Starting School in Fall

#. Starting School in Fall

 

Normally, the school year in Korea begins in March.

But this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the beginning date was postponed.

This has led to some Koreans suggesting a drastic change.

They have requested the government to permanently move the start of the school year from spring to fall.

That way, the school year would start from September and end just before summer vacation in July of the following year.

This is not the first time for such a request to be made.

For many years, some Koreans have said that it made more sense to start the school year right after summer.

It would allow students to recharge during summer vacation and be fully prepared for the new school year.

Then, the students would be better able to focus on their studies when they start their new grade in September.

Also, these people point out that countries in the Northern Hemisphere, including most OECD member nations, begin the school year in autumn.

So, they say Korea should adjust its school year to align with these nations.

This would make it easier for Korean students to make the transition when studying abroad or pursue academic exchanges with students and professors residing overseas.

However, there are many Koreans who want school to continue starting in spring.

They say that it makes more sense for each grade to take place within one calendar year.

It also allows the students born in the same year to be in the same grade, which is important in Korean culture.

Furthermore, these naysayers point out that the current school year system has been in place for many decades.

Therefore, it would take an immense amount of money and energy to completely transform the way schools and standardized tests are run.

They argue that this is not worth doing especially since there is no fundamental problem with having school begin in spring.

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drastic |dræstɪk 과감한, 극단적인, 급격한

permanently pə́:rmənəntli 영구히, (영구) 불변으로 permanent |pɜːrmənənt 영구[영속]적인 (↔impermanent, temporary)

make more sense 이치에 맞다 make sense 의미가 통하다[이해가 되다],타당하다, 이해[설명]하기 쉽다

hemisphere |hemɪsfɪr (지구의) 반구

make the transition 전환하다

pursue pərˈsuː 추구하다 , 계속하다 , 뒤쫓다[추적하다]

naysayer sèiər (습관적인) 반대[회의, 비관]론자

in place 제자리에 (있는), …을 위한 준비가 되어 있는 , 가동 중인, 가동할 준비가 되어 있는

fundamental ˌfʌndəˈmentl 근본[본질]적인 (=basic) 핵심적인, 필수적인 (=essential)