Education Musings

I thought since we were leaving Korea soon, now would be the time to share my opinions that I have developed over the last (almost) four years of living in Korea on certain cultural topics that I find worth pondering. This post will be about the Korean education system versus the American.

As a parent who home educates, I have a different starting point of view than many others I'm sure. However, I did grow up in American public schools and attended both a private university and a public university, so I have some insight to the American education process. While in Korea, I have tutored a few students ranging from kinder age to teenage in English and have gained some insight into a teen's point of view of the Korean education system.

One thing I feel you must know: Koreans calculate age differently than Americans. Koreans count the time in the womb as age, and depending on when in the year you were born, the age of a Korean child is different than an American child born at the same time. (I don't fully understand how they calculate age myself.) So while a Korean may say they started school at age 6, to an American they would really be 4 or 5.

As an introduction, I'm going to describe a typical Korean student day. Keep in mind that Koreans start school - not the daycare Americans pass off as pre-school - at the age of three. Saturdays usually involve extra classes and homework time. Koreans attend school 240 days a year (my number may be slightly off).
Leave for school around 8, school until 3 or 4, then home. As they get older (6 -7) more extra classes get added on at hagwons. Pretty much all boys take taekwondo, or there may be music lessons or English and/or Chinese classes. As they get older, there will be extra math classes. By the time they are 13, they are at school or extra lessons from 7 in the morning until 8 or 9 at night. High school students then have homework until midnight or so, then repeat. High school in Korea is the time to prove yourself. College in Korea is all about building your Rolodex so to speak. College is less about the academics, and more about making connections. Those connections are what get you the job. I've heard from a Korean college graduate, that college is basically a vacation compared to high school. Obviously, this is a blanket statement, and not every college and degree is like this but the majority are.

I've noticed in America there is an idea that the Asian system of education is better due to test scores that are frequently cited as statistics of proof. I strongly disagree with this idea. I can't speak for all Asian countries, though I suspect they operate under the same methods, but in Korea, education is a lengthy process of continued memorization. While this certainly has a place in the education system, it should not be the main focus. Conceptual understanding is not important in the Korean system, the student need only regurgitate the right answer on the test. I'll give a real person example. I have an American friend whose children go to an international school in Seoul, where a large majority of the students are Korean. This school, run by Koreans, is actively trying to move away from the Korean memorization system. If it is so effective, why are they fighting the cultural tsunami to change it? They give a math test, tell the children to show their work. The Korean students answer correctly, but cannot show their work. They cannot show the conceptual understanding of how they came to an answer because all they did was memorize. How does knowing an answer, but not knowing how you got there, aid in problem solving for future work? As a parent who educates my own children, I can see this at work. I could teach my daughter simply to memorize the multiplication table and she would 'know' multiplication, but I don't just have her memorize the facts. First, I teach her what multiplication is, then I teach her the lengthy way of calculating an answer, then I teach her to memorize the multiplication facts. At the end, she know what the concept of multiplication is, not just an answer. It's why your math teacher in eighth grade never let you use a calculator. So, Asian students study hard for a test, excel at choosing the right answer, then forget it all because they never learned the concepts behind the answer. (Not unlike many tests I suspect any reader of this post has taken.) Compare the difference between an artist and an architect. An artist can draw a beautiful house, but he could never be trusted to construct it like an architect. He doesn't have knowledge to conceptualize the inner workings to make the house real.

Another brief point, Korean students must never question the teacher. This would violate the sanctity of the classroom and create a revolutionary change in the foundation of society! I'm being dramatic, but not so over dramatic as you might think. Simply put, thinking outside the box is not encouraged. Creativity is not encouraged. You are to do exactly what the book says, no questions asked. At the risk of getting offensive, I'll omit details, but trust me when I say that every time I leave my house, the desperate lack of critical thinking in this country is glaringly displayed. As an authority figure, having no one question you can have benefits, but questioning the establishment or bucking the 'we've-always-done-it-this-way' mind set is what leads to the major changes of life. That is what led to the invention of the wheel, a heliocentric solar system, the abolition of slavery, pre-sliced bread! In a society where everyone just goes along with what they are told, what do you think will happen?

I have been reading Fareed Zakaria's book, The Post-American World: 2.0 (which I would recommend to anyone) and he addresses the issue I'm discussing in his book. Mr. Zakaria was born and raised in India, a country whose educational style (at least when he attended) he describes in his book as very similar to what I know about Korea's. He presents numerous statistics as to why simply comparing test scores does not prove at all that American students are learning less than their Asian counterparts. He recounts how Singapore, the top math scoring country in the world, sent researchers to a school in Virginia to examine US teaching methods, and came away impressed by the students ability to vocalize questions and  their active engagement (as opposed to a teacher lecturing silent students who are only intent on taking in what is being said to recite for a test). Har Hui Pen, from Singapore's Hwa Chong Institution said "...you can see students are more engaged, instead of being spoon-fed all day." Zakaria writes "While America marvels at Asia's test-taking skills, Asian countries come to America to figure out how to get their kids to think.", then provides paragraphs of information and statistics to back this statement up. The now-former Singapore minister of education made this statement in a speech discussing his country's and America's systems: "We know how to train people to take exams. You know how to use people's talents to the fullest." You're referring to Singapore, not Korea you say. What does all this have to do with Korea? "While the American system is too lax on rigor and memorization - whether in math or poetry -  it is much better at developing the critical faculties of the mind, which is what you need to succeed in life." (Zakaria, p.193, italics added) The systems are the same, I think it is safe to assume the same conclusions can be drawn. Great test scores do not equal great intelligence or superiority of educational system. The results come from what happens when that education is put to use in society. Let's compare America's political and economic power to 'the rest', as Zakaria calls it. While in current times it may be comparatively waning, it is still far stronger than any other country. That comes from applied education, not stellar test scores. I could go on with nationalist sentiments, but I think the point is made. The results of post-education productivity speak much more forcefully than a survey of eighth-grader's test scores.

The one area I do acknowledge the Koreans and other Asian societies excel in the academic arena is parental involvement. This is good and bad. Good, because the parents take the time to be actively involved in their child's education albeit in a very different way than American parents would. It is bad because they also take their child's school performance as a way to measure their family against others. It is bragging points for their ability as a mother, not for the child's ability as a student. The student becomes the standard bearer for the family. This is a lot of external pressure for a child, versus an internal desire to achieve. This same pride is what causes the parent to push their child into so many extracurricular activities. Not to benefit the child's education or personal growth, but for the mother's benefit to brag. For example, why would an American parent hire a private tutor to teach their child a foreign language? Usually, in order for the child to learn because of the child's expressed desire. The students I tutored were there simply because their mom wanted to tell her friends that she had hired an American tutor. This is fact, not conjecture on my part. Once again, I'm making blanket statements, but generalizations are called that because they are generally true. (Side note, I keep referring to singular child and not plural children. Most Koreans only have one child so that they can focus all monies and attention on that one child to prove the family honor.)

I know there are those who disagree with my assessment, and that's okay. Yes, there are negative things about the American system as well, notably a lack of respect for teachers from the student and an undermining of the teacher by the parents. However, I refer to my statement previously made: the results speak for themselves.