[Inside Chodong] Even "Drawing" Has Disappeared from the Classroom

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An art class at an elementary school in Seoul. It is supposed to be a time for children to express themselves freely through drawing. However, the students were coloring predetermined sections on identical diagrams. One child remarked, “This feels more like labor than creativity.” A teacher at the scene explained, “We received complaints from parents that children who are not good at drawing feel relatively deprived. That’s why we switched to coloring the same diagrams.” This is a clear example of how parental complaints are transforming classrooms.

Recently, due to noise complaints from residents living near schools, many schools have either scaled down or completely canceled sports days. Even when sports days are held, they reportedly do not determine winners and losers. The team that falls behind receives a surge of support points, so in the end, the event concludes in a draw. Most of the criticism for these approaches is directed at teachers. Critics say, “What are they teaching at school?” and “These days, teachers just avoid anything that is troublesome or difficult.”

However, I would like to ask whether our society has ever seriously considered why teachers are organizing sports days without winners or losers, shying away from field trips, and even changing art class to a “safe format.”

Last year, in a survey conducted by The Asia Business Daily of 3,098 elementary school teachers nationwide, 95% of respondents said, “Public education is collapsing.” As for the causes of this collapse, 79% cited “excessive demands from parents and society.” When I asked teachers to fill in the blank in the phrase, “Teachers are ___,” half answered “nannies,” while others said “emotional trash cans,” “scapegoats,” and “slaves.” The complaints teachers face go beyond imagination. There have been requests such as, “Please write my child’s diary for them,” and even, “Please catch mosquitoes for my child.”

Teachers see the current controversy over field trips as an extension of this very structure. Field trips were drastically reduced after the 2022 incident in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, where a student was fatally struck by a bus during a field trip and the accompanying teacher was convicted. Some have criticized this by saying, “Are you going to stop making soy sauce just because of the fear of maggots?” However, teachers counter by asking, “Why are we being told to make soy sauce when no one is willing to help remove the maggots?” The “fear” that accidents occurring during educational activities could lead to criminal charges, the “distrust” that there are no systems to protect teachers when incidents happen, and the burden of excessive complaints all combine to make teachers increasingly choose options where “nothing happens.”

Under these circumstances, simply pressuring teachers by asking, “Why don’t you take students on field trips?” cannot be the answer. We must first listen thoroughly to why teachers have become afraid of organizing field trips.

Yet, looking at the Ministry of Education’s recent response, it is questionable whether such groundwork is in place. On May 7, the Ministry of Education held a public forum to discuss ways to revitalize field trips. However, teacher organizations that have voiced concerns about the reduction of field trips were excluded from the discussion panel. The Ministry stated, “We also invited teacher organizations,” but they presented a different explanation: “We were only invited as audience members, not panelists.” The Ministry claims, “Two teachers participated as discussion panelists,” but some teacher organizations argue, “Those teachers were individually selected by the Ministry and cannot represent us.” One teacher organization secretary-general remarked, “Rather than trying to listen to the realities of schools and find solutions, it felt like there was a rush to produce results after the president’s remarks.” Another teacher organization representative commented, “Even if some legal immunities for teachers are strengthened, under the current atmosphere, teachers will still be hesitant to lead field trips.”

As a parent myself, I, too, want children to have sports days and go on school outings. However, that starting point should not be criticism directed at teachers. We need to sincerely listen to why teachers are increasingly choosing to do nothing.