A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the lives of students and families struggling with grades, the Channel A program "Please Take Care of My Grades: Teachers 2" featured a first-year student from Mokdong who achieved the highest ever high school internal score in the show's history after developing self-directed learning skills.
In the episode of "Teachers 2" that aired on the 27th, a first-year student who is a true "hexagonal talent" and balances academics, sports, and extracurricular activities appeared. The student, hailing from Mokdong, known as 'the second academic district,' said, "I received a score I had never seen before in my first exam after entering high school. Please help me escape from the swamp of internal scores," explaining their visit to "Teachers." The student, who has a perfect study attitude at school, promised during the student council election to distribute written notes and past exam questions. In fact, they were sharing organized notes in the class group chat after each lesson.
However, the student faced confusion as they were the first generation to undergo the admission system that transitioned from a 9-grade system to a 5-grade system. During conversations with friends, the student expressed, "Since it's a 5-grade system, I thought, 'Isn't it enough to just do this much for a 1st grade?' There is a lot of information from past admissions, but since it's completely new now, I feel like I've become a test subject." The "T-Vengers," Jung Seung-jae, Jo Jung-sik, and Mi Mi Mi Nu, highlighted the pros and cons of the new admissions system, warning that "a single question can determine the grade, and a difference of one grade is like the difference between heaven and earth," indicating that the stress for students would be significant due to the changes. "The emperor of public education," Yoon Hye-jeong, advised, "You need to abandon complacent thinking regarding the 5-grade system. The best effort you can put in is the study that won't leave you feeling unfair."
The student received grades of 2nd grade in Korean, 1st grade in math, and 2nd grade in English on the mock exam. Jung Seung-jae commented on the math, "I got one killer question wrong. It's 1st grade in the top 0.5% of the nation. There's nothing to worry about," acknowledging the student's upper-tier abilities. However, in their first internal exam of high school, the student scored in the 60-70 range for all subjects: Korean, English, and math. Particularly, in the subjective English question worth 40 points, the student scored only 10, which was the worst case among the major subjects. Analyzing the test paper, Jung Seung-jae noted, "Because it's a school in the academic district, there must inevitably be extreme levels of difficulty in the problems to differentiate scores," showcasing the unique challenges posed by the academic district. Yoon Hye-jeong added, "Korean is not extremely difficult for an academic district. If you have good reading comprehension and literacy skills, you can solve it, but the fundamental concepts are weak," pointing out the student's lack of basics. Jo Jung-sik also mentioned, "It's an academic district but not difficult. The subjective questions also have no tricky conditions, yet the score is ridiculously low. It seems like the student has a habit of studying superficially," predicting the student's shallow study habits.
As expected, the student had a habit of 'studying casually,' where they might seem familiar but actually missed key concepts. The student's mother agreed with Jo Jung-sik's diagnosis, stating, "I was told that high school internal scores can't be solved by just instinct, yet the student continues to study with middle school habits." The conflict between the student and their mother was also serious. The mother sent the student to a math preparatory academy after hearing from other moms that advanced studies were needed for other subjects to allow for more flexibility. Although the student had been interested in math and science, even attending a gifted program, they became disenchanted with rote memorization and lost interest. Despite having studied calculus in middle school and even progressing to the 3rd-year curriculum, the student was overwhelmed by an inability to understand the concepts, along with the pressure and stress of studying, leading to burnout. Moreover, in a consulting session, the student was informed that their record was focused more on their school activities rather than academic excellence, stating, "I wasted time. I stopped studying completely." Faced with this reality, the student lamented, "I feel like I wasted too much time in middle school. I feel like I lived poorly," shedding tears.
Having lost confidence in studying and feeling overwhelmed, Jo Jung-sik took responsibility, stating, "You need to cover your internal scores first." Jo Jung-sik and the student set a goal to achieve a score of 90 in the English internal test, aiming to improve from the previous 60s. Jo Jung-sik urged, "Analyze the last internal exam papers," starting by examining the types of passages. However, the student interpreted it vaguely, continuing their habit of 'studying casually.' Additionally, with a schedule filled with academy classes, the student couldn't complete their homework properly. Eventually, Jo Jung-sik called the student and the mother together. He warned, "You're being swept away by the academy. At this pace, you could ruin your internal scores and face the worst scenario of having to retake the exam. It's essential to secure time for self-study." The student's mother countered, "I chose the academy because the student couldn't manage time alone." After deliberation, Jo Jung-sik suggested, "Let's make the student take responsibility and control over their studies," proposing they shift the study leadership and responsibility onto the student. Both the student and mother agreed to reduce their academy sessions and increase personal study time.
Jo Jung-sik meticulously organized the student's learning schedule. To assist the student, who was translating casually, he implemented a "double translation training" in which English would be translated into Korean and then Korean back into English. As the student spent more time studying alone, they improved significantly and became adept in interpretation. However, during the final test the night before the exam, numerous mistakes indicated red flags for achieving the goal. Jo Jung-sik held an intense, lengthy study session until 3 a.m., pushing the student to give their all. As a result, the student exceeded their goal, achieving the highest ever high school internal score of 97.8 in the program's history. Jo Jung-sik attributed this success not only to the solution classes but also to the student's newfound ability for self-directed learning.
"3MC Jun Hyun-moo, Han Hye-jin, and Jang Young-ran, along with the complete lineup of Korean, English, math, and admissions experts known as the 'T-Vengers' Jung Seung-jae, Jo Jung-sik, Yoon Hye-jeong, and Mi Mi Mi Nu return with 'Please Take Care of My Grades: Teachers 2,' which airs every Sunday at 7:50 p.m."
[Photo] OSEN DB / Broadcast Capture
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