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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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 Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:54 am Post subject: Korean Parents Subject of Int'l Ridicule for Education Zeal |
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Korean Parents Subject of Int'l Ridicule for Education Zeal
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/09/113_31268.html
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Korean parents' enthusiasm for the education of their children has become the subject of ridicule in a song of a world-renowned American songwriter.
Randy Newman recently released the satiric song about the phenomenon which also suggests that Koreans' overheated enthusiasm is influencing other ethnic groups in the United States.
In his latest album ``Harps and Angels,'' the one time Oscar and four-time Grammy winner ridiculed Korean parents for focusing on the academic records of their children alone
He pokes fun at them, suggesting that other ethnic groups buy Korean parents' services to whip their kids into shape.
``Korean parents for sale/ You say you need a little discipline/ Someone to whip you into shape/ They'll be strict but they'll be fair/ Look at the numbers/ That's all I ask/ Who's at the head of every class?/ You really think / They're smarter than you are/ They just work their asses off/ Their parents make them do it�'' were some of the words in his song ``Korean Parents.''
He even featured a Korean woman saying ``Oh, learn to play the violin/ Oh, to turn your homework/ In right on time.''
After being criticized by Koreans for being racist or expressing distorted opinions, Newman recently posted an apology article about the song saying he only meant it to be humorous ― not mocking.
However, others say though Newman's song might have been inappropriate, it was not necessarily wrong. ``It's true that many parents say and do so. The difference from the song is that they are saying it out of love,'' office worker Song Hee-youn said.
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:55 am Post subject: |
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Get ready for more protests.  |
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Beej
Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Location: Eungam Loop
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:30 am Post subject: |
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| Randy Newman has no idea of the extremes and ridiculousness that Korean parents demonstrate in educating their children. |
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justaguy
Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Location: seoul
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:33 am Post subject: |
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| Telling parents how to raise their kids is just asking for trouble. |
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aka Dave
Joined: 02 May 2008
Location: Down by the river
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| I like Randy (he had a nice cover of "Blue Monday" on song of the day on NPR a while back). However, the lyrics don't seem funny. But without the music it's meaningless. |
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crusher_of_heads
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Location: kimbop and kimchi for kimberly!!!!
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:58 am Post subject: |
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| Korean parents, especially the men have nothing to be embarrassed about; just don't mention the barber poleS |
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Join Me
Joined: 14 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:07 am Post subject: |
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Anyone (whether they be Korean or not) who buys into the belief that working 16 hours a day and never seeing their children is in their children's best interest has plenty to be embarrassed about. Children need the love and presence of their parents not a doctorate degree so they can have a bigger house and nicer car than their neighbors. People who don't understand this have failed at the basic, basic role of being a parent.
Cell phone calls and notes on the fridge to let your kid know you love them are nothing but signs of neglect.
Last edited by Join Me on Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:16 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:16 am Post subject: |
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| Join Me wrote: |
| Anyone (whether they be Korean or not) who buys into the belief that working 16 hours a day and never seeing their children is in their children's best interest has plenty to be embarrassed about. Children need the love and presence of their parents not a doctorate degree so they can have a bigger house and nicer car than their neighbors. |
I think some Korean mothers are just trying to be helpful, and their children are all they have and nothing else in many cases. Many of them feel they have to be aggressive, because they will get their way. One girl at a hagwon I work at bombed her first vocabulary test in my history class. Before I knew it, she was placed in IBT TOEFL just because the mom wanted her there. I don't see why she just simply jumped through hoops without meriting it. |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:55 pm Post subject: |
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| justaguy wrote: |
| Telling parents how to raise their kids is just asking for trouble. |
Who is telling anyone how to raise their kids?  |
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Return Jones
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Location: I will see you in far-off places
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Somebody should tell him to review this board. According to a lot of teachers, the kids are acting like aholes at school. Been on the news a lot, too. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| justaguy wrote: |
| Telling parents how to raise their kids is just asking for trouble. |
unfortunately, it's not done enough... |
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kingplaya4
Joined: 14 May 2006
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:45 am Post subject: |
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This is not a topic Koreans should be ashamed of. It is one of their strengths in my opinion. Yes, they could stand to moderate things a bit, but their attitude towards education is a hell of a lot better than the current western one. Playing sports and hanging out with friends getting into trouble isn't going to be worth much for their future.
The main problem I see in Korea in respect to this issue is that there is a lot of "going through the motions" rather than real learning. If kids went to maybe two hagwons instead of four or five and really worked hard I think there would be greater benefits. |
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seoulteacher
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 2:48 pm Post subject: |
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| kingplaya4 wrote: |
This is not a topic Koreans should be ashamed of. It is one of their strengths in my opinion. Yes, they could stand to moderate things a bit, but their attitude towards education is a hell of a lot better than the current western one. Playing sports and hanging out with friends getting into trouble isn't going to be worth much for their future.
The main problem I see in Korea in respect to this issue is that there is a lot of "going through the motions" rather than real learning. If kids went to maybe two hagwons instead of four or five and really worked hard I think there would be greater benefits. |
I agree 100% with you, kingplaya4.
We westerners are throwing away so many strengths that brought us to this time in history...eg. I worry that we're turning out high school grads who can't read and write at an adequate-enough level for the high tech demands of the future.
A corollary to that is that teachers are burning out very quickly in North American public schools, and leaving education due to the bureaucratic and other demands on teachers, and from the stress of dealing with kids who are intent ion disrupting their environment, and who can get away with it...
Folks, if you're in Korea now, maybe you should learn Korean, they're going to be owning and running our resources in the future; and I'm only half joking... |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Randy Newman should NOT have apologized. Koreans should learn how to take a joke. |
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