Too biased opinion

By Lee Eung-tae

On the 65th anniversary of the founding of The Korea Times, I’d like to talk about the obligation of writers. Just as news should be delivered in an unbiased and neutral manner, so even “opinion” should at least demonstrate some understanding of a topic beyond the stance of the merely superficial “how bad.” Some opinions about Korean culture and education uttered by foreigners are so naive and distorted that Korean readers feel embarrassed and bewildered. Some views, even some lurking beneath the cover of “opinion” are judgmental beyond tolerance. Being assertive is fine, but hasty generalization can provoke misunderstanding, and humiliation to the people criticized, who will be stigmatized without being able to answer directly because of the characteristics of the printed medium.

The article titled “School of Stupidity’’ in the Times Forum on Oct. 27 stigmatizes our educators as “stupid.” The writer asserts that the regulation of carrying standard school bags should be abolished for students’ convenience. He also reports that his daughter’s school will not allow students to wear appropriate clothing in cold seasons.

Needless to say, parents pity their kids who carry bulky bags while dressed in unseasonable clothes. The blame must devolve on school authorities for the inflexibility which prevents students from carrying traveler’s trunks or mountain bags while wrapped in heavy coats. This somehow moves the writer to assert that under the previous education system creativity and analytic thinking withered as rote memorization triumphed.

Over 30 years of teaching gives me a different perspective. The claim that from the 1960s to the 1990s, Korea’s education system produced mediocre people because it forced obedience and discipline is a hackneyed cliche spouted by people who often actually weren’t there. Most teachers would love to go back to the time when there was mutual trust between teachers, students and parents which is the core of the natural learning process. Countless outstanding students who were produced thanks to that education through mutual trust are now doing their best in their respective walks of life all around the world. Teenage issues are too complex to be analyzed with a medical cause/effect diagnostic model and it is invidious to jump to the conclusion that the pressures of the current educational system drive teenagers to suicide.

The noticeable degeneration of Korean education which accelerated the collapse of mutual trust began with the imprudent introduction of North American educational theories. The untested foreign educational seed focusing on individuality and autonomy was thoughtlessly planted in the Korean soil with no consideration for traditional Korean education. The outcome beggars belief. Calamitous results are observed across entire school systems. My claim is of course anecdotal but many teachers will agree with me.

Twenty years ago, an American public school teacher told me that teaching in an American public high school was like walking in a jungle. Your life could be on the line. Twenty years later, we are in the jungle. Thank God we don’t have students going on shooting sprees but we do have to endure vile verbal abuse from students we prevent from sleeping in class. Teachers are physically assaulted. To prevent further “junglization” school regulations should be strict. That said, most schools put the priority on students’ comfort, which means regulations are flexibly applied depending on the situation, and indeed, when the weather is cold, we allow heavy coats over the school uniform. All classrooms are equipped with personal cabinets for students’ convenience. Only a few students carry heavy bags for whatever purpose.

Once an opinion is published it cannot be retrieved so prudence should be the priority of writers, because opinions expressed in snap judgements, without insight, could injure innocent people. Most Korean “targets” will have to endure unfair criticism because it is near impossible for them to defend themselves in English.

The writer is an English teacher at Miryang Girls' High School in South Gyeongsang Province. His email address is eungtae@gmail.com.