(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Jan. 12)

dailies-editorials (3)



An easy ???A??? for teachers

It???s difficult to hide our disappointment with last week???s detailed plan from
the Education Ministry for introducing the teacher evaluation system in March.
It???s been 10 years since the ministry started discussing teacher evaluations
and five years since it began operating the system in pilot schools. But the
overall picture is still incomplete.
It is meaningful that all 410,000 elementary, middle and high school teachers
will be subject to the evaluation, and that they will evaluate each other.
Students and parents, who are the main consumers of education, will also evaluate
teachers.
But doubt remains whether competition among teachers to excel will result from
this system, which is already being criticized as effective in name only.
First, it is important that the evaluation be efficient. To do so, it has to have
clear judgment criteria.
When you look at the way it works now, the questions parents are asked are very
vague.
For example, ???Do you think the teacher teaches students so that information is
easy to understand????
This kind of question will not enhance teacher professionalism, which is what the
system is trying to do.
At the elementary school level, parents should evaluate homeroom teachers
thoroughly. For middle and high school, parents should have their say on each of
the teachers in charge of individual subjects.
Another problem is that when teachers evaluate each other, there is no way to
keep them from being forgiving.
Not only should it be compulsory for teachers to attend their co-worker???s open
classes but the evaluation system should also be done based on objective
judgment.
It is also difficult to understand why the evaluations will not be linked to
promotions or wage increases.
The government is not willing to give incentives like extra points and increased
wages for competent teachers. Meanwhile, it???s unwilling to kick bad teachers
out.
The National Assembly should also speed up the process of legalizing the teacher
evaluation system. There is no use promoting the plan in individual cities and
provinces.
The National Assembly should pass the related bill before March.
This is the only way to make up for the political mistake of delaying the system
for nearly 10 years.
(END)

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