Friday, November 8, 2013

Exam(in)Nation

When I first arrived in Korea I noticed one HUGE difference between Korea and America. No it wasn't the language. No it wasn't the food. No it wasn't the difference in looks. Those were too obvious. Those were things I knew about. The biggest difference that hit me immediately was their education system, or rather the stigma that surrounded education.

It amazed me that, when I walked into school at 8:20 every morning, the school was already full, students were already studying. Heck, some students were already in the hallway being punished. What amazed me even more was the day when I exclaimed to one of my 1st grade (freshmen) classes "Well at least its 7th period! You get to go home soon!"... if only looks could kill. "Teacha, we have class." I quickly moved on from the subject but approached my Korean co-teacher after class.

High school students, at least my high school students, have 8th and 9th class from 4:30 to 6:30. At this time, some students leave for "academy" (aka private tutoring schools where classes are small groups), but they can only leave if their homeroom teacher has confirmed with the parents and the academy that they do, in fact, have academy classes. If not, the students stay. We serve dinner at my school from 6:30 to 7:30, then they have "night study", where the students do supervised self study from 7:30-9:30. At 9:30, most students go home. I realized this one night when I was walking home from the store at 9:45, 2 huge bags in hand, and was met by a swarm of uniform-clad students. WTF are they doing out so late?! Oh right, they are just getting out of school. Notice I said "most" students go home at 9:30. If you are one of the lucky, smart students, you get to stay until 11:30. Yeah, you heard me. Its like you are punished for being smart, being held captive at school until nearly midnight. And even after that, many students go home, to only continue to study. Oh, and did I mention that they go to school on Saturdays and study on Sundays as well? Families spend THOUSANDS of dollars a year on private academies (not even one on one tutoring, but small group study).

So I quickly realized that school here is treated a LOT different than back home. Students are allowed to sleep during class, because teachers know they don't get much sleep anyway. It seems like students can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, in between classes during their 10 minute breaks, on the bus, I've even had a student fall asleep standing up in my class (though students sleeping in my class is rare).

But it isn't just students that study. When I walk into the teachers' office or when we are having a "self study" class in my room, often I find my coteachers watching online lectures. Crazy. Its like this country never stops studying.

But this week I saw what all of the fuss was about. All the teachers in Korea know that the biggest day of any Korean student's life is the day of the Korean SAT. The big test that determines their entire future. And I don't say that lightly. Yeah, the SAT (or ACT) was important in America, but remember, we can take it more than once. We can choose when we take it. And it SURELY isn't as crazy stressful as it is here. Students literally spend years of their lives studying for this one test that is finished in (a mere) 9 hours. Students take the test so seriously that many study until 1-2 am, the stress is so bad that it drives many to have health problems, and some even to suicide. Its a very unfortunate situation (and that's the nicest way I can put it otherwise I'd be here for a while expressing how I really feel).

On a day that the world seems to stop, Korean 3rd grade students (seniors) AND teachers are a wreck. Businesses open late, subways and buses increase frequency and police patrol the streets to avoid any traffic issues. I've even heard you aren't allowed to drive your car during certain hours unless you have a student with you (or are returning home) and it is illegal to honk your horn during testing hours. The country even shuts down ALL AIR TRAFFIC during the listening portion of the test. Yes, military drills and international flights are all postponed until after the listening test is finished. Police stand outside each school, and sometimes even escort students running late. Younger students and parents stand outside the school cheering the students on as they arrive, giving them tissues and beverages (on this stressful of a day, I'd hope that beverage is some sort of strong alcohol, however I'm sure it was something more along the lines of hot tea or orange juice). Adrienne and I decided to wake up and go gawk at the chaos, but where we were there wasn't much to see, only parents escorting their children to school (laced fingers and all) and a few students with encouraging posters.

Entrance to my school on the day of Suneung

The Korean SAT, or Suneung (soo-nung), is comprised of 5 subjects: Korean, math, English, Social Science/Science/Vocational Studies and Foreign Language (usually Chinese or Japanese, but can be others) or Hanja (traditional Korean writing/language, which is different than what they commonly use today). It lasts from 8am to after 5pm. Teachers are afraid that they will do something to distract the students. Complaints include teachers clicking the mouse on a computer, opening a window, a too-strong scented perfume, standing too close to a particular student's desk and even sniffling. My co teachers were all so tired today (the day after the test) because they literally had to stand still, afraid to move, for the entire test.

One co teacher told me how, at her old school, a teacher confiscated a watch because they thought it had calculating capabilities. The student, therefore, wasn't aware of the time and didn't finish the test (there are no clocks in the rooms). The parents sued the teacher for close to $50,000 to cover living and study expenses for the next year-until the student could take the test again, and the school made the teacher go to their house every day to apologize because they were afraid the family would come after the school. If students don't do well on the exam, they literally spend one year studying and tutoring for the retake.

It is really crazy how much these students study. But they are quite smart. I mean, I teach 700 students and I'd say quite a few of them are on their way to being tri-lingual. Yes, English study is required, but they also study other languages. Not only that, they don't use calculators. And I'm pretty sure they still do the same calculus and trig problems I did in high school. Its crazy. I really can't wait to see if the rate they are going makes them take over the world, or if something completely backfires. Lets hope its a happy medium.

If you have 20 minutes to spare, I'd REALLY suggest watching this short documentary about a day in the life of a 3rd grade Korean student. I've been here 8 months and there were things in this documentary that I still didn't know about and that still amazed me.

Click HERE to watch the Documentary

Also, an article that was written a few years ago about Suneung. Click HERE to read the article.

But, a crazy testing day for 3rd graders means a free day off for me! So me and some other high school teachers went out and enjoyed Korea's autumn beauty.

Adrienne, myself, Lauren and Joanne

At the botanical gardens of Daegu


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