Just had to say that. Loving this show!

Anyways, I’m really enjoying the drama. Some parts were very hurtful to watch, but in the end I think it’ll be worthwhile. I feel so bad for Jong-soo. What if he turns out to be a genius/smarter than average who just doesn’t understand his own abilities because of an abusive parent? Tears.

Another note: Even though the heart of this story seems to be about friendship, I wouldn’t mind a little romance. I want things to move forward with the 3 couples I want to be together: Heung-soo/Kang-joo (who have the same haircut actually); In-jae/Se-chan; and to a lesser extent Nam-soon/Ha-kyung. I would be fine without the last one, but I want the first two to happen; definitely HS/KJ. They would be so cute. We’re running out of time, Show! Give me something!

I very much love this drama. Like others, I am disappointed by the disappearance of the love lines. Maybe after Nam Soon and Heung Soo settle things between themselves, they can let the girls back in.

In thinking about the testing scores, I could very well see that raising the lowest scores might have a bigger effect on the total Class 2 scores than raising the highest scores. There’s a lot more room for growth on the lowest scores. I don’t understand why the teachers don’t talk with some of the students who just mark all answers in the same row. Might they not do better by actually trying to answer some questions?

I am optimistic enough to think that scores may actually go up because In-jae is trying to teach them to think.

The whole focus on testing in education is wrong. No Child Left Behind in the U.S. is really “no child left untested.” Educational testing corporations make big money selling materials to schools designed to teach students how to pass their tests. What a racket!

I think a heavy focus on competition is also self defeating, since people who can cooperate, work together, problem solve together have a better chance of making the world and their lives better.

Looking forward to next week!

Despite this, I really love watching this drama, can’t wait for monday!!

I didn’t say she’s engaging both high achievers and underachievers; I said she’s working hard to find solutions that will engage both. I don’t think her teaching methods are only useful for poor performing students. Whether a student gets high or low marks, learning critical thinking and forming one’s own opinions and ideas are skills that all students should develop since they directly correlate with building self confidence and creativity. High performing students who have a one-track mind to only study and get high scores are the way they are because the school system has shaped them to be like that, clones not independent thinkers. I also don’t think that she’s cowed by the snotty high achievers. I think she’s certainly frustrated, but she’s no pushover nor is she easily frightened by them.

There’s a lot of harsh criticism about her teaching methods, but what makes her a good teacher is that she doesn’t give up on her students. She’s pro-active and working hard to find better solutions. While other teachers are complacent, jaded or falling in line with parental pressure, she’s working hard for the best interests of the students.

This is as much her story to become a better teacher as it is for her students to become better learners.