Tiger Times Volume 34 Issue 6

Page 1

Tiger Times seoul international school

volume xxxiv

j a n u a r y 2011

issue vi

Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park

Christian students seek God’s presence within school walls By Jonathan Yun

“In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen” is unusual and uncommon to hear at a secular school, such as SIS. Yet, Joshua Camp offers students the opportunity to connect with God in the midst of a busy schedule at school. Joshua Camp is an unofficial Christian club that aims to allow SIS students, both Christians and nonChristians, to come together with God and realize the value of Christianity. I t

was founded in 2008 by John Eun, Alex Park, Andrew Lee and Hannah Kim, who are all from the class of 2010. By Jan. 2009, Joshua

Camp started.

“The fellowship started with about five people; we first started meeting outside of school once in a while to just share each other’s struggles, testimonies, and joy in our Christian life,” said Hannah. “We thought it would be a great idea to bring this fellowship into SIS and open it up for anyone else, so we approached Ms. Choi and formed a club. It was really pleasant to be able to connect with my friends in a religious way, something we would normally never do. ” Every Tuesday, during activity period, members of Joshua Camp sing hymns, read Bible verses, and pray afterwards. They also share what goes on in their lives and pray for each other. “I think [Joshua Camp] is a good experience for Christians to sustain their faith towards God,” said Benny Char (9), a member of Joshua Camp. “How we act in church is different from how we act in school, and having this club at our school prevents Christians from changing their personalities.” Although the group r e m a i n s rel at ively

Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park

SISers unmotivated to follow Asian Cup While soccer fans were busy rooting for South Korea during its game against Bahrain on Jan. 11, SISers rather chose to study. Students uninterested in sports did not know that the champion of the 2011 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar would be qualified to compete for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil until the news of Korea’s victory flooded television broadcasts. During the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Iraq was the champion, Saudi Arabia the runner-up and Korea finished third. According to The New York Times, however, Korea is likely to be the champion in the 2011 tournament based on its performance in the 2010 World Cup and previous Asian Games. “Korea has a good team,” said Erik Custer, physical education teacher. “[The athletes] have a chance at winning. Their only disadvantage is that the games are in Qatar, an environment those in the Middle East are probably more familiar to.”

Despite the possibility of victory, students opted to study rather than watch the games. They perceived news of Korea’s recent victory against Bahrain on television but were not able to witness the triumph live. “[Although] I’m a huge soccer fan, I was too busy with my schedule [on Jan. 11],” said Joshua An (9). “By the time I came home from swimming, the first half of the match was already over. But [as an alternative] I

intercepted the news about the victory through the newspaper.” Indeed, the game was broadcasted live on television at 1:15 a.m. and the next two games were both scheduled for 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 11 and Jan 18 against Australia and India, respectively. Most students were either sleeping or up late finishing their homework at the time. Yet according to Christy Kim (12), there was another reason for not following the game: a lack of advertising.

Turnov laptop er of in elicits mitiative reactio ixed ns

small compared to other clubs, the number of members is growing steadily each week. Joshua By An gela Camp participants are tryCho ing to invite more people to the Christian gathering. Yet, despite these efforts, the school does not recognize Joshua Camp as an ofWhile some ficial club. clenched their fists up “[The reason why the club is un- high, noting approval of the adminofficial] goes back to the very begin- istration’s decision not to implement ning,” said Ms. Choi. “The students the laptop initiative next year, others, made the decision, and they didn’t deeply disappointed by the turnover, want it official. However, I wanted it gritted their teeth. official and known to everybody.” Last year, the administration This year, Joshua Camp is striv- proposed a 1:1 laptop initiative, ing to reach out to the community. which would require all students to The Christian fellowship is con- purchase MacBooks. After opposisidering visits to orphanages and tion from high school students and schools, including Daniel Leaders parents, however, the administration School, which is an institute that decided not to implement the proteaches Christian values. gram in the high school next year. Joshua Camp is identified as a The initiative will be enforced in Protestant-based group as opposed middle school, and all middle school to Catholic or Orthodox. However, students will be required to purchase the club is open to everyone and and use Macs. However, the mobile Ms. Choi urges students, especially computer labs will be exclusive to Christians, to join the fellowship. high school students. Then, based “I know there are Christians out on the performance of the initiative there, but they need to be more pro- in middle school, the administration active,” said Ms. Choi. “I understand will determine whether or not to enthat it is difficult to show that they force the system in high school. are Christians. Kids should not be “We believe [middle school] is afraid to identify themselves the best place to start our initiative,” as Christians. If you’re a said Peter Corcoran, high school true Christian, then you principal. “That’s where the initiashould be proud to be tive began two years ago, so [middle one.” school] teachers had the most train-

Freshman Patrick Chin prays silently to God as one of Joshua Camp’s Tuesday lunch sessions comes to a close.

By Angela Cho and Lydia Kim

Tablet Craze: Students begin to utilize handheld computers for study and recreation. Page 9

She was not informed about any of the matches until she had heard the news on the victory. “I haven’t heard of events at city halls to celebrate the Asian Cup,” said Christy. “If it were better advertised, I’d be more aware of it and follow the games. But I expect boys to be better informed than girls because the male divisions of sports are hyped better and sports used to be [exclusive to] guys.” Although John Han (10) disagreed that men are more avid sports fans, he agreed that the Asian Cup was under-advertised. “Lack of advertising led to unpopularity,” said John. “But I don’t think ads will catch [people’s] attention anyways since the tournament’s limited to Asians, who aren’t always the best at playing sports.” Nevertheless, students congratulated Korea’s victory. “I didn’t watch the match, but I think it’s great that we won,” said Christy. “I wasn’t following it closely because I didn’t know that the match was on or that the rounds for the Asian Cup had started.”

ing. We also put the most technical support there.” Upon the proposal of the initiative, the SIS Parent Association (SISPA) distributed surveys to gauge its appeal to high school students’ parents, a majority of whom were opposed to the program. They believe that the process of adjusting to the new system has the potential to harm students’ GPAs. Not all SISers have met the initiative with disapproval, however; using Macs has its advantages. “I bought a MacBook partially because I heard the school will require students to buy one,” said Jane Jun (10). “I’m disappointed that we won’t be implementing the initiative. If everyone uses the same computer and educational programs, the school will be more unified.” The administration believes that laptops are an important educational tool, enhancing access to new ideas and information. According to Mr. Corcoran, Macs are the leader in education because of the availability of educational programs like iWorks, iMovie and Keynote. “I am a strong supporter,” said Mr. Corcoran. “In the next 10 years, the educational trend will move towards online. I believe [Macs] will fundamentally change the teaching and learning at school.”


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