Reporter Andrew Salmon has a tyke at International Christian School (ICS), and writes the Korea Times today concerning the controversy around the school. Despite the fact that he’s British, he is not spitting mad over the selection of ICS to operate the Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS). And he invites parents to give the school a chance:
Don’t Write Off ICS Just Yet
By Andrew Salmon
Two weeks ago my six-year-old daughter received a postcard. The postcard had sea lions on it — creatures my daughter, Hannah, has a fondness for — came from Canada and asked whether she was enjoying her summer vacation with her grandparents. There is nothing especially unusual in this except, perhaps, the fact that the card was not from a friend or family member, but from her kindergarten teacher.
I write the above to illustrate, in a small way, the kindness of the teachers at the school my daughter attends. Ironically, that school, the International Christian School, or ICS, is — if the correspondence columns of the Korea Times are any indication — the most vilified educational institution on the peninsula at present.
As most readers will be aware, ICS was recently chosen by the Korea Foreign Schools Foundation to occupy and operate the multi-million-dollar Itaewon campus which Korean government bodies have generously prepared for the foreign community here. That there were controversies surrounding the selection process, I do not dispute, but, as I can claim no knowledge of these, will not address them.
Instead, what I do hope to do is deflect some of the rage expatriates, furious at the process, are aiming — wholly unfairly — at the school.
I also hope to gently reassure those members of the community who appear to regard ICS as a huckster educational institution, a thinly disguised training ground for the priesthood — or even a hotbed of American conservatism. In doing this, I can boast a small advantage over those doing the vilifying: I have direct experience of the school.
So: What to say about ICS?
Firstly, its teachers — predominantly young, and exclusively dedicated and enthusiastic — are top-notch. I challenge anyone who has met them to rate them behind their peers in competing schools. Their pedagogic excellence is seen in the fact that ICS students’ SAT scores in 2005 were 1,224, compared to a U.S. national average of 1,028.
There’s more. ICS has in recent years had a 100 percent university admission rate: John Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Cornell, Stanford Germany’s Goethe University and the Czech Republic’s Charles University are just some colleges ICS alumni have entered. And contrary to rumors circulating in some expatriate circles, the high school qualifications ICS provides — the AP International Diploma — is accepted by some 400 universities in 27 nations outside the United States.
That’s the academic side — but a more critical consideration for this parent was the school’s attitude toward the children in its care. Hannah entered ICS early this year against a backdrop of family tragedy.
I was deeply concerned that the stress of entering a new school would add to the already formidable emotional burden she was forced to shoulder. It did not. In fact, the opposite occurred. She was welcomed with such care and warmth by staff, parents and classmates that today, she is as cheerful as any six-year-old.
Then there is the dreaded forword. Let me state my position here: While nominally Christian, I have not attended a church service for over 20 years, so was a touch concerned: Would ICS transform my little girl into a bible-thumping, fire-spitting religious fanatic?
No. I have had no issues with the Christian teachings that ICS inculcates as part of its moral education. Nor do the parents of the many students of non-Christian faiths who attend ICS — the school is inclusive, not exclusive. Given this, I am puzzled at the attack of the vapors that appears to have struck down some Seoul-based Western Europeans — and as an Englishman I am a bona fide European myself — over this issue. Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists can happily accept the education ICS provides, but Western Europeans cannot.
Even so, the Christian aspect of the school will soon be moot: From next year, it will be starting a parallel secular program. Some have questioned whether ICS is up to the job. Where is the evidence? OK: The ICS parent organization has been granted U.S. government funding to run a secular international school in Kabul, Afghanistan — a true hotbed of religious tension.
Finally, let me reassure the German reader who (while admitting he was not directly affected by the school drama) alleged ICS’s strong ideological bias and warned, in horrified terms, of its conservative approach. Sir, you may emerge safely from under the bedclothes: No political indoctrination is underway at ICS.
To finish, I implore the expatriate population not to let their indignation at the selection process prejudice them against a fine institution. The community needs more international schools. Should they take the trouble to investigate ICS — soon to be the Yongsan International School of Seoul — I think even naysayers will be pleasantly surprised at the educational environment they discover.
Andrew Salmon is an author and freelance journalist who covers Korea for The Times, The Washington Times and The South China Morning Post.
ICS opens at the Yongsan International School campus on August 17, 2006. In the first week of August entering students and their families are invited to tour the school and see the new facilities. Since the Yongsan International School campus is located directly on the Seoul Metro Line 6 (Orange Line through Itaewon)’s Hangangjin Station, transportation should be very convenient. Once school’s in session, drop on by and take a look around!
14 Comments
Off topic but I would humbly suggest that, if you going to blockquote an entire article, you place it under the post continuation.
On topic, I will certainly consider placing my kid in YISS in the unlikely event I am still in Korea when she reaches school age in a few years.
Brendon:
As you know from your exchange with the itinerant physicist coming to Snooze this fall with children in tow, parents whose children aren’t already enrolled at ICS can’t give it a chance. That’s because the mishandling of the appointment process has resulted in too little time to plan for and provide for enough resources and teachers to handle more than ICS’ existing enrollment. This wouldn’t have happened if the Korean-controlled Foundation had acted responsibly and honestly. That’s the issue, not whether or not ICS is a decent school.
Why did the Korean-controlled Foundation so abruptly choose ICS? Is the Foundation influenced by Christian members?
I ask in all ignorance. I’ve only read a bit in the papers and haven’t seen any analysis of the reason for this abrupt decision.
(And I hope that I can check here for replies while I’m vacationing on Ulleungdo this week…)
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Jeffrey:
Here’s your homework: http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/.....gn-school/
Interesting, the good Mr. Salmon does not compare schools within the same market. We all know the public schools in the United States are non-starters and certainly apples to our oranges. If I wanted to be jerked-off, I could think of more fertile candidates than Mr. Salmon. We could start to compare Hagwons to Seoul National University if you like. Mr. Carr, I applaud you tenacity on this subject and you do have my respect, but I see that objectivity has all but disappeared from the show.
But they are Christians!!…..
It’s understandable that many people would have preferred a secular, European alternative to SFS, but Brendon and others are right to point out that ICS has other qualities that compensate for (and are arguably more important than) their non-secular non-European-ness: Not only are their academic standards comparable to SFS (as documented by Brendon in a previous post), but they manage to create a supportive environment in which all their kids can flourish (something that SFS has apparently not been entirely successful in - see, e.g., here). And their fees are considerably lower than SFS and most other international schools here, which means a lot to those of us who aren’t millionaires.
But as for the process itself, I agree (unsurprisingly) with Sperwer that things have been less than great. Whatever the reasons behind the ditching of BISS and choice of ICS might have been, there doesn’t seem to have been much openness, consultancy, and consensus-seeking going on. And besides that, the shortcomings of the process have had dire consequences for some of us unworldly enough to trust that what was written in press releases and newspaper articles would come to pass. We were led to believe that in fall 2006 a new K-12 international school with capacity for 1000 students would be opening in Yongsan, and based our plans around this. This did not happen; instead, all that happened in the end was that ICS relocated to Yongsan. ICS is not to blame for this situation, but still it’s a bit disappointing imo that they are apparently unwilling to show sympathy and flexibility to people who have been misled in this process. Probably there aren’t that many of us, and it wouldn’t kill ICS to expand their class sizes by a few places to accommodate us until they are able to hire more teachers next year.
(To avoid being a hijacker, I’ll try to resist making further complaints about my own situation in this thread. Btw, for the record, I’m the same guy that commented under the name “David” in the other thread. But “itinerant physicist” sums me up much better - thanks Sperwer!)
usinkorea, You get it.
Except that he’s mocking you.
And I should have added, “And Americans to boot!!!”
Anyone else tired of Europeans who a.) are arrogant and think they are superior and b.) think that anything that comes out of the US is crap? Mr Salmon’s piece is a refreshing change.
I too was concerned about a ‘Christian School’ until I learned that they do not shove religion down the throats of the students. In fact, it is my understanding that ICS has campuses in places like Saudi Arabia for example.
@ Railwaycharm “We could start to compare Hagwons to Seoul National University if you like.”
Right, it would be unfair to put SNU down like that, seeing that Korean kids actually learn about 90% of what they know in hagwons.
“Anyone else tired of Europeans who a.) are arrogant and think they are superior”
Pots. Kettles.
Don’t worry. We are learning to hate Christians here in the US too. (With the hate being the Starbucks capachino variety) Give us time….
They may have schools in out of the way places but they are all Christian. Anyway, the issue won’t go away until ICS can prove they are more than a match for competing international schools in Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo etc and that they do not rely on Hagwons to support them. The cost, by the way, is bound to rise when they start to recruit a secular staff.