Korean Job Discussion Forums

[katydid]

Saxil, I hope somehow she is strong enough emotionally to not give a damn when the time comes to be squeezed into the same mold as her peers. I always liked the kids who were smart but mouthed off a bit...not rude mind you, but playful. Last year at the hagwan, these types generally were boys. It's good to see a girl lay the smack down from time to time.
On a slightly related note to this thread, the one thing I hated thinking about when I taught at the hagwan was this: I teach 80 or so kids total. Some are going to be rich, some are going to have successful lives, some are going to have average lives, and maybe just maybe, some might end up in prison one day.
Not a pleasant thought, especially about 8 year olds, but you know, not everyone you teach will win a Nobel Prize.

[justaskdan]

One thing I often think about is all (the boys) are going to end up in the Military for at least two years, and The Korean Military is not a good place. But a nessessary evil of their lives.

[rapier]

Justaskdan: I've noticed that its ALWAYS the biggest or fattest kid that is the biggest headache. i don't think these guys like themselves very much.
They need to be picked on themselves to teach them a lesson before they grow into adults.
Call the parents- they're probably the only ones in a position to effectively discipline the boy.
Koreans seem apathetic about discipline in general- a terrible situation.
Half our school discipline problems could be simply solved early on by breaking a cane over some offenders backside at the start of term. It worked very well when i was at school.
But then again we're in the wishy- washy lefty millenium now I suppose, when nobody does anything....

[ratslash]

i was out with some girls once around liverpool and one of them got out of the taxi in front of me. as she was bent over getting out i bit her bum! needless to say, she didn't see the funny side and preceded to pummel me!!! i deserved but like the op said, i would never hit a girl/woman back no matter what she was doing to me.

i dunno if this happens in england, guys hitting girls, at that age, but i imagine if it did happen in a school the boy would be strongly punished.

what about the kids hitting the teacher? what would the result be of a kid hitting a teacher a couple of times in the face in western classroom? i know in my old school they would be suspended or expelled.

[shawner88]

I've been here for three years and have never seen a serious fight like the ones mentioned on this board...where are you guys working?

I've taught all over. I teach in the countryside now, which is much better than the city. My students are great and I never have to discipline them, well..not physically anyway.

[har]

First, discplining with violence only teaches children that violence it the way to solve problems. You can call it lefty or whatever you want. It's a well-researched fact. You old-schoolers who say 'I was beaten up and it hasn't affected me' are the same people claiming that hitting children is an effective means of correction for poor behaviour. HA! It just makes more hitters.

I'm lucky that my boss is a good guy. More than money, he actually cares about student's behaviour. The only time a serious scuffle broke out in my class, I had my head down correcting and the situation exploded before I knew what was going on. Once my boss got wind of what had happened he told the bully to go home and tell his parents what he'd done. And to never come back to our school. I knew right then that I was working with the right kind of people.

Whenever something starts in class I just tell them with my sternest look... 'there is NO hitting in this classroom'. They take it seriously when you put it out there.

As for what happens on the streets. I've had a bird's eye view of some pretty nasty stuff. What can you do? They are working out some frustration/aggression that exists for children everywhere. Sometimes more so here. How many hours a day did you spend in school (prison) at their age? We can't solve the social problems of Korea.