The Return Of...

Yea, yea, so it would seem like Mr. Soni likes Korea. Just a little.

He likes travelling, learning the Korean language, connecting with people of his mama's tribe and learning about a new culture. In many ways, after living here since 2007, Mr. Soni has developed Korean tendencies himself. Just don't tell his parents that...

After an extensive and refreshing vacation back in the Washington DC/Metro area, Mr. Soni has returned to his school for another signed contract. He's going to dog-fight it in classroom trench warfare for another year. You would think after 2 years of teaching in mostly a non-productive classroom set-up that he would close shop and return home to the United States. That is not the case. The little man of 24 years has other plans.

"At first, I thought that I would do this for maybe 2 years at the most. You know, get some language acquisition, travel East Asia, earn some quick cash, then go home and re-start real life," said Mr. Soni on Saturday morning at a PC Bang in Incheon. "But God has allowed me to stay because I felt we just scratched the surface of what He can do through me this year."

Being a tough decision that it was, he knew that he would have to delay a permanent return to the United States. Yet confidence was the theme as he detailed what's the plan this year.

"Its really interesting. I really prayed about it and decided in freedom that this is where God wants me to be. There's alot of work to be done. I enjoy this opportunity to share the Truth with these students and to be a constant in their lives," remarked Soni.

Continuing the English teaching trade, he knows by now that through the limitations of the job there are certain holes of penetration where God can use the little boy teacher to give his students more brain food this year.

Mr. Soni outlined his plan for this year's curriculum, stating that most of last year's plans will be included in the Free English classes, with slight changes to reflect difficulty and more transparency. He also has planned reforms to the rulebook and to the mission statement of his course.

Rulebook changes include an emphasis of a easy punishment enforcement system so the students can understand when they are crossing the classroom rules' lines. In 2007, when Mr. Soni started his tenure at Yeonsu High School, even though grabbing the attention of the boys was very difficult at times, his soccer-based yellow/red card system was effective to letting them know that they pushed the teacher's buttons. In 2008, switching to a girls' school, Mr. Soni underestimated the way girls tended to push the rules, resulting in confusion of authority due to a lack of a foundational discipline/reward system.

According to the Soni Administration, the goal for this school year is to take the lessons from the first two years to combine for a final, "rounding-out" completed teaching project where he combines elements of fun classes, interactive activities, challenging intellectual moments, and more transparency in discipline and respect for the native teacher, all culminating from his brief 2 years of teaching.

"Its not overall too ambitious, because you can't really push the tape on ESL teaching in this country. Its just wisdom pulled from the teeth from two years of struggle and joy. Its a more practical approach to maintain a balance, from making sure that my new students understand that I'm serious from the get-go, but I let up on the pedal to ease things up as we get more into learning more conversational English," remarked Mr. Soni.

As for the mission statement, Mr. Soni credits his former boss and section chieft from last year, Mrs. Son (pronounced "sohn," not "sun"). Mrs. Son remarked how students at Hakik Girls High School became more interested in the English language last year. Even though the students overall proficiency did not improve last year, she left Mr. Soni with a personal report that she sees the potential for Free English to be a motivator for future English studies.

"After a huge debriefing with Mrs. Son last week, she came up with the wonderful conclusion that Free English, since it is not graded, should be more about getting students more interested in the English language. After much more thought about that, I 100% agree with her. Because most of the time the issue in Korean high schools is that there is no motivation to study a language that at times seems robotic and automatic at best," analyzed Soni. "Our mission statement for the class this year is to motivate and encourage students to study the English language. "

Adding to this, Mr. Soni sees that his role is more free and less demanding than before. "I felt as if I had to produce some kind of English miracle where students at the end of the school year would be holding debates or at last carry decent conversations. No doubt some of my students improved, but nonetheless language acquisition takes years, and having this kind of mission statement makes things much easier to conduct class."

The semester for the new school year starts Monday, with a new class of freshmen girls rolling into the school with bunches of new teachers and staff on hand, ready to teach the intense courses necessary for college preparation.

Holdovers like Mr. Soni will be an awesome benefit for the school, especially since almighty God will use him some more. If this be our teacher's final year in this country, than he knows that there's alot riding on this year.

"I talk big about my ambitions going into the school year, but let's keep one thing clear. If I don't do this for God's Glory, than this whole talk and act of becoming a better teacher just goes out the window. He's the one who gave me this job. He's the one who should be getting the Glory, hence others should be pointed to Him. I'm his ambassador and I got this awfully big responsiblity of being a teacher and a role-model in their lives. Than again, all we needed was grace, so to my kids I will do my best to give it to them, especially when they start struggling with the rigors of high school life. As God breathed life into me through His Son, Jesus, I want to be a fresh breath for these young individuals called Korean students. "

With so many ambitious plans for teaching and for other God-called purposes in his future life here in Korea and around the world, Mark Soni has one thing to say how to wrap up this 09 School Year Plan: "Matthew 6:33...seek ye first the kingdom of God..."

09 is Year of the Divine, yea ya'll.

(Article written by Anono Mus)