Educators under fire over bullying

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

By Na Jeong-ju

Lawmakers criticized the education ministry Thursday for its poor handling of violence at schools, saying it should introduce effective training programs for teachers so that they can properly address bullying as well as help victims.

Heads of municipal and provincial education offices across the nation gathered at the education subcommittee of the National Assembly to report their anti-bullying measures. The session came following the suicide of a middle school student in Daegu, who was bullied by two classmates, which triggered a public uproar. Both ruling and opposition lawmakers denounced the ministry’s competition-oriented school policy.

“Most curricula are focused on enhancing test scores. The first thing to do to root out school violence is to revamp the system,” said Rep. An Min-suk of the Democratic United Party.

“We should work with a stronger sense of crisis in tackling this problem. It’s about the country’s future generations.”

The lawmaker called for the immediate resignation of Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, saying he had failed to take appropriate measures despite a series of student suicides due to bullying. Rep. Cho Jeon-hyeok of the Grand National Party called for the ministry’s tough handling of crimes that occur in classrooms, saying specialized education should be provided for both bullies and victims.

The advice came as the government and regional educational offices are drawing up a set of joint measures to counter school brutality. The plan will be announced in a few weeks, officials said. The ministry plans to expand the so-called “Wee Class” program, under which victims of violence at school can receive counseling from experts. More police officers will also be dispatched to schools to help victims of bullying and gather intelligence on organized student gangs.

Minister Lee said school violence is the main stress factor for many students. “There is a common understanding among educators that the prevention and eradication of school violence should be the top policy priority this year. We will do our utmost to find effective solutions,” Lee said.

Participants of Thursday’s meeting included superintendents of 16 regional educational offices and members of the National Assembly Education, Science and Technology Committee.

The recent revelations of violent incidents at schools have triggered anxiety over bullying and hazing among peers. A survey of 1,140 middle and high school students, conducted by Yonsei University, showed 48 percent of the respondents said they were victimized by other students over the past year, while 42.3 percent said they have thought of committing suicide within the past week.

“Our study found that chances are high for those suffering from school violence to consider suicide,” said professor Kim Jae-yop, who led the study. “Helping victimized students as early as possible is the key to preventing them from making an extreme choice.”

Source: Koreatimes

Comments

[waltz-in-code.livejournal.com]

42.3 percent said they have thought of committing suicide within the past week.

holy crap

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Imagine how stressful school is for these kids anyway and then these sociopaths are making life more miserable for the kids. There's obviously a huge problem with bullying and stress, I imagine the teachers have it pretty tough too. Do Korean schools have counselors? There needs to be a suppourt network for these kids. 42% is crazy high though, the bullying in Korea must be pretty terrible for it to be so high.

[waltz-in-code.livejournal.com]

honestly, idk if i would be able to survive in an environment where i had so much pressure from the academic side and the social side. korea's hierarchical system (especially in schools) seriously need to be toned down or else i don't see bullying decreasing anytime soon. kids are always going to bully other kids, especially if they've been bullied before and society is telling them that they are automatically granted this power over others simply because they're a year ahead.

but of course the rooted cultural problem will be hard to fix, and right now i'm glad that the schools are at least acknowledging this issue and putting it at the top of their list. i hope that korea's stigma against seeking therapy and counseling won't stop kids who need help from seeking it, and that schools are improving education on depression. no wonder internet addiction is so widespread among students, they need some kind of outlet for all this stress.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

I don't see why there's such a stigma over therapy when you have such a high suicide rate. Real failing on the Govt's part.

[k0dama.livejournal.com]

Many Koreans think needing therapy is a sign of insanity and is evidence of poor personal management.

[k0dama.livejournal.com]

I remember school in Korea.. kids would joke about dying like it was a super casual thing.

[waltz-in-code.livejournal.com]

that seriously frightens me so much

[ckino9095.livejournal.com]

As an educator myself, the most important thing a teacher need to have is an ability to listen and to believe. Teachers often dismissed their students without even looking or even listening. You don't know how much wonder you can make if you spend a little bit of your time to listen and understand them better. Some teacher nowadays view the profession as a job to get monthly paycheck and it get even worsen when education institution turn a school or college as profit gain industry. Its a sad future we're heading.
Maybe children lie to get attention but adult should forgive when a children lies and i do believe that is not enough reason to dismissed a student and to stop listening.
It is true students/children learn from a teacher, but a teacher learn so much and even more from her/his student.

[geniebsmart.livejournal.com]

I almost want to cry, because I have witnessed bullying in the classroom and have tried to prevent it as much as possible with "my" students (I call them mine since i worked with them for over a year). The key is not to give up. You may not see immediate results, but the effort you put in to combat bullying, especially extreme cases, is making a difference. I appreciate these people for stepping up to handle this issue.

[k0dama.livejournal.com]

It sounds like they know what they need to do but not WHAT TO DO to get the results they are seeking.

Honestly, they really really really need to shrink class sizes and get more trained adults into the schools.

Any class with more than 20 students should have a teacher's assistant or a classroom monitor, because the bullying happens more severely when there isn't any supervision (lunch, recess, between periods -- which is typically about 10 minutes long, while moving to and from home or other special classrooms like science, art, home eco., gym, etc).

The best way to modify their behavior is by introducing more adults who are trained to understand what kinds of behavior are acceptable and which aren't acceptable in school, so that there's someone to intervene when kids begin to act poorly. Even some teachers don't understand that some of the things their kids say or do to each other is inappropriate/harmful to the other person.


Ah well, but this is all romantic chitter chatter. We all know the Korean government isn't willing to sink a single extra dime into education. They want results that won't cost them money, but unfortunately in this case, the solution will indeed cost them something.

[geniebsmart.livejournal.com]

A+

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

A+

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

great suggestions

[black-silver.livejournal.com]

where are the parents tho

why are these kids are acting like this in the first place, where are they learning this behaviour

[angelkitti.livejournal.com]

Probably learned it from being bullied themselves. If you think about bullying as a means to vent and to elevate your own feelings by degrading someone else, then it probably just stems from the severe stress and pressure that all these students must be under.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

where are they learning this behaviour

you just have to take a look at k-dramas or movies.. remember boys over flowers? there was major bullying going on half of the time

[asth77.livejournal.com]

yes but it wasn't viewed as something good. The main girl is fighting against them at first, and the major bully is changing at the end. One of the boys is defending the girl as well.

Also, you can't explain violence simply by fiction. There are several internal matters that lead someone to be daily violent, especially when it comes to kids.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

but the "cool" kids from the school were the biggest bullies, so little children see this and think "oh if i bully other people i'll be cool too"

[baka-tenshi.livejournal.com]

chances are, the parents most likely dismiss it which is a problem in itself.

[sirhin.livejournal.com]

That, they do. :/

[sirhin.livejournal.com]

Yes, please!!! I teach at an elementary school and most of them seem to be on the other spectrum (I'm not their homeroom teacher, though), but I'm sure there are little problems which, if not taken care of now will only exacerbate things in the future. :/ And when these kids fight, they use what they learn in taekwondo (if they remember it in times of great anger). One kid, who interestingly enough was two sizes SMALLER than the kid he was holding the jacket collar of, was saying "you want to die?" in the lowest, scariest voice. The thing was it seemed so sudden and next thing I know, they were punching each other and glaring until I intervened.

What in the world...