Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon 3rd Term 1st Anniversary Press Conference
Transition to Innovative Future Education through '3-Stage Education Revolution'
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is preparing a career and college admission counseling program to reduce the burden of private education and is introducing an urban branch school model in response to the decline in student numbers. To strengthen English public education, native English-speaking teachers will also be additionally assigned to each school.
On the morning of the 6th, Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, held a "1st Anniversary Press Conference of the 3rd Term of the Superintendent" at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and unveiled a blueprint for transitioning to innovative future education through the "3-Stage Educational Revolution." Superintendent Cho emphasized that the innovative education efforts pursued so far will become richer through the realization of "high-quality public education" and "education of coexistence."
First, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to establish a comprehensive plan for the internationalization of Seoul education and announce it in the second half of the year. Starting with the additional placement of native English assistant teachers, it aims to improve the English learning environment and is discussing the development and utilization of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based English learning system. Along with this, as multicultural families increase, the office plans to support schools in areas with a high concentration of multicultural students to become global future schools. The intention is to enhance the bilingual capabilities of multicultural students through special classes, bilingual classrooms, AI and digital content.
Superintendent Cho said, "Native English assistant teachers have been assigned to 395 public elementary schools in Seoul, but 169 schools do not have them," adding, "This is because the administrative burden on schools is high. We will relocate the Global Language and Culture Education Center of the Student Education Institute, currently in Gyeonggi Province, to Seoul and assign native assistant teachers to all elementary schools."
Coexistence-type debate education, where students take turns exchanging positions on various social topics, will also be conducted. Through "Classrooms that Grow Thinking" in elementary schools and "Classrooms that Write Thinking" in middle and high schools, classroom innovation will be implemented to develop students' critical and creative thinking skills. Additionally, a foundation will be laid for a future-oriented school education system and teaching and evaluation system based on the Korean Baccalaureate (KB), an absolute evaluation system granting general admission qualifications to all national and public universities.
Furthermore, students will be nurtured as future knowledge producers by providing personalized learning using digital devices. The plan includes ▲ strengthening AI literacy diagnosis and support through the development of Seoul-type AI literacy diagnostic tools ▲ establishing Seoul-type AI ethics education to help students grow into mature digital citizens.
Student academic assessment will also be strengthened. Regarding the Ministry of Education's recommendation to participate as much as possible in voluntary evaluations for 3rd-grade elementary and 1st-grade middle school students, Superintendent Cho said, "We are considering participation up to the maximum extent within the scope of 'not a full survey or compulsion,'" adding, "Basic academic skills become apparent to teachers after about a month of teaching, but objective evidence is needed to persuade parents about their role at home, so I agree with thoroughly managing basic academic skills."
‘Ecological transition education’ for future survival will continue to be strengthened. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to establish a new school model that reduces carbon emissions and activate cross-curricular ecological transition education linked to the curriculum. Additionally, rural study abroad programs will be expanded to Gangwon Province in September, following Jeonnam and Jeonbuk, to broaden opportunities for students to cultivate ecological sensitivity.
In preparation for the elementary student population, which is expected to decrease by about 50%, an "urban branch school model" will also be introduced. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that it is planning new school models such as linking with office or residential buildings, mini schools, and campus-sharing integrated schools.
Additionally, the "Sen Jin-hak Mobile App," a career and college admission counseling program for students and parents, will be developed and distributed to reduce parents' private education expenses. The Sen Jin-hak Mobile App provides customized career and college admission services such as ▲ searching for universities students can apply to ▲ preparing for comprehensive student record screening ▲ career tests and one-on-one counseling. The previously separately operated Wee Centers and Special Education Support Centers will be integrated and operated in one place to provide customized integrated support for students, parents, and faculty.
Superintendent Cho said, "The 3-stage educational revolution requires the empathy and support of Seoul citizens and the educational community," adding, "We will achieve balance and harmony in innovative education through complementary innovation and devote ourselves to transitioning to innovative future education through the 3-stage educational revolution."
Regarding recent remarks by President Yoon Seok-yeol about killer questions on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), he said, "The CSAT should be based on the curriculum, and killer questions are tricks for differentiation. It is abnormal that private education expands and influences national education policy," adding, "However, if the government handles it like an investigation, like dealing with a crime, or like a whack-a-mole game, side effects may arise in 3 to 4 months," and "I hope the ruling and opposition parties agree that the problem of the entrance exam system cannot be solved by excluding a few killer questions and discuss more fundamental measures."
Meanwhile, to commemorate the 1st anniversary of Superintendent Cho’s 3rd term, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will hold events to share and communicate the direction of Seoul’s future education. On the 7th and 12th, lectures and discussions by notable figures will be held under the theme "The Future of Seoul Education, Asking the Change Makers," and on the 18th, a "Future Education Thought Sharing Meeting" will be held where about 80 Seoul students will engage in dialogue with the superintendent.
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