"I'm a juvenile offender, you know?"... Teachers on the front lines of collapsing classroom authority say they can relate to 'Teach You a Lesson'

[Financial News]  "If adults are afraid of children, the world is doomed."The Netflix series "Teach You a Lesson" has sparked a strong response, rising to No. 1 among domestic series as soon as it was released. In the education sector, its popularity is being attributed not just to its entertainment value, but to the way it directly confronts the realities of school life, including violations of teachers' authority, abusive complaints, and collapsing classroom order.
On the 8th, the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) issued a statement and praised the series, saying that "Teach You a Lesson" exposed, without embellishment, the reality of broken classrooms, the serious violations of teachers' authority by some out-of-control students, and the despair of teachers left powerless by abusive complaints.
"Teach You a Lesson" centers on the work of the Teachers' Rights Protection Agency, a unit under the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea that was created to defend teachers' authority, which has been undermined by uncontrollable students and parents who cross the line.
Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea Gangseok Choi leads the organization with a single-minded focus on protecting not only teachers' rights but also students' right to learn. Under his command, Na Hwa-jin, a former Special Warfare Command officer played by Kim Mu-yeol; Im Han-rim, a tough former soldier played by Jin Ki-joo; and Bong Geun-dae, a KAIST-educated genius civil servant played by Pyo Ji-hoon, work as one team. Together, they deliver satisfying "teachings" to students who skillfully exploit legal loopholes and to the forces that shield them.
The KFTA, however, stressed that "the thrill the drama offers disappears by Monday," adding that "what teachers need is not a super-legal hero from a drama, but institutional safeguards that allow real teachers to teach with conviction under the protection of the law."
It added that many teachers deeply related to the line spoken by the drama's education minister, who said that "teachers' authority is a bulwark that protects the right to learn of the vast majority of well-behaved students," and applauded the characters' efforts to make that principle real. The group said it hopes to see education ministers and superintendents who take the lead in protecting teachers' authority.
Observers in the education sector also say the success of "Teach You a Lesson" could raise public awareness of the reality of violations against teachers and strengthen calls from teachers' groups for tougher protections of classroom authority.
Kang Ju-ho, president of the KFTA, said that, as the drama's message suggests, only by restoring order in broken schools and recovering teachers' authority can the country change the reality in which four teachers are assaulted by students every day. He urged the swift introduction of practical measures to strengthen teacher protection, including a state responsibility system for lawsuits related to educational activities, institutionalizing and professionalizing the response to abusive complaints, and establishing legal grounds to reinforce parents' responsibility for education.
gaa1003@fnnews.com Ahn Ga-eul Reporter