Job Discussion Forums

gadfly · Joined: 25 Jun 2004 Posts: 31 Location: Turkey

I work at one of the kolej is in Turkey and am quite shocked at the behaviour of the children to be honest. Shocked

I have heard mixed reviews on some of the different kolejis as far as childrens behaviour is concerned. Their behaviours are not confined to my classroom. They seem to occur in all of the classroomsThe childrens behaviour seems to occur in all classes. The childrens attitude is one of puzzlement when you identify their behaviours as unacceptable. I wonder if my encounter with the ill behaviour of the children is unique to this school or if it is more pervasive in the koleji system. Also I was wondering if people had tips on classroom management with these students. Question

I have encountered bad behaviour in the classroom before but not so exstensively and with such intensity.Thanks

travelingirl68 · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 9:37 pm Post subject:

Just curious gadfly - what specifically are they doing? Have you asked the local teachers how they deal with the behaviors?

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:07 am Post subject:

At the kolej where I used to work, the Turkish teachers in the primary section dealt with this behaviour through a hearty mixture of yelling, shaming, cheek slapping, and headmaster visits. In the lise they kind of, well, taught through the chaos. I worked on a number of disciplinary techniques, including fining the kids 200 bin for each naughty act (it adds up) and having a good/bad list on the board with rewards and punishments as merited. Some worked for a while, others didnt work at all. It did get better in my second year though, when they got to know me better.

whynotme · Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 728 Location: istanbul

you should tell us what sort of bad behaviour it is.....
also speaking to the local teachers can solve the problem, but to a short period..i mean you should learn how to stop them and give them the impressionthat you are there to teach them...if you leave most of the resposibility to the local teachers what are you going to do next year....

p.s. sometimes the aim of the book and the programme you are using doesnt correspond the aim of the students and they might get bored....

gadfly · Joined: 25 Jun 2004 Posts: 31 Location: Turkey

Thank you for all your responses to my student problems. The range of misbehaviours is incredible. Students do not listen to teachers when they are speaking in class. They refuse to open their books if they do open their books they do little if any work. They speak when other students are asked to read. I dont mean a little talking they have full conversations at a very loud level sometimes shouting at each other. They do not seem to have the ability to lift their hands up and ask a question or express an opinion. They simply shout on their concerns or questions. They walk around the classroom, throw things at each other, occasionally get into fights with each other in the middle of lessons. This is the tip of the iceberg really. Shocked

A certain amount of misbehaviour is to be expected in a classroom but the intensity and pervasiveness of it is quite surprising. Those few good students in the classroom tend to become involved in the misbehaviours as it is the dominant norm of behaviour in their classrooms. It is really unfortunate and disheartening.
One of the reasons I can account for this is the fact that many of the students do not belong in the grade that they have been assigned. Their level of english is not advanced enough for them to participate in class without embarassment. It must be incredibly frustrating for them to be in a class and not have any idea about what is going on. Some children have taken english for many years yet cannot construct even the most rudimentary of sentences. Yet we are expected to teach them what past perfect tense, similies, supporting sentences etc.,. are.
Additionally, the class material tends to be boring and culturally irrelevant. I teach a video class for example and one of the video episodes is about the theft of a garden gnome in a garden shop. " Teacher what is a garden gnome and why does the man want this thing so badly. I think English people are strange." Wink

I agree!!!!!!!!!

31 · Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 1797

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

Ebenezer · Joined: 02 Sep 2004 Posts: 99

Oh, dear Gadfly... I've been there, I know what you're talking about... you're not alone, don't dispair! You know, a guy from Canada came here two weeks ago to teach in a Kolej, he came with his wife and two kids, he went to school twice and do you know where he is now??? Guess... no, not in prison, he didn't kill anyone, no, not in the hospital, he didn't try to kill himself and he didn't go nuts, now he is Canada, my friend, he spent 10 days in Turkey and decided to go back home before he killed someone or himself. Cheer up, it's not you, it's all about the Turkish educational system and there's nothing we can do about it. Good luck!

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

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Only staying 10 days in a country. I think that is rather pathetic. There is no way you can judge a country having only spent 10 days in it. ghost, why hats off to the guy? His loss.

ImanH · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Istanbul

dmb, you beat me to it. I was about to say that I would view such behaviour as highly irresponsible; to his family - for dragging them half way round the world to give up after only 10 days - to the school - for presumably getting them to pay for his relocation costs and then leaving them in the lurch - and to his students, who, no matter how unruly, are children and surely deserve a little more than 2 days Shocked

of patience.
Having said that, though, I've never had to experience kolej kids, but I am always bemused to read about them on this forum. The kids I meet and know in Turkey are far more respectful and better behaved than those I see in the UK, and some of the stories my brother and my former VSO friends tell of teaching at schools in the UK are astounding, particularly those teaching in so-called inner-city schools.
I'm curious if anyone has had experience teaching in both contexts?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I recently read an article about a project somewhere in England. Random drug testing is being used in a few schools as a trial run. In each school 10 students/teachers were chosen each week to be tested for drugs. Yes you read correctly teachers and students were being tested. What do you think about the drug testing of teachers. I think it is a bit weird. it's like the local authorities are saying 'Ok you are our teachers..... but we don't trust you either so you may also be tested' What do you think? This project was started because the local authorities were worried about 10 year olds turning up for class(I suppose that's something) totally off their head. I have never heard of this happening in Turkey.

whynotme · Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 728 Location: istanbul

gadfly · Joined: 25 Jun 2004 Posts: 31 Location: Turkey

Whynotme, I would like to reply to your 1st response in this thread. Number 1: I would agree the local English teachers are well qualified. They are professional, dedicated, caring, effective and underpaid. They should be recognized for their efforts. I am very impressed with the teachers at my school and I have attended some of their classes and wish to attend more to learn from them.
Number2: I would like to say that the foriegn teachers are not all backpackers with mercencary intentions. Believe me there are easier ways to earn money. You seem to think that all foriegn English teachers are incompetent boobs. One of the teachers did a stint as a volunteer in Palestine and the former Yugoslavia as well. She is more then qualified with a degree in teaching from Canada and many years of experience as a teacher in Canada.
I would like nothing better then to be an effective teacher and to have an positive impact on the students that I teach. Additionally two of the teachers at my school have been teaching there for two years and are dedicated to the students that they teach.
Number3: Native speakers are an excellent resource for the school that they are in. We offer the students and teachers something they cannot get reading in a book. We can teach them how English is used in real life.
Learning English from a book is no substitute for hearing the language spoken and interacting with a person who is born with the language. We sometimes correct English that is written or spoken incorrectly by students or teachers. Language does not exist in a vacuum. It is a living breathing entity.
Number4: Any of the native speakers that I have run across came to their respective schools with good intentions. They wish to do a good job and are professionals. They bring to their schools a wealth of experience and knowledge. We come from many different professional and cultural backgrounds enriching the students lives. There are many other benefits to having native teachers in the school but I have limited time at the moment. Take care whynotme.

whynotme · Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 728 Location: istanbul

gadfly,
i think you got me wrong... about the bad behaviour from the students, some people here advised you to speak to the local teachers and i said " the best idea is to solve the problem yourself,not just say o the local teachers because you might have the same problem next year
number two:
the school i am working at the moment has foreign teachers and i am so happy to be working with them...i dont think it is not an easy way to earn money....
number three:
please re-read my posts...there is nothing written against what u said
number four:
i think you read 31's quato and thought that i wrote them Very Happy