On the 4th, the 49th memorial day for the teachers of Seoi Elementary School, over 4,000 current and former teachers from Gwangju and Jeonnam regions urged for "a thorough investigation into the deaths of Seoi Elementary School teachers and measures to protect teachers' rights" and "the Ministry of Education to withdraw disciplinary actions against schools on leave."
On the afternoon of the 4th, the 'September 4th Public Education Stop Day - Seoicho Teacher Memorial Rally' was held at the 5·18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, with about 4,000 teachers from the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions attending. [Photo by Min Hyun-gi]
On the afternoon of the 4th, a "September 4th Public Education Stop Day - Seoi Elementary School Teachers Memorial and Teachers' Rights Protection Rally" was held at the 5·18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.
Teachers and citizens attending the rally wore black clothes to commemorate the 49th memorial of the Seoi Elementary School teachers.
The event began with a moment of silent prayer, followed by watching the video "Who is the Guilty?" produced by the Chungnam education community. Then, a 13-year veteran teacher, parents, the president of Gwangju National University of Education, principals, and the president of the Gwangju National University of Education Student Council took the podium to call for amendments to the Child Abuse Act and the establishment of systems to restore teachers' rights.
A current teacher who spoke at the podium said, "On September 1, 2011, I was assigned as the homeroom teacher for the second grade. At that time, the vice principal explained that there was a student showing giftedness in the class, but I only realized that the student was a friend who had difficulty controlling anger and showed violent behavior after encountering moments when he made a gesture of slashing a friend's neck with a knife and hit me, the teacher, with a broom." The teacher added, "The previous homeroom teacher had no choice but to take a sudden leave because of that student, and as a new teacher, I endured each day just to get through it safely."
He continued, "I am now in my third year as the head of student affairs, but the situation at the school has worsened compared to then," and urged, "To resolve this, a step-by-step system tailored to students who disrupt class must be established, and methods to protect teachers from malicious complaints should be devised."
A parent representative from an elementary school in Buk-gu, Gwangju, said, "Today is not a day to stop public education but a day to restore it," adding, "There should be no superior or subordinate in education, and for that, I must first reflect on whether I am a parent with basic common sense, consideration, manners, and morality."
Park Yu-kyung, president of the Gwangju National University of Education Student Council, also took the podium and said, "For seven weeks, teachers nationwide have gathered every weekend demanding legal amendments, but even on the 49th memorial day of the Seoi Elementary School teacher, the government has neither conducted a proper investigation nor prepared adequate measures," emphasizing, "The Ministry of Education and the government must listen to the cries from the field."
Meanwhile, on this Public Education Stop Day, seven elementary schools in the Gwangju area participated in the leave, with 33 taking annual leave and 965 taking sick leave. In the Jeonnam region, there was no participation in the leave, but 65 took annual leave and 1,345 took sick leave.
On the afternoon of the 4th, the 'September 4th Public Education Stop Day - Seoicho Teacher Memorial Rally' was held at the 5·18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, with about 4,000 teachers from the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions attending. [Photo by Min Hyun-gi]
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