Edward+Cho+-+Persuasive+Speech



Rough Draft not organized too much...guess it is not colloquial-ish enough

Hello ladies and gentlemen of Korea International School. This is Edward Cho, a fellow student attending at Korea International School. Before I say anything, I want to inform you that I am completely stating my personal opinions and that I am not here to disrespect anyone with opposing opinions from me. I believe that the “English only policy” must be readjusted. The School rules simply prohibits students from speaking any Korean. However, before prohibiting the students from speaking English, the school must think about how much language can mean to a group of people. School is a place where students go not only for an educational purpose but also for learning culture. It is an open place for young souls to develop their own colors according to their belonging culture and to learn dealing with different people. Language can mean a lot of things to people. It represents people’s culture and identity. In the past, when Japan conquered Korea, the Japanese prohibited Koreans from speaking Korean. It was an act more than just taking away language, but was an act in an intention to take away pride as one nation and to take away culture. Taking away language from certain groups means taking away freedom, right and pride from them. Taken away the freedom to speak Korean, our ancestors had to speak Japanese and were mentally very hurt. People slowly lost pride, and patriotism towards people’s own country, Korea; They slowly broke down as a nation. What is better, not knowing how to love one’s own country or not to have the supposedly “similar environment to colleges in the U.S?.” Not being able to speak in Korean can also mean not being able to learn cultures of Korea as a Korean who cannot throw away the title as a “Korean”. Certain culture cannot be translated in to different languages. Therefore in order for certain group people to develop their own culture, it is crucial for them to speak among each other in the language where their original culture is derived from. The school claims that the English Only policy is required for all students to follow because the school is trying to provide the closest environment to student’s college environment. However, there is a big problem in this. The students, wherever they go, will not be accepted as “Americans”. The school is trying to make students speak in english so the students can learn the culture of “Americans” and adapt right in to the colleges they will attend in the future. However, the students failing to have their own identity will fail to adapt in to the schools in the future. There was a survey in the past, and it proved that most of the asian students, from outside or inside of U.S, end up hanging out mostly with the asian students. Not being able to develop a culture of “Asians”, the student will fail to mix in with the asians nor with any other people originally from the States since there are limits of learning culture of American people just by speaking in “English Only” in high school with all Korean people. I strongly believe that the English Only policy is not helping the students at all. It just creates an invisible wall between teachers and students as they sometimes have to be enemies of students by giving out checks. I would rather die than to become a artificially created fake robot, without own identity. Thank you for listening to my extremely personal ideas.

Final Draft

Edward Cho 9/22/09 English 11C Ms.Jacob

English Only Policy

Over years, students have been complaining about how the “English Only” policy is an act of taking away student’s rights, but no one has ever stood up to state their ideas. I stand here front of you to urge you to support me in getting the “English Only” policy modified. I suggest that the school should think more deeply about the small detailed aftermaths the school faces. I believe the “English Only” policy not only takes away a student’s personal freedom but also hinders KIS’s educational purposes and therefore should be readjusted. The school may say that language is just a type of way for people to communicate. They may also say that taking away Korean is something small that must be lost for an “English-friendly environment” to get ready for college. Here is what I think. Language means culture and identity. As simple as it sounds, it develops cultural colors and the unique ideal morals of individuals. Today’s Koreans with unique culture exists due to the Korean language. Sharing ideas in the language of Korean gives people chances to develop as Koreans. Therefore, students without interaction with other fellow Korean students in their language cause students to lose the opportunity to develop their own culture. Language has been represented as pride such as: name to John Proctor’s innocence and his unwillingness to give up his name and reputation and the remaining bits of confidence that our Korean ancestors had when facing oppression. Language was something that people didn’t want to give up even for their lives. During the Japanese-Korean war, the Japanese prohibited Korean civilians from speaking Korean. Their intention was to take pride and unity from Koreans. The intentions of KIS and the Japanese soldiers during this time are completely different. KIS is simply trying to support the students in an English-friendly environment. However, their results are quite similar. Both the people and students under this regulation lost freedom and rights to talk in their own language. I believe that a school has fair amount of rights to give a good education and teach students about how the society works. However, they don’t deserve the rights to take away the freedom of communication and speech. KIS’s mission statement states “To inspire students with a passion for learning and to cultivate the competence, self assurance, initiative, and creativity necessary for success in the global community." However, by forcing rules such as prohibiting speaking in Korean, the students are not given the choice to take the initiative to decide to speak in Korean or in English. Then how are they expected to have initiative when they are not given a chance to develop one by themselves? If teachers require students to be responsible for their success in classes, then why can’t they trust students to be responsible for their fluency in English? I believe school would be the most efficient when students and teachers are respected and respect each other. That’s how most of the small societies succeed. By one side not respecting the other, the society slowly turns in to a tyranny where the two sides become enemies. However, students and teachers cannot be enemies in order for the school to be the most productive. Due to the “English Only” policy, teachers are required to bring around yellow folders to give checks to students who speak Korean. After getting caught speaking in Korean, the relationship between students and teachers become very awkward. There was a kid named Edward Cho walking around in the cafeteria as usual. He was speaking to his friends. Few seconds later, a teacher, who will remain anonymous, catches him speaking in Korean. After the incident, that kid had trouble reaching the teacher due to the guilt of breaking the regulation. Edward’s productivity was greatly influenced as he lost confidence in approaching the teacher when he had a question. Think about how many things we are paying for with this regulation. Our education is disturbed, and our identity as Koreans, which we will never be able to get rid of, is slowly compromised. So many times we have tried to get rid of this unfair policy, and so many times we have failed. It is very important for us to support readjusting the “English Only” policy. Unfortunately, we are weak beings in the institute, but I tell you my fellow students. You can do something. It is nothing peculiar. All you have to do is to go tell your parents about how the “English Only” policy is affecting you, actually us, “Koreans” in “our” school! We must stand for our freedom and protect once again, our country’s pride that our ancestors have protected for many years. Mahatma Ghandi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I repeat to you students, we must be the change, we want to see in our own school. Thank you