Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kentucker4]

It's getting so bad that I am thinking about leaving before my contract ends. Every class of them is like a zoo. My adult students told me that it's very strange how loud the older kids are at my school. I can't even teach my adult students...they are so loud running around and slamming doors and screaming. Then when I have to teach the little fuckers it's hell. They go to the convenient store before my class and bring up chips and sodas in class passing them around to each other and then get furious when I take way points or put their food up. Out of control and my bosses offer little support and looked perturbed if I asked for their help.

[Atavistic]

Hey crazy idea. Make a lesson plan and stick to it.

[spliff]

What does it mean to "put there food up"? Up where? Anyhow, try making your lesson plans interesting, engaging and fun. Complaining on an internet forum will not get you much, if any, sympathy I do believe. You are a teacher, are you not?

[Fishead soup]

You should try to make it look like you are teaching. Actually teaching might be too hard and you might just go nutts trying to do it. Do you have access to a computer or PPT. Koreans are suckers for PPT. When you're using PPT you don't have your back to the students like when you write on the board. This way you can catch the trouble makers.

The good thing about PPT is when your director walks by your class and see's that you're using PPT he'll think of you as a real teacher. You'll get more respect from parents when they know you're using PPT. Another good thing about PPT is it burns up time. Time that you would otherwise be trying to entertain students or use a really terrible text book. You can use PPT to play Jeopardy to review past chapters in the textbook.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

That brings back horrible memories.

Middle school students, when they're at middle school, know the difference between free time and learning time. In truth, with some teachers blabbing on for 45 minute monologues at a time, there might not be a great deal of learning, but they do know that it's STFU time. Free time, however, can be absolutely chaotic. I've walked by a class that had an afternoon off because of various other things happening at school to see students dancing on their desks, wrestling on the floor, throwing things around, and just generally acting like animals. Yet, it's possible to get those same students in neat quite rows for 45 minutes at a time. Sometimes it might not happen until a few of them are kneeling in the corridor but it can be done.

However, they obviously believe that your hagwon = free time. If you try all by yourself to do what it takes to disavow them of this myth they will despise you. If I discipline kids who are treating lesson time like free time they know I'm only making sure that what's supposed to happen is happening. They'll generally accept it as a reasonable consequence. That's because I work at a reasonably good school. If you try it at a crap hagwon, you become the baffoon who's pissing on their parade, rather like if I walked into a classroom at lunch time and made them all get out their textbooks, shut up, and start learning English. They simply believe that orderly learning isn't supposed to happen there.

You've tried talking to management and obviously they value the income coming in from their parents too much to burst the balloon. Perhaps if they tried to maintain order they'd build up a better reputation and make even more money in the long-run, but for now they've probably hedged their bets on just hoping they can keep ripping off those kids' parents for the time being. You're choices are likely down to giving up at school or quitting the school.

[Chicoloco]

[mrsquirrel]

[kentucker4]

[spliff]

^ Contact Wenise at GEPIK and complain. She will help you. Maybe even hold your hand when you're going potty.

[mrsquirrel]

[ardis]

I don't understand why exactly your adult students are screaming and running around...? I'm guessing you're exaggerating and that not all of your adult students are running and slamming doors.

I'm interested in how you teach...it would be amusing/educational to see a video.

[CentralCali]

[mrsquirrel]

[Draz]

[kentucker4]