[Student Reporters] Re-education Our Youth

Won Chung/10th, Cate School

The best students in South Korea go to prestigious universities with near perfect SAT scores outstanding grades and unrivaled discipline. However according to a study conducted by Korean scholar Dr. Samuel Kim 44 percent of Korean students end up dropping out of these universities. How can this be?

The sight of students sleeping during class is a scene that is all too common in Korean schools. Many Korean students carry the misperception that school is a place to rest while the real learning gets done in after-school academic institutions. Teachers often tolerate such behavior knowing that students will perform well on exams and tests. In some specialized schools the school day lasts 15 hours and much of the day is devoted to cramming. While discipline and determination are essential for a student's success today's Korean schools need to rearrange their priorities. Currently the Korean education system focuses on exams and creates one-dimensional students who only perform well on standardized tests. These students often lack the logical reasoning required in many elite colleges and fail to perform what is required of them.

The American education system adopts a completely different system where a 15 hour school day is unheard of. America encourages students to engage in extra-curricular activities and to pursue interests not offered in their school. Students often chase these interests by engaging in sports drama and even internships. By allowing the students to pursue their own individual interests students become well-rounded and knowledgeable in many fields. America's system allows students to grow intellectually and by encouraging such growth prepares them for the obstacles they may face in universities.

Korea's greatest challenge is to educate their students in the right areas. While test scores and GPA's are crucial in getting into good universities Korea must also realize that teaching their students how to excel in universities is equally if not more important. Korea must realize that teaching how to perform well on the SAT is inefficient.

Students' success on the SAT gives the illusion to universities that students are fluent in the English language when they are not. This then results in the students' failure to meet their required expectations. Instead Korean schools need to focus more on developing logical reasoning and English skills so students can be successful on not only the SAT but at universities as well.

Getting into an elite university is only half the battle the other half involves getting the most out of your university experience something Koreans find difficult. Koreans cannot meet standards set for them by an American education because they find themselves so under-prepared. What Korea needs to do is recognize the failures of its current education system and adequately address these problems.