-Uniforms. In the US very few public schools require uniforms. Here, most of them do. The uniforms at my school seem to vary. There's one that looks more like a typical school uniform (white button up shirt and gray pants or skirt) but then there's another one that's basically a sweatsuit. The sweatsuit one looks really comfortable actually, but it also tends to remind me of a prison outfit.
-Punctuality. Unlike at US schools, the bell isn't law here. When I student taught, it was imperative to be in the classroom with everything set up and ready to go when the bell rang. Similarly, the students were expected to be in the classroom, if not sitting down and ready, or they could get a grade reduction. Here, the teachers don't even get up and start walking to class until a minute or two after the bell rings. Then, they start setting up. I haven't seen a student scolded for being late, and I wouldn't be able to scold them even if I wanted to because, honestly, I don't even know what late IS here. It's not that people here don't care about being on time though. Whenever any of the teachers tell me they'll be somewhere at a certain time, they always are. I guess they just have the power to decide when they want to start their class.
-Hair and face. The other day, a teacher asked me if girls wore makeup in middle school in the US. She was surprised when I told her they did. Here, they aren't even allowed to wear makeup to school. Also, they aren't allowed to dye or curl their hair. I'm not sure what the reason for this is. I'm thinking it might have to do with decreasing bullying or cliques, like making it so that you can't tell who can afford expensive hair procedures. Also, it might be to reduce distractions in school; making it so that school is only for learning and not a place to go try to impress people. These are all just speculations though, I really don't know for sure.
-Boys and girls. Up until very recently, public schools in Korea weren't mixed gender. Even now, some mixed schools don't have mixed classes. My school is completely mixed, with boys and girls in the same classes but some people are surprised when I tell them this.
-Er...punishment. Corporal punishment isn't against the law here. I haven't seen anything too outrageous but they'll sometimes smack students on the back or like grab them by the arm and pull them out of the room. Also, if a student is falling asleep, they might have them stand up in the back of the room.
-Hallway behavior. The kids are basically insane. This is one reason I'm having difficulty deciding whether I think schools here are more or less strict than back home. The students will literally run around screaming at the top of their lungs, dragging each other across the floor, etc. I don't think that would have gone over well at my middle school, but I also think other students would have judged anyone who acted like that. I think in the US, students are determined to act as "grown up" or "cool" as possible.
This is getting pretty long, so I'll stop here for now. Although I do have a lot of time on my hands today. There are no classes because of the typhoon but teachers still had to come.
Artist: 2NE1
Song: Go Away
Album: To Anyone
Released: September 2010
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