Korean Job Discussion Forums

[winterfall]

My school just asked me to do something blatantly unethical and I'm wondering if I made the right choice. I work at a tech school and academically its one of the worst in the country.

My school asked me to write the personal statement for one of our school's top students to get into an elite internship program. They didn't tell me the name but, told me its enough to significantly improve chances at getting into SKY.

I refused the school and the student when they sent the student to me in person to try to guilt me. But, I did offer to sit with the student everyday after school till until the deadline to help the student write the statement. No matter if its one week from now or next year. But, the student decided too late and the deadline is today.

My school tried to compromise, saying that my Dept head would translate it and I rewrite the translation. But, that's not changing the fact that the student didn't write it.

This was not an easy call by no stretch of the imagination and I'm still agonizing over it. I'm very sympathetic to the plight of tech kids. I know what their chances are and even with an affirmative action program, 90% of them wind up in 4th, 5th tier universities.

It's one of the reasons I'm still here even though they really know how to piss you off. But I mean there is a line between Paternalism and Permitting irresponsible behavior.

I don't know, guess I'm looking for validation. What would you guys have done?

[Richard Krainium]

If the kid couldn't write it himself, then you did him a favor by not writing for him. It's one thing to proofread, edit, and even help the student rewrite a paper, but completley wrong to do what they wanted.

Hope this helps. Sleep well.

[wesharris]

Honestly depends on your view of ethics.
If it were in exchange for money , and payed enough to include your silence.
Well then that'd be perfectly ethical. Ethically, the easiest thing to remember is Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.

[Hyeon Een]

You should write it. Don't be a dick and hold back this kid's chances in life.

If you think the students at more academic high schools don't have a massive amount of help then you live in a fairy land.

You should feel guilty for not helping the student.

[wesharris]

[winterfall]

Thanks Rich and I'm not too fond of Hyeon's answer. But there's truth in it and thank you I know how it works. I wouldn't be posting this if I wasn't doubting my move. But for the mercenaries. (No Offense). Don't expect extra money at a tech school. Most of em are on welfare.

[egrog1717]

[Swampthing]

You did absolutely nothing wrong.

As a teacher, you are meant to assist students, not do their work for them. You offered to help edit and assist the kid writing his own academic statement. He turned down your offer.

Any missed opportunities in his future are thus his fault, and only his.

That is the important thing to remember. You did not turn down an appeal to help or aid his academic efforts, but rather a request to engage in fraud.

Ignore Hyeon Een. The fellow seems to have a warped sense of ethics himself.

If you wrote the statement, you would be weakening his ability as a student, since he would learn that he could achieve things in life, not through his own efforts, but by manipulating the system.

[madoka]

[Arthur Dent]

Several years ago I worked at a school for a brief time (the usual story explains my short stint) and as an extra class I was to help a man rote-learn answers for an interview with a consulate so he could attend dental school. I thought it was a complete waste of time of course but I soldiered through it. I did the work on pronunciation with him patiently and diligently. He was attentive and cooperative. He had previously failed the interview. After just a few short sessions I was told that he had passed the interview and would be able to attend classes for the upgrading of his dental education (room for a pun but I'll refrain). I believe he was going to Canada. It was for training regarding those white fake plastic teeth? Not up on the current dental terminology - and neither was he, in English at least. He was to take me out for dinner as a thank you but I never heard from him and other events overtook me as so often happens here.

I was extremely surprised to say the least. In retrospect, I wouldn't be surprised if some money changed hands here. He spoke no other recognizable English as far as I could tell.

I was paid at the usual desultory rate. i wouldn't do it for that now.

How did he manage later? I have no idea. But having heard stories about students with degrees in English studying for higher degrees in England and elsewhere despite a near total ability to understand the Professors lecture, I can easily imagine how. Much like in this example, they will tape the lecture and hire a translator for a transcription.

The issue may not seem clear cut here for you, but it actually is. If they are paying you for your time, then you must show him how to write such a letter using examples. In other words, teach him. If they are not paying you for your time, then don't do it. They are most certainly being paid for your time.

Simply writing it for the student is not only a waste of time and morally questionable, it does the student a disservice, regardless of the endless stream of such situations here.


Given that it is too late for you change your decision I would suggest the only thing left for you to do is to learn from this experience. You are not a charity. But neither are you in control of the system here. If you provide this service for free, then it will not be seen as valuable regardless of the result. If you charge for it, then do so with conditions. You will do it your way, or not at all. You have to be a hard ass to have any effect at all. They may not like you for it, but they will respect you, as long as you go about negotiating in the right way.

Education in Korea is not a gray line between black and white, it is a large gray area. If you want to have a positive effect on their lives, you will do your best to explain to the student(s) why this is unethical and why it matters. You may make some converts, you may not. All you can do is try to make an impression.

Personally I think you did the right thing given your uncertainty, but there may be better decisions to make here, it just takes a little ingenuity and will power to make them. For Koreans, this is not a land of choices and this is what they are used to. Broadening their perspectives and offering choices is really what we will do here that will have any lasting value.

For another perspective, check out the metropolitician's recent posting on "Bears."

[ippy]

Honestly? i would have written it. Its pretty competitive out there with lots of people cheating the system. You can bet the people hes up for a spot against had help. But then i wrote stacks of essays for my girlfriend (japanese) and her mate because english wasnt their first language. To suggest as well that it was following their words might be a bit of a stretch. I have no real ethical compunction to help my mates out, so i doubt id have a problem writing a personal statement for a student. Of course, it would be his rough outline, but for the most part id be, er helping him, with furnishing the details Im not really trying to ethically justify cheating, its just that i think if someone asks me to help give them an edge, ill do it.

If however you dont, may i remind you that someone else is really stoked that they got the position. If it helps, think that they did it by their own hard work and deserved it. If you helped your kid, you might have deprived a legitimate candidate (who can complete his work to a deadline) from getting their rightfully deserved position.

Id just think "screw him!" But then im morally ambivalent

[winterfall]

I've been in similar situations before but, nothing to this level. Some of my closest friends are not native speakers. And I always did the rail them with brutal proof reading until they started bawling with despair. And their writing did slowly improve. But their case was clearly different. People are generally very tolerant towards non native speakers especially if your not in your home country.

I tried to explain to the student what I could do. And showed an example of my friends essays. They still email em to me and there's so many highlights on the damn things the whole pages are red. But in hindsight. I think that was overkill. When the student saw it, the kid just bolted.

[discostu333]

Who cares what others think.

Life is all about making choices, and making your OWN choices.

You made your own choice. Why feel guilty? There are moral arguments on both sides of this situation.

[Richard Krainium]

[KoreanAmbition]

when in Rome.....