Korean Job Discussion Forums

[renzobenzo1]

|I have taught middle schoolers before....some were still good and wanted to learn...some were too cool for school.

|How about elementary students.

\Do |I need to be upbeat and fun |(draining enery|) or can |I be a serious assertive teacher?

Also |I found yelling at middle schoolers to be quiet energy draining-|So |I have bought a laser pointer for the students-pointed once at the culprit is a warning, 2 times and they go outside for some time out.

any other advice or tips you could share please...

[aka Dave]

At the last hagwan I was at, the most difficult kids were the older elementary school boys. They required the most attention and discipline. My middle schoolers were mostly shy girls, very quiet.

However, you can get some really good young students if you're as lucky as I was. One of my 2nd grade students was an excellent English student; she spoke better English than some of the English profs at my Uni.

[Ruraljuror]

Elementary students are well-mannered, attentive, and serious in their english studies. I suspect that you will be pleasantly surprised at how well your laser pointer gimmic works with them.

Good luck!

[Stormy]

[Ruraljuror]

Haha sorry I couldn't keep a staight face!

I teach at a very well known private elementary school. My students are the children of doctors, lawyers, CEO's, and high-ranking government officials. They are incredibly bright, and terrific at English, as most of them have lived and studied overseas. They are truly the cream of the crop.

And here's what would happen if I pulled out a laser pointer in class:

All of them (100%) would jump out of their chairs and mob me begging me to "see it". And by "see it", they mean "touch it". And by "touch it", I mean, "break it". One of the girls who jumped up and ran to me would end up falling down and start sobbing. The two most competitive boys in the class who are always struggling about who is the "class leader" would start arguing about who should be the one to "see" the laser pointer. There is a 50% chance the argument would go to blows and one or both would start sobbing. The class bully would use the time to stand up out of his chair, casually walk over to the class outcast (wangta) and smack him in the head. The outcast would start crying.

It would be total chaos. And the one thing I've learned about teaching in Korea, is that every single time you lose control of your class, no matter how rare it is, it is at that *exact* moment that your boss will come walking by and peek in your window. It's just uncanny.

I'll be honest with you...from reading your post, I'm not sure you are cut out for elementary kids. When my day is finished, I am running on fumes. My energy is gone. I get home, plop down into my chair, grunt at my wife's fascinating conversations, sleep 6 hours, and then do the same thing again.

I will say this though: I MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer teaching elementary students to middle school. I will NEVER go back to middle school. But it's definitely not for everybody.

[Stormy]

[spliff]

Funny that is, describes 90% of my
classes.

[renzobenzo1]

Wow that's really surprising if you think someone isn't cut out for teaching elementary from one of the posts they make!!

More to the point I am curious about how to pitch myself. I can almost guarantee that the staff will want me to make the class fun and entertaining and light-hearted for the kids...however if I give them an inch, come across as a clown or too leniant I am worried I will lose control and authority.

I have only been teaching for 1 year now so guess I am wondering what is the happy medium way to address elementary students?

Some serious stuff, some fun all mixed in together?

[A2Steve]

[tomato]

Hello, Renzo Benzo!

I am glad you are asking the right questions.
Some teachers don't.

[Draz]

[icicle]

Fun and serious learning are not mutually exclusive ... I am expected to both make it enjoyable (which helps the kids like class) and help them to actually learn something (which helps the parents be happy about the class). I have personally found that lots of positive comments and taking a generally positive approach in my teaching make a very big difference. My students do also want to learn and like to feel like they are actaully learning something - because it can be hard at times postive feedback does help them to see and feel they are getting somewhere (I do have a kind of scale I use ... From good to very good to excellent ... which are words they now all understand as "good" and which feel better to me personally than just saying "good job" all the time which is what their previous teacher did ... This has helped to build their confidence and willingness overall to take risks ) .... I also usually finish with a five minute game at the end of the lesson (along with some gamelike parts of the lesson) and they really look forward to that .. My lessons are only 45 minutes long ... and this mix seems to work well in most classes.

I have taught both middle school students in a public school and kindergarten / elementary students in a hagwon and overall I find the elementary students are very much easier to teach ... and keener to learn ... than my public middle school students were overall.

But teaching elementary (or kindergarten students) is not good for everyone ... I personally think that if you don't enjoy spending time with students in that age group then teaching them and keeping control will be harder for you.