Teacher/parent relationships?

mike · #1 03-20-2006, 03:21 PM

Do teachers have too much power in Korea? From reading this article, it looks like teachers are looking for gifts from parents for preferential treatment of their children.

Quote:

A mother from Seoul's Seocho-gu was given a business card by her daughter's elementary school teacher at a parents meeting. Wondering why it contained the teacher's home address, she was told by fellow parents it was more convenient to send gifts straight to the educator's home.

As a new semester gets underway, many more parents are agonizing about their relationship with their children's teachers. To pay or not to pay, that is the question they are faced with. Parents say some teachers openly or covertly request school supplies, gifts or bribes, or at least insist on some voluntary work, while teachers say the fault is with overeager parents who try to smooth their children's passage through a competitive education system - and thereby often endanger the teacher's reputation.

In the case of the business cards, teachers say they are for the convenience of parents who want to contact teachers during the holidays, for example when their children move to another school. Parents say the cards can at the very least be misunderstood as an invitation to send gifts.

One elementary school teacher in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the first day of school listed expensive fixtures such as air purifiers, refrigerators and window blinds and asked students to raise their hands if they felt they could ask their parents to help out. Parents were outraged, demanding to know if the teacher thought class was a home shopping show. Such teachers, they said, are tarnishing the image of their profession.

It kind of reminds me of the beauty pageants and cheerleading in America! Remember when that cheerleader's mom killed off the competition?

eddiev9 · #2 03-20-2006, 07:45 PM

Bribary seems to be a common part of any culture, IMO. It's just seems Korea has a way to simply say things out loud and do things in front of everyone's faces (because everyone knows it and it's happening anyway). I wouldn't be surprised if a teacher literally said to a student's mother, "Mrs. Kim, your son is a very bright student, but I noticed he is falling a little behind on this subject. If you give me at least 100,000 Won I can add 10% on his test score tomorrow. Please think about it. You have a nice day." (as the teacher is reading down a list of parents' names and phone numbers).

Mr. Joe · #3 03-21-2006, 12:25 AM

From personal observation, this sort of thing, specifically nice gifts to teachers, has been going on since I first came to Korea in 1959. No doubt similar experiences occurred for centuries. The "Government" claims they try to eliminate it. I expect they are as successful at that as they are with eliminating boys and girls doing things boys and girls have done for centuries.

Forums	Arcade	Gallery	Links	Register	FAQ	Members List	Calendar
Classifieds	Articles	Quizzes	Search	Today's Posts	Mark Forums Read

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode