Absence

Due to problems with my gmail account, I was also frozen out of my blogger accounts...I hope that absence did, indeed, make the heart grow fonder.

Today I'm musing about a problem that we are having here in the school now, but which is simply a symptom of a bigger problem I have spoken about before - violence in Korean society.

Three of the third grade boys here in the middle school have beaten up about 8 or 9 of the grade one boys because they did not show enough respect. The boys were taken to the doctor where some of them were treated for bruises and cuts. One of the parents of the victims has now lain charges, taken the story to the newspapers and is basically doing everything they can to get the story out.

Of course I deplore the violence that was done, but at the same time, in Korean society, at present, very few examples of an alternative are shown. Teachers discipline students with beatings, so why should the students not follow that example when they have to discipline someone?

Only when they have alternative examples, and the prevailing mood of society is a peaceful settlement of conflict, can we blame them unequivocally for their actions.