Accelerating the Break Down of the Basic Study…

The mindset of current society that prefers TV to newspapers, novel to math books, non-fiction to the movie is eradicating the study of humanities. I, as mathematician, have my own view on this subject matter and also a bitter memory. A few years ago the basic study, such as mathematics, was smashed because it was considered to be difficult and unpractical. With the breakdown of the basic studies, the study of humanities has been also ignored.

The basic study is grounded on the mathematical principles, while the study of humanities is based on language. And the visual information is becoming the major device of the applied study. Let’s take a look at some of the examples of student profile that illustrates the characteristics of each of these studies. For instance, items like height and school grade can be replaced by numbers. Personality and the experience of social service can be articulated through language. Although students can be distinguished through their photo pictures, it is necessary to have other informations, such as grade and the description of personality, because photo pictures does not fully articulate the qualification of student. This is only one example that demonstrates the importance of the study of humanities as well as the basic study.

Diversity and complexity are the characteristics of this year’s college entrance system. The pitfall of the system is that it entails neither principles nor fairness. It only requires students to be multi-talented in a superficial knowledge. It will become an unfair system if it narrows down its selection criteria by overlooking the integral aspect of students’ performance. An effort to prevent an unfair selection process has added only the complexity to the system. The new system requires endless items from students during the application process, such as student activity records, College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) score, essay writing, and interviews. On the one hand, resentful voices are raised against the unfairness of the system which lacks principles. On the other hand, both students and their parents feel stuck by the more complicated application process. While both students and parents are running about in confusion, they have to spend more money on private tutoring.

Although there is no one right way in national education policy, there are certain things that need to be primarily considered. It is extremely important for the government to cultivate talented human resources since Korea lacks other material resources. Competition requires principle and fairness. The accurate judgment and the creativity are the core in escalating the competency of the nation. Since these elements are invisible, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of the basic study that seeks to explore the fundamental aspects of life.

What is going on in our current situation? While the level of language exam is standardized regardless of the study area, the level of mathematics exam shows a huge gap. Furthermore, the new system has encouraged students distancing themselves from the basic study by allowing the cross application of the department. The emphasis on essay writing and interview relies more on language than on mathematics. The recognition on the importance of the basic study is overlooked.

For the long-term establishment of national education policy, it is essential to acknowledge the importance of the basic study. The selection criteria, qualification for the college education, and application process should be critically analyzed. Without the help of the basic study, it is impossible to carry out this task. Relying primarily on language and photo pictures does not accurately evaluate the dynamic factors of students’ qualification.