Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Bobster]

I been at this a while. Something close to heaven happens when you head home at the end of a day in the classroom, a little bit tired (in the best way) but thinking, "Damn, I'm good at this."

Here's what I do.

1. It's MY room. Okay, the wongajamnim pays the rent on it, the moms pay for my time, but I OWN it for the 30 or 45 minutes or an hour I'm there. Every word and deed, every bit of body language I can muster, I communicate this. Know the big surprise? The students like it. They WANT to feel that someone stronger than them is in control. Makes them feel safe.

2. NO Physical violence is EVER allowed. Ever. Not even a little, not even harmless rough-housing. I've been known to extend that to no physical contact. They can do what they like for the rest of their time in the world outside of when they are not in my room, and I don't care. No student has ever been hurt or come to any harm in my classrooms, and none ever will, because I will not allow it. Whether the kid learns English is up to a lot of factors - student's talent, my ability, the amount of pushing the parents want to do - but in the end, the ONE thing any mom or dad anywhere in the world should hope for is their child to be safe when he or she is with me.

(Today I sent a kid into the hall, pointed at a spot on the wall, told him "Look at this" for the crime of a playful slap in the face at the guy next to him. "Never do that in my room! Hajima!" Let that happen once, a month later I'll find someone picking up a chair and dropping it on someone's head. Never gonna happen in The Bobster's room. Believe it or not, the kids love me.)

3. Give praise and punishment in equal amounts, where it is deserved. And make sure the praise is loud enough so the others can hear. Even the badly-behaved ones can benefit by hearing another kid getting a soft stroke - though the kids might deny it your face, or to their friends, in the back of their minds they are thinking, "Gee, I wish Bob Teacher would say that to me." Next week, when they DO turn in their homework on time, even if there are mistakes, and I say "Good job!" they will feel it and remember. And feel nice. And maybe actually start to learn something.

4. Dealing with the wongjam. You smile and listen, and say, "Sure, boss, it's your turf, I'll play by your rules." (If I owned a school, I'd want nothing less from anyone working for me, actually.) If it sounds halfway logical, give it a try. When it turns out that it doesn't work at all, go back to what you know DOES work. Thing to remember, he got a phone call from someone who gives him money every month, so he figures he oughta pass it on - and I get money from him every month, too - just remember, mom doesn't know richard about teaching English, though, or else she'd be able to do it herself. Don't take it personally - he's got his role and so do you.

(A lotta what the boss is all about is keeping kids in the classrroom. And you might think you're the best teacher ever lived, in total command of the room and the subject matter - don't mean a thing if you have no students. So don't knock that.)

5. Love. An easy one to forget, and I have, sometimes. Hell, way too often. People who tell you it's "unprofessional" to love your students, whether they are kids or adults, are SO wrong. Teaching is almost unique among professions in giving an opportunity to put love in the world and receive at least a meager paycheck in return. Don't miss the chance to do that. In the end, it's an extra paycheck, it feels that good.

Those are my rules. I'm sure I've got more. How about you?

[applesandshanana]

I teach in the states right now, but I think in most cases classroom rules can be universal. Your rules follow along pretty nicely with mine, especially the first and last - which strangely enough seem to repel each other. I think that finding a way to balance the disciplinarian and compassionate person is one of the hardest things about teaching, but if you can find a way to do it you can end up being very effective.

[The Bobster]

[ddeubel]

Bobster,

Great rules and though I have my own disagreements around the edges, that only really says that the rules are all about how they are applied, enacted. But they are there nonetheless....

Teaching is a dynamic profession, meaning things are constantly changing under your feet. People are not widgets. So though we standardize, we should always teach students and apply rules to "a student" , not to all. My caveat emptor.....

DD

[Ilsanman]

Great tips.

I will give you the 'Teacher of the Year' award when I next see you.

[trubadour]

Yes, I agree for the most part. You have to be the law. You have to prohibit and enable. I think the basic thing to make a class work is respect. You should listen when someone is speaking and speak well when you are speaking.

No violence, of course. But it is hard to police verbal abuse. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. I try to encourage cordial exchanges, sometimes they like to say 'horrible' things. Afterall the students know each other better than I know them. But nothing too bad happens without retribution or correction. That seems to work well enough.

However, I may be too reticent with praise. I read somewhere (is it the Yong guy?) that you should praise the deed not the student, but really everyone knows the deal - you speak or do well you get a well done or whatever, if you don't you get the opposite.

It's all good fun if people work hard and are respectful of each other. That's the general atmosphere of my classes. But, I'm not sure how to (or if I even want to) manipulate kids to get them to love me. As long as we're all cool, that's cool.

It's not about ego, it's about learning and participating.

[Ilsanman]

The whole 100% stand against violence is very hard to enforce. It's engrained (sp?) into Korean culture.

[keane]

[Steve Schertzer]

Great stuff, Bobster! It's called creating classroom culture, and it's the subject of my next column. Sounds like you got a handle on things. Congratulations. Keep up the good work. Nice to know that there are some really good teachers in Korea.

[Unposter]

For whatever it is worth, I like the rules!

[The Bobster]

[yingwenlaoshi]

Well when you think about it, it's not really rocket science. They're just kids. You should be able to control them.

[Squid]

Kudos to you Bob.

I didn't come to Korea to teach (there's a thread!) and as a consequence found it difficult to adjust to the job satisfaction, which in my previous occupation was very tangible.

Having recently switched out of it I can say the lack of more people like you in the profession is another of the reasons i did.

My kids in your classroom anytime.


Cheers.

[The Bobster]

[yingwenlaoshi]

Dunno about that, man. The bad kids in my classes, the ones who have acted up, are gone or have smartened up. The kids that have always done well and improve have always behaved well.

Maybe one day you'll get there. Keep trying.