Korean Job Discussion Forums

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

I know that after my post yesterday and with this one I'm probably making my school sound awful - it really has a pleasant atmosphere for the most part - but after doing a lesson where I was going around checking students' work yesterday I was pretty shocked to see how many of my grade one middle school students have scars on their forearms. In one class I counted at least seven students who had anything from straight, horizontal marks to attempts at crude writing or symbols. Bear in mind that these are 12-13-year-old girls in western years.

I was talking to a teacher about it today who said that they had done it out of protest at our school regulations, most particularly the dress and grooming code. I actually think our school's summer uniforms look rather nice but I guess some students are of a different opinion. I guess the scarring is some attempt at expressing individuality or sub-group identity in a way that parents and teachers can do little about? At any rate the teachers have planned a special meeting to discuss it.

Have any other public school teachers had students who do this?

poet13 · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:02 pm Post subject:

We had a boy show up at school last monday with a pattern 'nicked' into his arm. Maybe 35 .5 centimeter scratches. Scratches cause there are no marks this week. His home room teacher, in his infinite wisdom, decided that beating with hands and calves with a stick would be the best course of action. Rolling Eyes

pest2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada

Ive never noticed mutilation, but they like to draw and write in themselves alot....

oldfatfarang · Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: On the road to somewhere.

I haven't seen visible knife/instrument scars on my middle school kids. But I've never seen so many kids with scar tissue, bruises, burn scars, welts, etc. Korea is a violent place. The kids play violently and are beaten regularly on the thighs and arms. So that might explain my kid's scarring.

There's only so much regimentation you can enforce before humans rebel - especially adolescents. So I guess your kids' cuts are a symptom of rebellion against the Oriental 'hammer the highest nail down' ethos.
Interestingly, I went to a school where students rebelled with homemade tatoos (2 needles bound around a match stick and dipped in ink). I've been told that Korean uni students shave their heads to 'protest'.

Please keep up posted. I'm really interested in the psychology of this.

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

I usually just crack them upside the head one time good and hard...saves time and wear on the stick, I find...

oldfatfarang · Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: On the road to somewhere.

Just looked at one of my second year girl's arms. She had old and new ink writing all over her arms/hands. And what looked like some design scratched (not deeply) into her arm. She also had black and blue welts on her leg muscles (obvious beating). She's a big girl - and holds her own with the boys. But they were calling her a pig in class today. Perhaps, in her case, this self mutilation is from a negative self-image. I'm going to check all my students and make inappropriate pyschological diagnoses (because I'm bored as hell).

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

Actually, mine don't but, I wouldn't care if they did as they are doing it to themselves and not harming others...so, ehh, sure, why not...they are the custodians of their own bodies and, after all, it's really none of my business.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

That kind of mutilation is common in institutions. Patients have zero stimulation. In those situations, any stimulation (including pain) is preferable.

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Today at my middle school there was a school-wide inspection for students who had marks of self-mutilation, and then they pulled all the students with marks on their arms out of class. I counted and they had assembled 26 out of a middle school of about 210 students. Then various teachers took turns taking two hours - all of 3rd and 4th block - punishing them in stress positions, berating them, making them kneel on the floor and write out explanations or whatever on a sheet of paper, etc. I don't know if they got hit as well but the teachers had their sticks out. I could hear one teacher berating them all the way down at the other end of the corridor where I was teaching my CA class.

I even printed out a few articles about the phenomenon in the west, including one that states that it's usually girls age 13-15 unable to deal with personal problems, etc., and gave it to one of the English teachers, but the Korean teachers just seem to view it as a form of defience, almost taking it personally. I wonder if there's anything written in Korean about this, as it's something the Korean teachers seem unable to deal with in a rational, objective manner?

Fresh Prince · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: The glorious nation of Korea

I've seen a lot of burns, scars from cuts, and other strange things on students and have been wondering what is going on.

Is it really self-mutilation or are the kids victims of classmates punishing them? It's hard to think some of my students would willingly do that to themselves. I'm wondering if these things are some type of retribution inflicted on them by their classmates for breaking some type of social rule.

I can imagine kids telling their teachers that they did it to themselves out of fear that the bullies would find out about it and attack them again.

sojourner1 · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:22 am Post subject:

I believe self mutilation is actually suicidal feelings due to serious issues of feeling inadequate for what is asked of them, but psychology is not my area of expertise which makes teaching tough at times.

I teach rich kids and they aren't self mutilating physically, but they are mentally which their negative close minded behaviors, discontent, and unhappiness show it. They do have cuts, bumps, and bruises from nasty falls while playing as kids typically do. My kindergarten kids (much happier than my older kids) go to class only 4 1/2 hours a day and my elementary students go to class from 3 to 6 after public school classes. My middle schoolers are very rotten, sullen, and rude complainers who seem to hate the world and all the teachers in it. Becuase, they are only going to class about 7 hours a day, getting to play computer games allot, and talk on amazing cell phones, they have something to look forward to when I let them go. They probably go to school less than 7 hours a day being that they get recess time at public school. I know these spoiled kids are a priveledged exception to the average norm. Maybe, becuase they are not going to school as much as other kids are and are priveledged, they are not that traumatized to the point of inducing self mutilation though I would not be suprised if some do commit suicide during high school.

It is tough to keep rich kids happy or even connect with them as there are serious psychological issues present for reasons unknown to me which makes my job very hard. I do see that many middle and high schoolers are on edge of having suicidal thoughts. They could all of a sudden flip one day and self mutilate or worse, becuase many do have allot of discontent and discord built up in them for reasons I don't quite fully understand. Being a foreigner, it is tough to understand what they are thinking and how to deal with them in the most effective manner as I was told nothing about anything since day 1 and lack a great deal of knowledge I need.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004