Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

04-30-2008 15:54

Highly Unempirical and Propagandistic



By Basil Keilani

Recently, I read an opinion article, a ``hit piece" by Steve Schertzer from Boulder, Colorado, an English teacher who formally taught in Thailand. He made many claims about English teachers that are unfair.

He seems to state that English teachers in Korea are universally young, inexperienced and unqualified to teach in Korea.

Several of my friends have teaching certificates or years of teaching experience in South Korea. Some have master's degrees as well. Many of us are in our 30s and beyond. One should also consider that Korea often prefers to have younger teachers, because ageism is prevalent in this society.

I recall trying to help a former boss find a teacher, and she turned down a teacher from Texas who was certified in English, because he was in his 40s, showing that inexperienced certified teachers in their 40s are not in high demand in Korea.

That is not our fault as foreigners. At any rate, the author ignores the many qualified and/or experienced teachers in order to make his case. That is highly unempirical and propagandistic.

Schertzer states that we came to Korea to indoctrinate the youth in Korea as if there is some kind of conspiracy hatched in Ottawa, Washington, D.C., and London to brainwash the youth rather than a desire for teachers to earn money in an honest fashion, and in many cases to experience another culture and travel abroad.

I do not even know one foreign teacher who has encouraged someone to leave their boyfriend or husband. Nor, do I know anyone who has been giving out revolutionary material or worksheets on feminism.

We do share our cultural ideas as foreigners, but that is quite normal, just as Indians and Germans would share their ideas with Americans and Canadians as immigrants to either America or Canada.

He seems to be romanticizing Asian culture while putting Western culture down. He seems to suggest that that Koreans enjoy a higher quality of life than Westerners.

He only mentions one positive attribute from the West and that is Western medicine. He does not mention the invention of the telephone, the airplane, the fast train from France, the light bulb, rock 'n roll, jazz, cars, and the computer. Where would Korean society be without these things?

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/05/137_23381.html

[garykasparov]

[GoldMember]

Why bother with the rebuttal. What the guy needs is a huge kick in the butt, while we're at it how about some serious plastic surgery, man that's one mega ugly mug.
The poor guy certainly lost out in the genetic crap shoot.

[Benicio]

The guy is a serious mental case with a serious hate on for all waygook English teachers in Korea who are not him.
In many of his diatribes to the Korea Times he reckons himself the saviour of Korean society and English education while calling each and every one of us immoral, incompetent, immature, unqualified, etc.
He insults every one of us every time he writes one of these sh!te filled psycho rants.
Now, your points are quite valid and all of his rants against us can be easily deconstructed to show how he is wrong and is such a mental case that he should not be allowed to work with children.
However, he has a god complex as if he reigns supreme.
This is funny and sad because, though I have never met him, I know someone who has and he is a complete nobody with no friends and spends all his time at home writing crap to the Times.
The problem is that the newspaper keeps printing it. I guess there are some who enjoy his diatribes that say Korean culture is pure and we foreign teachers are all bad.
If I ever do meet him, let's just say it will be extremely hard to practice self-control.

*I am in my 30's and have an education degree with TEFL certification. There are lots of us here, so Steve is full of sh**!

[Eedoryeong]

[wylies99]

[Benicio]

Good on the guy for getting his rebuttal into the paper.

I think it was a little off topic going in the western inventions thing. I see what you're trying to say, though.

One very good point is the blaming of foreign teachers for something that should be squarely on the shoulders of the hagwon bosses and administrators in the education industry. Aren't they the ones who are more to blame creating this environment? Of course, they are more than happy to pass the buck and let the media and certain groups in society- the Korean Teachers Union- continue blaming "low quality foreign teachers" for the way things are!

The writer gave a great example of hagwon directors/administrators not at all being interested in hiring "qualified" teachers. They are far more interested in hiring teachers that will attract students and mothers to enroll their kids.
That means: young, good looking, charismatic, entertaining.
4 things that Steve "severely creeps me out" Schertzer most definitely is not!!!

[ryouga013]

A rebuttal to Shertzer's article...

YOU ARE WHAT YOU PREACH

was that a good enough rebuttal?

[ytuque]

Shertzer just doesn't look right to me. Perhaps, it's those soulless eyes?

[Thwartley]

[ED209]

[cheeseface]

Great rebuttal I hope the peodo looking dude gets funked.

[garykasparov]

Has Schertzer's past activities been fully investigated by authorities?

[Hyeon Een]

[blaseblasphemener]

You don't have to worry about Steve anymore. I heard he was arrested in Austria. Something about a cellar...