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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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| How far through the Korean education system did/will/would you put your children? |
| No formal education in Korea for my children |
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19% |
[ 16 ] |
| Part way through or up to the end of kindergarten |
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13% |
[ 11 ] |
| Part way through or up to the end of elementary school |
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24% |
[ 20 ] |
| Part way through or up to the end of middle school |
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6% |
[ 5 ] |
| Part way through or up to the end of high school |
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3% |
[ 3 ] |
| All the way through, including graduating a Korean university |
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6% |
[ 5 ] |
| Depends heavily on personal circumstances |
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9% |
[ 8 ] |
| International schools only |
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13% |
[ 11 ] |
| Other (Please specify) |
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2% |
[ 2 ] |
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| Total Votes : 81 |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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 Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 4:52 am Post subject: |
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I should let you know that Letty goes to a Korean daycare - has been since she was just about 18 months old. I often tell people that I feel we've struck gold with this daycare because the people who run it are wonderful, kind, caring, considerate people. We never need to ask them anything because they always volunteer information. My husband and I are not shy in making our requests or opinions known, either, if we feel something is wrong.
I am not completely opposed to the idea of sending Letty to a Korean school whatsoever, as long as I feel that she is receiving a proper education. Part of the reason why I am hesitant, I guess, is because I am a product of private education in the UK and therefore I feel more inclined to have my own kid in private education as well... |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:50 am Post subject: |
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| it seems to me that you underestimate just how significant and influential schools, teachers, and friends will be in your children's upbringing. |
Perhaps I did not express myself clearly then!
I do realize that schools, teachers and friends are key parts of any childs upbringing and development. I am saying however that parents are the key to the whole issue.
A child can grow up happy and develop fully here. There is nothing stopping that. A mixed child will have challenges here and not all of them will be negatives. Parents play the key role here. Also, judging what schools are like now is iffy because by the time your child will attend school things will have changed.
So if the schools actually go against what the parents are trying to instill then you are correct, problems will ensue. It then becomes a question of choosing the right school. Believe me, there are such schools here and they are not all expensive international schools. Mind you that when the time comes, my kids will be able to attend International Schools if we wish. But that will not be an automatic choice.
We (wife and I) started to scout our elementary schools and we talked to some parents and teachers in these institutions. We read up on the programs and activites offered by each school and so on. We found some real gems too.
Our son also goes to a daycare here and he is having a grand time. They have heaps of arts and crafts, they have sports (well at his age they have physical activities meant to introduce sports), field trips and all sorts of activities like plays and such. The daycare he attends has 3 mixed kids and there are 5 more coming soon (Parents registered). Aside from the 1 or 2 idiots who are being cold, the Korean parents and kids have welcomed our son with open arms.
I am not saying things are perfect here or that they are "better" than home. I am saying they sure are not (from my experience) as bad as some make it out to be (not you newbie or you I-man). I am also saying parents can make a huge difference with a little effort and dedication.
But, if we see things are not going well in elementary school here then we will consider our options. No one is stuck in concrete here right? My wife and I are open to moving if it is better for our kids. I live here and have a flourishing career but I am smart enough to have made connections back home and in a couple of other countries. I could switch jobs easily or simply move my consulting wherever we go. I think that is a key issue when you work abroad and decide to have kids: expand your options bot personally and professionally.
Finally, newbie, I appreciate you taking the time to discuss this in such a mature and interesting manner. It is an interesting topic to discuss. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| If our plans change and we decide to stay in Korea, I may be willing to send our daughter to the same school as Cheonmunka's son and that Russian kid (I know which school it is). At least the kids there have been exposed to a few foreign kids and won't act like jaw-dropping idiots if another comes along. |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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| At least the kids there have been exposed to a few foreign kids and won't act like jaw-dropping idiots if another comes along. |
See I-man I think that what you just said is a bit too much. I think that what you described can happen in some schools but that it would not happen in all the schools or even with the majority of schools.
Of course, a mixed kid joining a school where he/she is the only mixed child will have to deal with the initial reactions! No going around that of course and there will be morons and idiots of course!
I know when our son joined the daycare, he was the first mixed kid to enter there. There were some reactions but then again these are all pre-school age kids....
I have a former co-worker (now working for a company in Busan) whose wife is Korean. They had twin (what an experience that is man!) girls. Their girls are attending a small, local elementary school in Busan (not Seoul which is more cosmopolitan than Busan) and they had next to no problems integrating. They are in 3rd grade now and have friends and are doing well in class. Things have not been perfect but he was saying the other day that it is amazing how quickly things change here....
Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your newborn daughter I-man!
Cute picture by the way. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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Well many students at these schools act like a jaw dropping idiot when I walk by. Why would it be different if my daughter goes there?
| Homer wrote: |
| Quote: |
| At least the kids there have been exposed to a few foreign kids and won't act like jaw-dropping idiots if another comes along. |
See I-man I think that what you just said is a bit too much. I think that what you described can happen in some schools but that it would not happen in all the schools or even with the majority of schools.
Of course, a mixed kid joining a school where he/she is the only mixed child will have to deal with the initial reactions! No going around that of course and there will be morons and idiots of course!
I know when our son joined the daycare, he was the first mixed kid to enter there. There were some reactions but then again these are all pre-school age kids....
I have a former co-worker (now working for a company in Busan) whose wife is Korean. They had twin (what an experience that is man!) girls. Their girls are attending a small, local elementary school in Busan (not Seoul which is more cosmopolitan than Busan) and they had next to no problems integrating. They are in 3rd grade now and have friends and are doing well in class. Things have not been perfect but he was saying the other day that it is amazing how quickly things change here....
Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your newborn daughter I-man!
Cute picture by the way. |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:47 am Post subject: |
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| Why would it be different if my daughter goes there? |
Because she would be a co-student of theirs and they would get to know her as opposed to seeing a foreigner walk by the school....to them you are just a foreigner walking by...they are being curious kids.
There is a difference there.
The first few days she would be the new kid in school but all chances are she would make friends quickly enough. Thats what happened to the twin girls I was telling you about.
Nothing is ever perfect, but nothing is ever as bad as we think it is. |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:06 am Post subject: |
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Ooops
Last edited by Cheonmunka on Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:07 am Post subject: |
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Del
Last edited by Cheonmunka on Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:07 am Post subject: |
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Slightly inebriated meanderings.
Last edited by Cheonmunka on Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:50 am Post subject: |
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They see me walk by everyday, and they know I live in the neighbourhood. They see me shopping, walking around, etc. Does it take this long to get used to it?
| Homer wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Why would it be different if my daughter goes there? |
Because she would be a co-student of theirs and they would get to know her as opposed to seeing a foreigner walk by the school....to them you are just a foreigner walking by...they are being curious kids.
There is a difference there.
The first few days she would be the new kid in school but all chances are she would make friends quickly enough. Thats what happened to the twin girls I was telling you about.
Nothing is ever perfect, but nothing is ever as bad as we think it is. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:07 am Post subject: |
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| Ilsanman wrote: |
| They see me walk by everyday, and they know I live in the neighbourhood. They see me shopping, walking around, etc. Does it take this long to get used to it? |
They never will get used to you unless they talk with you, play with you, dong-chim you etc. etc. on a daily basis.
Heck, I don't even look foreign and kids come up to me in the neighbourhood just to say *hello* and quickly dash off again. Some kids go to Letty to say hello, which Letty always says hello back and it baffles them that Letty is able to converse with them in Korean later because they wonder why/how she can speak two languages.
The children in her daycare, however, don't consider her different. In fact, we are told that almost all the boys there want to play with her and not with other girls, which is an embarrassment for us as parents, really, but great for her because she is so popular. |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| They never will get used to you unless they talk with you, play with you, dong-chim you etc. etc. on a daily basis. |
Precisely.
I will ad that they probably now get a kick out of getting a reaction out of you...it most likely has become a game for them.... |
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bluelake
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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| When my son first entered elementary school, it was in the school's founding year. From the beginning, his mother and I took an active role in the school; we both joined the parents' associations and also did volunteer work. My son was popular and was always the president of his class; in his final year, he was elected student body president of the school. All students knew who I was and I was always greeted happily by them as Yohan's father. All of that happened years before many of you ever came here, at a time when foreigners in Korea were truly few and far between. How a mixed child is treated in Korea depends a lot upon the parents. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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Really? They like getting ignored? I never answer their cat calls.
| Homer wrote: |
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| They never will get used to you unless they talk with you, play with you, dong-chim you etc. etc. on a daily basis. |
Precisely.
I will ad that they probably now get a kick out of getting a reaction out of you...it most likely has become a game for them.... |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| Meow meow, just to keep it up there. |
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