Job Discussion Forums

cazzy · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 11 Location: turkey

Im teaching in a private koleji and think im going to go insane! I am finding the total lack of discipline so difficult. I was beginning to think it was because im a foreign teacher but the students are the same with the turkish teachers in every dept.
I have tried every possible way to keep them interested, including games, using music,film,tv etc but it is proving very wearing.
In my previous life i taught students in Scotland who had serious behaviour problems and have also taught in Africa so it's not from lack of experience.
I'm stuck between a rock and a very hard place, any ideas? Sad

calsimsek · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 775 Location: Ist Turkey

Start drinking, and don't try so hard. The more you try, the more they will play up. Fail the kids and call the parents.

cazzy · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 11 Location: turkey

cheers sounds like good advice Wink

molly farquharson · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 839 Location: istanbul

i think call the parents first and then threaten to fail the kids. emphasize your professionalism and the needs of the kids, etc. good luck

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:02 pm Post subject: Steady girl ,not so fast !

Hi Cazzy

Firstly you work in a private instuition ,basically the kids rule or at least their parents do ,when it comes to crunch time guess who they will defend .
I would like to know at least which city you are in ,that might give me a better picture of your situation ,also the age of the kids would be useful .Using any form of descipiline to bring them around to your way of thinking ,it may be too late already if the die has been cast ,at best you can only go for damage limitation and preserve some of your lost self esteem .
I hope there are other yaban�i teachers there who may be able to offer advice ,if not then maybe you have more going for you than you know .

Faustino · Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 601

As a real American president once said; 'I feel your pain.'

Whatever else you do, make sure you start drinking.

bigbadsuzie · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:30 pm Post subject:

I don't think hitting the bottle will help ,moral support has never been found in a bottle in my experience ,you need to keep your wits about you girl and devise a series of stratgies .Don't hit the sauce ! I would disregard that advice if I were you .

Faustino · Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 601

I was thinking about water. Drink plenty of water. Some people naturally assume that TEFLers are a bunch of habitual drunkards. I can't imagine where this misconception has come from. I posted a sth on the 'Smokers you're gonna die thread about the benefits of water consumption. I don't think, however, that this alone will solve your problems.

vre · Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Posts: 371

Yeh right!

But a drink or two (not water) does help at the end of a day to destress!

Seriously though, I have got friends who work in schools and kolejis and they have experienced exactly the same. One even left after a week!

Students don't listen (esp to foreign teachers)
Students too noisy, run riot
Heads change teachers grades to please parents.
Teachers never win in a private school or kolej

Some of my friends solved (as best they could) the problem by either being VERY strict with them using punishment systems, non violent Confused

(apparently that is all these students know and anything less will be taken advantage of) or setting up very effective reward systems like collecting something (e.g. tokens) for good behaviour and at the end of the week would be rewarded in some way depending on how many they had accumulated.

Any ideas on reward systems anyone?

preston · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 107

At my school they are trying out a pilot scheme where they give all the kids a handout with 4 or 5 examples of typical bad behaviour and a selection of possible punishments for each one. These range from extra homework, preparing a lesson to give to the class to detentions, calling the parents etc. As a positive incentive, the children who get no punishments each month will get a reward. Not sure how this is going to work as the main problem I see is the school's reluctance to upset the all-important parents by enforcing these rules. We'll see

corall · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 270 Location: istanbul, turkey

i don't know what to say there cazzy. it's normal when the kids are rich and the parents run everything. try not to let it get you down and don't let them see fear or frustration or you'll be finished. their like dogs in that sense i think...

at my school they have a self tracking behavior system - if they are really bad they have a book where the kids get it graded by the teacher at the end of each class 3 being rotten 1 being good (or vice versa). then they discuss with the consellor or something like that. they have to carry it around until they go through a week it is, i think, of all perfect scores.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

monkel · Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Posts: 37 Location: Australia

i don't think you can solve this problem, merely alleviate the symptoms. i did my year (which was exacerbated by other problems than the students) and then switched. i suggest you seek work outside the koleji system. there is plenty of it.

generally i think you get more money at kolejis, when you count in the nice apartments, lots of hols etc. free bits and pieces.... but is money the most important thing? not for most of us - we'd do sth other than teaching if this were true.

don't stay miserable for a year! quit and get another job. there are always ways to do it!

good luck

calsimsek · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 775 Location: Ist Turkey

Hold on. Don't give up cazzy. Life in a K-12 is not a bed of roses, so what. After a while the kids get to know you and you know them. You can win. If you look at this forum, you would think that no one can teach in the school system. Well I have meet many people who have taught in the system for over 10 years. you can do it. Just lay back a bit, let the kids know that you will fail them without question. Let them know that your the boss, If you don't have faith in your self; then the kids will chase you out like all other sad no hopers who gave up. Give youself a pat on the back. As ghost said you have already seen out most of the year. That summer pay is only 70 work days away.

yaramaz · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 12:13 pm Post subject:

I second Calsimsik's motion- after all, I survived 2 years in a kolej and my second year was much better than my first due to a steep learning curve and getting to know and understand what made the kids tick. I thought about staying a third year but the city itself was too depressing and conservative and isolated. That was the biggest factor in my move.
Stick it out for now and see how you feel when the sun shines more brightly and holidays loom more closely.