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kentucker4
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
Location: Georgia
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 Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 am Post subject: I am starting hate some of my middle schoolers |
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| I am dead serious. If I had it my way, they'd be running laps until they were puking. The lack of character and attitude is beyond pathetic. I give a test today and some of them start kicking chairs and desks when I give them even one wrong mark out of a 100 points. One girl makes a 96 and badmouths me in Korean while kicking a desk into another one. Another girl lashes out at me in Korean when I tell her that a 98 is a very high score. Then they all give me dirty looks in the hall. I swear, I NEVER acted like this towards any teachers...especially when the teacher was being nice. The way these middle schoolers act sometimes boggles my mind. Most of them either sit there and refuse to say anything or raise hell and hate you over nothing. |
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Motto
Joined: 05 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:49 am Post subject: |
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join the club,
i laugh at them, next time give them a really low mark, and a proper reason to hate you. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| Don't you have a co-teacher in the room with you? It is his/her job to control the students. I know public school teachers who refuse to teach until the co-teacher does his/her job and controls the class. |
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Rae
Joined: 10 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:09 am Post subject: Re: I am starting hate some of my middle schoolers |
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| kentucker4 wrote: |
| I am dead serious. If I had it my way, they'd be running laps until they were puking. The lack of character and attitude is beyond pathetic. I give a test today and some of them start kicking chairs and desks when I give them even one wrong mark out of a 100 points. One girl makes a 96 and badmouths me in Korean while kicking a desk into another one. Another girl lashes out at me in Korean when I tell her that a 98 is a very high score. Then they all give me dirty looks in the hall. I swear, I NEVER acted like this towards any teachers...especially when the teacher was being nice. The way these middle schoolers act sometimes boggles my mind. Most of them either sit there and refuse to say anything or raise hell and hate you over nothing. |
What the hell? From what you explained, they sound pretty bad. Why don't you at least lecture the hell out of them so they know not to act that way. It'll only get worse if they think it's OK. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| It only took me one day to figure that out. The first few groups were OK but the last group of the day, the lowest ability group, were absolutely awful the first day. And no, there was no Korean teacher in the room that day or any other day. I left after one semester. I detest middle schoolers. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| Don't you have a co-teacher in the room with you? It is his/her job to control the students. I know public school teachers who refuse to teach until the co-teacher does his/her job and controls the class. |
Agree 100% it's also the Korean teachers job to give tests because they have a better idea what's on the High school entrance exam. Your job is too provide more conversation practice.
If a co-teacher refuses to join you stand outside the room and wait for them to join you. Don't walk in until there's a Korean co-teacher in the room. You could be held liable if anything goes wrong, a fight serious injury. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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This year my grade 3s have been a bit of a disappointment, especially after the wonderful grade 3s I had last year, but nothing like that. I try to nip behaviour like that in the bud. When students show that kind of attitude I usually immediately haul them out of class.
What gets me about my grade 3s this year is how so many of them, even the smart ones, just don't seem to take public school English that seriously. I wouldn't say I hate them, but if their attitude gets any worse when it's time to teach again after a few weeks (mid-terms and May break) I'm seriously thinking about dragging some of them out of class for a punishment session.
Do bear in mind as well that sleep-deprevation often plays a role in outbursts, but then so does having a teacher with (a) high expectations who (b) they think is afraid to punish them. |
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Countrygirl
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Location: in the classroom
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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I thought kentucker4 worked at a hogwan. I don't think he has a co-teacher.
If they did that to me I would lower their score mark by mark until they figured out that they couldn't act like that with me. Student kicks chair "OK, 95%. Swear at me in Korean...OK 94%". The students are acting like that with the OP because they can.
The students who have been taught only in Korea are so much different than the students who have spent one or two years abroad. Returnees are actually somewhat well-behaved and put effort into the class.
I kind of understand the students' point of view, though. Parents here don't really care about effort or high marks or unfair tests. Most parents will get angry if their children don't get perfect no matter the circumstances. That's why cheating is such an epidemic here. |
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crusher_of_heads
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Location: kimbop and kimchi for kimberly!!!!
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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Lunch time in the eoz for the more ignorant tards amongst them.
All class ---> copy from the textbook so they get 100% next time. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Countrygirl wrote: |
I thought kentucker4 worked at a hogwan. I don't think he has a co-teacher.
If they did that to me I would lower their score mark by mark until they figured out that they couldn't act like that with me. Student kicks chair "OK, 95%. Swear at me in Korean...OK 94%". The students are acting like that with the OP because they can.
The students who have been taught only in Korea are so much different than the students who have spent one or two years abroad. Returnees are actually somewhat well-behaved and put effort into the class.
I kind of understand the students' point of view, though. Parents here don't really care about effort or high marks or unfair tests. Most parents will get angry if their children don't get perfect no matter the circumstances. That's why cheating is such an epidemic here. |
Um, you have to crack down a bit harder than that or they're only going to act out more. Kick chair: out in the corridor on your knees. Swear at me in Korean: straight down to the staff room for something that would earn me the wrath of the political correct brigade.
You make a few good points, though, especially about anything less than 100% being failure in some parents' eyes. Giving the students opportunities to earn bonus marks to bring it back up to 100 might be one way. Also, if the OP is at a hagwon, bear in mind that MS students also have to worry about school mid-terms this time of year and are preoccupied and stressed out about that (not that that's any excuse for the behaviour you describe). |
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R. S. Refugee
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Location: Shangra La, ROK
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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I must have the world's best set of rose-tinted glasses or something. Or lead a charmed life (that definitely is NOT the case).
But I just don't see all this bad behavior beyond what one would expect from normal middle school children. Ok. I did have one little guy (mildly retarded, I think) torment another student until a fight broke out in class once and I had to (with the help of the other students) pull them apart and get the co-teacher to chew them out when she got back to class.
But I just don't have all this trouble with my students. It makes me wonder if I'm just extremely lucky or my perceptions of what I'm experiencing are just different than many others I read about here.
I do teach them with the idea of helping them learn some English. But I don't give tests or homework.
[Actually, I do occassionally give tests, but I don't give grades. I didn't even know any public school FTs were supposed to give tests or grades. ]
Last edited by R. S. Refugee on Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:39 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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mnhnhyouh
Joined: 21 Nov 2006
Location: The Middle Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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| R. S. Refugee wrote: |
[Actually, I do occassionally give tests, but I don't give grades. I didn't even know any FTs were supposed to give tests or grades. ] |
This depends on your hagwon/PS.
h |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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| R. S. Refugee wrote: |
| I must have the world's best set of rose-tinted glasses or something. |
When you've been teaching the same kids for almost three years you develop a much better idea of which ones are being friendly and which are being cheeky; which are having fun learning and which are taking the piss. Thankfully the majority of mine are all right; but I do have one particular grade in which I think it's time for a few of them to learn the hard way when it comes to PS English. Sometimes you have to get them to take the diffucult stuff seriously before you can get them to take the fun stuff seriously as well. |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| R. S. Refugee wrote: |
| I must have the world's best set of rose-tinted glasses or something. |
When you've been teaching the same kids for almost three years you develop a much better idea of which ones are being friendly and which are being cheeky; which are having fun learning and which are taking the piss. |
Kids are transparent as hell, I can tell when they are being jerks and when they are really trying when it's my first time with a class.
I like to PRETEND I can't tell though and treat everything deadly seriously. They find it sooo boring when I don't notice they are being horrible. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| Sometimes you have to get them to take the difficult stuff seriously before you can get them to take the fun stuff seriously as well. |
So true! Some classes think that "conversation class" = "time to goof off with the foreign monkey!" A lot of my new students this year have had to learn the hard way that if they want to have a good time, they'd first better take the class seriously...maybe because the middle school they came from didn't stress the importance of behaving in a civilized manner in English class.  |
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