In Korea, as well as many parts of the world, subjects such as music, art and drama are considered disposable unless a student is pursuing a career in the field.

But in the mind of Elizabeth Cairncross, the head of the United Kingdom’s Wells Cathedral School, the ideal education should revolve around lessons that inspire children to be creative while teaching them how to cooperate.

“I think the one (key) thing in the program is music, because that requires an individual level of skill, a lot of discipline and also independent learning,” she said. The independent learning, she said, centers on finding out where one has gone wrong, practicing and getting it together.

The process can make a student flexible in terms of dealing with new problems and also can help them to learn how to work as a group. Cairncross said this can help students better prepare for life after school.

“Because the world moves so fast, I can’t plan for what the world’s going to be like for children in my school,” she said. “I have to give them the skills and values that they have to make use of in 10, 20, 30 years time… There will be jobs that don’t exist now.”

Peter Knell, the director of finance and resources at the school, said one of the biggest goals is to prepare students to cope with the unexpected.

“Creativity, by nature, is dealing with something which you haven’t prepared for to achieve best outcomes,” he said. Rather than train students to acquire knowledge, Knell said education should focus on transforming them into someone who can deal with whatever the world cooks up for them.

“If you train somebody, they can do what you expect them to do. If you prepare people, then they can cope with whatever comes in their way,” he said.

Classical singer Shin Jae-eun, who is the Korea Representative of Wells Cathedral School, attested to this.

“I think learning music from a young age allows you to be more flexible,” Shin said. “Music is not just about teaching and accepting the knowledge. It can push you to be more creative and imaginative.”

Creative subjects, however, are rarely the focal point in the education system here, mainly because they are not on the crucial college entrance exam, known as Suneung.

Last year, the government banned schools from allocating all art-related subjects to one semester, which had been allowed by the 2009 revision of the education law. Many schools abused the former law by cramming all music or art subjects into one semester, and using the lessons as study periods.

Experts have warned against the lopsided preference of academic subjects.

According to Lee Seon-young, a professor of education at Seoul National University, the discovery of a child’s potential abilities is only possible through various experiences in art and culture. Lack of such experience can deprive the child from nurturing his or her creativity, flexible thinking and a fresh perspective on things.

The nationwide rush to enter a prestigious university drove parents and students to focus on the so-called key subjects on the Suneung: English, math and Korean language.

Caircross pointed out that the teachers in many countries use competition in their classrooms. “I think parents are continually pushing their children to be better than anyone else. Then the children don’t learn to improve for their own sake,” she said.

“Be what you are” has been the motto and the backbone of the school which is believed to have roots as far back as 909 A.D. Cairncross said the people who do not compare themselves with others tend to be more confident, content and learn better than those who do.

However, this does not mean the competition aspect is unimportant. Knell said although competitiveness is part of the portfolio of things that are important in life, it is merely one of many things that matter in education.

Cairncross said that nurturing a student’s imagination should take place during the early stages of life, which is why the U.K. school has been working to start a kindergarten here based on its education model.

“It is very important because children that young are so quick at learning,” she said. “I think therefore, how you learn at that age is just as important as what you learn. If you can teach young children to learn well, then whatever they learn thereon, it will be applied.”

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)