So reports Brian in Jeollanam-do, on his blog of the same name.
While I sympathize with the notion that standardized tests are not desirable measures of student achievement, and in the Korean system, are positively soul-crushing in the pressure they put on students (as well as people outside of school, because the testing treadmill never ends), telling students to cheat — wow.
Civil disobedience? Does this fit into the same category as people who violate unjust laws to protest injustice? Or is this just crossing a moral line that goes against the very grain of education itself? I fall into the latter category, obviously.
09/10/2008 at 7:58 am Permalink
It’s difficult for me to look objectively at any single stunt the Korean Teacher’s Union pulls, because of their previous record.
09/10/2008 at 10:41 am Permalink
I concur. First of all, the KTU has, as Roboseyo says, very little credibility and seems far more focused on rhetoric and anti-government agitation than in constructive work to make education better in Korea for teachers, students, or anybody else. And they seem to be going out of their way to be asses in this case – if they want to protest the insane testing regime and idiotic reliance on the KSAT, then they should do it. What they should NOT be doing is encouraging students, who have the most to lose in this gambit, to be jeopardizing potentially their entire futures.
Is the test ridiculous? Yes! Is its overarching influence on the rest of a poor 17 year old’s life ludicrous? Absolutely! Should the student be encouraged to gamble potentially their entire future to satisfy the KTU’s desire for social change? Hell no!
If the KTU wants to change the system (a goal I would have a lot of sympathy with), then they should put their own butts on the line. Part of the role of a teacher is to advocate for their students. This is hardly advocating; it’s more like telling students to throttle their own futures. The risks for students are too high, and the potential of returns virtually nil.
09/10/2008 at 1:16 pm Permalink
Ok, I read third year initially as being third year in high school, not elementary school . . . that takes the stakes down a notch or two, but the criticism remains the same.