Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Drakoi]

I know some of you reccomend not letting the students speak ANY korean, but I think that's a little harsh. So instead, I'm learning all the bad words they can say and anytime I hear one, I punish that harshly.

But sometimes, since I like to joke around with my students, I get called pabo and some other words that I'm told mean something like 'silly' or 'childish'

But where do you draw the line between what's just good fun and what's disrespect? I don't mind pabo, cause I might use that back at them. but what other phrases should I not allow?

tia,

[kangnamdragon]

I would say it is always disrespectful for a kid to call a teacher 'babo'. Students should not be calling you any names. That undermines your authority and allows them to treat you like a side show rather than a teacher.

[shevek]

I don't see how you could learn all the rude ways they could come up with to talk about you. Just learning bad words probably won't be enough.

So, although I kind of agree that banning all Korean is harsh, I think it might be better in the long run. I taught at two places and had way better displine when the kids weren't using Korean. And even though disipline is not the end all and be all of the teacher's purpose, if the kind you employ is appropriate, your kids will learn a lot more under it's influence.

[ulsanchris]

I would say you ban all korean unless the students need to ask eachother questions.

[matthewwoodford]

Banning all Korean will solve 95% of these problems but the school has to back you up.

[matthewwoodford]

I still get called a monkey sometimes. They're just little kids and they're not malicious but it still winds me up more than just about anything else.

[Son Deureo!]

It's probably not Korean that you need to ban so much as any superfluous talking. I don't ban Korean in the classroom anymore, I found that to be counterproductive. The kids were trying to blow each other in for speaking Korean in class, and that was a bigger disruption than the actual chitchat. Plus, at times their speaking Korean clues me into whether or not they understand the lesson. Nevertheless, I refuse to entertain anything that they say to me if they don't try to say it in English first, and I'm ever vigilant about my "when the teacher is talking, don't talk" rule.

Also Drakoi, from your previous posts I've gleaned that you're learning, your level of Korean is still pretty low. Trying to crack down on them for insulting you behind your back when you don't really understand much Korean yet can backfire.

Case in point, I was teaching a kindy class and I overheard one of the kids saying "��� ������(bang-goo ajosshi)". They called me ������ from time to time, partly because they didn't really know what to call me yet, and partly because they knew it got my goat. So I assumed she was calling me a farty old man, and sent her to the corner. She cried, but she deserved it for rudely talking about the teacher behind his back, right?

When I told a Korean teacher what had happened she told me that "��� ������(bang-goo ajosshi)" is the name of a cartoon character. What she said probably had nothing to do with me after all.

If you're not really sure, give your kids the benefit of the doubt.

[Ilsanman]

Babo is a playful word in Korean. It's like 'fool' or 'goof'. It can be said to friends, and not taken so seriously.

Meongcheongi is not, however. It means 'idiot' and it's a lot more likely to be a serious comment.

[Son Deureo!]

You're right, it's OK to say it to your friends. Students are another ballpark. You shouldn't ever be insulting their intelligence, even in jest IMHO.

[Shincheon_Blues]

kangnamdragon hit the nail on the head.

Would you care to venture a guess as to what would happen to a child that addressed his/her Korean teacher in blunt-form (ban-mal)? Do NOT allow it. You are "Sonsaeng-nim", emphasis on the honorific. It doesn't matter one bit if you are super teacher, or super slacker, working at a kiddie hogwan, or working at Seoul U.

Do you think for a second that a school kid would speak either ban-mal or adress a student one grade ahead of him/her as "pabo"? Nooooooooooooo.

The bottom line is that yor are being addressed in a disrespectful manner and you should IMO put an end to it.

[Walter Mitty]

[tomato]

My opinion is that sparring between children and adults, especially adult males, is healthy and natural.
For evidence of this, just look around at the other mammal species.

What purpose does it serve?
Our inner brains think that we are in danger of enemies and predators.
Throughout most of our evolutionary history, it was the responsibility of the adult males to strengthen the juveniles in case of an invasion by a real enemy or a real predator.
There may have been juveniles who did not play-fighting. But they did not become our ancestors. Rather, they got killed by enemies and predators before they could reach child-bearing age.
There may also have been adult males who did not enjoy play-fighting. But they did not become our ancestors either. Rather, their children got killed by enemies and predators before they could reach child-bearing age.

Women may have been involved in this sort of thing, but to a lesser degree. So your women co-workers might not understand. That's why you hear them yell, "��! ���� ��!"

[just because]

To the OP you can tell the difference between good natured bantaring and otherwise. babo is about where i would draw the line. Anything with seki is a big kick in the bum waether it is a joke or note.
On a side note, why is it that you always learn the swear words first in another language????

[Drakoi]

[ryleeys]

Personally, I encourage my kids to speak Korean and English equally... They associate the two together... when I say "Repeat after me." they respond "Dah rah ha say yo." When I say "Dah rah ha say yo." they respond "Repeat after me." Everything I have them write in Engish I have them write in Korean and vice versa. It seems to be working allright and some concepts I can't imagine explaing (verb tenses, grammar) without using Korean.

As for name calling, my kids call me "babo" at least twice or three times a class and I pretty much could care less... whenever I mess up and write or pronounce something wrong in Korean, I say "babo migook yin" and we all have a laugh and move on.


My only concern so far was brought to the forefront today... I was standing in the hallway talking with my director and I hear a kid yell "dong chim" but it was far away, so I didn't really think about it... apparently, he was just getting a running start. That wasn't very pleasant and he was made to write "I will not dong chim my teacher." 100 times.