From: wjin@cs.uh.edu (W. Woody Jin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean
Subject: Re: one more comment on 'mae'
Date: 13 Jan 93 04:20:53 GMT
Organization: University of Houston
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodin.cs.uh.edu


I don't know why I have strong feelings to follow up James's article,
whenever I read it.  :)   Anyway, here it goes ...

In article <1993Jan13.003916.245@news.acns.nwu.edu> phantom@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
(James Choi) writes:
>
>I still vividly remember what my mother told me when I was young.  When I
>did not behave myself, she told me this story.
>
>"Cows and pigs have to be hit to let them know of your intentions because
>they do not speak human language.  But you are different.  You perfectly
>understand what I want you to do, and yet you disobey me.  One who does not
>act on what one heard is no better than one who could not understand.
>So, if you go on acting like a pig, I will treat you like a pig."

I think that your mother tried to make you understand why you had to be
hit (seems to me that your mother was quite a good mother).

>I think I felt rather insulted that I was equated to animals.

And you were mentally too matured.

>Or I was to
>chicken to laugh at the threat of imminent corporal punishment.  So, I
>behaved myself after a sermon like the above.  Maybe my memories like this
>are making me think that it is possible to raise a kid without hitting
>them.

There are two points of misbehaviors of children.
1) children do not know what is wrong/right.
2) children know it but doesn't have enough endurance to control themselves.

In case of 1), you don't use rods. You just tell them the truths.
The problem is the second case.  If you are not careful, children may
think that it is ok to do the wrong things (even though they know that
it is wrong), or on the other extremity, children may be choked and
be afraid of doing anything.


>As for the beatings I got in high school, they did nothing to me other than
>making me hate the system.  Of all the beatings I got in high school, I
>still feel none of it was justified.  Leaving the top button open on your
>uniform does not deserve a slap on your face in full public view.

One thing which needed to be learned in Korean society WAS obedience.
It was required in any  place : in family, in military, in company, ...etc.
If it was the rule that the top button on your uniform should be closed,
you just do it.  If you don't learn to obey the rules, you may be hit.
The teacher did it in full public view, since he did not want to slap everyone.
He/she had so many students that he/she has to control.
And the teacher used it just as an advertisement that students will be
punished like that if they don't learn obedience.
You don't think that teachers in Korea are so barbaric or stupid, do you ?
Too bad, you were the example.

Now, they decided that such strict obedience is not needed and 
they don't enforce uniforms any longer ...

>Some kids were beaten because they could not pay the tuition on time.  
>Tell me it will make them better human beings.

I saw such teacher once, and I did not like it. It is not a good system
either that teachers should be concerned about tution fees.
Teachers in Korea have too many trivial stupid things to do besides
teaching in the class and caring thier numerous students.

There are always people who abuse the system.  It is a sad thing that
there are teachers who abuse the authority and respect.
But again, it is not a general discription of the teachers in Korea.

> James Choi


-- 
____   ____  ____ ____________________________________ (___) _________________
|  |   |  |  |  |  W. Woody Jin (wjin@cs.uh.edu)       (o o)      Moo.... 
|  |   |  |__|  |  PhD Student. Research Asst.  o=======\ /  I'm  a Cow Lover.
|  |   |        |  Dept. of Computer Science   / |     ||O   My wife  was born
\  |---|  |--|  |  University of Houston      `  ||'---||    in Cow year. Mooo
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