Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rapier]

It just occurred to me today, after over a year teaching koreans and playing ball games in the classrooms: I haven't yet come accross a single Korean Kid in all this time who can actually CATCH A BALL properly. You can throw the simplest of pitches, giving them plenty of warning etc, they will always drop the ball!! Why???
Perhaps its more fun to drop your catch every time and send the class into chaos by chasing after the runaway ball? I don't know. Or do they just need more practise on a sports field?
Its annoying because my question and answer games depend on passing a ball to the next person to keep the flow of speaking going.

[canuckistan]

When you're parked at a desk for 10 hours a day during childhood, physical coordination isn't what you're going to learn.

[katydid]

I was going to say give the poor kids a break, but Canuckistan beat me to it.
Speaking as a poor child whose love for reading couldn't save her from the ritualistic humiliation known as gym class, I can understand their lack of coordination, but then wonder why their hand-eye coordination is that bad when they spend so much time playing computer games too.

[eamo]

This has been noticed. Koreans seem clumsy compared to westerners. Is this true? Or just a product of noticing differences too much?

[Skarp]

Maybe true if a generalisation.

Also - western culture is a ball game culture. There are no Korean ballgames, are there?

They've taken to baseball and such like recently, but kids don't play outside in the street with a stick and ball like in the US(?).

If the ball throwing/catching is holding up your lesson - then you could throw and catch an imaginary ball. The same aim would be achieved and the clumsy kids wouldn't suffer any stigma.

Skarp

[weatherman]

I often take my kid's out to the soccer field for a little bit of running and throwing, kicking, etc. It seems about 50% have a some ability on field and the others try... But inside the classroom this percentage does go down for some reason. Maybe not expecting to play ball in the classroom?

[coolsage]

It took a coach from the Netherlands to get the Korean soccer team to the final four. and as others have suggested, ten hours a day bent over a desk does nothing for athletic ability, not to mention social ability.

[Pusanpoe]

Koreans are some of the most successful athletes and baseball players in the world. There may be particular areas in general where they have more co-ordination. This sight borders on the ridiculous more than it should.

[bjonothan]

What a load of hogwash!!! Koreans have no idea about sports. They study and that is all they know. Like the other guy said, it took a dutch guy to get them to even get close in the top rankings. Koreans might have some good attributes, but sports is not one of them.

[matthewwoodford]

[kangnamdragon]

[bjonothan]

Yeah and how many people in Canada or the U.S. follow soccer compared to Koreans??? How long have you taught here for? How much experience have you had with them???

[Drakoi]

If I had to pick a group of kids for any team sport (be it soccer, basketball, or whatever) I'd much rather have a bunch of korean kids who took taekwondo than your typical, fat, pudgy, ugly, stupid, american oinkers of the same age.

[katydid]

Feh. There are plenty of Korean oinkers (taking Tae Kwon Do, too, I might add) to ignore as well.

[whatthefunk]