20140212 topic

Kids starting school know it all already   

Teachers concerned about too much academic burden on primary students but cautious on plans to curb private education                                                                                             

Looking bored and uninterested, scores of first-grade primary school pupils stare at a question on the blackboard, the answer to which they seem to know too well. “Can anyone guess what the answer is?” the teacher asks the class pointing to the question: 15-5=? One student replies, “That’s too easy, we have learned that already.”

 

It is a typical interaction with her 38 pupils that frustrates Roh Eun-jin, 40, at Soongin Elementary School in northern Seoul. But she does not blame student. “For them, the school curriculum is boring. They might rather do assignments for their private lessons than listen to what they already know,” she said.     

 

 “They surely know 15 minus five equals 10. But they cannot explain clearly what subtraction means because they learned it by rote,” she said.        While compulsory education begins in Korea at age 7, most children start to learn at kindergartens and through private tutoring well before that.  Classes for first-graders usually run from 9 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. Most of them go to private institutes afterward, some taking more than three lessons a day, Roh said.                                

 “Girls usually learn how to play the piano and other musical instruments and boys mostly take up physical classes such as taekwondo.” After dinner, children also spend long hours working on various self-study courses or worksheets, she added.  “Students seem to learn too much even before coming to school, and that’s why some students lack interest and have a hard time concentrating in class,” said Nam Young-hee, another first-grade teacher at Soongin Elementary School.            

 

Most of her pupils know how to read and write before staring primary education.    

Although schools are not allowed teach English before the third grade, many of her class have already mastered basic grammar and vocabulary in the subject.                                   

 

To alleviate the academic burden on young students, the government has started to reduce the number of subjects in elementary schools, and introduced new textbooks this year.         

First-grade students now study only three subjects, down from the previous five: Korean, math and an integrated discipline.                                                                                   

 

The integrated study is a combination of academic subjects, such as history, geography and social studies, designed to develop students’ imagination, creativity and reasoning, according to the Ministry of Education.                                                                        

“This month’s chapter is autumn, and students learn about the weather and traditional customs related to the season,” Nam explained.                                                       

Facing rising private education costs that have already contributed significantly to the nation’s heavy household debt, the government is also seeking new legislation to prevent primary and secondary schools from writing exam questions on areas not covered by the curriculum.

 

 To deal with this, the Public School Normalization Bill was submitted to the National Assembly in May. Roh said the new legislation, if implemented next year as scheduled, will bring big changes for students and schools.                                                                                           “I think it will help ease students’ pressure to study and allow them gain more interest in learning.” Roh, however, noted that she believed some students may still benefit from private lessons, given the current difficulties faced by public schools in teaching various skills and caring about students.

                               

“The number of students per class at primary level is still high, and it’s impossible to meet the individual needs of each student,” she said. Nam also noted that teachers simply do not have enough hours to spend on students due to other administrative work and miscellaneous tasks.         “We need more teachers so we can work more closely with those who need extra help learning,” Nam added.                                                                                              

Roh added: “Parents are so anxious about students’ grades, even at primary level, and if they think their child lags behind others they put their children in private lessons.”              

There is a good sign though as some parents start to think differently and want to raise their child to be happy, rather than be stressed at school, according to Nam.                           

“However still our society doesn’t allow parents to do so, and pushes them to send their children to private lessons,” Nam added.                                                                                

                               

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20131030000618                                                                                                                                                                 

<Questions>                                                                                                                                               

- What do you think about sending kids to private academies before staring primary education?                             

- Do you think elementary schools need to make the curriculum advanced for kids?                        

_ Would you like to let your kids take private lessons before elementary School?                            

- What kinds of activites would you like to support your kids?