Patrick Killelea

C&T 491

5/27/2019

Byean and Park Article Responses

Byean (2015) writes, “...education is a key site for the production of the ideal neoliberal
subject, an autonomous, flexible, and creative human being who is well prepared for
global competition” (p. 869). If English is being commodified by the government, what
issues stand out to you as being the most problematic and why do you feel that way?

Byean has strong feelings about “tracking” in schools, especially as it relates to English
access. Do you agree with her stances? Why or why not? How do you see this in
practice in Kyunghwa (i.e., high school vs. EB students)?

What common themes do you see between Park (2009) and Byean (2015)? Do they
have similar stances on their main points, or do they differ? How so?

Given how Park has described the situation in South Korea, how do you see your role
and responsibilities in the classroom? How have his arguments changed (or not
changed) how you see the teaching tasks in front of you?

What final thoughts or questions do you have in response to these articles?

Stake holders in Korean education view the standardized test, called the ilje goja, as a necessary

way to hold teachers, principals and students accountable for low test scores, but Byean

contends that it only “adds fuel to the flames of an already superheated competitive

educational environment”(p. 869). This causes parents to spend more money on extra

afterschool education to give their child an advantage over the others. Unfortunately, lower-

income families cannot afford to send their kids to these schools and their children fall behind

the other students. In my opinion, the goal of any public education system should be to create

a level playing field where merit, not family finances, predict academic success. So, English

education should not be commodified by the government.

Tracking in schools also contributes to the problem of inequality of Korean education.

Proponents of tracking argue that grouping students by skill level will give them extra challenge

and students will learn better alongside similarly-skilled students. However, “much research in

Korea demonstrates that tracking has not contributed to reducing the high cost of education or

narrow the achievement gap among students” (Baek, 2011). I disagree with the practice of

tracking because lower-skilled students should have the opportunity to learn beside more

highly-skilled classmates and give them a better education. Also, lower-tracked students are

taught by lower quality teachers. At Kyunghwa, there is some tracking between the high school

and the EB school which gives the high school students an advantage over the EB students. I

think that all teachers should be aware of this.

Both journal articles describe the inequalities of a highly-competitive Korean educational

system. Furthermore, the system is inefficient and the results do not match the vast amount of

money spent on education. The rush for native teachers to improve student’s communicative

skills has led to the hiring of unqualified language teachers. Byean also mentions that language

fervor led parents to push for English-only in the classroom, but because the students cannot

fully understand the instruction and they couldn’t learn the content. So, quantity in education

does not guarantee quality.

As far as my role at Kyunghwa, I think it’s important for me to understand what role I serve in

the educational system. I know that there is tracking that is taking place between the EB and

the high school, but I can’t overlook that Kyunghwa is a private school, so these students are

receiving a better English education as a result. In the six weeks working at Kyunghwa, one

could assume that these are normal students and this is a normal school, but there are many
public school and lower-income families that don’t have access to this education which makes

that this a special school with privileged students. It reminds me a lot of white privilege. Many

white people don’t recognize the advantages they have because they believe that their

situation is the norm. So, as a teacher at a private school, I must not lose sight of the larger

picture.