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1
24
S. Korea Finland
Debate Score:25
Arguments:16
Total Votes:25
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 S. Korea (1)
 
 Finland (15)

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Apollo(1608) pic



Which education model is better: Korea or Scandinavia?

Two completely different educational approaches have proven very effective for two countries across the globe from each other:

Which is better?

South Korea:

 

 

       OR

 

Finland:

 

 

--Apollo

 

S. Korea

Side Score: 1
VS.

Finland

Side Score: 24
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2 points

Although both systems are very effective, I would have to saw that Finland's is more appealing. The culture that pedestals career success in SK, and the rest of Asia, has begun to spiral out of control, with increasing cases of kids suffering severe stress-related health problems. In contrast, Finland approaches education as more a stimulant than a tool - encouraging minds to find a fulfillment in learning, which ultimately creates a well-rounded generation.

Side: Finland
2 points

Whoa, whoa, whoa hold the phone...

You mean they pay teachers living wages, let them have unions, and generally respect them as professionals?

Wow, that must be a real communist nighmare full of poverty and stupid kids and everyone's standing in line for bread...

What's that? In Finland... Yeah one of the highest living standards... less crime... les poverty... lower birth death rate... longer and healthier lifespan...

Fucking shit, don't tell Americans our heads will explode ><

Side: Finland
2 points

You made my day. Republicans in all their pompous self-reightousnes never get around to looking at the facts, do they? (There is indeed a partisan hack inside me ;) )

Side: NOT the US
1 point

I'm on this side just because I believe I'd prefer going to school here. lol

But did you notice something similar for both? The teachers are treated highly.

I honestly think if teachers are treated better than the students are better.

They both have appeal in other aspects of course, but this seems really important to me.

Side: It's the teachers
3 points

As a % of GDP, S. Korea pays teachers over % times more than American teachers...

Side: Finland
Apollo(1608) Disputed
1 point

I meant "5 times more"

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Side: Finland
1 point

I say Finland, however only because American kids would NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS have as strong of a drive and desire for a better future as Asians. We are lazy beyond belief (as a whole). It would be impossible to implement Korean educational system here--you would just get more failing kids.

The Finnish system on the other hand would probably be taken advantage of. Less work=more YouTube, not the pathway to creativity it is in Finland.

Either way, I am very pessimistic about America's educational future.

Side: Finland
raptor22(106) Disputed
1 point

First off, even the "Asians" can't take the level of education they are taking, South Korea kids are among the highest suicidal rates because of the extreme levels they are forced to meet. Now there are states that have education standards equal to or better then that of South Korea and Finland, and these states are; Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado and California. Now, as you begin to dig deeper into the American Education system, you will begin to see that the poor standard of education is because of the diversity in which engulfed the American populace, South Korea and Finland are small and largely the same group of people, extremely different then the United States. Anyway, if you find the test scores of the White, Asian and Jewish American child, you would most likely be shocked to find out that these Americans would rank on top of the world in education.

So why is America rated so poorly in the world wide Education?

Unfortunately, it is the immigrants and minorities (Black and Latino) that really bring down the American Standard, and now that they are such a part of the American society, they are affecting the image. These groups usually score the average of their home country. Lets use Columbia for example, one of the worst educational countries, and with a large group of Americans coming from here, thats a lot of people who don't care about school. Thats the problem, people from these countries don't see school as a necessity, because it never was, this is an awful stereotype, but it is sadly true, as the scores show. This is showed at the university level, where America is far superior to that of any other country. It wouldn't make sense for American universities to remain the best with bad schools, they remain the best because it can pick out the students that really know the importance of education, and are willing to work hard at it.

Side: S. Korea

I live in Singapore and our education system here is very much like the system in South Korea. When I read the reasons why my fellow debaters from the USA feel that the Finnish education system is better, I'm sorry to say that they do not fully grasp the gravity of the issue.

In Singapore, much like in South Korea, the pressure faced by the students is so immense that it is not unlike students to contemplate suicide even in the early or mid teens, let alone at the university level (see link for recent case of university suicide in South Korea). Like in South Korea, Singapore, a year or two back, was also faced with suicides at one of the three universities. To give you an idea of the education system in both countries, here's a brief timeline:

1. It is quite common for kids to be interviewed to get into kindergarten. It is also a common sight to see parents queuing up outside of kindergartens for hours to even days on end to get their kids into the right kindergarten.

2. To get into the "top" primary schools in Singapore, parents face a variety of criterion that gives them an (unfair?) advantage over others such as whether or not the parents are alumnus of the school, the proximity of their homes from the school and even the grades in kindergarten. Furthermore, if there is an overwhelming number of applications, schools would pick and choose students by balloting. I don't know about you, but I ask you, should kids be treated as mere statistics? Or should we leave education to chance?

Furthermore, the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) have now become so difficult that, in one of the years, they asked a question based on the concept of center of gravity. This is primary school examinations we're talking about, mind you.

3. To get into secondary school, you're further streamed into "Normal", "Express" and "Special" streams. The "Normal" stream is for the lower band of students, who would then go through 5 years of secondary school education, taking the Cambridge GCE Normal Level exams at the end of the 4th year and if they pass that, they will take the Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level exams in the following year. In the "Express" and "Special" streams, they take the GCE Ordinary Level ('O'-Level) after 4 years of study. These exams are regulated also by the Singapore exams board, which makes the exams more difficult on purpose. Furthermore, the bell curve is drawn based on results such that it is literally very difficult for you to do well.

4. If they do well for the GCE 'O'-Levels, they move on into the Junior College (JC) level (the route I took). At the JC level, students study for 2 or 3 years (if they fail to promote at the end of the first year) for the GCE Advanced Level ('A'-Level) exams. These exams are exponentially more difficult than the 'O'-Levels such that a significant proportion either do not promote even in the first JC year or can't get into a university. In some JCs, the failure rate after the first year is such that 1 out of every 6 to 8 students fail to promote every year. At the 'A'-Level exams, the competition is much fiercer. To put things into perspective, the chances of getting into med school in Singapore's university is virtually 0 even if you score straight As at the 'A'-Level exams. Furthermore, in Singapore, university application is based solely on academic achievements, unlike in the US or UK where personal statements are taken into account.

If they don't do well at the 'O'-Levels, they go to the polytechnics. The difference is that in Singapore, with a polytechnic diploma, it is virtually impossible to get into any university.

Finally, throughout the entire education system, while the government schools' fees are cheap (~USD10/month), private schools cost well above USD300/month, making it exclusive only to the wealthy. And I'm talking about secondary schools' fees here, not even the JCs. The polytechnics' fees are about USD2500. Furthermore, because teachers are paid such low salaries, most of the better educated, more talented teachers quit the public teaching service and provide private tuition. In Singapore, private tuition costs as much as between USD50 to 100 per hour, again making it exclusive to middle class or wealthy families. In other words, the poor either have to be extraordinarily hardworking or intelligent to even get into university.

The competition here is so stiff that I believe any student wishing to get into the university course of their choice will not hesitate to agree with me that such an education system is emotionally detrimental to children. Now, you might say that the model in S. Korea is different from that in Singapore. But believe me when I say that it is the same or even worse in S. Korea. Thus, I do not hesitate to say that the education model in Finland is better.

Supporting Evidence: Elite South Korean University Rattled by Suicides (www.nytimes.com)
Side: Finland
2 points

Meanwhile in America...

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...
Side: Finland
2 points

Whoa. There's this statistic I once heard: "One in five American adults believe the Sun orbits the Earth", which I thought was fabricated. But now I'm not so sure.

Side: Finland

Ah well. To each his own. Every country has their idiots...

Side: Finland
1 point

Holy shit America is fucked.

Fire that teacher immediately. Take all of those kids away from their parents and put them in orphanages.

Side: Finland