March 12, 2009
Obama Cites Korea for Educational Excellence
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday cited Korea as an example when he called for reform of public education. "The challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom. If they can do that in South Korea, we can do it right here in the United States of America," he said in a speech at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.
"The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens," Obama said and promised to put education reform at the top of his agenda in the process of overcoming the economic crisis.
Obama blasted the current system. "Despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we've let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short, and other nations outpace us," he said.
"Our children -- listen to this -- our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea -- every year. That's no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy," he said.
Obama also stressed the need to reward outstanding teachers and adopt world-class standards that will bring American curricula into the 21st century. He advocated charter schools as an effective means of promoting innovation by saying, "These are public schools founded by parents, teachers, and civic or community organizations with broad leeway to innovate -- schools I supported as a state legislator and a United States senator."
But he warned any expansion of charter schools "must not result in the spread of mediocrity but in the advancement of excellence. And that will require states adopting both a rigorous selection and review process to ensure that a charter school's autonomy is coupled with greater accountability."
Obama expressed a will to reform public education despite expected resistance from the American teachers' union, which supported him during the presidential election.
(englishnews@chosun.com ) |