Korean Job Discussion Forums

Scaggs · Joined: 19 Sep 2006

There is an article about some Korean schools on the front page of the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/world/asia/27seoul.html?hp

anyway · Joined: 22 Oct 2005

Sacrificial lambs, those kids are. Paying the price for their parents' pride, greed, and/or stupidity. Not to mention the nationalism.

I love the bit about Korean moms wanting "100 percent on all the tests in all the subjects." Yea, Koreans love children. Love to coerce them.

Wisconsinite · Joined: 05 Jan 2007

I liked the part where they said Americna educators would kille to have such disciplined students. I wouldn't!! What I love about my job in the states is that not only do I get to be their teacher in the classroom and get them to think and explore but I also get to coach them on the field and have a great time getting to know them as an athlete. I will also let everyone in on a little secret, I even enjoy the little pranks they get into( an in funny, not that I enjoy them getting into trouble) because it reminds me of my younger years and the mistakes we all go through as teenagers in order to be better people at the other end.

So no, those disciplined students would freak me out! I mean we send students to some highly competitive universities so there is the dedication but comes from a well-rounded life, not a one track mind life!

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

Hell, they'll be the movers and shakers in government and business here in the future. Once all these post-war old folks die off, this country is sure to start favoring and accepting foreigners instead of it's old xenophobic ways.

markhan · Joined: 02 Aug 2006

Is it really?
Of course when I was a teenager I would often heard from fellow classmates bitching and moaning about how their parents are pushing them too hard. Now that I am an adult, I dont think I ever heard from Ivy-leaguer with 6-figure salary bitching about how they were pushed too hard when they were teenager.

Seriously, don't we all look back to the past and regret that we should have perhaps study more and gone to a better school?
I mean, sh*t, here in Korea, if you guys graduated from Ivy League, you could easily make a killing here and live a comfortable life teaching in premier university, instead of teaching in Hagwon and dealing with little brats and obnoxious Ajumma. Right?

in_seoul_2003 · Joined: 24 Nov 2003

Brady · Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Location: Bucheon

If there's anything I don't regret about high school, it's getting plenty of sleep.

teachteach · Joined: 26 Mar 2008

I disagree with in_seoul, and I agree with markhan.
In my case I could have and perhaps should have gone to U of T or Queens when I had the chance, because I had the chance. I settled for my local university, which I figured is just the same and also cheaper to attend.
Well, now I realize 'A penny saved, a dollar lost'.
Unfotunally, the double edged sword is that, in reality, people with good backgrounds and family money always go to the best schools and get the best jobs.
So, in reality, most of us ESL instructors are 'low born' although we try hard to deny it.

silentwhispers · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Location: Louisville/Atlanta

I like how the article says "Its founder, Lee Won-hee, worried in an interview that while Daewon was turning out high-scoring students, it might be falling short in educating them as responsible citizens."
No kidding!!! I don't care about my education.. I'm content with having graduated from Georgia State University.
however, I'd be pretty annoyed if I had spent all my life studying and went into the real world clueless because I hadn't experienced life.
Korean parents baby their kids WAY too much. Life is hard, they should let their children be exposed to that.
But in the long run, who really cares? If your goal is to get an MD, does it really matter if the MD is from Harvard or the University of Louisville? No. You still get the MD and can practice as a physician.

in_seoul_2003 · Joined: 24 Nov 2003

anyway · Joined: 22 Oct 2005

anyway · Joined: 22 Oct 2005

teachteach · Joined: 26 Mar 2008

in_seoul. Degrees in sports from Regina university do not a intelligent person make.

air76 · Joined: 13 Nov 2007

I love teachteach's "low born" comment....I've read some ridiculous things come out of that guy's mouth, but that has got to take the cake.

First off, I absolutely agree that anyone with a university diploma of any sort is not "low born", while more and more people are earning their degree the majority of the populace still doesn't have one.

Secondly, I'd rather have my middle-class working background than come from an elitist family that has a predermined set of steps for my life to take. Yes, maybe you get shuffled into the best schools and the highest paying jobs, but your freedom within that system is severly hampered. I look at my life traveling around the world having a great time and I can't imagine trading it for a BMW, million dollar house, and 65+ hour work week.

IncognitoHFX · Joined: 06 May 2007 Location: Yeongtong, Suwon

It's funny too, when I was in university many of my Harvard or Yale graduate professors would make fun of the way these universities are shaping up to be. "In my day, you had to work hard!" They'd say. "These days, you get a 'Gentleman's C' just for showing up and paying the cash". Apparently, hard work is valued less than money in the current Harvard climate.

One of my friends was joking about going to Oxford or Harvard for a semester and failing out intentionally. I thought this was silly at first, but I suppose going to one of these universities for one semester looks better than having a degree from a mid-high range non-Ivy League university, even if the quality of education is the same at both.