| This is a project in narrative inquiry but may also constitute a primary historical document. Led by a desire to critique E. D. Hirsch's rigorously outcomes-based conservative model of education, I interviewed a Korean-Canadian woman who was educated in the country of her birth, South Korea, from kindergarten through university, under one of the systems Hirsch approves. Working closely with "Soon-I", I chose to write up the results of the interviews in first-person form. Since Soon-I's English was rudimentary, most of my work was establishing a first-language-like voice that would do her justice. After the account was complete, I was surprised that it constituted a genuine narrative rather than just the set of memories I had expected; it is structured much as novels are structured. Much of the introduction explores this phenomenon surprise and proposes the narrative coherence and integrity of life stories and lived stories---those we tell and those we live out---be respected when dealing with narrative in the life sciences. The work of Clandinin and Connelly was inspiring, but my analysis of narrative closely follows categories established by Jerome Bruner. A brief history of Korea highlighting the importance of education since 1392 is included. |
