23 November 2009

South Korean cram schools

In the interest of my future profession as a teacher.
I recently stumbled upon an article about the Korean "cram schools".
Compared to the Swedish school system (and probably that of other countries) the Korean cram schools seem completely crazy. The amount of pressure put upon each student who failed to get into college the first time they applied is unbelievable. To earn good money by the age of 50 in Korea you appearantly need higher education. So if a student fail to be accepted their first year, they apply for a cram school and when accepted they move to the school. Now, all their focus is on their studies, seven days/ week, 6:30 a.m. til past midnight. They are "forsaking the pleasures of teenage life", that is, magazines, girl/boyfriends, internet and television etc.

Appearantley college entrance exams determine 70-80% of someone's future. In Sweden, going to college is free and there aren't any entrance exams, except for some educations (although in many cases there should be some sort of exam to see if a person is suited for whatever they're applying for).

What really caught my attention in this article is the fact that suicide is the second most common cause of death among young people. Traffic accident is the most common one.

Anyway, take some time and read the entire article.

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