Wongok High School

Teacher - Katey Man (English and Media teacher)

Host - Cho Hee (Korean Literature teacher)

Head of School – Kim Song Mi

 www.wongok.hs.kr

During my first day at Wongok High School, I met the key members of staff such as the Principal of the school, Kim Song Mi and the two Vice Principals, Lee Eun Kuang and Lee Kyung Hee. 

Principal of Wongok High School - Kim Song Mi.

Cho Hee also introduced me to the members of her department who are pictured below.

From left to right: Heo Jin Seok, Choi Cho Hee, Jin Seon Ha and me!

After break, I was given a tour by a very polite student in Grade 2. The building looks like a stereotypical school, which reminds me very much of the high schools that you might find in America or the ones that I have seen in American programmes anyway!

Students generally stay in the same classroom for all of their lessons, except a few such as P.E., I.C.T, Science and English. Native English Classes are taught in a specific area which is shown above.

A typical school corridor.

The nice librarian!

The library - a place of study.

The main entrance of the school.

The motto, shown in the picture above, completely reflects Kim Song Mi’s long term goal and all staff clearly have high aspirations for their students. 

Whilst touring the school, it became evident that the school’s philosophy is to embrace other cultures and learn from their neighbours, so they can succeed in not just being leaders, but global leaders.

Displays of cultural dress from across the world.

Photos of community projects that students and staff have been involved in

When speaking with the student, he revealed that the majority of students have an ambition to go to one of the top three universities (SKY): Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. He talked about how he is personally aspiring to attend Seoul National University but it is only a fantasy, as it is extremely difficult to get into. Although, he is in the top 30 students of his year group, I could see that due to all of the pressures, he still feels unconvinced about ever getting the opportunity to achieve his dream.

SKY study room.

The top 30 students in the year group also have a pass to the ‘SKY’ room where they can go for self-study.  As you can see, they have individual booths and it is just a place to go when they need to concentrate.

It appears that the answer to success, in this particular school and I believe across most of the schools in Korea, is definitely motivation and ambition. This may seem contradictory, especially when I could see during lessons and even at breaks and lunches, quite a few students sleeping.  The sleeping, however, is a consequence of the educational demands and with overworking. The students stay in school until 10pm to study!

Do to my arrival falling in exam week, on the second day, I was taken to a middle school in Gunpo.

The building is much more modern than Wongok High School.

I spoke to a member of staff who teaches the speaking and listening side of English. These teachers  -mostly from the USA - are referred to as the Native English teachers. Interestingly, the native speakers are those that focus on the speaking and listening of English and the Korean teachers who are fluent in the language, teach the reading and writing side (which would be the area that the students would be assessed on in their examinations).

When exams were over, I observed a variety of lessons.

I do think that a typical Wongok High School lesson is more lecture based. Many of the students are rather shy and do not like to speak out in front of others – not like our students at the Academy! When the teachers ask questions, only a select few will put their hands up or they chant answers in a class, perhaps as there is more security that way.

A Korean Literature lesson.

Although, there were some specially planned lessons for other teachers and myself to observe. It shows that the Korean teachers are capable of planning collaborative and interactive lessons if they wish to.

In the background, two students were selected to complete the work on the board and to explain what they did at the end of the lesson. In the foreground, you can see a student supporting another, who is struggling with the work.

Teachers moved around the room to support students during the tasks.

A student presenting their research and findings to the rest of the class in an Earth Science lesson.

The benefits of these types of lessons are obvious to the Koreans. Though the main concern is that this teaching style does not lend itself to supporting students in passing the rigorous examinations that they have at the end of the year.

I would like to end this entry with the highlight of the week, which was an observation of the Special Needs class. The staff had a wonderful relationship with the students and it was a pleasure to see this.

They were practising for the Chorus Competition which is a yearly event, taking place at the end of the Summer term. Their chosen song was “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid, Disney film.

I was so moved by what they had achieved and the determination that they had. This was definitely my favourite memory of the first week at Wongok High School.

Post written by Katey Man