Here's whats making me crazy right now: There's a big English speaking competition next week. District-wide. They asked if I'd help and I said sure. Never mind the fact that the woman in charge of the English Education Office doesn't speak a word of English, she wants to have this competition. Okay!
So we hold try outs and our best and brightest come and we pick for 2 divisions: A 'Song & Chant' group and an essay group. The essay kid, Jun, is super smart and works incredibly hard. He's not fluent, his English is kind of lousy, but he works harder than anyone else I've seen in this god damn school. If I pass him in the hallway I see him reading his essay and then practicing. He's good!
So he wrote this kind of firey essay about a territory dispute with Japan that was really informative, clever and balanced. I work with him for about a week on it and he's really coming along. Then my co-teachers get involved. They tell him- to his face- that his topic is boring and he needs a new essay. I fight them on it (Japanese colonialism is a hell of a topic for a 5th grader), but they make him change.
He writes an essay of Marie Curie. It's not as good, but I help him get in shape. I basically refuse to do any serious re-writes on it. It's his essay,r ight? I correct grammar and make suggestions and point out weird English, but I'm not like rewriting whole chunks. Yesterday my co-teacher comes in and she's like re-written his whole essay in busted ass, suck-shit English (Misses Curie was a safty coroner. she dids many of things to helps people). She tells both of us that none of the judges really speak English and they don't give a fuck if he wrote it or not. He just has to look like a pro and said some words confidently.
That's Korea in a nut shell. No one gives a fuck if you're actually good or not good at whatever, they just want a fucking show. The 'Song & Chant' division still can't sing their song right (Rets go swimming in da rake!), but they've been practicing their dance until NINE FUCKING PM every night because that's all the judges can understand.
Suicide is the THIRD leading killer in Korea. Is it any wonder?
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