Illustration from the 동아일보.
First noticed in the Jeonnam Ilbo on the 12th, now in English in the Dong-a Ilbo, in a lengthier piece about how the new quote-unquote ban on corporal punishment in Korean classrooms undermines discipline:
Around 12:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in a middle school classroom in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, a teacher approached a female student and asked her what she was writing on her notebook.
When the teacher tried to take the notebook, the student protested. The teacher hit her on the head and the student revolted, saying, “Is it right for a teacher to hit a student? Just teach.”
The student tried to leave the classroom but the teacher grabbed her neck and hair to force her to sit down. The student then grabbed the teacher’s hair.
After this incident, members of the school steering committee held meetings with teachers and parents. Committee members and the school principal asked for a slap on the wrist for the student, but teachers demanded heavier punishment, urging the student’s expulsion.
Korean version here, which reports the teacher's age as 55 and the student's as 12, likely in Western reckoning.
That corporal punishment has long been common in Korean classrooms is a frequent topic on expatriate blogs and messageboards, so it won't be given another lengthy run-down here. I've written earlier that I've seen punches, headbutts, and beatings with brooms in my previous schools, and that the, um, "best" beating was at a school assembly in front of nearly 1,000 gathered students and faculty, where the school's disciplinarian beat a student with her own sandal. When we combine cases like that with what the Dong-A Ilbo has translated, it looks to me that what has undermined corporal punishment's effectiveness in the Korean classroom is that far too many teachers act like bullies, using brute force and intimdation to control their classes where sound methodology and healthy respect are lacking. "Just teach."
From a survey on the shape, sizes, and hardness of teachers' "lovesticks," by Ed Provencher.
7 comments:
If the teachers' groups want that kid expelled for that, I wonder what kind of punishment they'd be calling for for the kind of stuff I have to put up with on a daily basis.
As much as I think that corporal punishment is probably the #1 thing that Koreans shouldn't let foreigners see for fear of making Korea look bad...they probably should have thought about what they were going to do instead of corporal punishment before they made that arbitrary deadline for stopping it.
Agreed, there is no system for suspensions and expulsions. The only thing they can do is pressure the student to quit until they do. How crazy.Teachers don't have any help from the Principal or VP. They have no tools to deal with students and the students have no incentive to pass when there is no failing of classes possible.
Good for the student for standing up for herself. And only 12 years old as well! Sounds like she just tried to leave the situation peacefully then was forcibly dragged back in.
It's horrible that teachers aren't being trained in alternative classroom management techniques but generations of kids have been putting up with this abuse for waaaaaay too long. The administration is scared to support the student because they were all beaten too. How is this ever going to change?
"It's horrible that teachers aren't being trained in alternative classroom management techniques but generations of kids have been putting up with this abuse for waaaaaay too long."
It's horrible that if a Korean or a foreign man punches another Korean or foreign man in the face, the offender goes to jail, but if a Korean adult hits a kid, nothing gets done about it.
Of course there shouldn't be any beatings, but moderate corporal punishment (the ruler) is a good thing and really should be brought back to North American schools.
Expulsion does nothing. You're just giving the bad kids a holiday. Western Kids LIKE getting expelled.
Most Western teachers maintain discipline by intimidating kids with their personality. If they can't do that they have no chance of controlling their classroom. Even the principals are on the kid’s side now.
Named one of the year's Top 10 news stories out of Suncheon by the local paper.
http://www.suncheon-news.com/SubMain/News/News_View.asp?bbs_mode=bbs_view&tni_num=321822&menu_code=NH14
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