RESPONSE ESSAY BASED ON THE TEXT: THE 4 MILLION DOLLAR TEACHER,

Task: How can the problems in the public education system that has led to the existence of a shadow education system be fixed? Start your essay with a brief summary of the text.

Shadow educational establishments are a global phenomenon. In most countries around the world, there is an educational market that offers private tutoring in all areas for a fee. In some countries like South Korea, this market is so big that some private tutoring academies are among the biggest corporations and some of their teachers are among the richest people in the country.

Unfortunately, this system creates terrible inequalities because the children from the most affluent families have access to the best tutors. Sending their children to these academies is a financial burden on most  parents who have to allocate money from the family budget and may even have to look for ways to make extra money. Students also pay a price because they have to spend their weekends and/ or afternoons studying at a second school. This means they have no time to relax, have fun and socialize. Teachers at these institutions also pay a price as they work longer hours and make less than public school teachers. They don’t have benefits like healthcare or paid holidays.

The reason why the shadow education system exists is simple: the poor quality of public education. Unfortunately, public school teachers lack the creativity, enthusiasm and commitment to student success like the teachers in the shadow education system. Serious measures have to be taken to improve the quality of education in public schools to avoid these negative effects. There are many things public schools can learn from shadow education establishments to improve their quality of instruction. Regular contact with parents in the form of emails, text messages, phone calls and face to face meetings is vital for a cooperation between schools and parents.  It is a act that the education of a child is a team effort and requires the cooperation of the family and teachers. Public schools, like shadow education schools, shuld carry out routine performance reviews. They should do surveys to measure student and parent saticfaction. This way, problems with motivation, dissatisfaction and ineffective teaching can be solved before they get too big. This will mean  more effective and positive learning for all students.

It is also important to improve the quality of public school teachers. Firstly, their salaries should be increased to attract more ambitious and idealistic students to Education Faculties. Secondly, these faculties should only accept top the highschool graduates of the country. Great minds make the best teachers. Public school teachers’ salaries should be fixed to their performance. Teachers whose students do better in creative thinking skills should get higher salaries. Student satisfaction should also affect their pay. All of these policies will mean teachers improve their teaching skills to get financial rewards.

Education of the young generation must be the most important issue for any country. Development, innovation and success are only possible with young people realizing their potential and being prepared for the challanges in life. A good education must be every young person’s right and not only offered to the rich. For this reason, public schools must give a high quality education. This is the only thing we need for a bright future! Hence there will be no need for a shadow education system that is a burden on its teachers, students and parents.

EBRU McCullum