Comparing International Systems

Many consider Korea to be one of the great examples of school quality and success. But why? How can America strive to achieve the sorts of students that Korean schools produce on a regular basis? Is it even possible?

After an informal examination of several families, numerous classrooms, and discussing with current and former students, and even sitting in classes myself, I've come to the conclusion that America could never achieve the sorts of results that Korea achieves.

Here's why:

1. Korea has a deeply rooted history with educational attainment.  Scholars of feudal Korea were considered parts of the wealthy upper-class and were sought after for their counsel and wisdom by kings and emperors.  Their knowledge was respected, praised, and their efforts were consistently rewarded.  America has yet to establish a historical pattern of this magnitude that places an analogous significance on the value of educational attainment.
2. The Korean home life versus the American home life cannot compare when it comes to the emphasis on the education of their children.  Parents in Korea do everything in their power to help their kids succeed in school (stay up late to help them study, brew them coffee, host study groups, check their homework, give them extra work).  American families rely on school systems to provide any and all means to contribute to their child's education without the additional expenditure of the time, energy, and finances to supplement their child's efforts in the classroom.  Honestly, how many American parents would be willing to stay up until 3 AM helping their middle school kids study for a high-stakes exam the next morning? - You may argue that it's not in the best interest to keep your child awake into the early hours of the morning, but to even commit to that practice is a pretty remarkable statement (actions speak louder than words).
3. Culture of competition.  There is a culture of academic competition in Korea that does not exist in the American classroom.  Students in Korea are continuously competing for seats in later stages of their education (even in middle school!).  Not to say that American students never compete, but competition is not traditionally emphasized; it's more of an atmosphere of individual development rather than cohort competition.
4. Diversity in vocational and technical institutions.  America for some strange reason (NCLB) has diverged away from this mentality that technical schools best serve students.  There are several avenues for Korean students to attend technical and trade schools after high school to help them integrate themselves into a specific field where they can work immediately after they've completed their coursework.
5. Meaningful standards.  The standards to graduate from middle school in Korea are very explicit.  In Korea, there are 5 exams needed to graduate to go to high school but not all of them are in dense subject areas, they cover areas like morals/ethics, Korean culture, and professionalism.  Failure to satisfactorily demonstrate appropriate social conduct means you compromise your ability to advance to a higher quality school later on (which ties into the 2nd point with competition).  NY State's mandate to advance to high school are pretty porous to say the least, none of the requirements advocate basic comprehension of appropriate social conduct or behavior.
6. De-differentiated instruction.  The typical Korean classroom consists of chalk and talk (which is the demonized practice in your typical NYC classroom).  There's rarely any form of differentiation that takes place in the sense that a lesson is not presented 30 different ways to accommodate each and every student, they recognize that as a classroom impossibility.  Students must assimilate to a teacher's instruction or they will not make it. Application of theoretical concepts are exercised through mandated cultural/historical trips and hands on activities but rarely is there much effort made to diversely present an idea for 100% student comprehension.  This type of pedagogy requires extremely motivated students (which ties into the first 3 points).
7. Students in Korea are actually burdened by schoolwork.  Their schoolwork often occupies a significant portion of their time at home.  Though students I have encountered have been able to participate in after school and extracurricular activities, they spend a consistent amount of time doing school work at home.  American families have found ways to reduce the work they do at home by either filing lawsuits, approaching administrators to complain, or by even threatening/questioning teachers about the quantity of work they assign.  That sort of behavior just doesn't exist in Korea (and if it does, their claims are not taken seriously).
8. Shame, and guilt.  Koreans who fail to perform well in school demonstrate shame and guilt.  The suicide rates in Korea are far greater than in America for a variety of reasons (one of which includes the intensity of the school atmosphere at the collegiate level).  Not to say that this is an acceptable measurement of the educational quality, but on an emotional level America lacks the shame and guilt that motivates students to get through school.  The average American student is less likely to demonstrate the level of shame or guilt after failing a class, a semester, or even a year than a typical Korean student (this attitude is enabled by society, parents, and educators/counselors - "nobody's perfect," "there's always next semester," etc.).  Feeling bad about personal failure means that you're motivated to avoid that emotionally traumatic experience, especially if it pervades not just your school experience but your home life and your social life.  This doesn't just influence classroom performance but social behavior as well.  The mere mention of teen pregnancy in Korea is pretty shocking.  Even the rates in the US of teen pregnancy, according to the department of health and the CDC, are the lowest amongst the Asian-American populations than among other demographics.
9. Mandated military service.  Male students are required to serve in the military for a tour of duty (this is an expectation that is drilled into these kids at a very young age).  This not only advocates uniform discipline as growing adults, it also maintains a physically fit populace.  Korea does not have the obesity problems that America has and one probable reason (aside from healthier diet and lifestyle) is the mandatory military service.
10. Educational reverence. The national attitude towards education in Korea is very different compared to America.  When a school has low numbers, the immediate reaction in the news is not about unions, teachers, administrators, or the school's incompetence, it's about actual classroom factors or social factors that contribute to those numbers (poverty, parenting issues, student competence, student demographics, etc.).  This lends itself to a more productive discussion on addressing the problem at hand.  To point to a teacher's job security as the cause of a student's failure is an irrational argument in Korea.
11. Strict gun control laws.  Guns are not readily accessible to the Korean public.  Not to say it's impossible to get but it's extremely difficult to acquire a gun in Korea.  You have to be military, police, or private security (and even they're not that heavily armed, they usually carry low caliber pistols or batons instead of firearms).  When an act of gun violence takes place in Korea, it usually makes national news.  In America, it seems to be a norm that gun violence takes place.  Though it's an awkward factor to describe in terms of educational quality there are fewer security concerns in Korea than in America (no need for metal detectors or scanning machines in any part of the country).
12. Uncompromisable social concessions.  Americans are not ready for the sorts of social concessions necessary to dramatically improve the educational system.  There are several social concessions that make growing up awkward or bizarre by American standards in Korea, but lend itself to very hard-working and productive students in the end. I won't describe these concessions as doing so paints a picture of Korean life that one must experience for themselves rather than judge based on a verbal description.

This is not a critique of policy, it is a personally conducted comparison between personal teaching experience and observations made in classrooms overseas.  Do not assume that the results of this comparison are in any way valid as scientific research as many inquiries were informal or based on what information was available from prior inquiries. My experience in an American classroom is limited to a specific geographic area and population demographic, so if you happen to have a vicious rebuttal to any one of these points, don't bite my head off.  This is purely an informal comparison of observations.