MHS will be offering Korean IV Honors in the 2023-24 school year due to high demand within the Korean program, Assistant Principal Jonathan Mach said.
Korean classes have been offered at MHS for at least six years, but no fourth-level Korean classes have been offered during class scheduling prior to this year, Mach said. Over the years, the need for more Korean classes has increased, he added.
“We had smaller Korean classes, and now we have bigger Korean classes, and, as the culture grows popular, the kids opt into it,” Mach said. “More recently, within the last two, three years, we have had enough to be able to push for a fourth-year Korean.”
Korean teacher Soo Park, who will be teaching the new honors course, said that the process of actually planning the course began around two years ago. At the time, there was not enough interest in a fourth-level Korean class and MHS missed the deadline to get the course approved as an A-G class, so action was delayed until this school year, Park said.
“Last year, in October, I talked about how we really want this course,” Park said. “So we started conversation two years ago, but started actually taking action starting October.”
Korean IV Honors was approved as an A-G course on Feb. 6, and was completely approved by a unanimous vote after Park presented the course in a Curriculum Policy Committee (CPC) presentation to the district this school year on March 23, Park said.
“I have more than 30 students signed up, so it looks like it’s happening,” Park said.
Park began developing the curriculum for Korean IV Honors in October 2022 and completed it in January 2023, she said in an email. Some of the textbooks for the course are already available for students, and Park is able to get free supplementary books sponsored by the International Korean Education Foundation, she said. In order to develop the curriculum, Park used her experience teaching the class at another school district and support from others, she added.
“I also closely worked with other Korean teachers in the Bay Area and Ms. Kang at MHS to collaborate and develop the curriculum,” Park said in an email.
Junior Isabelle Cho, who plans to take Korean IV Honors, said that finishing her high school language education, having an opportunity to receive a GPA boost, and enjoying the positive environment of her current Korean class drove her to sign up for the fourth-year class.
“Korean is one of my favorite classes,” Cho said. “She’s (Park) not only uplifting, but she cares a lot about the students.”
The Korean program was originally established in collaboration with outside entities such as the Korean Consulate, a collection of organizations that aims to spread Korean culture, Mach said.
“Our teachers had connections with the Korean Consulate, the Korean Embassy,” Mach said. “They wanted to at least start Korean here too. They wanted to help.”
The Korean program has grown to the point where a second Korean teacher, Jin Kang, began teaching at MHS for the first time this school year, Park said. Taking a language class can be fun for students, and it can be beneficial for their patience and understanding as well, Park added.
“Learning a foreign language can help develop students’ cognitive skills,” Park said in an email. “Most importantly, students will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of other cultures. They will become more open-minded and respectful of cultural differences.”
