| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
silkhighway
Joined: 24 Oct 2010
Location: Canada
|
 Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 3:24 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| I think this is long overdue. Yeah, kindergarten kids learn more, but safety is more important and regulation in the industry is too lax. *Even* if the government limited preschool English teachers to people with backgrounds in early childhood education, how could the possibly regulate those qualifications? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
vermouth
Joined: 21 Dec 2009
Location: Guro, Seoul
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 3:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| silkhighway wrote: |
| I think this is long overdue. Yeah, kindergarten kids learn more, but safety is more important and regulation in the industry is too lax. *Even* if the government limited preschool English teachers to people with backgrounds in early childhood education, how could the possibly regulate those qualifications? |
There safety is endangered how? I mostly talk to my children. Sometimes I let them play charades. Is there some kind of rash of uncertified people punching children in the face? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| vermouth wrote: |
| silkhighway wrote: |
| I think this is long overdue. Yeah, kindergarten kids learn more, but safety is more important and regulation in the industry is too lax. *Even* if the government limited preschool English teachers to people with backgrounds in early childhood education, how could the possibly regulate those qualifications? |
There safety is endangered how? I mostly talk to my children. Sometimes I let them play charades. Is there some kind of rash of uncertified people punching children in the face? |
The total lack of regulation has created some very bad situations. Some were mentioned in the article the OP posted. This incident was just one of them- http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/117_78226.html
| Quote: |
An English kindergarten in southern Seoul, has been suspended from running their educational business after it had allegedly fed rotten food to children, causing them to suffer from stomachaches, vomiting and rashes for months.
EWAS specialized in English education for young children and charged about 2 million won ($1,733) a month in tuition per child.
The Seoul education authorities confiscated the rotten food that had been stored in freezers at the institute. The shelf life of some packs of bacon had expired more than seven years ago.
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
This is just another case of Korea kicking itself in the balls by completely mismanaging an issue that could be dealt with in a calm, rational manner. English kindies are very successful. All the kids I've ever met who attend or had attended them speak English remarkably well compared to other kids their age.
They won't disappear though. My wife works in an English academy that teaches kindie to elementary so they aren't officially a kindergarten. Apparently, this distinction might be enough to save them. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| cj1976 wrote: |
This is just another case of Korea kicking itself in the balls by completely mismanaging an issue that could be dealt with in a calm, rational manner. English kindies are very successful. All the kids I've ever met who attend or had attended them speak English remarkably well compared to other kids their age.
They won't disappear though. My wife works in an English academy that teaches kindie to elementary so they aren't officially a kindergarten. Apparently, this distinction might be enough to save them. |
This may actually create more illegal ones. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| sojusucks wrote: |
| Son Deureo! wrote: |
| Quote: |
From the Korea Herald,
2011-01-17 |
Having taught in the English kindergarten program at Kid's Herald (now known as Herald School), a hogwon chain owned by the Korea Herald, I found this part particularly hilarious. |
Good point. No conflict of interest there? Herald media owns chains of hagwons all throughtout Korea and yet they report on hogwans all of the time without disclosing that fact. |
As does Chosun Ilbo. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Why just English kindergartens?
What about kindergartens that teach other languages, like Chinese?
What about international schools? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
silkhighway
Joined: 24 Oct 2010
Location: Canada
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 4:11 am Post subject: |
|
|
| vermouth wrote: |
| silkhighway wrote: |
| I think this is long overdue. Yeah, kindergarten kids learn more, but safety is more important and regulation in the industry is too lax. *Even* if the government limited preschool English teachers to people with backgrounds in early childhood education, how could the possibly regulate those qualifications? |
There safety is endangered how? I mostly talk to my children. Sometimes I let them play charades. Is there some kind of rash of uncertified people punching children in the face? |
I'm speaking about the very youngest kids, 3-4 years old, whose parents may believe are sending their kids to kindergartens when they're really just hagwons. When I taught at a hagwon in Korea, a fellow teacher accidentally seriously hurt a 4yr old child. I and everyone else truly do believe that it was accidental, but it's still the kind of incident that needs to be documented in case a pattern emerged, but of course in Korea, that never happened and the teacher moved on to another hagwon eventually, a new working visa, etc. I highly highly doubt this was an isolated incident considering the kind of characters that have passed through Korea.
Let me ask you this, how many of the parents of the children do you know? Would you send your 4yr old to a kindergarten without meeting their teacher? I certainly wouldn't. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
asylum seeker
Joined: 22 Jul 2007
Location: On your computer screen.
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
That's great! It's terrible making kids learn English at such an early age!
Let's make them learn Chinese instead!
| Quote: |
A fad for private Chinese-language education in Korea is spreading even to kindergartens as China continues to enjoy explosive economic growth.
"A decade ago, many parents were skeptical about Chinese-language training for kids," the director of a kindergarten said. "But for the last two or three years a growing number of mothers have been visiting us because they feel that it's good to let their kids start to learn accurate pronunciation and intonation when young because Chinese will be a required foreign language in the future." |
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/01/18/2011011800310.html
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
| asylum seeker wrote: |
That's great! It's terrible making kids learn English at such an early age!
Let's make them learn Chinese instead!
Quote:
A fad for private Chinese-language education in Korea is spreading even to kindergartens as China continues to enjoy explosive economic growth.
"A decade ago, many parents were skeptical about Chinese-language training for kids," the director of a kindergarten said. "But for the last two or three years a growing number of mothers have been visiting us because they feel that it's good to let their kids start to learn accurate pronunciation and intonation when young because Chinese will be a required foreign language in the future."
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/01/18/2011011800310.html
|
Thanks for re-posting my link.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
| silkhighway wrote: |
| I think this is long overdue. Yeah, kindergarten kids learn more, but safety is more important and regulation in the industry is too lax. *Even* if the government limited preschool English teachers to people with backgrounds in early childhood education, how could the possibly regulate those qualifications? |
It's because the South Korean government can't regulate anything related to education. You're thinking too hard. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| silkhighway wrote: |
| Let me ask you this, how many of the parents of the children do you know? Would you send your 4yr old to a kindergarten without meeting their teacher? I certainly wouldn't. |
...most of them.... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
aaron.southkorea
Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
OK. This may be getting a bit more serious?
I work for a large company that runs several English Kindergartens throughout Korea.
I was just brought a petition from my school that my school is asking everyone to sign. Apparently, a lot of the English Kindergartens in Seoul had a big-wig meeting a week or so ago and are in freak out mode. There has been momentum to do something like this for the last few years, but apparently this is actively moving forward.
From what I was told (ATTENTION: HEARSAY), an English Kindergarten/Pre-School with special subject classes like music, art, science, gym, would be banned. There may be a chance to apply to be an actual English Kindergarten but that's all it would be: English all day long with no special subjects. I don't know about this part of it.
Any other experiences? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
| If you are asked to sign a petition, I wouldn't do it if you are an E-2. It could be considered political activity. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
aaron.southkorea
Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Excellent advice. Thanks. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
