Job Discussion Forums

[The G-stringed Avenger]

China Movie Magic wrote:

>> I have found that the function of most passive aggressive behavior is not to avoid work but to gain: attention, assistance, release from feelings incompetence or powerlessness. This hypothesis calls for different strategies:

The first three focus on avoiding power struggles:

1. Try to remove the issue (work production) from the power struggle arena. One way to do this is by creating activity checklists, that is, task cards or mini-schedules that are accompanied by visuals and include the steps for completing various assignments. Teach the student to cross off each activity as she completes it. When she is off-task, walk by and point to her card. This way, you avoid direct confrontation.

2. Another technique to avoid a power struggle is to share some of the control by offering some choices:


� Do you want to use pen or pencil?

� Do you want to do this in the workbook or on your slate?

� Do you want to do this after or before lunch?

� Do you want to sit at your desk or in the book corner?

� Do you want to do the odd or the even number?


3. Another technique to avoid power struggles is: Never argue!! Try the "Broken Record" routine:

� You: " The assignment begins on page 17."

� Student: "Ra ra ra."

� You: "The assignment begins on page 17."

� Student: "Ra ra ra ra ra."

� You: "Nevertheless, the assignment begins on page 17." Walk away.

Repeat the process as needed.

The next one helps avoid reinforcing the behavior by reinforcing the opposite behavior.
4. To avoid giving attention to work avoidance, heavily reinforce the tiniest output. If this is a student who sits with a blank paper, turn somersaults if she writes the first letter of her name on the paper.

_____________________________________________________________

This might work with kids or high school students, but not university students, IMO.
Their behaviour stems from the fact that most of them don't want to be there![/b]

[Spiderman Too]

Body Contact

I'm well-aware that Chinese do not understand the concept of personal space, and I've learned to accept intimate (as judged by western standards) body contact on buses, in crowded shoppings malls, etc.

This year I'm teaching at a 'new' university. Literally 90% of my students are female, aged 18 - 20 (English majors, most planning on becoming English teachers). Initially my students were shy and reserved towards me but now they are quite outgoing and friendly (and talkative, thankfully).

During the past couple of weeks when I do role-plays with the female students, or even when I call them up to the front of the class for them to give a talk, they're making body contact with me. I don't just mean standing shoulder-against-shoulder, I mean they're pressing themselves up against me. They do not touch me, as in they don't use their hands or arms, but they push up against me.

I've also noticed that, when this happens, the other students lightly chuckle. I'm not sure whether they're playing games.

I have 10 different classes, 10 different groups of students, and this is happening in 5 of the classes.

It's reached a stage where I'm starting to feel uncomfortable and I now take a step sideways when any of the female students walk up to me.

There is plenty of space at the front of the classroom; there's no need for them to get so close to me. The male students stand close to me but they don't make body contact.

Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

[Ben H Nevis Jnr.]

I've had the personal space thing too.

Due to scheduling mix-ups, I had to make up classes last Friday. Unfortunately both my postgraduate classes (120 students) had turned up for the same class. I figured that since they were at slightly different points in the course and it was the last lesson before the exam anyway, I'd do a combined Q & A revision session on the units that we had covered. Different areas of the classroom were designated different units, so in theory they could provide each other with the answers (as they are only too keen to do in the tests themselves). I was walking round, giving feedback where I could. Somewhere down the line I must have mentioned a new word in the same sentence as the word 'exam' and two or three started grilling me for information. Two or three became five or six. I was trying my best to explain that whatever i had said wouldn't be examined, but I seemed to be digging myself deeper and deeper in. Five or six became around twenty. Could've been more - all I know is that they were four deep and firing questions from all sides. Everyone was jostling and shoving to get to the front in case those at the front were getting information that the others weren't getting. Students at the back were shaking with panic because they couldn't hear me. I'm a fairly big guy and as my head was above the general crowd, I didn't feel too threatened by it but I could understand how others might. I took about 5 seconds of yelling for them to realise that they weren't going to get any information. These were all postgraduate students in their mid-twenties and upwards !!

The same almost happened again today in the exam itself (65 students). Some of the exam papers had only been printed on one side, but there were more than enough to go round. I knew this and explained before they collected them that if there was a problem, I would bring them another sheet and that they wouldn't be disadvantaged as I was giving them more time than they really needed for the exam anyway. Nonetheless there was a mad panic as those affected stormed to the front shaking and hyperventilating. "T...T..T..Teach...Teacher....I've....I.....I've...not..not...got....." The students in their frenzied panic mixed most of their bad sheets in with the good sheets so the same one sided bits of paper were going back and forward between different students, with the students getting more and more panic-stricken as it went on, chasing after me and grabbing my shirt. I eventually got them back to their seats and we managed to sort it out, but it took about three minutes.

I suppose I'm learning the hard way. I'll plan more carefully next time. I won't be invigilating my own flippin' exam next time !!
Now that's surely a thread in itself ?

[ChinaMovieMagic]

[laodeng]

nice cat

[Ariadne]

CMM...

I meant scary as in you frighten me a bit. You make me feel uneasy.
There is a 'born again' flavor to your posts that is unsettling. I suspect your motives and your staying power. You hardly ever 'just talk' like a regular person.

I'm sorry if I confused or offended you. You may well be a delightful, charming person who is fun to be around, but it doesn't come across that way in your posts.
.

[Roger]

[ChinaMovieMagic]

[beck's]

Ariadne: When something feels scary, when you have that gut reaction that it is scary----it is. There is an educational cultist on the board. It is just that, it isn't Magic. Sorry for the sarcastic bold face type

[kev7161]

Recently, my Senior 3 students were divided into groups with an assignment of giving an oral presentation on professions. They were instructed not to read their presentations, although small index cards with notes were allowed. One student in one of the groups floored me when he rattled off about 2 minutes of something, obviously memorized. Why was I so shocked? This kid RARELY speaks and, when called upon, will barely speak above a mouse-squeek level. But his narration was perfect with the proper cadences and pronunciations. Just like other teachers on this forum, I try so desperately to get my kids to talk and they are very reluctant to do so. I am just pleasantly shocked when I hear something like this.

[Old Dog]

I don't wish to be crude but this really happened. I thought it a little bizarre:

I was teaching a group of students from various Asian countries. I can't remember the level. Maybe it was a Beginner's class or a bit above. Anyway, we got to talking about the names given to various parts of the body. We came to the hand and the names that people give to the various fingers. There was no trouble with the "little" finger or the "index" finger or the thumb or the "ring' finger.

But then we came to the "no name" finger. Maybe I was aiming for "no name" finger. Maybe I was dropping hints. The class thought hard. There was silence. Then, from a young Japanese lad, the light dawned, his face lit up. Up went his hand. "OK, what's it called, Nobu?" I asked. Triumphantly he replied, "The fuc*king finger".

What could I say?

[Spiderman Too]

ChinaMovieMagic

I think the measure of a good teacher, an effective teacher, is not simply the extent of the teacher�s knowledge, nor the extent to which the teacher (attempts to) disseminate his/her knowledge, but is in fact primarily the extent of absorption of such knowledge by the intended recipients.

In other words, a good teacher is a teacher who can give his/her students knowledge, in a way that the students can understand.

I have no doubt that you are, already, a considerably learned individual. I also think that your learning will be further enhanced if you acquire skills in communicating in plain English.

In other words, I think that you already are a very smart individual. I also think that you will be a smarter individual if you learn how to communicate in plain English.

Impressive your vocabulary may be yet if your messages are unintelligible to the vast majority, then you can expect to ensue resentment.

In other words, you may know a lot of words but if you use words that most people can�t understand, you will make people resent you.

[The G-stringed Avenger]

IT HAPPENED AGAIN!

Girl slams down her book, storms out of the class, never to return.

Though, in self-defence, one of her classmates, not me, said something to set her off. This girl is a tad emotional anyway. I've seen her crying before when I asked her to find a partner for pair work.

That's two this week, and counting. Can the GSA get his hat-trick?

[badtyndale]

Isn't it just the case that EVERYTHING that happens in a Chinese classroom is bizarre?

I remember once hearing some kids speak English.

Another time, I recall there was nobody asleep.

One time, they did what I asked...

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Korea.

2002.

Summer time.

The whole country was drinking, partying and being merry over the World Cup.

All I know is this:

- A bet was made between a female student (13) and a male student (15)

- It was sexual in nature

- The female student believed Italy would beat Korea, and the male student believed Korea would win no matter what.

- Korea, being as fluky and jammy as ever, beat Italy.

- The girl didn't come to the school after that.