Education and human life
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By Kim Song-rhei
I read an article entitled "No teacher, no future” in this newspaper on Aug. 4, 2014. Written by Choi Tae-hwan, it addressed the realities of the education in Korea today.
The writer, being an incumbent teacher in a middle school, claimed that many teachers want to resign their positions earlier than their retirement age. He gave an account of why teachers think that way, but I will not repeat the detailed explanation he gave in support of his assertion.
However, in short, it can be summed up as follows ― the number of students per class is very high compared with other OECD countries and that number places an unfair burden on teachers. In addition, a great number of teachers are bothered by some parents of students who overprotect their children as well as various forms of violence in schools committed by the students. Due to this, teachers can no longer maintain authority over the students in their classes.
It is really ironic that most Korean people, especially students’ parents, tend to liken the function of a teacher to that of a facilitator.
In fact, nothing is more important than a mentor when it comes to preparing children to become respectable adults. Thus, there are clearly many problems in need of solutions.
It is said that, "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.” Hence, to solve the problems related to education, we need to reflect on the past in order to help us see the matter at hand in a new light.
Looking back, there was a time when the general public regarded teachers with envy, which meant that teachers enjoyed a high level of respect in the eyes of students and parents. In those days, many people were denied formal educational opportunities because they were poor.
However, since the end of the Korean War, most people began congregating in big cities such as Seoul to develop new values, methods of living and approaches to living in society. They left their hometowns and put the hardship of poverty behind them. These are the people that made the “Miracle on the Han River” possible.
Many of them of the baby boomer generation are now approaching retirement age or have already retired from their occupations. I think that they are the generation of the greatest integrity in modern Korean history, and their self-sacrificing spirit acted as the catalyst to stimulate the Korean economy.
In those days, the number of students per class reached 60, and sometimes more than 80. Classes were like jars for growing bean sprouts. This phenomenon occurred as a result of teacher shortages and the increased number of students after the war.
Most parents of those bygone days generally depended on schools for their children’s total education because they couldn’t afford to spend much money on extracurricular studies.
With the passage of time, however, economic conditions improved rapidly. Accordingly, parents realized the benefits of an expanded education and started sending their children to after-school programs. This is because they didn’t want their children to follow in their footsteps and end up with a menial job.
They hoped that the after-hours classes or cram schools would teach their children how to excel in standardized tests. And they became brainwashed into believing that teachers of private institutes were far better than public school teachers when it came to keeping their children’s grades high.
Therefore, they did not begrudge spending money on their children’s education in private institutes. This spawned an industry of cram schools.
It seems to me that the test-driven school education system has driven the educational world of Korea into its present state without helping children to sufficiently develop their personalities and become decent citizens.
The writer lives in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. His email address is kwanak11@hanmail.net.