ID :
188876
Thu, 06/16/2011 - 02:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/188876
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Five-day school week
The Lee Myung-bak administration has made a good decision to fully implement a five-day school week from next year. The decision is no doubt a much-awaited move to free schoolchildren from a heavy load of study for college examinations. The new school week will come on the heels of a government plan to expand the five-day work week to workplaces hiring five employees or more starting July 1.
If the decision is put in place as scheduled, the number of school days each year will be reduced to the OECD average of 190 from the present 205. However, there will be no change in the number of class hours with flexible class schedules. This means that educational authorities would not allow a potential decrease in scholastic ability due to the curtailed school week. Students now have five-day school weeks twice a month.
We hope the nation will smoothly implement the shortened school week in order to allow children to spend more time with their families and have more diverse experiences than just the school curriculum. The five-day school week should have been introduced in line with the 40-hour work week that was adopted in 2004 to improve the quality of life.
Now, the question is how to ensure the full-blown implementation of the new system. According to a survey conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers??? Associations, 96.3 percent of teachers, 79.9 percent of students and 66.9 percent of parents said they are in favor of the new system. This shows the absolute majority want a shorter school week.
But there are still worries that students might be forced to turn more to private tutoring during the weekends. A possible increase in private tutoring is the last thing the plan intends to bring about. If this happens, the already-shaky classroom education is likely to crumble further and put more financial burdens on parents.
That???s why the authorities, schools and families should make joint efforts to develop various extracurricular programs for students in a bid to prevent private tutoring from taking up the slack. It is necessary to operate after-school programs on Saturdays and Sundays and promote sports activities and cultural programs for children. It is also required to offer custom-tailored programs for children of poor families whose parents have to work on weekends.
What???s more important is that the envisaged school week should provide opportunities for children to stimulate their social interactions by participating in different events in their communities. We have to bear in mind that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Let???s work together to enable our children to enjoy their life, have creative thinking and become decent citizens. They are the future of our nation.
If the decision is put in place as scheduled, the number of school days each year will be reduced to the OECD average of 190 from the present 205. However, there will be no change in the number of class hours with flexible class schedules. This means that educational authorities would not allow a potential decrease in scholastic ability due to the curtailed school week. Students now have five-day school weeks twice a month.
We hope the nation will smoothly implement the shortened school week in order to allow children to spend more time with their families and have more diverse experiences than just the school curriculum. The five-day school week should have been introduced in line with the 40-hour work week that was adopted in 2004 to improve the quality of life.
Now, the question is how to ensure the full-blown implementation of the new system. According to a survey conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers??? Associations, 96.3 percent of teachers, 79.9 percent of students and 66.9 percent of parents said they are in favor of the new system. This shows the absolute majority want a shorter school week.
But there are still worries that students might be forced to turn more to private tutoring during the weekends. A possible increase in private tutoring is the last thing the plan intends to bring about. If this happens, the already-shaky classroom education is likely to crumble further and put more financial burdens on parents.
That???s why the authorities, schools and families should make joint efforts to develop various extracurricular programs for students in a bid to prevent private tutoring from taking up the slack. It is necessary to operate after-school programs on Saturdays and Sundays and promote sports activities and cultural programs for children. It is also required to offer custom-tailored programs for children of poor families whose parents have to work on weekends.
What???s more important is that the envisaged school week should provide opportunities for children to stimulate their social interactions by participating in different events in their communities. We have to bear in mind that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Let???s work together to enable our children to enjoy their life, have creative thinking and become decent citizens. They are the future of our nation.
