Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Bobster]

Go ahead. Wave a magic wand. Thought-game time: pick one thing (out of the many very bogus things) about the way Korean people see to their children's education. Point to it, then make it better. How?

Note the way we are posing this - it's not a gripe thread, there are plenty of those. This is where you not only tell us something that's wrong but also tell how it can be fixed or improved.

Do you work in the public schools? What is the one thing you would change about how they do things? Do you think Korean parents push their kids too hard? Korean teachers hit the students too much? Do you think kids spend too much time in hagwons and miss out on their childhood? Parents don't care enough, and only pay attention to appearances? Do the private schools hire unqualified teachers - or do they treat their dedicated ones like garbage?

Go further than that. Tell me how it can be better. Seriously.

(It might be more than a thought-game, by the way. A good friend of mine works for an NGO that is in a position to make specific recommendations, and she asked me to float this topic here. So ... somebody might actually hear you. Who knows?)

[bassexpander]

Verbally test every Korean English teacher in front of a panel of native speakers. Also have them take a written test. If they fail, they will be on probation. They will take the same test again in 2 years. If they don't pass the 2nd time, they're gone. Period.

Introduce a spot-check (unannounced) of English teacher classes where administrators "sit in" to watch a class at least twice per semester.

Quit dumping money into stupid, wasteful village immersion programs and entice current high school and uni students with excellent English skills to study to be English teachers. Invest in their future education by providing a full tuition scholarship to two students from every high school (must pass a verbal and written test), which includes one year of overseas study in the US, Canada, Aussie, or England (where they study how to teach English from accredited overseas programs). Also, as part of this contract, they must agree that they will work in the Korean public school system for 5 years after graduation (or they must pay it all back).

Increase the pay of public school teachers by 25 percent to attract more interest.

Immediately begin teaching English subjects to Kindy-aged kids, and subsequently add teachers every year to support the English education of that generation of children, and those following. By the time they graduate from high school, a full English program will be in place, and the children will be able to communicate in English at a high level.

End the harsh treatment of young/new teachers by the lazy older generations. More time should be spent on classes.

Hire janitors to clean, rather than requiring young teachers to supervise students doing it. English teachers who don't pass the panel test can become the new janitors.

[Easter Clark]

Why not scrap the public school Korean teachers' English class altogether and make all of the students' English classes co-taught between the Korean and FT? Make the Korean teacher responsible for the administrative side of things like grades, and the FT responsible for planning communicative activities. The two would have to work together to plan each and every class.

Of course this would mean that the public schools would need more than one FT per school--preferably one FT per Korean English teacher.

[different]

[bassexpander]

[pecan]

I don't think it is possible to change the mentality of a country full of Korean people, but with your magic wand, I would change the belief of Korean parents that it is the job/duty of public school teachers and hagwon teachers to raise their children. Parenting is for the most part nonexistent in Korea.

So many more...no time now.

-Nut

[tob55]

This topic is way to broad to cover completely. From a practical point of view (as an experienced educator with 29+ years of teaching experience), the information for changes your are asking about involve a lot of different perspectives. First of all your title is somewhat misleading "How would you change the Korean educational system?" Of course , most of the posters will put this into an "English" framework to mention changes. However, your title suggests all of Korean education and not only English.

Many if not all of the things mentioned about the Korean educational system could be mentioned about any national system in the world. The problem with these kinds of questions is that they are too global in their presentation and focus. To the administrative types, it is an administrative questions, i.e. how can we hire more "managers" to help us keep everyone in line? To the front line people (the teachers) it is a classroom concern, how to we take more control over what we are doing in the classroom?

If you want real change it needs to begin with one person. Everyone teaching in this country has a responsibility to do their job. Sure, the Korean system is somewhat dysfunctional, but we are working with cultural concerns just as much as we are working with classroom and systemic concerns. The change has to take into account the cultural influences which are part of the whole educational system. Remember, Korea, like similar Asian nations place a high value on culture and the assimilation cultural mores into the whole of their society. It is this factor that was used when the educational system was developed in the distant past.

Making changes to the system is a good idea, but rather than simply pointing out what we can do, you have to first investigate how the changes align with the culture and how those changes will be perceived by the Korean people. If you think this isn't an important factor, then just take a look at the news about what is happening in this country regarding the recent US Beef fiasco.

People are more likely to accept change when they feel they will have some say in how change is implemented and feel a sense of ownership in the decision making process. It is great for us "foreigners" to say our two cents worth of opinion, but unfortunately, it is not likely that what we say will meet with any serious consideration until Korea is willing to accept their role in the process.

[The Bobster]

[marlow]

[poet13]

Get rid of 90% of the make-work paperwork that teachers do, and let them spend that time developing their curriculum and lesson plans.

[IncognitoHFX]

[Fishead soup]

Get rid of those terrible texts books. Have Native speakers write a new one.


Go through all the exams and remove these kinds of multiple choice questions

Which one of these is more correct

Paper is made of wood
Paper is made from wood.

Then fire the person who wrote that exam.

Get rid of open lessons- these things are pathetic they only serve to keep educational officials in the dark about what's really going on.

[DaffyD73]

I think they have backed themselves into a corner, but this is due to society more than the education system.
Employers traditionally looking at University that they studied at filters down to train for the test to get in and then just cruise. Which pushes parents to want opportunities for childern, thus give advantage to child by having extra private education. This happens then it becomes must keep up with the jones so everyone who can afford it steps in and then you have more "tring to get advantage" tactics - this leads to the long hours and no childhood and the sleeping in public schools - reduces the effevtiveness of the public school system - pushes more towards the private system.

How to fix this - plant an almighty tax on private institutions so and private instruction, so only the really rich can afford it, and i mean really penalise them, because you need the poor to say "hey Ok your kid can have that advantage because you are spending a hellofalot for it" And also if that tax was funnelled into the public system to reduce class size allthe better.

This would mean the students are not tired, have to work in the public school to get into university, and perhaps the universities will have to think so that they maintain thier student numbers. And Employers need to look more at results rather than university prestige.

A very out there concept but the focus needs to be more on hard work and understanding rather than hard work/conformity and test taking ability.

[branchsnapper]

For languages? Oh, copy wholesale the Anglo-Saxon school systems of learning languages. They work really well.

[kimchi_pizza]

Seriously? Get rid of the KTU. 'Nuff said. I suspect that their anti-US sentiment includes English education which trickles down from teachers to students possibly affecting students' attitudes towards foreign teachers, their acceptance of English lessons and eventually their performance in class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Teachers_%26_Education_Workers%27_Union