This week my children had midterms. While this is completely normal for a recent college graduate, I immediately was shocked when I came the realization that my middle schoolers were taking exams. EXAMS... MIDDLE SCHOOLERS? I quite specifically remember being terrified of the thought of exams in high school, yet these poor little 11 year olds were working their bottoms off, studying till 2 in the morning for a written PE exam. But I guess that's why they leave it to the Asians to fix computer problems, become doctors, and solve unfathomable math problems.
Then I remembered back to an article in a Newsweek, that Brandon had bought while waiting for my arrival at Incheon Airport, and it all began to piece together.
Fact: According to this article (whose interactive link I have posted at the bottom), Korea is number 2 in the world in terms of education with a whopping 96.72, coming in just behind Finland, who, might I add, happens to be ranked as the best place in the world to live. Now I cannot break down the logistics of it all, but I bet it has something to do with the fact that my children (or should I say their parents) are CRAZY about their education.
Not only do my little middle schoolers take 10 exams within a 3 day period, but they also attend school for an ungodly amount of hours. Most students attend a public school during normal school hours, but as I have previously mentioned, all of my children are required to stay at school until 4:30pm. At this time, if their parents are able to afford the ghastly expenses of private school, the more well-to-do children will go to a Hagwon, where they typically specialize in one subject. These days, popular Hagwon subjects include math, English, and music.
However, this is just the beginning. As my children approach high school they will not be forced to stay at school until 4:30 anymore. No, its not a glimpse of hope. If they do not have the funds to pay for a Hagwon, the children are required to stay at school from 7:30am until 10:00pm!!!! Actually brutal for an outsider. However, they take pride in their education system and do not revolt this obscenity, as viewed by a westerner. And I'm sure you get the idea from here.
But have no fear, not all children take this seriously- they are human. I can speak from experience when I noticed that one of my children put all "B"s on his Chinese Characters exam. And as he noticed that I noticed, he picked his head up for a mere second and laid it back down, probably reassuring himself that all "B"s will definitely lead to an at least an 80.
South Koreas Ranks According to Newsweek
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