The Korean Teachers and Education Worker’s Union (Jeon Gyo Jo) has elected new leadership at a national conference currently in session and made it clear its members will place increased emphasis on activities in the classroom. The idea is to be more responsive to the expectations and demands of teachers, students, and parents by being more engaged in the classroom and holding themselves to tougher standards. Stronger responsibility and higher levels of professionalism are prerequisites for education reform, and so the organization's decision is a welcome one.
Most notable is that members will plan their own educational content and commence on "teacher assessment" of students ahead of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development's schedule for doing the same. This is a better response to the move towards the knowledge society of the 21st century in that it allows teachers to claim more responsibility in making education tailored to their students. And by making high school performance records more reliable, the organization's members will be significantly contributing to a smooth implementation of the university entrance procedures for the 2008 entrance year, which will give the greatest weight to high school performance scores.
As an organization for the masses, Jeon Gyo Jo rightly should be working to increase class quality by operating a system of sharing diverse teaching methods and learning materials. It is also right to work on improving teaching for rural and urban poor students. A recent study by the Korea Institute of Curriculum Evaluation says that 1 in 10 middle and high school students lacks the most basic abilities in math and science is a reminder of the profound responsibility teachers have.
Education officials need to see this effort for what it is and provide sufficient backing. Those involved in education can have different opinions about major policies, but there can be no difference of opinion about the fact that classroom education must be strengthened. The reorganization of the curriculum that will result from the implementation of this new program should be thought of in the context of increasing teacher authority and responsibility.
In order that as many teachers as possible might be able to work for reform, the education ministry needs to maintain consistency in policy and spare nothing as it gives various forms of support. Prior to that, however, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister of Education and Human Resources Development needs to be someone who is clear about his desire for reform and has a broad outlook.
The Hankyoreh, 13 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Teachers' Union Makes New Pledge |
