Proposal to abolish test for 7th graders

Parents tend to think that their child is a genius when little. They get surprised when their child starts speaking or reads, and then slowly realize how big the world is when their child enters elementary school. Parents see a few kids as smart as theirs, but at least they believe their child is smart. This is understandable because scholastic records do not keep scores or rankings and a homeroom teacher writes good things about their child.

The real academic transcript takes shape when a child takes a mid-term exam in the first year of middle school. Many mothers are shocked after getting transcripts showing their children`s class ranks whether it be the top or bottom. This is why people say parents need to be prepared before they get their child’s transcript in the first year of middle school. Then they realize that their child is hardly special. The child, in turn, grows frustrated and stressed because he or she was constantly complimented in elementary school. Mothers get anxious and force their child to study harder and search for suitable academic institutes to provide supplemental education.

Moon Yong-lin, former education minister and the conservative candidate running for Seoul education superintendent, has incited controversy because of his pledge to abolish exams in the first year of middle school. He said he will make the first year as a period of career exploration and allow students to focus on reflecting on their talents and aptitude and experiencing different jobs. Supporters of the idea say Moon`s proposal will reduce student stress and help them make better career choices. Critics, however, ask how a conservative candidate can make such pledge that is similar to that of the teachers’ union. The skeptics probably said this because they do not know Moon.

Moon has long stressed that students should find their own talents beyond academic study, saying, “IQ has nothing to do with academic abilities.” He translated the “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” written by Harvard University professor Howard Gardner, which says people have different types of intelligence and all children cannot learn in the same way. Had Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na learned swimming instead of figure skating, she could not have achieved her phenomenal success. Pianist Sohn Yeol-eum could might have not succeeded had she pursued painting. Every child has different talents and finding them is important. The first transcript of the second year of middle school rather than the first, however, will not alleviate the sighs of mothers.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)