Knowing When to Walk Away: Questions, Concepts, and Frameworks for Quitting
A Reflective Practice Session with Bryan Hale
Date: March 21
Time: 2:00–5:00 PM
Location: GNUE (Gwangju National University of Education)
Host: Gwangju–Jeonnam Chapter, KOTESOL
We all make decisions about quitting and walking away throughout our lives. At different points, we may find ourselves considering leaving a particular job, stepping away from a career pathway, exiting an educational program such as a PhD, or even departing a country or industry altogether.
In this reflective practice session, Bryan Hale invites participants to explore how we make such decisions — and how, at times, those decisions seem to make us. Drawing on concepts such as emotional investment, narrative adaptation, values realignment, the sunk cost fallacy, strategic quitting, and quitting contracts, this session offers practical and philosophical frameworks for thinking through transitions.
Participants will have the opportunity for gentle, private reflection (with no pressure to share unless desired). The goal is for members to leave with useful questions, supportive concepts, and renewed clarity about their own professional and personal paths.
The Facilitator
Bryan Hale teaches at Jeonnam Foreign Language High School in Naju, Korea. He is a lifetime member of the Gwangju–Jeonnam KOTESOL chapter and has served in various roles throughout the organization. He holds a Master of Applied Linguistics (TESOL) from the University of New England, Australia.
After Bryan's RP Session stay and join one of the Zooms of KOTESOL!
- 4-5pm Research SIG
- and/or
- 5-6pm BusanGD DPI
- Maybe we can even do dinner after!
Follow-Up Zoom Conversation: Reflecting on Transitions
Date: March 23
Time: 8:00 PM (Korea Standard Time)
Format: Zoom
Topic: Reflecting on Transitions by Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter KOTESOL
Time: Mar 23, 2026 20:00 Seoul
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81544550445?pwd=xaUa9rtDSG8IaSUxsWKMwwaqmrnrii.1
Meeting ID: 815 4455 0445
Passcode: 266477
As a companion to the March 21 session, we will host an informal Zoom conversation to continue exploring the theme of transition and “knowing when to walk away.”
We are pleased that Tom St. John will join us for a reflective dialogue about his own professional and geographic transitions. The tone will be conversational rather than formal, shaped by curiosity rather than presentation.
Some of the guiding questions include:
- Was leaving Korea a clear decision, or something that unfolded gradually?
- What push and pull factors influenced that decision?
- What parts of teaching have stayed with you?
- What does a “good exit” look like now?
We will follow what feels meaningful in the moment, with no expectation to address every prompt. The intention is to create space for honest reflection for members who may be quietly asking similar questions about their own futures — and simply to reconnect as a community.
All members are warmly invited to join us for one or both events.
