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Konkuk University professor Jou Kyung-bok, who is running for Seoul education superintendent with the backing of the leftwing Korean Teachers and Education Workers¡¯ Union, topped an opinion poll by the Chosun Ilbo about the six candidates vying for the position. Jou had a 17.5 percent approval rating. If elections were held immediately, he is the most likely to become Seoul education superintendent. Jou is said to have given As to all of the students in two out of the three classes he taught during the first academic semester of this year. In a class of 19 students, he gave six A+ grades and A to the remaining 13. In another class with 14 students, he gave A+ grades to four and A to the remaining 10.
The only way to look at it is that Jou is not qualified to be a teacher. Konkuk University has a guideline requiring professors to apply a curve system and award A to less than 35 percent of the students in a class, while less than 70 percent of the students can receive A and B combined. How can we expect a man like this to use his authority as education superintendent to tell students to obey the rules if he himself is incapable of doing so?
If a professor gives A to all of his students, everyone clamors to sign up for his classes. If the trend spreads, the only professors who survive will be those who give high grades even though their lectures are average. The job of a professor is to stimulate the intellect of his or her students so they probe deeper into their subject. Students will not feel much need to probe if their professor gives A to everyone. Students who study under such a professor with such lax standards at such a university will not be able to survive competition with graduates of other universities.
Many of Jou¡¯s campaign pledges are populist, aimed at winning votes. He is against evaluating the performance of teachers, he wants to scrap the government¡¯s plan to allow students and parents to choose which high schools to attend, and he also wants to prevent parents and students from seeing the academic achievement levels of different schools. If Jou becomes Seoul education superintendent, students won¡¯t have to worry about tests, and teachers and principals won¡¯t have to compete with other schools to improve the quality of their lessons. How can students who study under such an education superintendent possibly compete with students from other countries?
Giving A to all students ends up ruining not only the students themselves, but the university as well. If Jou implements such pseudo-egalitarian educational policies as education superintendent, not only the educational level of Seoul but that of the entire nation is under threat.
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