Debate Continues Over ‘Teachers’ Day’

While there has been a controversy over the Teachers’ Day every year, most elementary-middle-high schools in Seoul will likely have Teachers’ day, May 15, day off this year.

The Seoul Elementary Middle High School Principal Council said yesterday, “Teachers’ day has more bad side effects in that it has not been a reward for educators’ labor and service, but seemingly for offering presents or greeting fees. We decided to allow schools to either have a day off or not at Teachers’ day in the this year’s syllabus planning session in February at their discretion.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, “There would be no problem with having Teachers’ day off, since vacations and holidays can be adjusted within 10 percent from 220 yearly school days at the discretion of principals based on the Elementary Middle High School Education Act.”

Accordingly, although some schools had made Teachers’ day a holiday until last year, this year will see Teachers’ day a holiday for most schools in Seoul.

The Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations recommended through an official letter to every school principal, Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, and every metropolitan and provincial office of education last year that Teachers’ day be an optional day off. Recently, it has continuously been requested that Teachers’ day be a holiday or that Teachers’ day be moved to February, when school semesters end.

According to the Korean Elementary Middle High School Principal Council research on 344 elementary-middle-high schools, 58 percent of the schools answered that “it would be better to abolish the teachers’ day.”

Bae Jong-hak, chairman of Korean Elementary School Principal Council, said, “You can imagine that we could not help but make Teachers’ day a holiday. It is frustrating that teachers are being disgraced rather than encouraged.”

Parents’ Association for Genuine Education official Jang Eun-sook said, “We have to think over again whether the Teachers’ day established in praise of teachers’ goodness should be a holiday just to prevent the giving and receiving of greeting fees. We all have to create a social atmosphere where teachers are respected, but teachers should also endeavor to keep themselves incorruptible.”

ceric@donga.com