Staf Editorial

The Voice of the Epic

course would then have to commute to either Homestead or Fremont High School, which is unreasonable as it would be inconvenient and force students to sacrifice other classes in their schedule. Aside from the commuting time between two schools being much longer than a passing period, most Lynbrook students also do not have their driver’s license and have few means of transportation with parents’ busy schedules.

“If I had the choice between going to a different school to take the class and dropping Japanese entirely, I would choose to stop taking the class since my language requirements are done after this year,” junior Shaumik Kalwit said. “But the main thing that makes Japanese so fun is our teacher and the fun environment Kitchen Sensei has created for us to learn in.”

Miller Middle School, the feeder school for Lynbrook, has the only Japanese program in the Cupertino Union School District. With the removal of Japanese classes, Miller students who are currently taking Japanese must either start a new language at Lynbrook or commit to lengthy commutes to another FUHSD school to continue learning the language.

“I took Japanese with Saeki Sensei at Miller, but if there were no Japanese classes at Lynbrook, I wouldn’t have taken Japanese in the first place,” junior and Japanese National Honor Society officer Rickey Chiu said. “So essentially, no Japanese at Lynbrook means no Miller Japanese either.”

The second most impacted language program by this preliminary plan at Lynbrook is the Chinese program, which currently only offers three levels: level three, level four honors and level five AP. Once Chinese honors is removed from elective options, students will be forced to choose between the two remaining classes. With a smaller number of available classes, it may be harder for counselors to grant many students’ first choice for a language class.

“In total, Lynbrook’s Chinese program has three classes, adding up to more than 100 students,” Chinese teacher Zoey Liu said. “If this decision carries through, many of these students will not have an appropriate level to go to.”

The removal of all language honors classes would also mean cramming more content into fewer classes in an attempt to properly prepare students for AP language classes and mastery of the language for use in the real world. With a faster-paced curriculum in all classes, students may not be able to grasp the information as well and learn as effectively as they would before. Some language teachers fear that this would increase students’ stress levels. For students taking Chinese, those who would like to continue after taking Chinese 3 would have to directly take the AP class the following year, regardless of their proficiency.

“In Chinese 4, I learned a lot of new vocabulary that was used in AP Chinese,” sophomore Brigitte Au said. “Taking the honors class definitely made AP a lot easier.”

Before the plan was announced, world language teachers were not notified of this decision nor consulted in the decision making process. Many world language teachers are upset by this decision, citing a lack of transparency and exclusion from the creation of the proposal.

“I felt devastated,” French teacher Elizabeth Louie said. “I see how hard my colleagues work and how much they care. We all want our students to be happy and to feel supported as they’re learning a new language. It’s hard to think about losing the communities of language learners we’ve worked hard to build.”

Instead of coming to conclusions behind closed doors, the district should be more transparent with decision making and ensure the involvement of the community in such decisions. As this proposal is not yet finalized and is subject to change, there is still hope for World language teachers and students to preserve this unique program.

“I think the district should definitely reconsider the consequences of this decision,” Kalwit said. “There’s so many students that feel passionate about Japanese which has created a community, and removing the class would mean either restarting or commuting to a different school.” the Epic voted 40-0 in favor of this stance. Learn more about the policies on pg. 4.

The district’s decision significantly impacts the students taking language courses without considering their input and concerns. Not only would the removal of these classes increase student stress levels, but also discards the hard work teachers have put into their programs. Seeing how significantly this decision would impact the paths of students and jeopardize the careers of language teachers, in the future, district staff members should prioritize transparency and clear involvement from students and teachers when proposing and coming to conclusions as they are the ones ultimately being affected.

BY DAEUN CHUNG// IN MY OPINION

Landing at San Francisco International Airport in the summer of 2021 after a long flight from Incheon, South Korea, I was greeted by an unfamiliar country and customs. People spoke a language that I barely understood, and the sight of English words, books and newspapers gave me a headache. Despite these challenges, I never expected my love for English to blossom during my junior year of high school.

Back in South Korea, I used to take walks around campus with friends during lunch. However, my friends who used to fill my lunch time with laughter and fun were now thousands of miles away. By contrast, lunch break in the U.S. was the most uncomfortable time of the day, as I had a hard time connecting with other students’ interests and passions. All I could do was nod politely in agreement, pretending that I understood their conversations while fearing that someone would confront me for my awkwardness. Sometimes, I wished I was invisible so that I would no longer be ashamed of my struggle to communicate fluently in English.

Because of limited school events in South Korea, foreign traditions such as homecoming, rallies and spirit weeks made me feel more isolated in the sea of school spirit. I rarely participated in events and felt alienated from most students. However, after receiving my first copy of the Epic, I gained a new lens into Lynbrook students’ diverse range of interests. With first-hand information about students’ lives behind the scenes, I became friends with classmates and gradually began to engage with various components of our school. Ultimately, I realized that I wanted to be involved in the Epic so I could help other incoming or transferring students the same way it guided my tough transition to California.

Although being accepted into the Epic was a significant milestone, I found another major roadblock before me: my lack of confidence in English. This prevented me from actively participating in discussion with other staff members and made me feel like I was taking the spot of other more qualified applicants. For the first few months, I doubted my ability to provide anything meaningful input to the class.

To combat this, I began practicing photography, one of the few things in journalism that didn’t require English writing or speaking. I went to as many sports games and school events as possible to practice taking action shots and portrait photos. My photography skills eventually improved enough that the volleyball team wanted to use my photos for their graphics. This accomplishment gave me confidence that I now have at least something I could contribute to our publication.

Despite initial struggles with writing and interviewing, meeting new people has always been my favorite part of being on staff. I feel like the opportunities to gain insight into others’ personal stories is a great privilege that I can only access as a journalist. Additionally, our production days, where we finalize page designs and print versions of our stories, allowed me to learn the value of teamwork. Working closely with 39 other staff, with diverse backgrounds and stories, to accomplish a common goal together became an activity I partook with pride.

Reminiscing on how I was a year ago, I realize my tremendous growth not only as a journalist but also as an individual. So, for those who read this column, if you see an opportunity to take a journalism class, seize it with both hands and hold tightly, just like I did, and see where it takes you — it will be a life-changing experience.