PECK
CHO MEETS WITH KOREAN PRESIDENT
Peck Cho's longtime efforts to improve education in South Korea landed
him a surprise invitation. During his last visit, he had a private luncheon
meeting with Korean president Roh Moo-hyun.
"I told him there were a lot of things that needed to be changed, and that
the government had to reform first," said Cho, a professor in the MEEM
department.
Cho has become a celebrity of sorts in his native Korea, particularly within
the academic community, for his energetic efforts to reform the country's rigid
educational system. The book he coauthored with his wife, "Seven Reasons
for Korean Revival: Educational Reform," garnered him appearances on
Korean radio and television talk shows, and in 2002 he became the youngest
person ever to be inducted into the Korean National Academy of Engineering.
"I built my reputation in Korea, where I'm known as a professor who
teaches professors," Cho said. His weekly email newsletter goes to 7,000
faculty members in Korea. He has also paid countless visits to Korean
universities, giving seminars on teaching techniques and principles.
Cho is a firm believer in the precept that good teaching isn't just a gift but
is a skill that can be learned. A Distinguished Teaching Award winner, he has
watched his teaching evaluation scores rise over the years, so that he now has
a career average of 4.8 out of a possible 5.
"My scores have always been improving, so I have a personal conviction
that there's a better way of teaching," he says. In addition to this
belief that great teachers are made, not just born, Cho also brings an unusual
viewpoint, combining both his Korean and American experiences. "People
recognize that I have a unique perspective, and because I'm an outsider, I tend
to suggest creative solutions to problems.
"Word got around, and I got invited to a private luncheon with President
Roh."
The soul of discretion (Cho is also MTU's ombudsperson), he glosses over most
of the details of his meal with the Asian leader. But he did pass on a few
comments, particularly on how reform must begin in the government before it can
take hold in the schools.
"For example, the Ministry of Education has to change the way they do
things," he said. "They want to improve self-governance of
educational institutions, but then they dictate all the details of what to do.
They interfere to the extent that there's no self governance; it's the same old
autocratic style."
That's not to say that change isn't happening. "Right now, Korea is
undergoing a tremendous amount of experimentation," Cho said. "From
the outside, it looks chaotic, because everybody is doing something new every
day, but fundamentally they are moving in the right direction at a very fast
rate."
Roh found the discussion valuable enough to run over the hour and a half that
was originally scheduled. Cho admits to being pleased. "It might not lead
to anything, but you never know. What it means to me is that my efforts in
Korea are recognized, and I feel good about that."
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