Sungwoo+Moon's

=The Opportunity Cost of attending a school called KIS.= - basically... what do we lose?


 * To start off, let's see what we gain for attending an international school...**
 * 1) **No dress code**
 * 2) **no limitations on what fashion style you follow for your hair**
 * 3) **no beatings in school**
 * 4) **not required to stay in school until sun down**
 * 5) **no pressure from not being able to speak Korean fluently**
 * 6) **A more safer environment to study in**
 * 7) **an easier way to get into colleges (ideally)**
 * 8) **usually there is a bus transportation system for students**

Now then... in addition to this, what do we gain from attending an international school called KIS? //- my point exactly...//
 * 1) we............................... ummmmm........................

Now, considering that we just stick to the original 8 aspects that make international schools so favorable, let's take a look at how it is in KIS and if those 8 aspects are truly kept.

__NO UNIFORM__ - yes, we're not forced to wear the boring uniforms to school everyday. But are we entirely free? Not really... for one, students do have to follow a dress code. For example, girls are not allowed to wear skirts that are way too short. hmm... well that does mean that we're not entire allowed to wear what we want is it? Also, we're sometimes not allowed to wear shirts with designs that are "inappropriate". Now... first we need to take into consideration what is found "inappropriate" in KIS. Well, of course things such as wearing a t-shirt of a man giving you the "finger" is found in appropriate, but is wearing a shirt that has your favorite musician inappropriate? For example, is wearing a t-shirt of Eminem smiling oh so calmly without any crude gestures inappropriate? I've been warned to take off my shirt last year because it had the members of a band called "Slipknot" just looking out. Don't ask why, but it was found "inappropriate" and thus I was told to change into my PE uniform. Hmmm... so where is the "no dress code" now?

__FREE HAIR STYLES__ - Hair style also doesn't seem to be much of a big deal in KIS. But don't hats count as a style for hair? If scratches and spiking up is allowed, why not hats and bandanas? So, all in all, we DO have limitations on hair styles, thus its not a totally lax school on hair styles.

__NO BEATING IN SCHOOL__ - Yes. KIS is a VERY VERY non-bullying school. Well, ironically, KIS is well known in other schools for peer pressuring other students to leave KIS. Each grade in KIS as up to 4~10 people that are called "왕따" (aka. the bullied). It's funny how this number is much higher than that of a Korean public school. Yes, Korean schools are very infamous for having bullies, but in reality, there is barely even 1 student usually left out in a grade in Korean schools. Therefore, yet again, we're left to the conclusion that KIS is NOT an entirely "bully-free" school.

__NOT REQUIRED TO STAY AFTER SCHOOL__ - one thing KIS students love about KIS is that we aren't forced to stay after school. Again, ironic as to how students ARE indeed forced to stay after school. Soccer players are forced to stay in school for at least more than an hour and a half before practice starts. For other students, because of the lack in having free time other than the barely 30-minute lunches, students are in the end forced to stay after school to ask any questions for an up coming exam or homework. So... exactly what is so different?

__NO PRESSURE FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO SPEAK KOREAN__ - Fluency in Korean is not an issue academically since KIS strictly forbids anyone from speaking in any other languages other than English, and especially Korean. However, the pressure of not being fluent in Korean is exists in KIS. Though it is not the KIS faculty to blame for this, the students do in fact place a heavy atmosphere for those that do not speak Korean well. Continuous teasing that lasts for years and the eventual isolation is proof that fluency in Korean is in fact a variable that is considered in KIS.

__KIS IS A MORE SAFER ENVIRONMENT__ - Well... I beg to differ. KIS is not a very safe environment. For one, construction has been a part of the KIS life ever since it was first moved to the Pangyo campus. Not only are there possibilities of heavy construction equipments falling on students, but also the fact that there are construction workers in school campuses. Many times in Korea, has there been students that were physically hurt by adult males, and to consider that KIS students must leave school late very often, it is a potential danger to these students. Lastly, KIS is a school built right next to a high way. There are always possibilities of students getting into accidents. In fact, just last year, a student was hit by a car on the highway, causing him to break a leg and fracture his skull. It was also not the student's fault for the accident but rather that of the driver's.

__KIS IS AN EASIER WAY TO GET INTO COLLEGES__ - yes, we have a very good college counselor and use advanced systems to help students get accepted into colleges. However, compared to other schools, 11th grade school life is much more difficult than that of others. For one, the load of work that students are required to complete daily is larger for a KIS student in the ratio of 3:1. This however, does not mean that the grading system is much easier, in fact, many teachers and tutors outside of KIS believe that the grading system is much harsher in KIS than in other schools. Therefore, considering that how GPA is a major aspect in KIS for college acceptances, KIS is not an easier way to get accepted into colleges.

__ORGANIZED BUS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM__ - KIS is known well for its bright yellow/orange colored buses that go pretty much everywhere in Seoul and near rural areas. Almost every student takes this bus to go to and from school. But is it very favorable in reality? First, the financial pressure this system puts on a family that has a student taking it is very large. Second, this bus system is in fact now the reason why there is such a bad traffic jam in the morning and the afternoon. The school puts these buses in priority and therefore keep other private cars from entering or leaving the street that leads to the school. Also, because of this, the already-long line of cars that are waiting to leave is lengthened. By average, parents are forced to stay in their cars after they have dropped off their children for 20~40 minutes in front of the school until they are finally out of the crammed streets.

SO. If we just rewrite what I've just wrote above just like the list on the very top, it would read: WHAT DO WE LOVE BY ATTENDING KIS?
 * 1) LIMITATIONS ON DRESS CODE
 * 2) NO FREEDOM IN HAIR STYLES
 * 3) MORE BULLYING IN SCHOOL
 * 4) REQUIREMENT OF STAYING AFTER SCHOOL NOW AND THEN
 * 5) EXTREME PEER PRESSURE ON THE ABILITY OF SPEAKING KOREAN FLUENTLY
 * 6) A VERY DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS
 * 7) A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT ROUTE TO GET INTO COLLEGES
 * 8) A DISORGANIZED, EXPENSIVE BUS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

=In conclusion... the list on the very top was, in fact, what we had to give up to attend KIS...=