Class Reform Virtually Failed

Miss Kang (13), who is a 7th grader at a Y middle school in Seoul, started taking a Math class at a cram school since last month because, if she receives a bad grade, she would have to take a special supplementary class at her school.

``To study in the school even after the class is shameful and the teachers of the cram school teaches better. Out of 20 supplementary class, only a few students come to take a class.``

The 7th Curriculum is the massive national policy project, for which the government assigned 8 trillion 366.8 billion won, to cultivate the autonomous and creative talented-people. The government introduced the program to the first and second graders last year. However, the project is in danger of ruin due to the lack of preparation and the resistance of the teachers.

According to the survey of the educational directors of the 1903 schools among the total 4450 middle and high schools in the nation on the matter of the 7th Curriculum, which was conducted by the Donga Ilbo and the Korean Federation of Teachers` Association, it shows `negative` responses among 76.0 percent of the middle schools and 84.9 percent of the high schools respectively. 58.3 percent of the middle school teachers and 74.3 percent of the high school teachers answered that they `should withhold the enforcement` to ameliorate the problems of the project. The request for the cancellation marked 16.5 percent and 15.7 percent respectively. Therefore, analysts worry that the 7th Curriculum is failing.

The core of the project is to teach students by their educational levels. However, the education by levels and the re-completion class is just limping along. In case of the education by levels that began this year from the 7th grader, 63.2 percent of the middle schools continue the class with the same content in different forms. And only half of the schools provide the re-completion classes for the students who are behind in English and Math.

For the high schools that have to introduce the 7th Curriculum to their 10th graders next year, only 8.4 percent replied that they know enough about the 7th Curriculum and 1.4 percent answered that they are ready for the implement of the Curriculum.

Most teachers replied that the education by levels holds good intention but the application is a different story. They also answered that the class option system is unrealistic.

Cho Heung-Soon, the director of the Committee on Educational Policies, remarked, ``the framework of the project is good but too idealistic. And the project can hardly be realized due to the lack of motivation of the teachers.``

Lee Jin-Yeong ecolee@donga.com