School trip debate highlights pressures of dealing with parental complaints

““You shouldn’t throw out the whole fermentation jar just because you’re afraid it might attract maggots.” The Korean proverb, similar in meaning to the Western idiom “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” was invoked by President Lee Jae Myung during a Cabinet meeting as he addressed the decline of field trips and multiday school trips across Korea. His comments added to a growing public debate over why schools and teachers are scaling back educational trips, with many educators citing the burden of parental complaints — sometimes over the smallest details. Lee’s comments helped fuel discussion about restoring a wider range of school trips. He suggested subsidizing the cost of additional safety personnel if teachers feel too burdened by the responsibility of supervising students. The Ministry of Education has said it is coordinating with the Ministry of Justice on legal revisions that would strengthen protections for teachers when safety accidents occur. But teachers on the front lines remain concerned. They say stronger safety measures and reduced legal burdens

Summary generated from the RSS feed of Korea Times Southkorea. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.koreatimes.co.kr.