Korean Schools

Anyung,

Let me start off by saying Thank God, I went to school in the U.S. Since I've started my job, I've learned a lot about the Korean school system. It's funny I always assumed that Korea had an education system far superior to ours, but believe me I was strongly mistaken. However that doesn't mean that the students aren't intelligent, they just are in a different way. The education system here is based on centuries of tradition so change has been put on the back burner.

It's amazing the stress these students go through on a daily basis. So from a very young age ~5 students attend public school just like in the U.S. but also attend private after school classes known as Hagwons. Here is a link that gives a good description of what they entail.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagwon) So students regularly go to a number of hagwons, usually one for each subject. That means that students may go to school from 8 am to as late as 8 or 9 pm, depending on their age. Pretty crazy! Homework is also given in a ridiculous amount, from my experience about 3-6 pages from each class. So not only are these students going to school for 12 hrs but also must go home and complete the homework assignments. I must say though, you can't really sneeze at their work ethic. I wish all my students back at home had half the determination of the students here.

But let me make one thing very clear; just because a student is able to complete hundreds and hundreds of practice book pages doesn't necessarily make them smart. It's a matter of quantity versus quality. In Korean quantity is a huge part of the education system, students are expected to complete these pages. However this leaves very little time for the quality aspect. I've noticed that imagination, creativity, independent and critical thinking are skills that the students miss out on, and it's really sad. I believe that if we combined both the Korean and American education system we may have something worthwhile. But it's difficult to convince people here that change can be a good thing.

The other aspect of education that I've had struggles with is Hagwons. From my limited knowledge I've deducted that Hagwons are not schools their businesses. Their main focus is monetary rather then education. This is one reason why there looked down upon, because it's all about the mighty Won (Korean currency). Which has been very difficult for me, because I definitely didn't go into education for the money. Also the business is very secretive; little or no information is passed down, so most employees are left in the dark. The teachers at the schools are usually overworked beyond the terms of their contracts, but since the school holds your Visa there isn't much that can be done. However it seems that everyone in Korea is constantly working. From what I've gathered vacations are a rarity in this country.

Well enough griping, let's move onto more positive possibilities. It seems the school I'm working with has a lot of great opportunities for me. I was surprised to find out, that at the school in Anyang I have the most teaching experience. Most of the people that come here are right out of college or in search of a calling, so a teaching credential or teaching experience is far and few between. But with my background there transferring me to a brand new school in Seoul. At the school I'll see the process from the ground up; I'll be working with people to develop a curriculum for new incoming teachers and students. It should be a great and challenging experience and hopefully I can make some changes along the way.

Well I hope this gives you a little idea in what I've been dealing with through this last week. I apologize that this installment includes so much griping but I had to get it out somewhere. I'll be sure to make the next few blogs more cheerful, but you gotta take the good with the bad. I hope all is well.

~Sunny