Teachers stepped in to help a low-performing student who takes an hour just to understand a problem.
On the 10th, the Channel A entertainment program ‘Teachers2’ featured a high school freshman who had lost confidence in studying.
The student stated, “Until the second year of middle school, my grades were at 50%, but in the third year, they rose to about 77%. I don’t know what to do.” After entering high school, he confessed that both his confidence and self-esteem had hit rock bottom and sought help. The student suddenly declared that he would choose ‘Physics’ and ‘World History’ as his elective subjects, mentioning that many of his friends were choosing ‘Physics’.
He also mentioned that he aimed to attend Busan National University, which is among the top national universities in the region. However, his grades were around a level 3 in the restructured 5-grade system, and his homeroom teacher emphasized that it would be very difficult to get into college with these grades, stressing the need for improvement. Mimi Minu diagnosed, “’Physics’ is a subject that is generally avoided. It seems there is a lack of awareness about the overall college entrance process.” Jeong Seung-jae also pointed out, “It seems like there’s no thought process at all.”
The student’s grades in Korean, English, and Math were all in the 40s, corresponding to a level 3 in the 5-grade system. When converted to a 9-grade system, his grades were in the lower range of 5-6. His scores from the March mock exam were level 6 in Korean, level 6 in Math, and level 4 in English.
Jeong Seung-jae remarked, “Both the internal grades and the mock exam scores are terrible. The March mock exam covers middle school level material, and scoring a level 6 means there’s no foundation in middle school.” Jo Jeong-sik added, “Even though the March mock exam was relatively easy, scoring a low level 4 is concerning. I’ve never seen a student get the listening questions wrong, especially since he lived in Canada.”
The student’s mother, a university professor, was providing exceptional support by passing down her note-taking skills from her school days. She also wrote study tips and notes for final exam preparation in her son’s textbook, showing great dedication. However, the student felt increasingly intimidated as he saw his younger brother, who is three years younger and in middle school, enter a gifted program through self-study and solve math problems that he couldn’t. Jeong Seung-jae asked a few definitions to quickly assess the current state and identified gaps in the student’s understanding of second-year middle school math.
Jeong Seung-jae expressed concern, saying, “He knows nothing. How painful must that be? He’s just trying to keep up.” Jo Jeong-sik noted, “Just looking at the exam paper, it’s impossible for him to be a good student. He doesn’t solve problems in order; it’s a complete mess. The ability to think systematically is very important. There may have been habits or issues from a young age.”
The student struggled to grasp concepts even in Korean, showing a tendency to memorize explanations of incorrect answers rather than understanding them. Jo Jeong-sik emphasized, “Training to understand text is a priority. He should start reading middle school textbooks and be able to explain what he has read to others.”
Jo Jeong-sik also pointed out, “His mother did all the corrections for the mock exam. For his grades to improve, there needs to be a deficiency,” and requested that the mother stop her support. The student, who was in a state of complete confusion in math, became anxious when faced with long passages. However, after receiving step-by-step explanations, he began to show potential for mathematical thinking. Jeong Seung-jae, recognizing the student’s high motivation to study, stated, “I am someone whose job is to prove that anyone can achieve a level 2 in high school math if they know the right study methods. I want to show the public that there is hope,” and initiated a ‘National Project’ to find hope for low-performing math students.
As the solutions began, Jeong Seung-jae, who had previously stated that “it’s better to have a blank slate than to know something poorly,” faced the reality of the student who had no understanding at all. He acknowledged, “Students who struggle with math often exhibit characteristics such as ‘ignorance of terms’, ‘lack of basics’, ‘quick to give up’, and ‘math anxiety’. This student has all four,” recognizing him as a textbook case of a struggling math student.
Ultimately, the student embarked on a journey to conquer math by staying together with Jeong Seung-jae in his office for 24 hours. However, he was stuck at the stage of understanding problems rather than math concepts. When he couldn’t understand a problem with a long passage, Jeong Seung-jae spent an hour just explaining the problem. Eventually, to practice reading comprehension, he had the student work on easier problems from the 6th grade level.
Jeong Seung-jae even traveled to Busan to provide special reinforcement for the student. Jo Jeong-sik acknowledged the solution, saying, “I understand why he’s a savior. I don’t think I could have remained this calm until the end.” After the solution, the student took an exam and was called to the teacher’s office, where the homeroom teacher remarked, “The difficulty of this exam was high. Your score is unusual.” Amid rising anxiety among the ‘T-Bengers’, the student celebrated as his score changed from 44 to 57.5. Notably, he managed to answer even the long passage questions that he had previously struggled with, overcoming his fear of math and regaining his confidence in studying.
The complete lineup of ‘T-Bengers’ including Jeong Hyun-moo, Han Hye-jin, and Jang Young-ran, along with the full team of Korean, English, Math, and college entrance exam experts Jeong Seung-jae, Jo Jeong-sik, Yoon Hye-jeong, and Mimi Minu, returns with ‘Please Help Me with My Grades: Teachers2’, airing every Sunday at 7:50 PM.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
