Students at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning in Baychester are learning to both speak and read Korean. Staffers saw the lessons as a cultural opportunity for the students, all of whom are African-American. "We want to provide our kids with as wide a variety of experiences as possible," said Bruce Ballard, who helps teach the class. Ballard lived in South Korea for five years while working with the Peace Corps. The charter school's Korean program evolved from a pilot project started by teacher Mikyung Cho. Cho works at nearby Middle School 142. When she first started there 13 years ago, she said students would ask her to teach them Chinese. "I would tell them, 'I don't speak Chinese; I speak Korean.' Some kids didn't know the difference," Cho said, "so I volunteered to teach them."
Bruce Ballard promotes teaching of Korean at at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning in Baycheste
Kindergartners go from ABCs to Korean
BY Tanyanika Samuels
Updated Wednesday, February 25th 2009, 10:33 AM
When it was her turn, little Kendel Braboy stood before her kindergarten classmates to take on an unusual role - Korean language teacher.
With pointer in hand, Kendel, 5, pointed out the words to a traditional children's song as her classmates sang along.
Students at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning in Baychester are learning to both speak and read Korean. Staffers saw the lessons as a cultural opportunity for the students, all of whom are African-American.
"We want to provide our kids with as wide a variety of experiences as possible," said Bruce Ballard, who helps teach the class. Ballard lived in South Korea for five years while working with the Peace Corps.
The charter school's Korean program evolved from a pilot project started by teacher Mikyung Cho.
Cho works at nearby Middle School 142. When she first started there 13 years ago, she said students would ask her to teach them Chinese.
"I would tell them, 'I don't speak Chinese; I speak Korean.' Some kids didn't know the difference," Cho said, "so I volunteered to teach them."
The classes started informally, with after-school sessions for a few weeks at a time. Then, about five years ago, she treated two of her students to a trip to Korea.
"We had so much fun. I wanted to do more," Cho said.
She later secured private funding to send other students to South Korea for three weeks during the summer.
Three years ago, Cho sought out a grant to teach formal Korean classes.
The humble program that started at MS 142 has now grown to include classes at PS 68, PS 87, PS 111 and PS 112. Last fall, Truman High School started offering Korean as a foreign-language option.
The hope is to have students studying Korean throughout their public-school experience, as they go from elementary to middle school to high school.
"It really helps them see a bigger world," Cho said. "We're going to do this as long as we can."
The charter school, which shares the PS 111 campus, started its classes last fall.
Each Wednesday, the kindergartners gather to sing songs and do activities to help them learn simple Korean phrases.
Journey Fraser, 5, loves learning a new language.
"It's fun," she said. "I like singing the songs."
For Kendel, the best part is playing teacher.
"Sometimes, they ask for volunteers and sometimes they pick me. It's fun," she said.
Kyoung-Mi Choi, who also teaches the classes, enjoys watching the children transform.
"When we first started, they were so nervous," she said. "Now, they are very curious and it's very interesting for them. They are happy to learn Korean."
tsamuels@nydailynews.com
