By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
High school students think teachers at hagwon, or private learning institutes, are better than those at regular schools and are more helpful to them in preparing for university entrance.
They also thought private instructors communicate well with students and help them build character.
The Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) issued the report after surveying 13,000 students from 107 high schools nationwide.
The survey showed that private instructors received higher scores than school teachers in areas such as professionalism and practicality in teaching.
The students said that when it comes to enthusiasm, cram school instructors beat out school teachers. They also thought private institute lecturers were better prepared in their subjects and better reflect changes in entrance examinations.
The private instructors also received higher scores for respecting students' opinion and understanding them.
Principal KEDI researcher Choi Sang-keun said public teachers should heed the result, though it does not necessarily mean that private institutes affected the study habits or lives of students more than they did.
Yoon, a 16-year-old high school student who participated in KEDI's study, said he usually sleeps during his math class at school, studying instead when he gets to his cram school.
A school parent, identified by his surname Suh, said school teachers seem to be indifferent to students these days.
``My eldest child entered middle school last year, but his homeroom teacher did not seem to be very concerned about the welfare of the students,'' she said.
``Once my son was sick and missed school. I called the teacher in the afternoon and the teacher didn't even know my son was absent from school.''
Suh said cram school teachers counsel students and call parents regularly. ``When my son's instructors announced they were transferring, parents asked the academy to make efforts to retain them. I think this is something that is wrong, but it is the reality,'' she said.
However, school teachers said that they must devote time to student guidance and administrative work in addition to their teaching load, so it is unfair to compare them with cram school instructors.
``Hagwon instructors have to attract more students and when they do well, more students come to them,'' said a university student majoring in education. ``However, school teachers are assigned to students even if they teach them poorly.
``It's the difference between a secured job and a job that's not guaranteed.
``I admit that school teachers have too much trivial work. I had four weeks of teacher training last month and experienced how teachers are burdened with administrative work.''
The Ministry of Education Science and Technology will introduce a teacher evaluation program from March and make the results public from next year. Student and parent satisfaction will be included on the evaluation and the ministry expects the new system to ignite healthy competition among teachers in instructing students.
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr
