I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
'Autodidactic' fuels parenting debate
By Kang Hyun-kyung
“Kids, read as many books as you can.” This advice has been part of parenting for centuries all across the world.
The older generation is convinced that education is the best way for people ― particularly those born into underprivileged families ― to climb the socio-economic ladder and succeed in their lives.
In the digital age, traditional parenting is put to the test as images and videos, which require more instinct and a sense of artistry than learned knowledge, are emerging as the preferred alternative to written content.
Do reading and academic accomplishments still matter at a time when old jobs, which people earned through their education, are disappearing and are being replaced by new ones?
James W. Parkinson, author of “Autodidactic: Self-taught,” says yes to the question and stresses that without reading books people cannot have complex thought. He advises the younger generation to read as much as they can in order to succeed.
As its title suggests, Parkinson says people have a responsibility to get an education and it will require them a great deal of effort and hard work.
“Autodidactic: Self-taught”by James W. Parkinson
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The author encourages younger people particularly to read autobiographies of great people they admire to get inspiration and improve their own writing skills.
With the help of his friend who was the federal defender in Utah, Parkinson interviewed four prisoners in the Utah State Prison to test whether his presumption is correct or not.
“This prison visit was enlightening,” he wrote. “According to Warden Steven Turley, the inmates are tested when they arrive and only about 45 percent of them are found to be literate. No wonder these men can't find jobs. They lacked the necessary skills to earn a legitimate living in today's society.”
Parkinson reaches a conclusion about the reading-success relationships by mentioning his brother-in-law, an expert who has dedicated his life to working with prison inmates, who said that illiteracy is a universal problem particularly among non-white-collar criminals.
The author said Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln are two great examples showing how people who had almost no chance of succeeding were able to become two of the greatest people in history through their self-education and eagerness to learn.
“History is clear in pointing out that they both took responsibility for their own education: in a world they were autodidacts,” his book reads.
The author depicts Churchill and Lincoln as “two of the most influential and important men in the history of the English-speaking world.”
“Although born into a family of privilege, Winston Churchill was not expected to become a great man. As a matter of fact Winston's father, Randolph Churchill, said of his son that 'he would have to go for a soldier, that he was too stupid for anything else,'” he wrote.
A question remains unanswered ― Does Parkinson's advice still hold true in the fast-changing digital world?
Interesting survey results were released earlier this month regarding children's preferred career paths.
The survey, conducted by the Ministry of Education and Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, found that Korean society, once well-known for its overt fervor for education and high expenditure on private tutoring for children, is moving fast away from the traditional education-first belief system.
Korean parents and children put more emphasis on talent than education when searching for a career path. Parents try to figure out what their children are great at and try to support them to pursue their career of interest.
Athletes topped the list, followed by teachers, doctors, chefs and YouTube creators. This is the first time that social media influencers entered the top 10 list of the survey. What's interesting is that six out of the top 10 preferred jobs for children are professions that have relatively little to do with academic accomplishments. Singers, pro-gamers and bakery experts made the top 10 list.
In the forthcoming era, it seems that reading and academic accomplishments are likely to be “one of the factors” that can help people succeed, not the decisive one to make or break their futures as used to be in the past.
More experts agree that the new era favors nerds having specialized expertise in their areas of interest, rather than those who have higher degrees but know little about their areas of specialization.
Reading and academic accomplishment themselves are not sufficient conditions that guarantee success.