More Scrutiny for English Teachers
Dear editor,
When I read the article titled 'More Scrutiny for English Teachers?' (Nov. 8 by Jeffrey Miller), I felt sorry for the Ministry of Education's past negligent conduct toward employing foreign English teachers once again.
The writer said he has never had to submit a criminal background check for the 16 years he has worked at Yonsei University, so it seemed very strange to hand in the new document now. As for me, it seemed very strange he doesn't even have to hand in this fundamental document, even when he got a job for one of the top ranked universities in Korea. In the United States, you are required to submit your documents for background checks especially when you want to teach at public schools. There are so many foreign English teachers in schools, but the Ministry of Education has not introduced any proper measure to sort out the unqualified instructors. As a teacher, I really welcome this late but necessary reaction to protect our students from unexpected incidents.
As the writer pointed out, these tightened visa rules have loopholes in them related to those who are entering Korea with six month tourists visa. It's an open secret for them to find temporary jobs in some language institutes. However, that doesn't mean we should loosen the visa rules. At least those people who want to get a job with a tourist visa can't have a job at a public school over the long haul. Additionally, hagwon owners have to try to employ qualified instructors and the Education Ministry has to inspect private institutes regularly. Since it's not a problem we must just rely on the owners' conscience.
English education is just one part of education. That can't be a controlling utensil to sculpture a well-balanced and proficient adult. A few years ago, I once worked with a foreign English teacher who was very lazy and very irresponsible at his job. He often didn't show up to class. At those times I really worried about his negative influence on my students. Even though we can't sort out all the unqualified instructors through the tightened visa rules and interview with consular officials, we have to try our best to build a healthy environment for young students.
Kim In-soo