Crime and Punishment: The Sequel

I have written before on the state of corporal punishment in Korean schools. I have to restate a simple fact: I cannot stand this kind of physical punishment anymore. I have been here 3 weeks, and I have seen enough verbal and physical abuse of students to last me the rest of the year. Today I saw a girl, one of my favorite students (she's a loudmouth) be yelled at by a teacher for at least 30 minutes until she was sobbing hysterically. What good is supposed to come of this? This took place after her parent/teacher conference.

I know what you're all going to say. It's a different culture. They don't think of it as bad or abusive. You have to respect their culture. Pfff. Whatever. I accept it, it's what they do. I do not have to like it. I do not have to condone it. I can hold them in contempt for it. For me it is simply wrong. You do not treat other people like this. You cannot tell me that it is effective in disciplining the students.

The student caught smoking and smacked and kicked and forced to wear a sash with anti-smoking slogans on it is not doing any better. I taught him today, he sleeps through class. Yes, clearly the fear of God has been put in him and he is now a model student. I don't think so. What did the whole ordeal do? What did it prove? That absolute power corrupts?

This kind of random violence against students is all over the place. When students fall asleep in my class, I walk over to them and wake them up. The Korean teachers walk up to the students and smack them very hard to wake them up. They pinch the students. Flick them in the face. I'm sorry, I could and will never do that. I know some English teachers who have given in and started hitting kids for sleeping. It seems like overkill to me. I am feeling compelled to talk to someone about this. It's really troubling me.