Improving students' character

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Here is one of the best articles that I have read in a long time. I don't think it is just applicable to Korea, many countries throughout the world, including my own, should take note.

Of course, not only schools are responsible for this, parents obviously have the major role to play, but let's be realistic in today's world parents are less and less inclined to do this sort of thing, so unfortunately it is left up to educators to bring up their children.


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/02/137_104186.html

By Seoh Bong-seong

A few weeks ago, an elementary school teacher passed out two sheets paper to her students, but one of the boys in her class threw one of them away. The teacher told him that he should take the papers home for his parents to read. Why did you throw it away?" The boy swore at her with a venomous retort.

Last April, a high-school girl grabbed her teacher's long hair and insulted her over and over again, furious that the woman had scolded her. This case was resolved with the help of other teachers.

Finally, a high-school student verbally abused and punched his principal in the face after the man confiscated his lighter and cigarettes.

Many people say if they want to catch a glimpse of a country's future, look at the students and the educational system of the nation. If so, how can so many shameful events like these occur here?

Korean society was organized according to the principles of Confucianism during the Joseon Kingdom. An intellectual class comprising nearly 10 percent of the population led the nation. Their children were schooled with proper manners. These types of incidents were virtually unheard of then. If they did occur, the offender would lose all social status.

Despite diehard fighting, the Jewish people eventually lost their land to the Romans, and were then dispersed throughout the world. Nevertheless, wherever they went, they always took the Talmud, the legendary guidebook for Jewish life. They taught their children how to use this book, which is full of wonderful, but admonitory stories.

A few years ago, the Edinburgh University announced the results of an international IQ testing. Hong Kong came in first, followed by South Korea, while Israel placed 19th. About 30 percent of Nobel Prize winners are Jewish. Jewish-Americans hold 35 percent of the most important positions in the United States. I believe the Talmud is responsible for these outstanding achievements.

When puritans from England and Ireland landed in America, they used the Bible as a textbook to teach their children. Many considerate and humorous Americans are not a product of nature, but of nurture.

In the mid-1970s, Singaporean Premier Lee Kuan Yew asked the Yanjing Institute of Harvard University to edit an educational textbook for refining personalities from childhood. At the time, Singapore was on a par with Japan in the rate of economic growth.

He believed that as the material wealth of his compatriots grew, they became spiritually poorer. He wanted the Sino-English textbook to comprise selections from the Seven Chinese Classics, but adapted to apply to modern society. Although small, Singapore is a strong country with little crime, whose citizens are known for their politeness. In addition, corruption among government officials and politicians is virtually unheard of. I believe it is because it modeled itself after the best parts of Asia, Western Europe, and the U.S.

In Taiwan, they begin teaching manners and etiquette in the third grade of primary school. Children can soon recite phrases from the Analects of Confucius, and they are polite for their age. Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

What about in Korea? Why does this greeting take place with students here only in elementary school?

In olden times, ancestors taught kids at home or at private village schools called seodang, using various classical texts, which laid out the proper way to live. Recently, some judges, politicians, school teachers, and civil servants, who did not receive that kind of training, have been criticized for actions deemed illogical or unreasonable.

Consider, especially, the case of a judge. In order to inspire trust and respect, he or she must form balanced opinions in order to rule fairly without prejudice. As it stands now, though, most simply study law textbooks and pass a bar exam, usually in their 20s. Although they study extremely hard while preparing for the exam by reading the texts and memorizing the legal code, the scope of their reading materials is so narrow that they have few chances to gain other, indirect experience through a broader range of texts. As such, can we say for sure that they will judge fairly without fail? I think not.

``Respect others as you would like to be respected." That's how the adage goes. Law school is a good platform to train competent lawyers but it is naive to believe experienced lawyers can become qualified judges and prosecutors.

How much longer will our government ignore making improvements of character within the realm of public education?

The writer is professor of the Department of Chinese Language & Culture at the Jeju International University. Contact him at benseoh@naver.com.

[plchron]

or they could just re-institute corporal punishment. As long as there aren't any bruises...

And yes, sometimes they do deserve it!

[Yu_Bumsuk]

A healthy dose of myth in there for sure. I could see someone like Obama writing a similar piece citing Korea as a stellar example of whom to follow.

[cornflakes]

Nothing new under the sun here.  Etiquette class?  Remember the movie Titanic?  Rose and her people came from 'etiquette' trained society, whereas Jack Dawson was a bum, yet whose character was full of integrity?

Christian education already teaches children about values and integrity and loving others etc.  'Respect others as you would respect yourself'??  That's from 'Love your neighbors as you would love yourselves'.

You can give all the instruction you want about etiquette, respect, manners, integrity etc., but if there is no change in the heart, there won't be any change at all.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Nothing new under the sun here.  Etiquette class?  Remember the movie Titanic?  Rose and her people came from 'etiquette' trained society, whereas Jack Dawson was a bum, yet whose character was full of integrity?

Christian education already teaches children about values and integrity and loving others etc.  'Respect others as you would respect yourself'??  That's from 'Love your neighbors as you would love yourselves'.

You can give all the instruction you want about etiquette, respect, manners, integrity etc., but if there is no change in the heart, there won't be any change at all.

I agree with this statement. I do think, however, that schools can play a role. Most schools in my country have a code of conduct which spells out the rules and regulations. One school, private and boys school, does not have this and when questioned as to why that is the case, the students replied that through tradition of over 100 years, they had learnt to behave in an acceptable way and that when new boys arrive at the school, the students take it upon themselves to 'educate' the new arrivals. If one does seems to start displaying rudeness etc, they are quickly informed '......... (name of school) boys don't do that.' Hence they do not need a written code of conduct.

This is obviously an exception to the rule, but it shows what can be done. In the school (High School) I taught at in my country we had students from Taiwan attending and I will say that they were the most polite students I have ever come across. Without exception, at the end of every lesson they would approach me and thank me for the lesson. This happened for years on end.

So while the original text may have some 'myths' there is also a lot of truth in it.

[nickster13]

I think it comes from the parents 100%. Its a tricke down effect. If kids have a respectful and good relationship with mom and dad, then they will also respect their teachers. From my experience, some kids will NEVER respect teachers no matter what method they use, so clearly there is a deeper root. Also, from back home, it was easy to see that the relationship the bad kids had with their parents was significantly different from the good kids' relationship with their parents. SO yes, teachers play a role, but parents just spoil their kids now and buy them smartphones and video games, and don't educate about real life and responsibility.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

I think it comes from the parents 100%. Its a tricke down effect. If kids have a respectful and good relationship with mom and dad, then they will also respect their teachers. From my experience, some kids will NEVER respect teachers no matter what method they use, so clearly there is a deeper root. Also, from back home, it was easy to see that the relationship the bad kids had with their parents was significantly different from the good kids' relationship with their parents. SO yes, teachers play a role, but parents just spoil their kids now and buy them smartphones and video games, and don't educate about real life and responsibility.

Yes, I think we all agree it starts at home but as I have previously pointed out, it happens less and less frequently that children get the right stuff at home (everywhere in the world), so unfortunately the role is falling more and more onto the shoulders of educators.

We therefore have to do something positive, with the governments backing of course. All the good intentions etc. will amount to nothing without some structures in place and that is what is lacking now.

[nickster13]

I understand what youre saying as well, but i don't think it should fall on the teachers, it should be pushed back to the family as it should be. But the problem in Korea is that Mommy works until 6 pm and Daddy works until 10 pm in many families.
We will try to do our part as educators, but as a foreigner, we are not taken fully seriously and our logic doesnt apply to Korea according to some Koreans.
A better solution would be to educate korean parents better about things like punsihment-rewards, overstimulation of their children, and education not pertaining to math, science and english but about life. Sure its a very hard task, and even our native countries struggle with this, but teachers are not related by blood.

[giselle]

Most of my girls' middle school students here are sweet little angels whom I adore sharing my days with, but I'd say about 10-15% are vicious little hellions whom I dread seeing walk into my classroom.  It's to the point where I have a hard time wiping the slate clean each class.  If I don't do that, it sets the tone for a guaranteed awful class.  Even my coteachers are at a loss about how to deal with some of them.  They often ask me if students in the US are so rude & fully disrespectful , basically spitting venom at the  teachers' faces.  Well, of course some of them are; and some of them are actually criminally 'bad'.  But, I think the difference lies here... in the US (which is all I can attest to), PARENTS are held responsible for their children's behavior! 

If I constantly disrupted classes, or spoke to ANY adult in my school the way some of these girls do, I'd be sent to the VP's office, my parents called, and not be allowed back into class until one of them retrieved me from school that day, after a meeting with the VP.  Then, I'd have hell to pay upon arriving home, for making my parent leave work early & embarrassing them in front of the VP.  Fighting?  Automatic 3-day suspension from school.  American parents work, too, but it's their responsibility to find something to do with the kid during those days, so the parents do their best to keep those kids in line (of course there are dead-beat exceptions).

Here, it's a joke (& not a funny one, either)!  I've seen parents walk into the school & berate the teachers in front of the VP, verbally abusing & blaming the teachers for the situation.  Student struck her teacher?  Well, then the teacher should have just left her alone to curl her eyelashes in class, or abuse the handicapped girl!  The parents will lie & blame anyone but themselves, because they know that having a 'bad kid' makes them lose face in front of the school.  Heaven knows that can't happen!  So, the parents and teachers are on opposing sides, instead of collaborating for the sake of the kids & their future.  And the kids SEE THIS & know they can use it to their advantage.  Divide & Conquer!  They own the school.

But, good luck changing all this, cause this idea of 'face' is deeply ingrained.  (And pathetically intolerable, as far as I'm concerned).

That felt great, y'all.  Thanks for listening!

[profmiscreant]

I recall a passage from a Korean history book (one of bruce cummings...I think that's right) that way back in the day parents spoiled the living hell out of their kids and it was up to the educators to sort them out. I'm sure it worked fine when you lived in a little village and your teacher was a respected elder.  Every day I feel  like I still see shades of this principle when I walk around the hallways.

It's a tradition that just doesn't work in the real world anymore.

I agree that while schools can have an impact, what happens at home is far more important. Unfortunately though, the focus on education takes effectively strips a kid of their home life.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

I recall a passage from a Korean history book (one of bruce cummings...I think that's right) that way back in the day parents spoiled the living hell out of their kids and it was up to the educators to sort them out. I'm sure it worked fine when you lived in a little village and your teacher was a respected elder.  Every day I feel  like I still see shades of this principle when I walk around the hallways.

It's a tradition that just doesn't work in the real world anymore.

I agree that while schools can have an impact, what happens at home is far more important. Unfortunately though, the focus on education takes effectively strips a kid of their home life.

So true and so sad. One of the first thing I noticed when I arrived here some 3 years ago was that Korean children don't play, in fact they have no clue how to.  Wish I could just teach them how to play and then I would feel I have made some significant difference.

[profmiscreant]

Yeah... For a camp my co wanted me to give a lesson about an average day for an American elementary school student. I had mixed feelings about opening that Pandora's box, but the students spent about 40 minutes AFTER school was over continuing the Q&A part. Most of the questions expressed their complete befuddlement of a life where you study AT school during the day, finish  your homework, and go DO something non-school related. The second most questions concerned bullying, and that whole Korean thing where there's always going to be the one social pariah (so common there's a word for it) and their complete befuddlement that there isn't really a translatable word for it, as well as curiosity about a discipline system that's *supposed* to take care of it. (Supposed to being the operative word, as bullying is still a huge hot button issue at home, but at least there are more measures in place as opposed to here.)

 As they left I could just see that look in their eyes... Like they'd give anything to have the opportunity to not spend all day shuffling between classes. I felt for them.

[Driver 8]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

[SpaceRook]

Compared to the west, the is zero structure in a Korean school.  Behavior will not change until students realize they have to act like adults the moment they step on school soil:

- Absolutely NO hitting should be tolerated between students.   I wouldn't even tolerate play fighting (many times, bullied kids will say they are "play fighting" because they don't want to get the bully in more trouble and make them angry).
- NO shouting inside the school.
- NO running inside the school.
- NO jumping on furniture.
- NO lateness to class.
- Shorter breaks.  Break periods should be 5 minutes (just long enough to make a quick bathroom run and get to class).
- Teachers should be monitoring the halls.  If teachers are too busy, hire someone else.

Sadly, there are too many apologists (KET and NET) who think kids need to "let off steam" and "relieve stress."  That works for 2-year olds, not 13-year olds. 

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

Well Driver 8, strangely enough, the Taiwanese students at my school who thanked me for the lesson were the best behaved students I have ever taught, so I beg to differ.

[Driver 8]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

Well Driver 8, strangely enough, the Taiwanese students at my school who thanked me for the lesson were the best behaved students I have ever taught, so I beg to differ.

We're talking about two different countries and two different cultures.  Maybe I don't have a lot of experience teaching abroad to go on, but  if a student bowed to me in the halls this year, as many of them did (because it's a cultural norm), it didn't necessarily mean they were going to be the best behaved students in class later.  Confucian standards of respect are primarily about putting up appearances, if you ask me.   They're not necessarily based in substance or reflect how someone really feels or would act toward an authority figure, if they weren't influenced and bound my societal norms.

On a separate note, I think the real reason students act out is because of the tremendous amount of pressure that is put on them and their families to be "successful" and to conform to  societal norms and standards.  Maybe they are reacting to having such a short childhood. 

[Yu_Bumsuk]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

Well Driver 8, strangely enough, the Taiwanese students at my school who thanked me for the lesson were the best behaved students I have ever taught, so I beg to differ.

Perhaps that's because they were doing it voluntarily and following military-style orders?

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

Well Driver 8, strangely enough, the Taiwanese students at my school who thanked me for the lesson were the best behaved students I have ever taught, so I beg to differ.

Perhaps that's because they were doing it voluntarily and following military-style orders?

Driver 8, you are making too much of the bowing. They in fact didn't bow, they just came up to me at the end of each lesson and thanked me for the lesson and teaching them.

I would like to clarify that they were not under duress to do this. Most of them were in fact in my country without their parents and lived in a communal house with a South African couple that acted like their parents. We had several such communal houses administered on the same basis and without exception each student was well-behaved and exceedingly polite.

We had similar situations with Korean students and most of the time they gave us nothing but grief. Now I am not for one moment saying that all Korean students are like that, but certainly that group was and this is not something that happened for 1 year only, we had this system running for at least 10 years.

I would also like to think that after 30 odd years in teaching, I am able to distinguish between genuine and false behaviour.

[Driver 8]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

Well Driver 8, strangely enough, the Taiwanese students at my school who thanked me for the lesson were the best behaved students I have ever taught, so I beg to differ.

Perhaps that's because they were doing it voluntarily and following military-style orders?

Driver 8, you are making too much of the bowing. They in fact didn't bow, they just came up to me at the end of each lesson and thanked me for the lesson and teaching them.

I would like to clarify that they were not under duress to do this. Most of them were in fact in my country without their parents and lived in a communal house with a South African couple that acted like their parents. We had several such communal houses administered on the same basis and without exception each student was well-behaved and exceedingly polite.

We had similar situations with Korean students and most of the time they gave us nothing but grief. Now I am not for one moment saying that all Korean students are like that, but certainly that group was and this is not something that happened for 1 year only, we had this system running for at least 10 years.

I would also like to think that after 30 odd years in teaching, I am able to distinguish between genuine and false behaviour.

I'm not trying to make this personal, nor am I  questioning your teaching experience, but I fundamentally disagree with the logic of more than one of the proposed solutions to negative behavior.   You posted the article.  Did you expect us all to say,  "This article is brilliant?"  That would make for a pretty boring thread.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Students from elementary school, through middle and high school, and even into university and graduate school, bow to their teachers in greeting at the beginning of each class. They express their gratitude once the class ends. It's the same in China.

This is hilarious!  All students have to do is bow to their teacher and say thank you, and there will be no behavior problems.  Or maybe what they mean is that students who observe the rigid Confucian codes or respect don't misbehave or cause problems.  I beg to differ!???

Well Driver 8, strangely enough, the Taiwanese students at my school who thanked me for the lesson were the best behaved students I have ever taught, so I beg to differ.

Perhaps that's because they were doing it voluntarily and following military-style orders?

Driver 8, you are making too much of the bowing. They in fact didn't bow, they just came up to me at the end of each lesson and thanked me for the lesson and teaching them.

I would like to clarify that they were not under duress to do this. Most of them were in fact in my country without their parents and lived in a communal house with a South African couple that acted like their parents. We had several such communal houses administered on the same basis and without exception each student was well-behaved and exceedingly polite.

We had similar situations with Korean students and most of the time they gave us nothing but grief. Now I am not for one moment saying that all Korean students are like that, but certainly that group was and this is not something that happened for 1 year only, we had this system running for at least 10 years.

I would also like to think that after 30 odd years in teaching, I am able to distinguish between genuine and false behaviour.

I'm not trying to make this personal, nor am I  questioning your teaching experience, but I fundamentally disagree with the logic of more than one of the proposed solutions to negative behavior.   You posted the article.  Did you expect us all to say,  "This article is brilliant?"  That would make for a pretty boring thread.

Driver 8, there is no way I want this to turn into a slanging match between the two of us. I am also not saying that I agree with everything in the article. I do think, however, that there is some truth about Taiwanese and Chinese students being better behaved and more respectful.

Is it because of their school system? probably not entirely, but I do think that it has made some contribution.

Please feel free to disagree, I just liked what the article said and though it is not fool-proof, it is not entirely without merit.

I still believe and always will believe, being a parent of two grown children, that it starts at home, but we have to face reality, it isn't going to happen in this modern world or at least not as much as it should.