Intense Social Pressure

The following is an excerpt from a local newspaper:

An overly competitive attitude in Korean society and the stigma attached to those with poor academic records goes a long way toward explaining why students risked so much to cheat on a College Scholastic Ability Test. "Nobody wants to be your friend unless you get A's," said one high school student. Another mentioned that he did not want to "dissapoint his parents by bringing home poor test results." Educators said students are keenly aware of the importance accorded to academic rankings in Korean society. Students know that once they lose in a game, there is no second chance; they know that mockery awaits those who fail. Students end up persuading themselves that they have to win, even if it requires cheating. "A twisted social understanding that only the gullible follow the rules has spread widely among the young." A 25 year old student attending Seoul National University said that the walls and desks are covered with scribbled notes students use to crib on tests. "I don't think that some are aware that cheating is wrong." he added. Police said that students found cheating were upset simply because they were caught doing something that everyone does, they don't realize the gravity of their situation. The punnishemt of the students is, as yet, undecided.

This is something we see every day at Wonderland. The students are placed in the classes not according to ability, but age. There are about 6 different levels of ability in each class, so half of the kids really can't keep up. As it has been explained to us, the students cheat to "save face." You can explain things until you are blue in the face, but they still may never get it and really don't want to try. We have to keep reminding ourselves that they are not acting this way because they hate us, they have already been at school for 6 - 8 hours and they have more studying to do after we are finished with them. This is a really hard, long day for 8 -13 year old kids. (The day is even longer for the middle school kids)

One of the funniest instances of cheating I have encountered so far was in kindergarten (yes, it starts at such a young age). I watched a girl cheat off another for the entire lesson. She saw nothing wrong with this and was quite proud when she finished and couldn't wait to show me her work. When a third girl was cheating off the one who already cheated there was great offense taken by the first cheater and she promplty covered her paper so the cheating would stop. I guess it is OK for some, but not for others.

I am glad to say that not all kids are like this. Some take great pride in their work. These are usually the kids that "get it" and it doesn't take too much effort for them to finish the assignments. This class is doing a word search puzzle - no cheaters here!