Teachers welcome post-walkout changes, but say long way still to go

Teachers stage a rally in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, calling for the restoration of teachers' rights and prompt legislations of related bills on Sept. 16. [NEWS1]

Teachers in Korea have mixed thoughts on the changes made so far at classrooms and schools a month after they staged a mass walkout.

Teachers across the country dubbed Sept. 4 “the day public education stopped” and refused to show up at their classrooms by taking leaves to mourn the death of a young teacher at Seo 2 Elementary School in southern Seoul.

The 23-year-old took her own life in August due to suspected bullying from parents.

A month has passed since teachers in Korea staged a mass walkout demanding legislative measures to protect teachers from malicious complaints from parents and students.

Some believed that evident changes had been made since the strike.

“The way parents filed complaints became different,” one middle school teacher in Seoul told the JoongAng Ilbo.

“There have been more cases where they texted teachers more politely.”

Another elementary school teacher in Seoul also said that some parents even thanked them for managing the class even after students got involved in a minor fight. Before, parents would have filed a complaint, according to the teacher.

“I received many calls from parents even during class before, but there haven’t been many recently,” an elementary school teacher in Gyeonggi said.

The expanded responsibilities of principals and vice principals may be one of the contributing factors.

Education offices have begun penalizing school principals who have been unable to ensure teachers classroom authority.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education launched an investigation into parents allegedly involved in the death of an elementary school teacher in Uijeongbu.

The education office also decided to punish the school principal and vice principal for failing to take any responsive measures to parents’ malicious reports.

The Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education said it would punish the head of the school who did not file the case to the School Teachers’ Rights Protection Committee despite the deceased teacher’s request.

“Schools in Korea now have the responsibility to respond to complaints as opposed to how they voluntarily dealt with these reports before,” said a school principal in Seoul, referring to the Ministry of Education’s newly announced comprehensive measures to protect teachers’ authorities.

The ministry in August advised schools to form an official team to deal with school complaints.

Some others began protecting themselves rather than merely relying on measures.

“Many teachers purchased body cameras,” said one elementary school teacher in Seoul.

“I am planning to record everything whenever I discipline a student.”

A lawyer who has been defending cases that took place in schools said that teachers have been speaking up and directly saying that parents have violated teachers’ rights when they make unfair requests.

However, others believe that there is still a long way to go.

Several more teachers have taken their own lives following the death of the Seo 2 Elementary School teacher.

These teachers allegedly suffered from malicious complaints from parents and students.

Screenshots of conversations between parents in an elementary school in Gangnam, southern Seoul, on a messaging app also stirred controversy last week.

The anonymous parents talked about how they “started the day off with a complaint” and even referred to a school principal as a “crazy woman.”

Indischool, an online community of elementary school teachers, is considering holding rallies on the coming Saturdays on Oct. 14 and 28 to demand the prompt enactment of bills to protect teachers.

Many teachers believe that an amendment to the Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes is necessary, claiming that parents take advantage of the law to blackmail teachers and protect their children from legitimate punishment.

“We never know when the situation will change as the violation of teachers’ rights only came into the spotlight due to a recent incident, even though the problem has continued for years,” a principal of an elementary school in Seoul said.

“This is why many believe that legal revisions are needed to support the teachers.”

BY CHOI MIN-JI, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]