrolled in my classes but I try [also] to be outside my
classroom, in the halls.
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Gazette.Net: Voices in Education: Eupil Muhn
and interact with as many students as possible is what I
like to do.
Can you tell me about your education career?
Voices in Education: Eupil Muhn
It’s funny, it’s a rather long story. In college I started as premed but English was my major all along. I was determined
Name: Eupil K. Muhn
Age: 27
to help people and [medicine] that’s the way to do it. But
my love for science didn’t match my desire to help people.
Job title: Eighth-grade English teacher, A. Mario
Loiederman Middle School, Silver Spring
Then I pursued the legal field, to support people in an
Hometown: Bethesda
other way, but I found I was interacting less with people
Education: Bachelor’s in English, Georgetown
and more with documents. For two years I was a paralegal
University; Master’s in education, University of
with the Justice Department.
Maryland, College Park
Family: Parents, both art professors; sister now
working on a master’s degree at Georgetown
My parents and sister were all educators so [their
encouragement to join them] was subtle. They let me find
my own way.
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Hobby/Favorite vacation spot: Right now it’s all about
education: My mind and my focus is on working with
young men and women.
Lesson to live by: While we can’t control the
circumstances of our lives, we have a choice to see
life as a glass that is half empty or half full.
I did teach for a year in Korea, teaching English.
When I came back I was a special education paraeducator
at Parkland Middle School in Aspen Hill. That solidified it
for me, working with great teachers and administrators at
Parkland Middle School.
I joined the MCERT — Masters certification in teaching
program at the University of Maryland — and I did my internship here last year, 2010-2011. I couldn’t go far from
Parkland, I love the kids in this area.
This is my first year. It has been a tremendous experience. For lack of better words, it’s awesome! Every day is
tremendous, it is never the same, it’s exciting.
You received the Rising Star Teacher of the Year Award. Did you know it was coming?
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Absolutely not. I was completely in the dark.
Our administrators put together a packet about me, it included student letters. I was completely unaware of this. I was
notified I was selected and I was not aware of the award, what it was all about. I quickly became aware of its prestige. I
was honored.
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I have a couple of principles. One is that every student in this building is going through adolescence, the most complex,
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I have “respect,” “love” and “think” up there [written across the front of his classroom]. They need our respect and trust,
that is how they grow. Love: it is my desire that they find something to love. And “think” is to think for themselves.
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How do you encourage that?
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Sometimes children aren’t allowed by the general circumstances of education to think for themselves and I want them to
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http://www.gazette.net/article/20120426/NEWS/704269704/1144/voices-in-education-eupil-muhn&template=gazette[4/27/2012 10:38:19 AM]
Gazette.Net: Voices in Education: Eupil Muhn
Not to dismiss what is relevant to them. I think if you use outdated material you might not connect with them. Why
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dismiss what is important to them? It is pretty critical to embrace what they like, understand the culture they are growing
up in.
Things are changing so rapidly and we, as adults, are afraid of what that change brings.
What do you think the students in your class need?
I think they have to be challenged, to have someone on their side to go through those challenges with them, someone
who will be flexible and adapt to their needs.
I feel like I have someone in my room all the time looking for someone to relate to, an adult.
If you had one magic power to use in your teaching what would that be?
I’ve thought about that question before. It’s tough to think of an answer to that question.
I’m big on free will and I’m big on allowing kids to grow into themselves. I think a lot of magic powers are to make
students what we want them to be rather than let them be who they want.
How do you think the honor of this award will influence your career?
It was a total surprise to be selected. I feel there is so much more for me to learn about teaching, so much more for me
to learn about my students. My colleagues have been tremendously welcoming and this is a testament to everyone else.
Is there anything else you want me to know about you as a teacher?
I’m still developing. I feel like I’m still growing as an educator, as a teacher. That’s the exciting part: I know what I’m doing
and there is so much to learn.
It’s taken me a while to get here and I feel so comfortable. It’s unbelievable, it’s rewarding, it’s a privilege to work with
young men and women. I’m grateful, appreciative, just to be here.
Do you have any success you would like to share?
I think the greatest success has come in the strong relationship you have with your students. The trust, having them
believe in you. I think it’s essential to have them open their minds to their possibilities.
“Voices in Education” is a twice-monthly feature that highlights the men and women who are involved with the education
of Montgomery County’s children. To suggest someone you would like to see featured e-mail Peggy McEwan at
[email protected].
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http://www.gazette.net/article/20120426/NEWS/704269704/1144/voices-in-education-eupil-muhn&template=gazette[4/27/2012 10:38:19 AM]