Participants shed tears at the ‘Public Education Day’ event held in front of the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 4th, the 49th anniversary of the death of an elementary school teacher in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Reporter Shin So-young
‘We don’t have time or interest!’ We prepared this for you who are busy with this life and don’t have time to watch the news. We included 5 questions about news that the news doesn’t tell you and news that you become more curious about the more you look at it. The 5 asks and the reporter answers. ▶▶Subscribe to weekly newsletter Whitley Type ‘Wickley’ in the search bar. Recently, there has been a series of news stories about teachers making extreme choices. There are also claims that some of them suffered from malicious complaints from their parents before their deaths. Teachers in sorrow took to the streets on the 4th, the 49th birthday of an elementary school teacher in Seocho-gu, Seoul, declaring ‘Public Education Stop Day’. What did the teachers who came out of the classroom want to say? Why can’t they trust the government? I asked reporter Kim Min-je.
Teachers at an elementary school in Seocho-gu, Seoul are holding signs at the ‘Stop Public Education Day’ rally on the 49th. Reporter Shin So-young [email protected]
[The 1] Why do teachers take annual leave or sick leave and leave the classroom? Reporter Kim Min-je: After the death of an elementary school teacher, teachers shared their experiences of harm on Indie School, a community for sharing class materials. Meanwhile, a consensus naturally emerged that things could not continue like this. They decided to hold a rally to commemorate the deceased teacher and call for the normalization of public education. That is July 22nd. At that time, we also agreed that if the government did not take proper normalization measures, we would designate September 4th, our 49th anniversary, as ‘Public Education Stop Day’ and commemorate our colleagues. From then on, meetings continued every Saturday. Meanwhile, it was revealed that the parents of the school violence incident that caused hardship to an elementary school teacher in Seocho-gu were current police officers and prosecutors’ investigators. The anger grew stronger. At this time, there were incidents in which teachers committed suicide in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do, and Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was said that some of them also suffered from malicious complaints from parents. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education repeatedly stated that it would discipline teachers who participated in the rally ahead of the 49th anniversary. This led to greater opposition from teachers.
[The 2] Didn’t the government come up with a plan before the public education shutdown day? Reporter Kim Min-je: Yes. On the 23rd of last month, the Ministry of Education announced a ‘comprehensive plan to restore and strengthen teaching rights’. It includes provisions to prevent teachers from being held liable for child abuse when they have provided legitimate guidance, and to allow teachers to refuse to respond to complaints unrelated to educational activities. It was also announced that complaints will be handled by the school’s complaint response team, and that if a student infringes on educational activities, it will be recorded in the life record.
On the 4th, a child is posting a note at a civic memorial space set up at an elementary school in Seocho-gu, Seoul. yunhap news
[The 3] But why are teachers taking to the streets? Several measures have already been announced. Reporter Kim Min-je: The biggest reason is the lack of realism in the measures. The government said it would establish a civil complaint response team comprised of school principals, vice principals, heads of administrative offices, and educational administration officials. However, teachers claim that the manpower expansion and operation plan is not concrete. If this happens, it is believed that work may be pushed to someone else in the field or the work itself may become worthless. It is said that there are also problems with the plan to record the fact that a student has violated the teacher’s rights in the student records. Parents may file more lawsuits because their children may be disadvantaged in college entrance exams.
[The 4] Could it be that teachers don’t trust the government? There may be more concrete solutions. Reporter Kim Min-je: Even at the 49th Reunion rally, the Ministry of Education first said that it would discipline teachers who participated in the 49th Reunion rather than mourning the deceased teacher. I lost trust then. Teachers are angry, saying that if the Ministry of Education had considered the issue of teaching rights first, it should have started by saying that it would mourn and commemorate not only the elementary school teachers in Seocho-gu but also all three teachers who died in the meantime. It is difficult to have a conversation if the person you need to talk to denies and disciplines you. The People Power Party also pushed (the memorial) into a political issue, saying, “At some point, the educational field and classroom turned into a political struggle due to a specific group.”
[The 5] Don’t teachers want the Student Human Rights Ordinance to be abolished or revised? The government says that then, religious authority will be further strengthened. Reporter Kim Min-je: One teacher said, “I have no desire to enjoy teachers’ human rights by taking away students’ human rights.” This means that human rights are something to be enjoyed together, and not a zero-sum game (a game where one side’s gain is the other side’s loss). There was no mention of student human rights at the actual rally. This is because many teachers believe that both teaching rights and student human rights can be protected. What the government needs to do right away is not modifying the Student Human Rights Ordinance. We need to first resolve the issues at hand, such as child abuse complaints and accusations. Complaints from parents are complaints, but teachers feel the greatest burden when reporting child abuse. Fear is much more widespread than expected. Wouldn’t you be able to imagine the stress that a teacher would feel if she thought that she had to be investigated by the police for something that was difficult for her to understand? Moreover, if teachers feel that the school does not protect them, they have nowhere to turn. ▶▶[The 5]Read all about the difficulties teachers face in the classroom and the measures they advocate for in Whickley. ▶▶Subscribe to weekly newsletter Whitley
Reporter Ha Eo-young [email protected]
2023-09-09 05:00:22
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