VOA标准英语2011--For South Korean Youth, an Education Crossroads

For South Korean Youth, an Education Crossroads

 

Students in Sudo Electric Technical High School’s workshop weld rods together while others hammer metal plates.

In a country that wins praise for its education system - U.S. President Barack Obama frequently cites Korea as a model for scholastic¹ performance - the 600 students at a Seoul vocational school aren't receiving a typical Korean high school education, and most won't head to universities once they graduate.

"We are now focusing on some practical skills, which the IT field or the mechanics field really require," says Geum Donghoe, a teacher in Sudo’s information technologies department.

Although Korean students are among the highest scorers on international standardized³ tests, and up to 80 percent of high school graduates enroll⁴ in a university, some say there is a downside.

Conventional schools, critics say, are too focused on getting students into top universities when there aren't enough jobs for highly educated graduates.

Now the South Korean government is promoting alternatives to college, such as the electrical and electronics-engineering curricula at Sudo, much of which, says Donghoe, is on par² with graduate-degree coursework.

Students take an engineering course at Sudo Electric Technical High School, Seoul, Nov. 16, 2011.

"Once they graduate they can get into the real field right away and apply the techniques they learned in the high school immediately," he says.

Meister schools

Sudo is one of 21 so-called Meister schools nationwide. Modeled on German academies, some of the trade schools receive funding from the South Korean government.

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, who was on hand at Sudo’s opening ceremony in 2010, says Meister graduates receive an internationally competitive high-tech⁵ education.

With government figures indicating that less than half of 2010 college graduates hold full-time⁶ jobs, along with news media reports that highly-educated applicants⁷ are usurping⁸ low-skilled positions from those with only high school diplomas, President Lee is promoting trade schools as an alternative to university education.

Because of a partnership⁹ with Korea’s electrical power authority that guarantees employment for all Meister graduates, students like 16-year-old Kang Seok-ho are forsaking¹⁰ traditional education.

"If someone graduates from university they are not so easy to get a job," says the first year Sudo student. "Too many university graduates are seeking for a job, and [it’s] very hard."

An outmoded post-war development

Korea’s emphasis on higher education is a product of its post war economic development, says Jasper Kim, visiting scholar at the Korea Institute, Harvard University, who teaches East-West comparative studies.

Korean families regard a university degree as the means to improve one’s financial and social status, he says, which lifted South Korea out of poverty during the 20th century but no longer satisfies the needs of today's job market.

"There’s a lot of supply of highly educated, arguably over-educated people, but on the flip¹¹ side, the demand side, they all want to work for a narrow bandwidth of companies, namely the LGs and Samsungs of the world," he says. "They only need a few people and they only pluck those people from a certain narrow bandwidth of schools."

The only path to those schools is a high score on university entrance exams, which, he says, build tremendous pressure on students and lower the quality of Korea’s entire educational system.

Students, he says, become victimized by an obsession¹² to attend elite¹³ schools.

"At the primary and secondary level, that’s really where the problem is - relatively¹⁴ low-quality education in which teachers effectively teach to the test," he says. "This means that they’re not really focusing on the pedagogical advancement¹⁵ of their students, [but] rather how to get students to pass a certain test, the college entrance exam, so that their placement rates at top universities will be very high and make the [primary and secondary schools] look prestigious¹⁶."

He says fixing the system won't be easy, but that government promotion¹⁷ of vocational schools as an option for students is a step in the right direction.

A difficult decision

Still, the decision to skip university is a tough choice for any teenager.

Earlier this month, students outside In Jang Boys High School in Seoul cheered test takers as they passed through the main gate, heading in to take the exam that many Koreans consider the most important event in their lives.

Of South Korea’s 196 universities, it is only the top four that almost all Korean families want their children to attend.

Bae Tae-il’s son, who took the entrance exam on November 10 and will receive the results at the end of this month, says university name is critically important to most Koreans.

If you get into a famous university, you have more opportunities to define your life," he says. "You get more respect from other people, depending on what school you go to."

Sudo Technical High School student Seo Hyun Joos says she made the right decision to study here, instead of a normal school. But the 17-year-old says she understands her career interests may change with age.

Describing herself as young with opportunities awaiting her after graduation, if she doesn't like the work, she says, she will just study for university exams.

"I'll keep my options open," she says.

1 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

2 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

3 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

4 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

8 usurping   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的现在分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• Earlier the Ukrainian President dissolved Parliament because it claimed it was usurping power. 之前乌克兰总统解散国会因为国会声称要夺权。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 forsaking   

放弃( forsake的现在分词 )； 弃绝； 抛弃； 摒弃

参考例句：

• I will not be cowed into forsaking my beliefs. 我不会因为被恐吓而放弃自己的信仰。
• At fourteen he ran away, forsaking his home and friends. 他十四岁出走，离开了家乡和朋友。

11 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

12 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

16 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

17 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。