SIEI+Jihyung+Moon

Interview Question 1. Do you feel that students in International schools join sports teams to gain credit for their university application, or just for the fun and love of it? 2. Do you see more competition in sports among American public school students, or in international schools? 3. If you do see competition, namely in KIS, would you say that the purpose is for the MVP or the captain? 4. In the American school's sports teams, what traits distinguish the captain from the other team members Would this be the age, or the skill? 5. What kind of pattern do you see in terms of choosing a team captain in KIS? 6. Do you think a similar pattern for choosing leaders in KIS exists for student counsel and sports? How does if differ from the American schools? (If they do)

Here are the responses to your questions. If you need me to elaborate, let me know.

1. Do you feel that students in International schools join sports teams to gain credit for their university application, or just for the fun and love of it?

I think students join for both reasons. However, those students who join for university applications are not usually as capable as students who play for the fun of it. Or, those students who play for their university applications realize they enjoy the sport more than they thought they would, and their reason for joining the sport merges with the other. Whatever the case may be, I think it benefits the students to play some sort of sport. - Mr. Digges said that their are students who join for the love of the sports, while some join for their credits. But he stated that it is easy to distinguish students who play for the love and the credit, because those who's purpose is credit tend to be less capable in the sports. But he also said that students who play for their college apps sometimes realize their love and true value of the sports, and tend to hange their motives for running in the team.

2. Do you see more competition in sports among American public school students, or in international schools?

Definitely in American schools. This is because the American culture focuses more on athletics than many other countries. Many students are also after athletic scholarships because they feel it is their only way to pay for college. - He said that more athletic competition exists in an American school, because American students tend to focus more an athletics than any other parts of school. And many students are aiming for athletic scholarships because that is their only way for college.

3. If you do see competition, namely in KIS, would you say that the purpose is for the MVP or the captain?

Yes, there is competition for those positions, but I don't think the competition takes on a negative form. As long as the people competing are doing it fairly, competition for prestigious positions is healthy. - Mr. Digges admits the fact the the competitions are for the goal of achieving the MVP or captain position. But he said that as long as if the competition stays fair, the whole competition is healthy for the team, to get the players motivated in the team.

4. In the American school's sports teams, what traits distinguish the captain from the other team members Would this be the age, or the skill?

I don't think it is age or skill. I think captains emerge from the pack based on their characteristics. Captains are those who show leadership traits on and off the field. Sometimes they are the best, sometimes they are not. It all depends on what the other players think of the captain. - Mr. Digges said that it's not really age or skill that distinguishes the team captain and the rest of the players. He strongly supported that it is their characteristics and leadership that makes up a team captain. Even though sometimes they are the best, it is not always so. He said that it is all in the hands of the team.

5. What kind of pattern do you see in terms of choosing a team captain in KIS?

From what I have heard, grade is a consideration. However, it should not be the defining factor. As I said earlier, the captain of a team should be chosen because they are the one who is going to push the team forward and best represents the ideals of the team. - He said that grade or age is a consideration for choosing the team captain. But he disagrees with this, and said that the team captains should be chosen as the person who has the most ability to lead and get the team going.

6. Do you think a similar pattern for choosing leaders in KIS exists for student counsel and sports? How does if differ from the American schools? (If they do)

I think student council is chosen based on popularity more so than sports, because often coaches have a strong say in who will or will not be the captain. This is the same in American schools.

- Mr. Digges said that the student council are chosen more on popularity than so in sports. Because the coaches have a strong say in who would be chosen, the student council have more student's choice and voice.

Conclusion: Through this project, I learned that not all KIS or international students join sports team for their college applications. I had a stereotypical view of international school, especially KIS. But after Mr. Digges kindly answered my question, I got to understand the truth of the students' motives. I also learned that the student's purpose or motives change as they play in the team. Mr. Digges explained that student who originally joined for credit, come to realize their fondness and love of the sports. So, through interaction in the team, he stated that students motives tend to change, but not always. I learned that competition always exist within a sports team, mostly for the top player or the MVP. He told me that this was necessary for a team. Having a friendly competing environment would be healthy for the team. I believed that in most International schools, including KIS, the team captain would be chosen through the age. Obviously, I believed that the eldest would be chosen as the captain. It was proven that my hypothesis was in part correct. But Mr. Digges said that it was just all in the choices of the students. This would be affected by the student's value for their team captains.