Dear editor,
I'm writing in response to a March 12 op-ed piece, ``Sinking Liner: Korean Education,'' written by Kim See-bong. I think it is a thoughtful piece, but it contains two vague points.
First, it failed to mention clearly who exactly is to blame for Korean education problems. The writer likened current education to the sinking liner Titanic and suggested the passengers of the Titanic died from over-confidence in their ship.
Yet, I strongly disagree. I believe they died from the captain's wrong decision. The captain should have known better. Any ship is sinkable, that's why preparation is needed.
Likewise, the education problem in Korea is mainly derived from the wrong decision of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. It is officials there who have made and implemented policies, but have never taken any responsibility for the consequences.
Sadly enough, there has been the scandal of Kong Jeong-taek, the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education who was just found guilty of making a false assets report. He is connected closely with cram schools. I am sure he is one of the culprits.
I have been unlucky in that most of the higher position education officials that I have met personally have been more interested in their own promotion and success rather than in the improvement of education.
They change policies easily if affluent parents complain that it is not beneficial for their children. One example is that they abolished an examination of physical strength in the college entrance exam, which resulted in a drastic fall in student health. A better role model is necessary.
Another thing that I noticed is that the writer is the principal of a private English institute, Polyglot Day School in Bundang, south of Seoul. He just kept lamenting about sinking education levels and did not offer any solution.
Does he happen to believe that he has another expensive but safe ship that can save the drowning students? No way! Education should be for all of us. In reality, I do not think education in Korea is sinking.
It is desperately swimming. Despite the strange decision of the education ministry, it has managed to survive. It is just time to renovate the old system and find out what we can do on our own together. A balanced understanding of reality is required, not exaggeration or despair.
Kim Sung-shin
Teacher in Seoul