Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, visited Byrne Creek Community School in Burnaby, Canada on the 7th (local time) to review the direction of Gyeonggi education, including closing the educational gap.
This school has parents and local experts voluntarily come to the school before classes in the morning, after school, or on holidays to teach students subjects such as language, leadership, art, robotics, and basketball.
The reason this school operates such community programs outside the regular curriculum is because the local residents speak over 110 different languages, and due to various environments and conditions, there is an educational gap among students.
Ben Pae, principal of Byrne Creek Community School, stated, "The goal is to utilize the capabilities and strengths of the community to close the educational gap and nurture individuals into talents needed by society."
He added, "Community programs can be flexibly changed at any time according to the opinions of teachers and the field, and anyone in the community, including students, parents, and residents, can participate as learners."
Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education Lim Tae-hee (left) is presenting a gift to Burnaby Superintendent Karim Haklaf on the 7th (local time). Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education
Superintendent Lim Tae-hee explained, "Although 70% of the students at this school do not have English as their mother tongue, they were able to adapt to the community and school with the help of community programs," adding, "It is a model worth referring to for multicultural education in Gyeonggi Province."
Through this visit to the Canadian school, Superintendent Lim Tae-hee found the formula for closing the educational gap to be ‘Diversity + Flexibility = Autonomy.’
Superintendent Lim Tae-hee emphasized, "What Gyeonggi Province, which has environments ranging from advanced cities to rural and fishing villages, needs to consider is ‘what system we should establish so that each student can acquire the necessary competencies,’" and added, "The answer lies with the teachers, that is, the field."
On this day, Superintendent Lim Tae-hee referred to Chapter 48 of Laozi’s Tao Te Ching, ‘Wu Wei Er Wu Bu Wei (無爲而無不爲),’ saying, "(The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education) should focus on presenting a vision and establishing systems and conditions so that work can proceed smoothly without micromanagement," and added, "The role of the education office is to solve difficult problems that arise while efforts are made in the field to close the educational gap."
Wu Wei Er Wu Bu Wei (無爲而無不爲) is a concept derived from Chapter 37 of Laozi’s Tao Te Ching, meaning "By doing nothing, nothing is left undone."
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