I got back from serving a mission in Korea Seoul about a month and a half ago. It is one of the best experiences of my life, to say the least. Living in a different country was like living in a dream for a while. Everything seemed similar, yet slightly different at the same time. I remember some of the things that seemed different for me. Korean traditional foods, such as kimchi (김치), bokkeum bab (볶음밥), bibim bab (비빔밥), etc. are often vegetable and rice-based. The streets are crowded with people and buildings. 911 is 119. 411 is 114. Being white and pale is a sign of wealth and beauty. Having even a small face is a sign of aesthetics. Even the methods of learning seemed to be different to the Korean people.The Korean way of life and methods of learning are influenced greatly by the Confucius teaching methods. Confucianism at its core is based on a hierarchy. It is based on these five relationships:
1) Ruler to Ruled
2) Father to Son
3) Husband to Wife
4) Elder Brother to Younger Brother
5) Friend to Friend
In education, there is a tradition among Confucius teachers called 주입식 (Ju ip-shik), or, literally, "learning by injection". I asked a good Korean friend what this kind of learning was like when he was in school in Korea. He said: "When I was in school, they just talked and said 'Memorize this!'". To the right is a picture of a teacher and his students. Aren't they the perfect students? The teacher is wearing his signifying hat. The students are all attentively watching, not slacking off. They are writing down the teacher's words as if they are the most important words in the universe---and they don't questions them either. They respect the hierarchy.
This kind of teaching permeates into folk knowledge as well. Even if you are only one year older than me, I am not allowed to call you my "friend". You are my "older sister" or "older brother," or maybe I will call you "uncle" or "aunt", or maybe just "teacher". These relationships go really deep. If you are the older one in the relationship, you have all the power. You can tell the younger one what to do. As the younger one, you must respect your senior. They have the power. They might have the money, or the influence. Most importantly, they are just older than you. You do everything for them. But, in return, the older one completely looks after the younger one. (This is starting to seem a lot like what we talked about on Tuesday with the bison and the mouse.) Symbolically, it makes the younger one the pole of an umbrella (keeping the umbrella up), and the older one the umbrella (protecting the umbrella). And if you are my friend, then we speak to each other in the lowest form of speech possible. . .we don't even call each other by names, just "you" or "hey!".
The Western society prides itself on using the Socratic Method---debate and discussion; argument and compromise; sharing of knowledge and experiences; etc. How many times have you heard in church or class: "Now, I don't want to just talk the whole time. Please don't be afraid to ask questions. I want to hear what YOU think."? To the Koreans, this is a foreign way of learning. (Imagine what it was like to teach the gospel. . .) However, to them, they believe that keeping that hierarchy in place is the only thing that keeps the umbrella up.
So, i read this while my wife, who teaches math 111 on campus, was reading student emails and was... frustrated. from her perspective, the attitude of her students towards the class and towards her as the instructor are often a source of chagrin. I've often heard her talk about the educational systems in Asia and how they are amazing compared to ours. the descriptions she gives, however make me think less of a school than a military. your article raises a few interesting questions, however - how does the attitude of the learner affect the transmission of knowledge? and how will this affect the transmission of knowledge in the intensely casual culture of the internet? I've learned alot of things from the internet, alot of things from my parents and alot of things in classrooms, and i view the knowledge gained in these three places differently. the things my parents taught me hold a place of respect and reverence - they are almost sacred to me. the things i learned in classrooms are a bit different, i would describe them as "useful" - not saying that my parents never taught me anything useful, but that that is how i feel about it emotionally. the things i learned from the internet such as how to set snares and the location of Latvia, are just for fun - they're interesting, but of minimal value. it is possible that these differences in the value i put on the knowledge is because of the attitude i have towards the source of the knowledge. so does that mean that Korean students value the things they learn at school more than American students? probably. as the percentage of our knowledge gained from the internet increases, will we value the knowledge we have less? maybe. as the value we place on knowledge decreases will we care less about being knowledgeable? who knows, but I'd guess that's a yes. conclusion - the internet must die.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, the differences in culture around the world amazes me! Growing up in our society, it's sometimes hard to imagine a kind of culture so intensely different than ours - differences not only in language and location but in interactions with others in society. In Western culture, it's obviously more popular to be forward-thinking, questioning and analyzing everything you learn. Obviously, it's an entirely different scenario in other parts of the world - in this case Seoul, Korea. This way of learning may be more sheltered and traditional than our own - there are prominent pros and cons to each. If you are being taught by your elders, and told not to question those lessons, it's easier for folk knowledge and tradition to be passed on to younger generations (and to continue in the future). On the other hand, the limited views of those elders may cause a slowing in progress and individualism. This kind of progress is extremely important and necessary, but I can't help but think how great it would be if we would follow their example. People often forget the importance of tradition and history in their attempts to keep moving forward, when remembering the past is one of the most important factors to ensuring the safety of our future.
ReplyDeleteMan...this along with Nibley's Sophist vs. Mantic essay?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the top-down social stratification is a form of stale Manticism, though the rigid hierarchy is somewhat Sophist in flavor...
Wow.
It gets me thinking about the Native American practice of teaching a child the culture's lore until a certain age--very much an injective method, though lower-key Mantic--then sending him (her?) out to acquire one's own experience and name--an inherently personal and very Mantic experience. Or FHE growing up vs. gaining your own testimony (vs. going to college and learning sophistry ;).
This hierarchy of respect and education as seen in Korea definitely seems to contradict the way things work here in America. And while they are so different in their learning strategies, it makes me think of the quality of the education in the end. Do they differ simply because of their respect for the teacher? Is the end result the same? From my experience, it seems as if the student who held respect for all teachers and the things they were being taught, were able to get more out of their classes. While on the other hand, the students who did not respect their teachers or the eucation they were being given received a lower level of education. Not from fault of the teacher but from a fault of their own. This leads me to think of the value that we place on education. Here in America where education is so freely given on the internet, the value placed by some on education seems to decrease. Where is the respect now? Is it given to computers and the world wide web? Is society lowering their standards of quality education because of easy access and availability? It makes me wonder of the future and the values we place on education as seen in other comments. Will learning how to use a computer be the only key to the world of knowledge? And would this be a good or bad thing?
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