Corporal punishment is still alive and well in the Korean education system. At the boys' school where I worked, most of the teachers carried wooden dowels. These were used to startle the kids, to get their attention, and, of course, to strike them with as much force as they saw fit. Needless to say, the students usually took their beatings honourably with a brave face.
In conversation, I tried articulating to some of these teachers the argument against corporal punishment, but with little success. So I asked them to at least refrain from hitting the kids when I was in class with them, and to allow me to manage student discipline myself. When students acted out during my lessons, I had them go stand at the back of the room and meet me afterward during their break. The boys would cower, anticipating a blow, but instead I dragged them to the teachers' office and had them complete their task there.
There was, however, one teacher who did not comply with my request not to hit the students. On top of that, he didn't carry a regular wooden dowel but a three-foot-long riding crop (a horse whip). And he used it a lot. One day, as I was standing at the podium speaking to the class, he walked up behind one boy (who happened to be the class captain) and whacked him over the shoulder. This attracted the attention of the class, and drew vocal opposition from the student, resulting in a second crack. The boy stood up and engaged in an emotional shouting match with his teacher. Teacher pointed to the door. Student pounded his fist against the wall, stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind him.
I somehow managed to get through the rest of the lesson, but felt terrible about the incident, and decided that I had to do something. Later that day, I went back to that class and pulled that student out into the hallway. I told him that I was sorry, that his teacher should not have hit him like that, that I think it's wrong to hit students like that. As I spoke, his head slowly went down in a kind of bow and his eyes started to well up. He understood what I was saying and it clearly meant a lot to him. I offered him my hand and he shook it. Then I went outside for some air.
See? I'm not pure evil. It turns out, in fact, that some of my greatest moments may have been apologies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGVSTsgcCvw
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