Pressure

I love watching the Olympics. Probably one of my favorite things are the highlights placed on the other countries, seeing how their culture trains for such a worldwide event.

After reading this article, and hearing the comments from China's head men's gymnastics coach that he would accept nothing less than to go home with no less than five gold medals, I was reminded of the tough expectations this culture, and other Asian cultures put on their youngin's. It reminded me of an experience we had in Korea. While I don't think Korea is quite as extreme as China, it still is a country that sets many similar expectations on their youth - in fact, those chosen to play sports begin at an extremely young age and attend athletic schools to excel in that one area, just like China.

Since Mike and I attended a University during our stay (we both majored in business, so we pretty much took the same classes while we were there), we were able to experience first-hand the pressures the academic students are placed with. While I don't remember the class, it was something financial that required calculators and problem solving.

For our midterm, we were in a large auditorium and were told to sit in every other chair (it was a big class, so this was typical to a test you'd take in America). Then, the professor and TA passed out the exam (again, typical). After listening to the standard instructions of how long, that we could use a calculator, etc. we were told to begin the test (typical). Here's where it got interesting.

First, the professor walked out. Next, ALL TA's WALKED OUT. They completely left the ENTIRE auditorium empty except for the students and their tests. Then, we watched as all the Korean students started to pull out additional "notes" from their bags, move chairs to sit closer, and actually started talking during the test.

I remember glancing at Mike, to make sure he was seeing the same thing I was, and we just had this look of shock. Problem #1 was extremely complicated, and I remembered thinking that you'd have to cheat to even know how to answer it! Still thinking "American" we sat quietly and took our test how you'd take it in America. The time was up, most of the Korean students finished early (big surprise), and the professor NEVER came back to the room. Only one TA showed up at the end to collect the tests.

I remember walking my test up, feeling furious. When the test results came in, it was pretty obvious that most of the exchange students had scored the lowest on the test, compared to the Korean students (I say most, because some of the exchange students jumped on the bandwagon and caught some of the extra notes during the test).

We confronted the professor, and of course, he totally denied it. I even remember him making some comment about how much more studious the Korean students must have been. I then remember him (later) telling us not to worry, as we'd be sure to see a high grade by the end of the semester (which we did).

As the semester went on, we started to ask around and learned that (in general), this test experience was not a one time thing. This was a cultural problem instead. In short, the professors are expected to give really difficult tests to the students, who are then expected to pass them. Since there is SO much pressure for them to pass, there is this "loophole." The TAs provide some of the students with the "materials" they needed to pass the test, and are expected to share this information with those taking the test. The professors and TAs leave the room so they never witness anything happening, and therefore, can't punish any of the students. In America, this loophole is called cheating, and if you're caught doing it, I'm pretty sure Universities just give you the boot.

I do have to note that not ALL Koreans participated in this way. There were definitely some who stuck to their guns and didn't join in. And, not all of our tests were presented in this manner either - the professors who had actually taught in America followed very similar standards (i.e. they stayed in the same room). And, I do have to say that overall, Koreans were some of the MOST STUDIOUS people I've met. Everywhere you looked, at any time of day (weekend, week night) many of them spent hours and hours pouring over their textbook materials and memorizing all they could take in. So, by no means do I want to discredit those who were doing it the "right" way.

But, with there being such a cultural expectation to succeed, I have to think - what happens to them? And what happens if everyone expects you to become a top business professional, and you just don't get it?

What happens to these gymnasts who at age 7, they see really aren't that great? They are years behind all of the academic kids. Are they the ones making all of Max's toys?