[Editorial] Teachers` Protest Must Not Sacrifice Students

It is not right that the teachers who belong to a nationwide teachers` union left school early to launch a collective protest. The teachers who give up their classes can never be justified by any just cause, but rather should be blamed as an infringement of students` right to education.

The members of the Korean Teachers and Educational Worker`s Union in 16 cities and local areas participated in the afternoon rally after finishing the morning classes. The protesters decided to continue the strong protest for preventing the government`s market-driven educational policy, maintaining that such policies as independently run private high school system, and teachers` bonus system based on their performance have been hampering the normalization of education.

It is so regrettable that the teachers` society has tried to achieve its purpose by a forceful means rather than the rational and reasonable solution that should have taken place. The union teachers had taken collectively a day off for the protest last year, and they left school this year again. We have been very disappointed at such a protest method that is beneath teachers.

Although the Korean Teachers and Educational Worker`s Union announced that they changed the class schedule to supplement the shortage of classes, the schools and the students could not help but feel much frustration and confusion.

To the contradictory, the teachers who have taught the students not to miss the classes left school early during weekdays. Their behavior might implant in the minds of the students a wrong perception ignoring the legitimacy and importance of a means to achieve a certain purpose, however just it may be. How many people could understand such improper action?

Of course, we agree that the government`s educational policy has a lot of problems. And we also agree that the teachers` organization comprised of 90,000 members could raise an issue.

Unfortunately, the union has taken an excessively teacher-oriented position, rejecting blindly the principle of competition. For instance, they opposed to the independently run private school system because it has brought about the excessive competition among schools only to make schools hellish collage preparatory institutions. And they maintained that the bonus system based on the performance has devastated the teachers` morale by creating the competition between teachers. The world has changed radically everyday under the principle of intense competition. How can the educational development be accomplished without the competition under such a harsh circumstance? I want to ask the union members whether they are just trying to enjoy the current status quo.

The prime subjects of education are students. Our educational system ought to be a student-oriented system considering primarily education demanders. Therefore, if the teachers continue to think only from their position, it will be putting the cart before the horse.

In the midst of whirling school situation, it is also undesirable that the education college students has shown the sign for launching an allied school suspension, opposing to the government`s plan to appoint the teachers with the middle school license to the elementary schools. The union teachers and education college students ought to know the fact that such a resort to forceful means would bring about nothing but an entanglement.