I don't mean to undermine the overall vector of this discussion, which  
is the way educators are revered in other cultures, as I think this is  
largely true. However, I know several people  who have taught in  
Korea, who were repeatedly overwhelmed with gifts (a large fish with  
money inside the belly, for example) to learn that these were not just  
gifts but often bribes for a particular grade. Friends of ours from  
other countries have also indicated that similar practices are regular  
in their countries, that bribery of teachers is a common practice done  
through gifts at grade time. I don't mean to sour our interpretation  
of every act of reverence, but I do think it's healthy to avoid  
exoticizing cultural practices, however noble, without recognizing the  
human elements we share upon examination.

Brett
On Jun 3, 2008, at 9:55 AM, Holly Dilatush wrote:


> addendum to the below just-posted message...

>

> When I taught in Korea, I was bewildered by all of the last-day-of- 

> class gifts from students (in English Conversation/Writing  

> classes?).  The palpable daily honors and respect were certainly  

> different experiences than in the general American culture  

> experiences I've had.

>

> The honor certainly goes to the profesors; professors are taken to  

> dinner, not the graduates.  The family budget reveres the  

> professors, not the graduate.  Many a senior there in Korea would  

> ask me if it was really true that in the USA many students get cash,  

> lots of it, at graduation????

>

> Of course, on the other side of the coin, many many many more Korean  

> families PAY 'all' for their children's education -- and would not  

> dream of asking their children to work until after graduation.   

> Education is first.  period.  Education is honored.  Gloriously.

>

> [the perceived need in the US for promoting 'lifelong learning' is  

> an odd practice indeed, in the eyes of many Asian students I have  

> conversations with...]

> Holly

>

> On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 9:47 AM, Holly Dilatush <holly at dilatush.com>  

> wrote:

> Hello all,

>

> When I began reading the below copied post, I knew what was  

> coming!!!  I learned this same lesson in a different way:  Years  

> ago, I befriended a Korean classmate (at univ).  After three years  

> of friendship, she was graduating -- and her (American) boyfriend  

> and I wanted to throw her a "Shhhhhh!  surprise graduation party" --  

> at a nature center -- with favorite professors and a few friends and  

> flowers and poetry and lots of her favorite colors in the  

> decorations -- all things she loved.  Well, she WAS surprised!!!   

> Was she ever....

> She cried and cried and cried.... and looked so bewildered.   I knew  

> she'd had financial struggles, as the money sent from home was  

> barely enough to get her through, she'd been working part time,  

> etc...  Later, the boyfriend and I learned that going through her  

> mind was the reality (reality) that she was now obligated to return  

> gifts of equal value or more to each of us.... and the fact that  

> we'd invited professors (who are revered in Korea) compounded the  

> horror.

>

> We spent hours and hours trying to convince her that this was a gift  

> of love from us -- not of horror -- and that American culture and  

> our intent were oh, so different from her initial interpretation.

>

> Now, she's married the boyfriend and has been in the US nearly 20  

> years, so we can finally laugh about it.  But we were all devastated  

> when it happened.

> Holly

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Diversity and Literacy mailing list

> Diversity at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/diversity


Brett Griffiths
bgriff at umich.edu or b.griffiths at comcast.net
Doctoral student,
Joint Program of English and Education, U of Michigan


  Man is torn away from his primary union with nature, which  
characterizes animal existence. Having at the same time reason and  
imagination, he is aware of his aloneness and separateness; of his  
powerlessness and ignorance; of the accidentalness of his birth and  
death. He could not face this state of being for a second if he could  
not find new ties with his fellow man which replace the old ones  
regulated by instincts. Even if all his physiological needs were  
satisfied, he would experience his state of aloneness and  
individuation as a prison from which he had to break in order to  
preserve his sanity. (...) the necessity to unite with other living  
beings, to be related to them, is an imperative need on the fulfilment  
of which man's sanity depends. This need is behind all phenomena which  
constitute the whole gamut of intimate human relations, of all  
passions which are called love in the broadest sense of the word
Erich Fromm, The Sane Society






-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/diversity/attachments/20080603/7105ffaa/attachment.html