Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ratslash]

i think i'm about to get sacked from my new job!

i work for a hagwon and teach one kindie class. all the kids are ok apart from one little boy brat. today, he thought it would be good fun to start hitting the other children. i tried to stop him and he hit me twice in the face. so i asked my director to have a word to him and ask him to a) stop beating up the other kids and b) to stop hitting the teacher. you know what she did? she said "don't do that" really quietly and then goes back to her class! not exactly the telling off i was expecting her to give the brat!

anyway, the kid hit me again. so i tried to, you know, discipline him a little myself. turns out the director didn't like this at all. she took me into a room after the lessons had finished basically blamed me for being a bad kindie teacher and not being able to control the children. the bizarre thing is, i was trying to control the children. it was her pathetic 'don't do that' that was not controlling. we had a little argument and which ended in me asking her how i should control this child. she said, laugh at this one, i should hug and cuddle the child and say nicely don't do that!!!

i know the kid is young but is there any excuse for whacking your teacher in the face. you would be expelled in many other countries in the world! but of course, she ain't gonna expel one of her kids coz the brat means money!

she is going to call me tomorrow and tell me whether i can carry on teaching there. the question i must ask myself is whether i want to?

[/i]

[rosewood]

If you're going to get sacked then do something about it; figure out your next move. But don't get pushed around. Remember you're the expert! They flew you over here just because you're an expert. Don't cave!! And don't get pushed around. Find a way to stand your ground.

[Gord]

[chi-chi]

mods you may delete

[hadeshorn]

[William Beckerson]

I think that both are right.

[whatthefunk]

[Corporal]

[eamo]

Maybe you're not going to get fired for this one incident.

I used to teach kindy age kids and remember the difficulties controlling them. They sometimes respond to a strong telling off and they sometimes respond to reward/incentive tactics. They sometimes respond to being isolated to a chair/desk in the corner.

However, there would always be one or two kids nothing would work with.

I think you just have to live with these problem kids and just get through the class as best you can. I don't think there's a magic wand that works here.

I still don't think they'll fire you over one incident but....if they do.....

My school may be looking for a native teacher at the moment. I think it's a fairly good institute. PM me if you're interested.

[Gord]

[Basil Brush]

Whatever you think about punishment, the director pays you to do the job her way. So that means that you should hug and cuddle the child. No biggie.

Don't believe the advice that you're the expert, you're not, I'm not and the majority of teachers aren't either. As a rule we aren't proficient, trained or experienced. But only deal with clear, rational discussions from your director. Don't except anything else. One of those discussions should focus on communication. Exactly what does the director want to happen in X, Y, Z situation? If this director wants you to do the job she wants, then she should make it perfectly clear what it is.

But why does Gord think this is a localised situation? Why do you think a director would put an employee in such uncertainty? And is there any indication that Ratslash used physical discipline in his post? Although I agree with the spirt of Gord's post, picking a child up and holding them upside down wouldn't go down well with many directors who are concerned with safety in the workplace. If the Ratslash's director saw him picking children up and holding them upside down, she wouldn't be best pleased, I'd warrant. .

I'm not as confident to suggest that the problem is one student in a Kindergarten class. What is common with dealing with korean kindergarten directors is using one apparently isolated incident and blowing it up out of proportion. Korean directors do this because they don't like some employees who have done or said some things in the past. However, it may be nothing to do with the employee, it may be because the institute doesn't need another foreign teacher or a product of irrational behavior.

If it's do with the employee, then the korean director needs to go through what she needs from the employee in a reasonable and structured way and follow the spirit of the labor law.

If they don't need or want the employee, then the employee shouldn't give them excuses that the employer can give in their defence. Whether the employee follows directions would be the prime focus.



PS. Gord has a very direct way of putting a point across. That's OK. Just understand the message and reply. There's no point getting frustrated and making yourself look emotionally unintelligent.

[The Man known as The Man]

[canuckistan]

L'Homme Connu Comme L'Homme,

You mean hug them so tight they can't breathe like Joaquin Pheonix as Commodus did to his father in Gladiator?

[hellofaniceguy]

No one can use you unless YOU let them. Hokwons ARE NOT schools; they are a business. Owners care about how much money that student brings in. Not about you. The owner will not "side" with you over students even when you are right. You best stand your ground and hope all works out well. If not, go to the labor board. But expect the owner to lie to the labor board.

[Derrek]

Have you tried bribery with stickers?

It works.

Also, put it all on the whole class. No one gets a sticker if someone acts out of line. Let the kids police themselves.