Due to schedule conflicts of matching meetings between students and teachers, the International Culture Club (ICC) that teaches Korean to teachers and spreads cultural influence around the school has been inactive for a while according to Justin Choi (10), treasurer of ICC. However, according to members of the club, Ms. Lin, the club’s advisor, helped propose a new plan that sparked efficiency for the whole program. Now, the teaching program is back on track with ICC members volunteering to teach SIS teachers Korean on Wednesdays and Thursdays afterschool.
“I think it’s a meaningful opportunity for our club as it is a chance to not only raise awareness for culture but also connect with teachers,” said Chloe Chung (10), secretary of ICC. “It allows us to build deeper and more intimate relationships with our teachers, or at the least get to know them better. I love the classes and I appreciate the participation that we’re getting. I think it’s an amazing opportunity for both the students volunteering and the teachers learning.”
For years ever since the club was first founded, the ICC held culture fairs in which club members would present popular rituals, games, and food of various countries so that the SIS community would be given the chance to experience different cultures. To fulfill their value as a “culture” club, they decided to volunteer to teach teachers who were interested in learning Korean, with the most basic and commonly used phrases. This proposal was inactive for a while because there were scheduling conflicts with no organized system. However, recently, Ms. Lin helped the system work much more efficiently by creating a Google sign-up form that would allow teachers and students to automatically record a time and name to the labels.
“The Korean classes represents one of the main goals of our club, which is spreading and raising awareness of culture in the school community,” said Justin Choi (10). “Through the classes, we are able to raise awareness for Korean culture and identity, which is somewhat underrepresented in the school community. The classes are even more meaningful mainly because we stay true to the goal of exposing people to cultures that they have never been exposed to before (since it’s non-Korean teachers learning Korean).”
As a club founded based upon the value of cultural awareness, especially regarding Korea, the ICC has made a significant step in fulfilling its duties. Continuing this path, club executives have proposed an event for next year dedicated to a “Culture Day” in which students around the school are taught about various countries by trying out various foods and cultural activities.