Elementary school teacher certification

On June 25, the 62^nd anniversary of the Korean War, we toured Chuncheon National University of Education (CNUE).  We learned about the importance of elementary education in South Korea and of the rigor of elementary education teacher preparation.

Teachers are extremely well respected in Korea. Having a teacher in the family improves the social status of the entire family.

CNUE is one of eleven National Universities of Education in Korea – they are universities whose sole purpose is to develop elementary school teachers. Only students who graduate in the top five percent of their class are considered for enrollment.

The coursework for getting a degree and teacher certification is very challenging and well-rounded. The objective is to develop the whole person. Teachers are expected to be global minded, morally impeccable strong in every subject. In addition to subject area and educational foundation courses, all students must complete courses in: 

Technical arts: courses similar to our industrial technology, home economics, and sewing.

Physical education: western style dances including jazz, tango, waltz; swimming, camping, skiing and golf

Art education:  At a minimum they must learn piano and one other Korean instrument. They also take fine arts courses like ceramics and painting.

Moral education and ethics: Includes learning the etiquette of their tea ceremony, among other things.

University students' woodworking projects

Regalia for learning tea ceremony etiquette

As we progressed through our tour a comment by our host, Professor Kim, stayed in my mind.  He mentioned teachers are beginning to have issues with conflict in the classroom – students are challenging teachers. For example, some students (as a result of tutoring) have finished the middle school curriculum before they get to middle school. They act arrogant and bored and it is creating a serious problem. Parents are contacting university professors to tell them teachers need to be trained on ways to deal with this moral aspect of education.

Later in the tour, as he explained the required coursework for computer technology, he told us university students complain that the work is too difficult. His response to them is that sometimes students in elementary school know more about technology than the teacher – the teacher needs to be excellent in all subjects.

In the evening, I had an opportunity to talk with a professor from the university, Dr. Suh, about his middle-school aged daughter’s experiences learning English. This conversation shed more light on the issue of conflict in the classroom. 

Dr. Suh’s family lived in the United States while he was earning his degrees at American universities. Consequently, his daughter’s English proficiency is higher than the level of her classroom instruction and she’s not learning anything new. He feels the classroom instruction places too much emphasis on grammar and syntax (the English teacher’s strengths) and not enough emphasis on conversation. The same is true for math. His daughter completed middle school math, with the help of private tutors, while she was still in elementary school. She will complete high school math before she finishes middle school. His daughter had to give up piano lessons because she didn’t have time for piano and her tutoring work. He gave the impression this was something she did willingly. Our discussion was starting to create an image of a high-pressure parenting in my mind. An image he quickly erased when he added, “We are not that strict. When I get home, all I want to do is play and play and play with my daughters.” 

Many families cannot provide the opportunities for tutoring and English language practice that Dr. Suh can provide for his family. This encounter makes me wonder how teachers differentiate instruction in classrooms where students are at different levels of proficiency.  I also wonder how parents of students who do not have as many opportunities for tutoring perceive the issue of conflict in the classroom. I hope to gain some perspective on this during our school visits.